All Edexcel essay questions start with the instruction: ‘Evaluate the view that…’. You are then given a statement that you either need to agree or disagree with, such as ‘Parliament is ineffective in carrying out its various functions’. You must examine the arguments on both sides, support them with contemporary evidence and evaluate each to reach a judgement on which is most convincing. However, that judgement cannot appear suddenly in your conclusion – it needs to run consistently through your essay, from the introduction onwards. This means that the structure of your essay is very important.
It is always worth spending a few minutes on a plan (Box 1). Write down at least three arguments on each side of the argument. Then match them up with an opposing argument in a logical way – the points need to have a shared focus. For example, it would make no sense in an essay on House of Lords reform to match a point that the House of Lords is made up of independent experts with a counter-argument that the Lords is restricted by the Salisbury Convention, as these strengths and weaknesses are not connected. A much better counter-argument would be that the Lords may be experts, but they are unelected, unrepresentative and without any democratic legitimacy.
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