Wow, thanks for giving such a comprehensive response.
From what you've outlined about the essays, I seem to be doing that anyway for my other paper. For the introduction, I usually define the terms in the question and give a brief abstract of the points that will follow in the essay. For instance, if the question was on neo-pentecostalism, i'd define the term and cite references of it in real life. After that, each paragraph is just a new point, but the first sentence always refers back to the question.
My qualms, however, lie in how to introduce scholars. Sometimes, scholars are not relevant to the question and detract from its focus, but the marking criteria for the top bands require scholarly reference. How did you get over this obstacle? Did you mention a couple of scholars per essay, or did you forgo it if it wasn't relevant?
I'll definitely look into the Hick book and the tip about using spec terms at the start of a paragraph sounds great. I'll definitely incorporate them into my future essays.
I had a look at the exemplar essays, but we haven't covered that part of the spec yet, so it was all a bit confusing. Do you still have any of your past essays? If so, i'd appreciate it if you could take a photo and upload them.
Thanks again, your advice has been invaluable!