Original post by Sad student
I am suffering with philosophy A-level. I do mot know how to write essay, what structure ? In every single exam from philsophy I get C-D, I am so hopeless... Is it possible for me to get A or B in philosophy in A-level next year? What should I do? I am trying so hard. Our teachers dont teach us properly... From September till January we finished whole year 12 book... In my class there are 10 people and all us get bad grades. I really regret doing philosophy.
do you know what exam board you are?? cos ive just finished A level RS on the OCR exam board and one of the things that might help is looking over example essays and mark schemes from previous years and also loads of essay plans, I did loads of practice essays and essay plans throughout the 2 years which really helped. Another thing that might help is reading through the online spec as it tell you the basics you need to know and can give you ideas of where to do extra reading which may help. not only this but some exam boards like you to use a certain amount of scholars/evidence per essay i think ocr likes around 4
Hey, I've got a degree in philosophy, if you need any help at all just message me! 
In terms of essay structure though, when I was doing a-levels we were told to write a short, but clear introduction that included the wording of the question like "In this essay I will argue that..." and then write 4 paragraphs with arguments for your point. Don't argue for the "other side" unless your aim is to tear it to shreds in the next sentence. This isn't GCSE anymore, you don't have to prove that you know what everyone thinks, you're writing an argumentative essay. Your conclusion should then again summarise the argument that you've made and why it's convincing.
If you can remember quotes from specific philosophers that back up your point its always helpful, but if not you can always paraphrase them. It doesn't matter too much if you can't remember the book or essay that the quote is from because 1. you're not expected to have read the books at this point and 2. you're expected to write the essay in about 40 mins, you literally haven't got time for it.
But like I said if there's anything else I can help with just let me know!
In terms of essay structure though, when I was doing a-levels we were told to write a short, but clear introduction that included the wording of the question like "In this essay I will argue that..." and then write 4 paragraphs with arguments for your point. Don't argue for the "other side" unless your aim is to tear it to shreds in the next sentence. This isn't GCSE anymore, you don't have to prove that you know what everyone thinks, you're writing an argumentative essay. Your conclusion should then again summarise the argument that you've made and why it's convincing.
If you can remember quotes from specific philosophers that back up your point its always helpful, but if not you can always paraphrase them. It doesn't matter too much if you can't remember the book or essay that the quote is from because 1. you're not expected to have read the books at this point and 2. you're expected to write the essay in about 40 mins, you literally haven't got time for it.
But like I said if there's anything else I can help with just let me know!
Thank you so much, I am doing AQA. I will try to find spec
Original post by Zoe_H
do you know what exam board you are?? cos ive just finished A level RS on the OCR exam board and one of the things that might help is looking over example essays and mark schemes from previous years and also loads of essay plans, I did loads of practice essays and essay plans throughout the 2 years which really helped. Another thing that might help is reading through the online spec as it tell you the basics you need to know and can give you ideas of where to do extra reading which may help. not only this but some exam boards like you to use a certain amount of scholars/evidence per essay i think ocr likes around 4
Thank you so much, but what structure should I use "PEEL" - point, evidence, explain, link back or different?
Original post by amorsophy
Hey, I've got a degree in philosophy, if you need any help at all just message me!
In terms of essay structure though, when I was doing a-levels we were told to write a short, but clear introduction that included the wording of the question like "In this essay I will argue that..." and then write 4 paragraphs with arguments for your point. Don't argue for the "other side" unless your aim is to tear it to shreds in the next sentence. This isn't GCSE anymore, you don't have to prove that you know what everyone thinks, you're writing an argumentative essay. Your conclusion should then again summarise the argument that you've made and why it's convincing.
If you can remember quotes from specific philosophers that back up your point its always helpful, but if not you can always paraphrase them. It doesn't matter too much if you can't remember the book or essay that the quote is from because 1. you're not expected to have read the books at this point and 2. you're expected to write the essay in about 40 mins, you literally haven't got time for it.
But like I said if there's anything else I can help with just let me know!
In terms of essay structure though, when I was doing a-levels we were told to write a short, but clear introduction that included the wording of the question like "In this essay I will argue that..." and then write 4 paragraphs with arguments for your point. Don't argue for the "other side" unless your aim is to tear it to shreds in the next sentence. This isn't GCSE anymore, you don't have to prove that you know what everyone thinks, you're writing an argumentative essay. Your conclusion should then again summarise the argument that you've made and why it's convincing.
If you can remember quotes from specific philosophers that back up your point its always helpful, but if not you can always paraphrase them. It doesn't matter too much if you can't remember the book or essay that the quote is from because 1. you're not expected to have read the books at this point and 2. you're expected to write the essay in about 40 mins, you literally haven't got time for it.
But like I said if there's anything else I can help with just let me know!
No worries, PEEL works really well! you don't have to stick to it as rigidly as all that If that makes sense? Link back to the overall argument, and if you can try and make sure the arguments are all in a logical order, or follow on from each other. it'll make your essay easier to read. The important thing to remember though is that your argument is way more important than your paragraph structure. If you've got a strong argument, well explained you're on to a winner
Original post by Sad student
Thank you so much, but what structure should I use "PEEL" - point, evidence, explain, link back or different?
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