Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Are essay plans an effective form of revision?

If so how should I write them?

100%
In my opinion.
BUT ONLY when you learn the CONTENT first / theory
AND it depends on how you're going to use them (are you actually going to end up writing any practice essays etc.. {I usually write practice paragraphs for each question style to ensure I know HOW to phrase my answers)

Essay plans help you to test what knowledge you know and if you are actually as confident as you believe at recalling it.
They also allow you to link topics together and figure out connections as well as allowing you to see the general structure of the questions and topics they usually surround.

They also help you to develop exam technique when practising them in timed conditions so you are quicker at them and hence have more time to write in an exam.

However, I do have to say a couple of other things:
1) If you are just writing long essay plans (fine to begin with) without doing them in timed conditions, then you will be stuck in an exam when you've spent 20 minutes planning for say a 25 marker.
2) I can only speak from the one essay subject I study at the moment which is English Language so this may differ for other subjects as the question styles change etc...
3) Content is the most important thing. If you do not bother to learn the content then it is pointless practising writing essay plans as you'll not remember things to put in them.
4) Personally I do this technique pretty close to the exam as a form of active recall and developing exam technique.
5) I usually start off not timing them and then gradually begin to lower the timings until I'm planning in exam timings.

I can't specifically tell you how to write them because I don't know the subject or the like.
Generally, for me, I figure out how many paragraphs I'm going to need to write, whether an intro or conclusion are needed. Then I write them somewhat like this: (For a 30marker evaluation question)

Intro

P1 = Point I'm going to argue (Usually an agree or disagree)
Theorist to back it up
Research
Evaluate research/ is it valid?
Repeat (link in other theorists who agree or sometimes disagree)

P2 = Point I'm going to argue (The opposite of paragraph 1)
Theorist to back it up

Research
Evaluate research/ is it valid?
Repeat (link in other theorists who agree or sometimes disagree)

P3 = Point I'm going to argue (Usually a combination of agree/disagree such as a new concept of merging them) (Or alternatively one of agree or disagree again)

Theorist to back it up
Research
Evaluate research/ is it valid?
Repeat (link in other theorists who agree or sometimes disagree)

Conclusion

Hope this helps? :smile: