The Essay-A-Week Challenge

Author: Chris Ebbs

Writing one essay per week sounds scary. But it doesn’t have to be. The whole point of this challenge is to take the scary factor out of essay-writing.

In year 12, everyone is doing at least one subject that involves writing an essay in the exam. This is tricky – how do you remember everything you wanted to remember, think of a really great argument and write coherently under a time limit? The best way to get better at something is to practice, and this is no exception.

By the time you’ve reached year 12, you’ve probably learnt all the ‘rules’ about essay-writing. But knowing these rules doesn’t automatically equate with producing good essays.

Find out the expected style of the exam essay for each subject. Write an essay on whatever you’re studying in class that week. You’ll practice your essay style, but you’ll also be developing and revising the ideas you learnt at school.

It’s never too early to start. Try not to be embarrassed or disheartened if it feels like you produced some ‘bad’ work – this is all part of the learning process. Set aside an hour or two every week for the essay challenge. Try to make it a regular part of your schedule. Make sure you set yourself time limits – you won’t have four hours and a laptop for research in the exam.

Your teacher or tutor will be happy to mark your essays and discuss them with you. They want you to improve, and this is a great way to do it. You could also check out the exam reports on the VCAA website for advice.

Let us know how the challenge goes for you!