The purpose of the exercise is to communicate your ideas to someone else. This is easier if you follow some simple methodical rules.

Your essay should have a point to it. It is not enough just to summarize what you have read. You will probably need to give some account of what you have read in order to discuss it, but don't try to tell all you know or have read about the topic.

You will almost certainly write a better essay if you are fired up about the issues, so try to choose a topic which you find interesting and (if possible) one on which you have strong views.

Philosophical problems, more than most, benefit from careful, considered, and repeated reflection. Therefore don't leave the preparation of your essay until the last minute.

Consider what is relevant to the point (or points) you want to make, and prune out everything else. It is usually better to concentrate on one or two points and develop them in depth than to try to cram in everything mentioned in the references. (A few well-mapped paths are better than an impenetrable jungle.)

Have an introduction and a conclusion.

Define the topic or problem you intend to examine and include this in your introduction.

Plan the presentation before starting to write.

Pay attention to the suggested word limit. This is intended only as a rough guide, but try not to fall short of it by a wide margin or to exceed it extravagantly. Remember: philosophical argument seldom suffers from condensation.

Don't pad your essay with long quotations. Whatever passages you quote should be brief and to the point.

Your essay doesn't have to provide a solution or a yes/no answer. You may decide instead that clarification of the question is needed, that further related questions may have to be raised, or that some assumptions of the question need to be challenged. You may perhaps critically consider solutions which have already been offered to the problem you are considering, and point out inconsistencies or difficulties with the proposed solution. Or you might see a conflict with the points of view of different writers on the same topic, or even an undetected conflict between statements of the same writer; then you might attempt to resolve or at least comment on the conflict.

You may be able to establish your case by showing how something follows (or does not follow) from some other statement; or by giving examples which appeal to our understanding of a concept; or by giving counter-examples which suggest that a claim must be false. One way to test a theory, or a proposed solution to a problem, is to push it a little further. Strange consequences or implausible conclusions may indicate that there is something wrong with the assumptions or the argument which led to it. It can also strengthen your own arguments and help you to formulate your preferred approach to the problem.

Leave a wide left-hand margin.

To speed your readers' comprehension, pay attention to grammar, punctuation and spelling! (If you have problems with grammar it may help to read your essay through aloud; this often picks up mistakes.)

If you don't type or use a word processor, then at least write clearly and space the paragraphs out well. Typed and printed essays should be double-spaced.

If you use a word-processor I suggest you consider purchasing a dictionary or use a spell-check program. Word processors are great for modifying sentences, but they also encourage distinctive grammatical blunders, which result from forgetting to delete superseded portions of sentences. Watch out for this.

Number the pages.

Do not use slang except for a special purpose, and then place it in inverted commas (so-called "scare" quotes).

In general, use simple language but avoid ambiguity. Avoid pretentious language, circumlocution, "officialese" and gobbledygook. Use technical terms only if they are essential for precision; esoteric terms should be explained.

Some writers seems to think that the use of third-person constructions and indirect speech adds an aura of objectivity to their claims. Don't use this style of expression. It reads awkwardly and looks artificial.

Use footnotes sparingly; they are often not justified. If something is worth saying at all it is probably worth including in the main text.

Note: All of the above may be taken into account when essays are assessed.