Essay question: Should a college keep its café open later? Position: yes. Sections: student demand, staffing costs, judgement. Which opening accurately gives the question, position and route?

• Should the café open later? I argue yes, assessing demand, then staffing costs, before reaching a judgement.
• Should the café open later? I argue yes, assessing staffing costs before demand, then reaching a judgement.
• Should the café open later? I argue no, assessing student demand, then staffing costs, before reaching a judgement.

Which rule best guides the content of an essay section?

• Group details by source, keeping each source's points together even when they serve unrelated section purposes.
• Give every related subpoint a separate section so that each detail has a place of its own in the outline.
• Give the section one main purpose, with related subpoints that help answer the question.

A transition can connect the point just made to the task of the next section.

An essay asks whether a school should add a study room. A long section lists possible room uses without explaining their relevance. Which sentence best reconnects it to the question?

• These uses help us judge whether pupils need a separate study room at school.
• These uses show how the room could be arranged.
• These uses give the next section its starting point, where each suggested activity is described in more detail.

An outline puts definitions and the final verdict in one early section. The verdict depends on evidence discussed later. What revision best separates these roles?

• Keep the definitions and verdict together, then repeat the verdict after presenting the later evidence.
• Keep definitions early and move the final verdict after the evidence it depends on.
• Keep the verdict early, then move the definitions beside the later evidence and revise the opening route.

Once you have written an opening route, you must keep that section order even if another order would make the argument clearer.

An essay presents evidence supporting a proposal, then examines an objection. Which transition accurately signals that change?

• We now examine more evidence that adds support to the case for this proposal.
• We now compare this proposal with a different solution, weighing the advantages of each approach.
• We now examine an objection that tests the evidence supporting this proposal.

An essay asks how a novel presents isolation. A polished section describes publishing history but makes no connection to isolation. What should the writer do?

• Keep the section as background and let the reader connect its publishing details to isolation.
• Rewrite the section to explain its contribution to isolation, or remove it from this essay.
• Move the section into the introduction as context.