Essay Writing

Essay writing at AOSB is quite unlike any other essay writing you may have done before. You are given a selection of topics to choose from and a short amount of time to right it in. What’s more it’s not written on a computer but instead by hand! Good news is that you can use a pencil.

It is quite likely you haven't written an essay for many years, since your time in school, college or university:

  • Spelling is key to any essay writing. This site contains an online spelling test i.e. hear, spell it.

  • If you need to brush up on your grammar and punctuation, take a look here. Although designed for children, the rules haven't changed.

AOSB Essay

As part of Mainboard each candidate is given 45 minutes in which they are to write an essay from a set list of 3 -5 topics. This essay is assessed on structure, the ability to present points of view, spelling and grammar.

Essay Writing Guide

The RA ResPO KX have created a writing guide to help you manage your time and structure your essay. Like most things practices is key and writing an essay in 45mins is a skill that most do not naturally possess.

The guide can be found in the document vault along with other helpful bits.

Practice Topics

To kick start your essay writing use some example essay topics:

  1. Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please the voters, not on what is best for the country.

  2. Wealthy politicians cannot offer fair representation to all people.

  3. In a free society, laws must be subject to change.

  4. An understanding of the past is necessary for solving the problems of the present.

  5. Education comes not from books but from practical experience.

  6. Is climate change man-made?

  7. Should the death penalty be re-introduced?

  8. Is the current electoral system fair?

  9. Is torture ever acceptable in today’s world?

  10. Is it right that men should get paternity leave from work?

  11. Is the UK taxation system fair?

  12. Are we too reliant on computers and the internet?

  13. Should we use animals for research?

  14. Should the UK government have a say in what we eat and drink?

  15. Does access to condoms prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases?

If you are looking for some more inspiration for essay topics have a look at the current affairs and podcast pages.