[killer_carlson]

much like Social Science exams once you get to university, the best advice I can give you is to practice as many old exams as you can (for multiple choice/short answer), and then practice your essay choices like this:

1) Set a clock for 7 minutes
2) Read an old essay topic
3) Write out your thesis statement
4) Outline in rough your case study or supporting paragraphs for your thesis

Essentially you want to organize what you want to say, why you think you're right, and what sort of authority you can point at to support your position.

You run the risk of trying to memorize essays if you actually write essay after essay preparing it. It's more important in my opinion to practice setting up what you want to say and organizing it in a short time than it is to actually practice writing sentances. The organization is the difference between a 70% and an 88% essay,

If you're under 70, you're picking poor thesis statements or bad case studies or examples. If you're above 90 then you've picked the right ones, supported it well, and clearly and cleanly communicated your position.

Oh, and your conclusion should be a lot like your introduction in reverse order.

Good luck.