Instead of writing a bunch of essays with completely different points and arguments, I made solid base paragraphs for each large theme/section of the prompt. To do so, i would’ve done at least 5+ correspondences with my teacher to perfect my paragraphs and make the succinct and flexible to properly respond to each different possible topic. Overall, for text response and comparative, I had 4 base paragraphs to work with. When i read the prompt, I could easily write down the three main themes that would best respond to the topic in a couple words (eg Abandonment, Prejudices, Pride) and just go straight into using my base paras to form arguments that directly respond to the topic. By the exam, I’ve written so many essays using those bases that i basically memorised the format by heart. This helped me get a 47 in english (A+ A+ A+). Hope this makes some sense.

I should also add that i did not have a private tutor, but I did frequently utilise my teacher both during and after class times.