I picked the essay pertaining to my field: English Literature. My topic was "Do we really need literature in our lives?" I lucked out because I had already practiced an outline based on the importance of literature. I had plenty of arguments to prove my point.

2020 is my second attempt. I failed in Essay alone in my first attempt, and I had 660 marks if I include the 33 marks I received in essay at the time.

Here's what I've learned:
1) Always choose the topic you have the most analytical knowledge about
2) Work on your handwriting; reading pages upon pages of chicken scratch is not fun for any examiner
3) Practice making as many outlines as you can on a wide variety of topics
4) Include small statistical facts and at least one quotation for each topic
5) Master the basic structure of an essay: Introduction, Body and Conclusion
6) Practice the essay topics from past papers

My last advice is this: identify your strength from the predictable areas which are covered by the essay topics each year. Education, philosophy, literature, politics, current affairs, technology, women, human rights, etc are your basic areas. Pick which ones you are most interested in, and then practice outlines of topics within that area.

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"All I know is that I know nothing." - Socrates