The short version: Before writing, spend ~5 minutes turning annotations into a thesis (your one-line answer) and a plan — group your margin notes into 3–4 paragraphs, each with its own mini-point.
Five minutes of planning saves you from the wandering essay that loses Criterion C.
Look at your margin words. Cluster the ones that belong together (all the ‘menace’ notes; all the ‘humour’ notes). Each cluster becomes a paragraph. Write a one-line thesis that names your overall focus, and order the clusters so the argument builds. Now you're not writing into the dark — you're following a map.
The five-minute plan
Write the thesis
One sentence answering the guiding question / your focus — the whole essay proves it.
Cluster the margin notes
Group annotations by their effect: all ‘tension’ marks together, all ‘irony’ marks together.
One cluster = one paragraph
Each group becomes a body paragraph with its own mini-point (a sub-claim of the thesis).
Order for build
Sequence paragraphs so the argument grows — often surface→deeper, or opening→turn→ending.
The key move: Turn margin notes into thesis + 3–4 clustered paragraphs before writing. A plan is what turns scattered good points into a focused argument (Criterion C).
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Why it matters in the exam: Criterion C (focus & organisation) rewards a response that reads as one planned argument. Five minutes clustering your annotations is the difference between an organised essay and a device-by-device list — and it makes the writing faster, not slower.
You have annotated a travel-blog extract with these margin notes: ‘over-the-top praise’, ‘ironic’, ‘exhausted’, ‘self-mocking’, ‘lists everything’, ‘honest ending’. Turn them into a thesis and plan.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: Don't write a paragraph per DEVICE (‘paragraph on the metaphor, paragraph on the simile’). Cluster by effect / idea — each paragraph is a sub-point of your thesis, and may use several devices.