Review past examination papers. Each examination paper includes a large number of essay questions from which students can select. Find common formats, such as introducing the question with a short quotation. Look for recurring topics for each genre.
Consider the prescribed sources the past examination papers require students to reference. Find shared themes between the sources. Identify themes, such as use of a particular literary device, that are common to at least two or three of the sources.
Write a few essay questions. Vary the difficulty level. Ask some questions that are tailored to the sources and themes that your class has studied. Include a few that require students to be more creative in selecting sources to reference.
List four questions from previous exams and one of your questions in random order. Ask your students to read the questions and pick which one you wrote. Recalibrate your questions if more than a quarter of your students consistently pick correctly. Consult your students about how they found your questions to identify aspects that need to be tweaked.