The next point has nothing to do with the last one
Content
For content in an essay remember your 3 R's. Relevance, Referencing & Relating back to the question asked.
Relevance
Every point made in the essay should be relevant to the essay question as asked. You need to be wary of writing a generic answer that just talks about the topic in general terms but doesn't focus in any way on those points that are most relevant to the question asked. While there will be some general information that you will have to include in your answer (lets call it an 'overview'), the overview should never take up more than a third of your answer.
You should be careful about including examples from everyday life to illustrate a point. While there is a place for anecdotal evidence (information from personal experience or intuition) in an academic essay, but it should be illustrative only, the argument of the essay should not depend on it. Also, it should be integrated properly into the essay, used in some way to make a point. Don't just tell it because it's a nice story. Lastly use short examples, don't try and pad out an essay with longwinded tales.
Relating back to the question asked
It's not enough that the points you make are relevant to the topic that the question is about, you need to show how they are relevant by relating those points back to the question asked.
If you don't relate the points you are making back to the question it's very possible that one of the following might happen,
A.The examiner might not get your point. Without you there to explain it, it's possible they might not see why you included that point no matter how obvious it seems to you.
B.The examiner might not believe that you understand the relevance of your point. It is possible that you are just including lots of points at random hoping that at least some are relevant (known as the 'shotgun approach'). This is not the sort of impression you want to make, so make it clear you know what you are doing.