"How am I to not know who I think I might not be? Anyway?"

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Organization
Even short essays need good organization--in fact, your essay's structure and organization is probably its most important part. Decide your major points in advance and list them in a logical order (according to age, magnitude, composition, whatever works...). If possible, use one paragraph for each of these points.

One technique that you may find useful: Before writing, decide on your illustrations--good illustrations will show your major points--then frame much of your text around them.

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--- The Introduction: Use a short paragraph (in a short essay) or 1-2 paragraphs (in longer essays) to introduce the topic. An effective introduction makes the essay's topic and relevance clear. It may also spell out the main conclusion--especially for short essays. For essays that describe a place or a feature, it is usually the introduction that refers to figure 1, a good location map.

--The Main Body: Decide beforehand on your major points--then translate these into some clearly written general statements. Try to use one paragraph for each general statement. Then, use specific details, backed up by illustrations and references, to support the general statements.

--The Conclusion: The "conclusion" is the point of your paper. Just what is it that you want the reader to come away with? For example, in an essay on the Cascade Volcanoes, your main point (conclusion) might be that the volcanoes erupt frequently, or that they're hazardous--or that they're frequently hazardous! Or that they show a whole range of eruptive styles.

A clear presentation of the conclusion is therefore essential. However, a formal presentation (under a separate heading, or as a last paragraph) is usually not necessary --or desireable-- for short essays (<300 words). For short essays, the conclusions should be clear and brief in the introduction. In longer essays, your conclusions are likely to be more complex and will require a final paragraph. Be careful though, to state conclusions (major points) rather than just re-stating what you've already said.

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Sentences
Besides the basic grammatical stuff (make sure each sentence has a subject and a verb etc.) try to use a combination of medium length and short sentences. When sentences get too long, they become extremely hard to follow; if they're consistently very short, then the writing becomes very choppy.

When you are reviewing your first draft, find your passive verbs. Then try to rephrase the sentence so the verb is an active one.
For example: "Much seismicity in Oregon is driven by subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath North America" --Passive
----> rephrase to: "Subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath North America drives much of the seismicity in Oregon." --active

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Citations/References
It is important to cite the references you use, within the text. Generally, when you present someone else's conclusions, you should cite them. If you are citing general knowledge (eg. Mt. St. Helens is a volcano), then don't use a citation.

Quotations
Don't quote your written sources. They aren't your words. Don't use them--I won't read them.

The only time that quotations are useful is when you need to present what somebody actually SAID--and that's usually to add a human interest flair to your essay.

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