Calm down
Break the question down.
NB I'm feeling really braindead after uni so this is really an idiot's guide to answering the essay question, apologies to anyone who's wanting a more "academic" response
Something I've learnt since my HSC is that taking the time to form your own theories rather than jumping into the "OMG what techniques should I bring up/how many quotes per paragraph" bandwagon. Let's all figure out how we're going to answer the question before diving for a pen, yes?
"Writers are at the forefront of change. They cannot help themselves but to challenge accepted ways of thinking." How has this been seen in the texts you have studied for this elective?"
Can I say firstly I'm pissed that they're not really allowing an alternate opinion (eg I disagree with the "they cannoy help themselves" part) but that aside, it's really easy. Firstly, define "ways of thinking". Depending on your module, this could mean a number of things - for RFTG it might be "globalisation is set to take over the world so let's not bother fighting them".
Then, we do as the question assumes and
challenge this way of thinking - eg "globalisation is NOT going to 'take over the world' and we should show that it CAN be fought through literature".
You may also wish to discuss the term "cannot help themselves" - does it mean "cannot mentally/physically help themselves", "have no other option", "feel morally compelled to ___", or something else? All of them could be correct. There's no right or wrong - it's really just how YOU interpret the question.
The point of the exercise is to a) get a grip on what the question is asking, then b) get a grip on how you're going to answer the question.
Once you know how you're going to answer, it's just a matter of deciding on the best pieces of "evidence" (ie techniques, concepts etc) to justify your argument.
You will find that the stronger understanding you have of the question and YOUR 'theory response' to it, the less thinking you will have to do later on because the foundations are all there.
PS: You may find that people are able to help you out more specifically if you tell us what texts you are studying