How do I answer paper 1?

Paper 1 is an unseen commentary paper. It can seem tricky at first but once you get the hang of it you can do very well on this paper!  I think its helpful to have a formula of how to answer these questions (I do have a worksheet for this and would share it with the student):

1. In the first five minutes, read the question three times. Firstly, just read. Second time, read and sum up the poem in one sentence. Thirdly, read and annotate as many different features as you can (I have a list of good features that I can share with the student). 

2. Plan. A helpful way to write these essays is with the following outline: 

Introduction- use your summary sentence to talk about the 'heart' of the poem/prose. You will tie all of the points you make throughout your essay to this heart. It should refer to the purpose/voice/message of the poem/prose. 

Use the following subtitles for each following paragraph:  Setting; character; action; structure; ideas

For each of these paragraphs, pick out different features you have identified in the poem, show how they contribute to setting, character, action, structure or ideas and link these to the central heart of the text. How do these features/aspects contribute to the overall purpose/thrust of the poem/prose?  conclusion- pick out a few features that are really important and sum up how they contribute to the 'heart' of the piece. keep this short and don't repeat yourself excessively!

3. Write!

A few top tips- quality is better than quantity, make sure you really think about the phrasing and language you are using for the essay; be quirky, adventurous and insightful with your interpretations; keep an eye on the time. 

4. Always check at the end to make sure your punctuation and spelling is perfect.