How do I make the transition from a GCSE level to A Level answer essay?

GCSE English Literature essays are often more descriptive and use a more formulaic structure. An A level essay requires you to be more deeply analytical with your text, and there are fewer strict guidelines on how to structure your answer (though I would always advise writing on at least two distinctly different points). Nevertheless, there should be a clear establishment of your argument in response to the question in your introduction, and the rest of your essay should then use examples from the text to back up your argument. A further difference from GCSE is that A level essay questions often contain quotations, sometimes from the text you're writing about, but also often from a literary critic. This requires you to engage with the language and argument of the quotation as well as the question itself, and the quotation may often help you to shape your argument, whether you agree with it or not. Engagement with literary critics should also be more of a focus in A Level essays than at GCSE, and you should develop a clear stance on the argument of the critic. As with GCSE essays though, there should still be regular integration of textual quotations and discussion of writer's techniques, though these techniques should only ever be mentioned in terms of how they affect the reading of the text - never just technique spot for the sake of it! Finally, an A Level essay conclusion should not merely sum up the main points of your arguments in the essay or repeat what you've just said in the previous paragraphs. It should demonstrate a consolidation of your original argument but also how it has progressed and developed throughout your essay.