How do I go about writing an unseen prose or poetry commentary on Paper 1?

Because it is an unseen commentary Paper 1 seems very daunting but actually the fact that the text is right in front of you to annotate and refer to makes it much easier for some people. What's most important in preparing for it is very much practice in close reading, annotating and planning an essay from past papers so the process becomes almost second nature. The first hurdle to get over is making the choice of which text to write on and there are several aspects to keep in mind upon the first read. First of all, you're being graded not only on your critical interpretation but also on weather you can identify what is literally going on. So, if one of the texts seems vastly more obscure it might be best to focus on the one whose narrative is more easily identifiable. However, it is also important to feel secure that there is enough in the text that you can comment on. If one text seems somewhat more difficult but is more compelling to you, I'd advise going with that one as being more interested in the subject matter will make it much easier to delve into and sometimes there's less to be said about more straightforward texts. Furthermore, it's essential to take at least 20 and up to 45 minutes in annotating the poem in detail, establishing how you're going to structure the essay and creating an outline of your main points for each paragraph. While it may seem like a waste of time to write all this down, it's really helpful once you feel pressured for time to have a bank of ideas to refer to so you don't get stuck. The first one or two readings after you make the choice should be devoted to working out exactly what the literal action of the piece is, as well as beginning to identify themes the author is engaging with. What really helped me is get started with understanding the text in depth was to list all the literary devices I could identify and group them by sound devices, structural devices, imagery, patterns of diction etc. The list is useful in helping you identify if there is a prioritisation of a certain category of literary device. For example, if a poem relies more on sound devices and structural patterns or is more based on visual and connotative language.Then, identifying whether the poem is in a certain form, as well as diagraming the rhyme scheme even if it seems more obscure and erratic because there can be good commentary made if rhyming is used erratically. Finally pinpointing if there's any significant shifts or movement in the poem. These steps make it much easier to critically analyse the poem by focusing on the language used to then tie back to the bigger picture. This also makes it easier to identify what essay structure suits the text best, the primary ones being going through the piece line by line (or section by section for a prose passage), thematic and one based on the structural device categories mentioned above. The thematic is in theory the best as it is not only the most critically sophisticated but also least runs the risk of an incomplete response or leaving important aspects out if your time runs out. However, it does tend to be the most difficult one to utilize at an unseen response paper as it takes the most confidence with the material and your interpretation of it. A very good, critically in depth essay can be written with whichever format you feel most confident with, what’s important is that it helps advance your argument so choose the one you’re most comfortable with. All in all, the brunt of the work should be done in those first 20 to 45 minutes so your mind can focus exclusively on writing and not so much thinking what you’re going to write for the rest of the duration of the exam.