How do I plan an answer to a close reading question in my exam?

Planning in an exam is really important. It will help you settle into the exam, cover the assessment objectives and write a clear and interesting answer to the question. Everyone approaches planning differently but working in stages is often a good way of approaching the material and making sense of your ideas.
Stage 1: Read the question and the passage – Highlight key ideas, words and phrases so that, as you’re reading the question, you know what you’re looking out for. It is important to ask yourself what YOU really think about the question. Don’t be thrown by the text provided and have confidence in your ideas. Your initial response and enthusiasm will be a good starting point for your answer, you just need to find the evidence to support your claim.
Stage 2: Annotate – Read the passage for the second time and highlight/annotate features of the text that relate to the question. For example, if the question is looking at the role of a particular character then you and they speak in a particular style or use certain words then this might suggest something about their status or purpose in the text. This is good opportunity to include some of the technical terminology required by the assessment objectives.
Stage 3: Structure your answer – Briefly plan each point. Everyone does this differently so we can try some different strategies to see what works best for you (lists, spider diagrams and tables are all effective planning devices). You’ll need to connect this passage to other areas of the text and include pieces of contextual information that support your reading. As you plan you could make a note of where you have covered each point.