What's the best way of analysing texts?

The key to a good textual analysis lies in the details. I think the best way here is to really learn your key words and theories, especially for specific modules, like I did 'Child language acquisition', where really, you can score points just by knowing what stage the child is at with their language. Don't just learn the hard stuff! This is one I'm sure you have heard from your teachers plenty of times but it really is true. What often happens to me is that I'll start analysing a text by just breaking it down into basic categories like adjectives and adverbs, and then that will turn into something more complex, so for example, the adverb is describing the way the character is acting but it is also in a simple sentence which may increase the speed at which it is supposed to be read or sometimes breaks up the flow. Start at the beginning. Take a look at the question and start planning your response subconsciously, as you go through the text. In particular with texts like transcripts this is really useful, just look for the features which may help you, but also some non-standard features, ones that you wouldn't typically associate with that theme etc. and just take your time going through the text line by line. I know that in time precious situations, like exams, this may seem to just add to the stress; however, if you spend 15 minutes at the beginning analysing everything out of a text, you can then highlight what features you want to use in your response. That way, you spend the rest of your time actually writing your answer instead of thinking of what to say next.