How should I approach analysing an unseen poem in an exam?

Having to write a whole essay on a poem you've never seen before can seem daunting, particularly as you only have five to ten minutes to read and understand it as well as planning your answer. However, the first thing I'd say is that it's best to pace yourself- it's tempting, when you're under pressure, to plunge into writing your answer as quickly as possible, but generally a shorter answer with a good plan will come across as better structured and more coherent, as opposed to a longer one where you haven't thought about how to link the different parts together. Then again, don't spend more than ten minutes on this stage- planning some example answers while timing yourself should help you get the balance right.The first step, obviously, is to read the poem- and the question, which should give you an idea of what to focus on. For example, if the question is on gender roles- how are male/female characters/speaker(s) portrayed, what is personnified as male/female etc. Highlight any quotes you think you can get plenty of analysis out of for your answer. Don't just throw in every quote that's relevent to the question; find those, then zero in on the ones where you can say a lot about the language or structure, ideally both. Highlighters are good for the planning stage, but not essential; you should however definitely use the pen you've got on you to brainstorm any techniques the poet uses- alliteration, enjambment etc- and possible interpretations of this, plus labelling any patterns of imagery- e.g. lots of metaphors/similes related to the natural world. If you're being asked to compare two poems, highlight any links or differences between them. Once you've done all that, write out your plan- it doesn't have to be massively detailed but make sure to include your argument, the quotes you're using- from both poems, and any links between them, if applicable- and how they link back to your argument.