How should I show that my answer is informed by a variety of interpretations?

Including a variety of interpretations in your analysis of a text, when used effectively, will help develop the sophistication of your argument. It is not enough to simply quote a few critical essays, you need to interrogate what it is they are saying and how their opinion either supports, contradicts or alters your own. There are a variety of ways to do this in your essays.    Firstly, you can directly quote critical sources. This works well for coursework essays however, though you may feel comfortable going into an exam with a bank of memorised quotations to use, you may end up finding they are not directly applicable for the question you have to answer and this may jeopardise your analysis. It is a good idea instead to familiarise yourself with the overall argument of the essay. This way, rather than directly quoting the piece you can cite the author and paraphrase their argument. Pay specific attention to the introduction and conclusion when reading secondary sources, this will give you a clear idea of what the essay is saying and will allow you to paraphrase the argument succinctly in your own work. Secondly, you can speak in reference to schools of thought, eg feminism, Marxism, etc, without directly referencing a specific essay or article. This would be more appropriate in an exam setting as it leads to much more generalised analysis. Finally, and this should be in addition to the methods mentioned above, you should offer a variety for interpretations for any close reading you do. These don’t need to be opinions linked to specific articles or modes of thought, rather they should be you demonstrating that you understand and appreciate the various connotations that arise from the language used by the writer.    Crucially, don’t simply mention other interpretations but make sure you use them to further your analysis. Do they support your argument / interpretation? Can their thoughts work in tandem with your own to develop your argument. Do they directly conflict? Ensure that if it is a conflicting opinion, you do not merely dismiss it, but use more evidence, ideally from the text, to further your own argument. If you find that you have ended a paragraph with a critical quote / opinion, this is normally a good indication that you have not fully engaged / developed your own interpretation with it.  Finally, ensure that your use of secondary material spans the whole life of the work. Think about the response of the reader / audience at the time of publication / first performance versus how readers of today respond. Do some research to see if there were any great turning points in critical opinion of the work and consider the socio-political context of when this change took place. If discussing the critical opinions of schools of thought, feminism for example, be careful not to generalise the feminist response across all time, rather consider different interpretations at different moments of the feminist movement and thought. Again, don’t just list your knowledge of historical responses but make sure you consider how they impact on your analysis of the work today.