How would you structure an answer to this question - 'Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present aspects of desire. You must write about AT LEAST TWO poems in your answer AS WELL AS a prose text you have studied. [25 marks]'

Following an introduction that sets out your argument and the context that will support it, each paragraph of your essay should include a topic sentence (which outlines the argument you will make in the paragraph), a quotation with detailed analysis of its language and structure, some literary and historical context and then a summarising sentence or two. The specification asks you to take a historicist approach in your A level essays, which means you should be aware of the way that the writer was influenced by politics, philosophy, their own personal life, the society in which they lived or other literary texts when producing their work. You should consider different interpretations and arguments that could be made, but with a focus on the point that you are making. For this question, which requires you to consider the presentation of desire in two poems and a prose text, you should begin by identifying incidents of desire and finding quotations which reflect this. For example, in The Great Gatsby, you may argue that desire is never satisfied and that the novel is about an ongoing, persistent desire that can never be fulfilled. An example of this would be in the relationship of Gatsby and Daisy, as he sees her as the manifestation of his ambition for wealth and power. The real woman can never live up to his expectations. You would need to find and analyse a quotation that supports this view, and then provide some context, for example you could discuss the idea of 'new money' in 1920s America, as a result of the American Dream. You could also discuss Fitzgerald's own relationship with his wife Zelda and its influence on the presentation of Gatsby and Daisy. You could make literary connections by relating this to Fitzgerald's other novels, or perhaps look at Hemingway's presentation of his female characters, drawing conclusions about the way that women symbolise desire in American work of this period. This would allow you to analyse the role of desire thoroughly, in the manner of a historicist critic, whilst maintaining a focus on the argument you are making.