How should I tackle an unseen piece of text in an exam?

-Read through three times.

-Identify the form of the text. Is it prose? Is it a poem? Is it an advert? Is it even a picture?

-From this point attack the text depending on what form it is in.

-If poem identify form (sonnet, free verse etc). Then identify poetic techniques from meter, to language.

-If prose identify key features such as narrative voice, language and metaphor.

-Use these literary techniques you have found to form meaning from the text. Once a meaning has been found use this as the basis of your essays argument and use the techniques as evidence.

Related English Literature GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I track a theme through a text?


Read the following extract from [a text the pupil has studied] and then answer the following question. E.g. How does Brontë present Jane as a strong female character? (write about the extract and the novel as a whole)


How do I prepare for an English Literature exam?


Compare the ways poets present ideas about the ‘power of humans’ in “Ozymandias’’ and in one other poem from Power and Conflict?


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