How should I prepare a text for an A Level English examination?

It is crucial to have read the text more than once ; this does not necessarily have to be in a linear manner, for once you are aware of the underlying structure it is possible to comb through a text thematically, revisiting sections which are relevant to the key concepts of the plot and close-reading them for use in essay plans. Whilst you should always focus on the main text(s), an awareness of the work you are studying as a contingent of the author's wider oeuvre, or indeed of a literary movement/tradition, can provide you with useful points of comparison to support your argument in an essay. For example, if you are studying Shakespeare's Hamlet to A Level, being aware of the genre of revenge tragedy and the influence of plays like The Spanish Tragedy by Kyd at the time of Shakespeare's writing can aid your answer to an essay question on the extent to which Hamlet's character is written to a "revenger" archetype (this was a past paper question when I was doing my A Level). The same applies to your knowledge of biographical/historical context and critical reception. You should write about these aspects of a text’s background proportionally to what the assessment objectives require of you (see below). Feature-spotting in itself is useless and will get you little to no marks in an exam essay, but being aware of an author's literary technique and being able to deploy examples to support your argument with close textual reference is an indicator of high ability and engagement with the work. If you are preparing for poetry exams which, seen or unseen, are generally open-book, you should familiarise yourself with a large range of literary devices and poetic metres, and, as far as possible, instances of their usage characteristic of the author at hand. A useful resource for this is this glossary of literary terms: https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/classroom/terms.htmFinally, and perhaps most importantly, in answering an A Level English Literature essay question you will be expected to write according to a mark scheme determined by assessment objectives, which are as follows:·       AO1: Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.·       AO2: Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts.·       AO3: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.·       AO4: Explore connections across literary texts.·       AO5: Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations.(From the AQA English Literature specification page)These AOs are the same across all exam boards. Each exam paper will be weighted more heavily towards specific AOs to assess your dexterity in constructing literary arguments according to different criteria. It is critical that you are aware of exactly how the exams are weighted so that you know which elements of your knowledge of a text to foreground in your exam essay, and so that you do not waste time researching irrelevant material in preparation for your exams.