What is the difference between "explaining" and "analysing"?

An exam answer that "explains" a passage or poem will be a less thoughtful response; if you're explaining a text, you're giving an overview of what happens ("In Of Mice and Men, Lennie and George pursue a dream of tending to an alfalfa patch and living off the fat of the land....") instead of analysing it. Analysis begins with thinking more critically about why it happens (historical context, impact of plot or effect on reader). For example, when you're picking out a quote for an essay, only a sentence or two should "explain" where it came from, and the rest of the paragraph should be analysing why the author uses certain words, phrases or devices, and linking this back to the exam question.

For questions on unseen passages or poems, explaining can mean signposting devices like similes or metaphors. To make this analysis you should make sure this is carefully chosen to illustrate a point you're making - don't just stop at saying 'this is a simile' if it isn't relevant, even if you spot one and want to show you noticed it. Analysing will look more like, "This is a simile, which has this effect ..... and is relevant to my point because ....."

Explaining can look a lot like retelling the story. To make your essay more analytical, you need to be critical of why events happen, devices are used and what effect they have.