How would I go about answering an unseen prose question?

Firstly, do not worry about the fact that it is a piece of unseen prose. Unseen is relatively straightforward if you break it down in to five main parts: 

• Narrative - Who the narrator is, are they in the first, second or third person? Are they intrusive or an excluded narrator? 

• Setting - What does the setting offer to the piece of prose? What does this tell us in response to the question. Is the setting confined or in the open?

• Characterisation - How are the characters presented? For example, how are they presented in terms of clothing, status, their proximity to other characters within the setting. 

• Imagery - What kind of imagery is used? Here you can explore some literary devices such as the use of symbolism in objects, or in nature etc. 

• Introduction and Conclusion - The fifth and most crucial part of this step to step, both the introduction and the conclusion should respond directly to the question being asked, they should be kept relatively brief but within it, the examiner should be able to ascertain your general understanding of the unseen piece.