How do I go about writing a commentary on an unseen prose?

Unseen writing tasks look at your thought processes. When you are faced with a text that you have never seen before, the best way to show that you understand what is happening is to ask yourself the 5 Ws.
Firstly, read the text through very carefully and answer these questions in your head.
Who is here? What characters are there?What is happening in this text? What are the events in the plot? Where is this happening? Imagery often describes setting. When is it happening? Look for temporal indicators. Why? - This is the most important for the high marks. When you start thinking about characters' and the author's intentions, you are showing a detailed criticism of the passage and excellent understanding.Give evidence from the text to support everything you say. For example: Both the carnal imagery and the lexical field of water in line 19, "the hunger for meat poured out of him like the water from the black sky", suggest the text is set in a wild, tropical environment. When you have your answers to these questions planned, start your commentary by answering them one by one. Be clear and to the point.

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Answered by Hannah W. English tutor

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