How should I answer a question with an extract?

When looking at an extract of text, it is important to take note of the beginning and ending of the passage. Why has the exam board chosen to start/end the passage here? Is it because it is a soliloquy, the entrance of a new character, or because a significant event has just happened/is about to happen? Think about why this choice of passage is significance in regards to the rest of the text. Once you have evaluated this reasoning, pick out quotes from the extract which support your argument as to why this passage is significant. When discussing these quotes, it is useful to evaluate the quotes themselves further by identifying key literary techniques such as metaphors, alliteration and sibilance, which can help to prove the significance of your argument and highlight further interesting discussion.Another approach which may be useful is to evaluate how the extract is a reflection of the context of your text. For example, you may want to argue that in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, when Lenny and George are travelling to the new ranch, it is a reflection of the context of itinerant workers and the dreams they would hold on to in order to keep living everyday as if they were getting closer to that dream. Again, with context as the main argument to your answer, it should be supported with key quotations and a selection of literary techniques which prove their significance.