What is the best way to structure an essay and/or written response?

The beauty of English Literature is that, on many occasions, there is no right or wrong answer. Different people interpret different texts in different ways and as long as you outline your answer clearly, in a well thought out way, you can't go far wrong. Your success all depends on the clarity of your thinking and writing. However the good news is, there are useful methods and tricks we can practice and learn to ensure that your writing fits the bill. The best way is to learn and practice writing, following the acronym P.E.A.S. I will now explain this, using very basic examples. P-oint: state your point clearly, signposting to the examiner (and yourself) where your paragraph is about to go. For example: 'In her poem "What Were They Like", Denise Levertov expresses pity for the condition of the Vietnamese people.'E-xample: Back-up your point with evidence from the text, providing relevant, clear quotations. Let the text do the work for you! For example: 'Levertov writes: "Sir, their light hearts turned to stone/It is not remembered whether in gardensstone gardens illumined pleasant ways."'A-analysis: 'Go to town' on the quotation! Talk about specific parts of it that show why it supports your Point. For example: 'Levertov's sympathy transpires in her sensitive, acute awareness of the Vietnamese people's changed condition. They were once a community of beauty and life - 'garden' - and through the war, have been reduced to 'stone'. The repetition of 'stone' is heavy on the text, and arguably evokes the image of tombstones filling a graveyard garden. The conditions of post-war Vietnam are also captured through Levertov's use of juxtaposition. What is 'light' cannot be made of 'stone'. S-peculation: Now is the time to really show off! You don't have to do this for every point in an essay, but it's good to do it for some, and is a great way to tie in your wider knowledge of the poem's form, or the historical context. The 'S' in PEAS is your time to show the examiner that you really know what's going on; it's about pulling out the implicit meaning of the text. For example: 'Levertov, in her display of pity, arguably highlights her resentment of the arrogance and imperialist mindset of bigger countries; ones like America and Russia were largely responsible for the mass destruction of Vietnam during the war (1955-75) . In beginning her address with 'Sir', Levertov seems to mock the formality of such an address in the face of Vietnam's suffering. It seems out of place in contrast with the Vietnamese peasants, emphasising the cultural divide that only worsened the violence.'