How can you analyse the structure of Tess of the D'Urbervilles?

This is a great question, and a keen analysis of structure is how you can really start to reach those top marks and hit some of the points that a lot of students will miss.
When analysing a novel it is important to consider the scale of the work, and how the author works to break it down into manageable chunks. In Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Hardy not only breaks the novel down into chapters, but into seven different 'phases'. By glancing over the names of these sections we can see how each of these relates to a specific phase of Tess' life. Specifically, we can see how the transition between the first and the second phase marks her fall from a 'maiden' to a 'maiden no more' (a central theme of the novel as a whole).
Additionally, when analysing structure you should always be aware of its microscopic implications as well as the broader structure that we have discussed. For example, at the start of the third phase we learn that 'between two and three years after the return after the return from Trantridge - silent reconstructive years for Tess Durbeyfield - she left her home for the second time.' This is a great example of Hardy using effective structure within a sentence. By placing the 'silent reconstructive years for Tess Durbeyfield' in the middle of the sentence, he can draw specific attention to it. In this instance, structure works to draw attention to Tess' responsibility for re-configuring her sense of self-worth after being abused by Alec at the end of the previous phase.