How do I make my essay standout?

Making your essay a brilliant one as opposed to a good one is one of the ways you can assure that your essay gets the extra few marks to take your grade to the next level. Luckily in English Literature there are many oppurtunites to do this!

The important thing to remember is that the examiner is looking to see what you think of the texts, not what the revision guides think. When you're revising, take a few hours to come up with some ideas/opinions/arguments based on your knowledge. It's helpful to do this once you know the texts quite well. Come the exam, you should be able to draw upon these for a more individual and unique take on the question, making your essay more unique and interesting to the examiner. 

A brilliant A Level English Literature essay also not only answers the question, but evaluates the question as well. Why does the question have certain words? Does it highlight a large point that the question ignores? By evaluating the question itself it shows to the examiner that you are truly engaging with the question as opposed to just answering it. 

In all, brilliant essays must have originallity, so taking some time with your own opinions of the texts and finding out what you think will go a long way in an exam.