The following tips from Edexcel’s GCSE English Chief Examiner, Pam Taylor, are designed to help you produce a high quality response to poetry exam questions:
Decide between the question with two named poems and the one with one named poem and your own choice, making sure you have good knowledge of both poems.
If choosing your own poem, be sure you have chosen a suitable one to write about for this particular question.
Focus on the key words in the question (and underline these before you start). After you have read the paper through, spend a few minutes planning your answers to each question (no more than five minutes).
When planning, jot down short quotations from the poems, and make sure that you include these in your answer. Do not try to write down everything you know.
Make sure you write a balanced answer, with roughly equal attention to each of your two poems, spending 15-20 minutes on each poem.
Always include a brief introductory paragraph, followed by your main section and ending with a clear conclusion.
Make sure you analyse the language rather than listing how many technical devices are included.
When referring to features such as similes and metaphors, think about how and why these are used.
Quote briefly and support your quotations with a clearly explained point.
Think about similarities and differences between your two poems, even if you are not directly asked to compare poems.