Each chosen text requires appreciation of the context in which it was written, as well as a technical understanding of its structure, effect and purpose. However, writing about literature is essentially an ‘informed personal response, with close reference to the text’.
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This personal response is not something which comes from a textbook, teacher or Google search. It can’t be manufactured, copied or faked. Students who put the work into the meticulous study of the texts will almost certainly find that the response comes to them more naturally, but a certain amount of courage is also needed to trust that the student’s own response is what is required.

Cambridge International Examinations used to provide teachers with notes on each of their set texts to help them. No longer. Teachers were feeding the notes directly to their students, who were regurgitating them in the exams, in the hope of earning high marks. They didn’t. What examiners want to see most of all is ‘an informed personal response, with close reference to the text’.

Make sure that you always highlight the key words in the question before planning a piece of writing. The question has been phrased carefully in order to elicit a specific type of response from you. If you highlight or underline key words, you are less likely to forget to include those things in your answer.

If there are bullet points in the question, take care to address all of them equally. You will need to do this in order to achieve the most marks available for the answer.