Strategies for planning language questions and studying literature

Hi!
I really struggle with both english literatures and language as they are quite overwhelming to me. Can anyone give some tips for both?
LANGUAGE:
I want to pre-plan a question 5 for language paper 1. However, I don’t know where to start as when people say to pre-plan they don’t exactly say HOW they did and where they got ideas from. and my biggest worry is if i plan something it would be the total opposite. In my November mocks with paper 1 i managed to get a 6 without planning but i would love to get a 7 or 8 in the real thing. If anyone did plan any tips would be appreciated with how they started!
ENGLISH LITERATURE
English literatures my least favourite and hardest subject. As its content heavy i get easily overwhelmed and want to neglect it (which obviously does not help!). I understand the process of making mind maps, flashcards etc but still feel as if nothing is going in. Also for poetry i’m aiming to learn 5 poems in depth and then perhaps the others in less depth. How beneficial would this be?. Any tips in general for english literature is immensely helpful. i’m aiming for at least a 5 or 6 at this rate
Thank you!