IB Language and Literature: Paper 1 Textual Analysis
Subject: Handout No.:
Name : Roll. No: Class:
Date :
What is required from the student?
· A detailed examination of a piece of literature (Close reading).
· Understanding the extract as complex and open to interpretation and deeper
meaning (Reading between the lines)
· An understanding of the effects of literary features.
· Organization of findings into a coherent piece of writing
Basic Components:
Subject / Theme
- What is the text about?
- What ideas / messages does the author convey?
- What running themes or ideas are relevant to the text? Save the planet? The
importance of tradition?
- What are the views behind the message?
Context
- What cultural group / demographic does this text come from?
- What assumptions does it make about the subject / audience?
- What historical periods or events are relevant?
- What geographical / political / social landscapes are relevant?
Purpose
- Why was it written?
- Does it aim to review, persuade, argue etc.?
- Whose views are being presented and what is their objective?
- To Inform / entertain / persuade? Or a combination
Audience
- Who is the text aimed at?
- Young/ Old? Male / Female? Cultural open / Narrow minded?
- What position do we take as readers? Included/ Excluded? The common reader / the
unique perspective?
- Based on the source at the end of the text what can you gather?
Language
- What perspective does it take? Objective? Biased? – how does that relate to the
language choice?
- Does it use pronouns?
- How does it hook or engage the reader?
- How type of sentence structures is used?
- Does it create effective imagery to convey meaning? Urgency? Suffering? - What
effects are created by choice of lexis, register, irony, imagery, figurative language
etc.
- What kind of atmosphere is created? Relaxed? Mysterious?
Style / Tone
- Is it serious, angry, friendly, satirical or condemning?
- How formal is it?
- Does it use phrases?
- Does it treat you like a friend or like a client?
Text type / presentation
- Is it an article, an advert, a poster, a newspaper article?
- Is it fiction or nonfiction?
- How is the text distributed on the page?
- Is it digestible for the common reader or does it require a trained eye?
Glossary of terms Style / form
Irony
Satire / Satirical
Tone
Symbolism
Bias
Provoking
Objectivity
Subjectivity
Anecdote
Pathos / Ethos / Logos
Credibility
Repetition
Adjectives
Verbs
Modal verbs
Ambiguity
Puns
Pronouns
Hyperbole
Allusion
Cliche
Euphemism
Emotive words
Superlatives
Adverbial
Plosive
Structure
Syntax
Parenthesis
Rhetorical questions
Declarative sentences
Elliptical sentences
Parallelisms
Juxtaposition
Contrast
Connectives
Circular argument
Topic sentences
Evidence
Clauses (Main, dependent/ subordinate etc.)
Openers
Language
Figurative
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Assonance
Alliteration
Presentation
Layout
Foregrounding
Colour
Puffs
Contrasts
Font
Images
Captions
Heading
Subheadings
Logos
(Identify the features done for the particular text)
A Basic Essay Structure - Paper 1 Introduction
Purpose
Audience
Context
Themes / Important ideas
Major components and techniques (style, register, structure etc.)
Body 1 - Topic sentence: (State one major idea / theme that the text conveys)
Example 1:
Explain Example
2:
Explain/ Elaborate + Link to topic sentence
Body 2 - Topic Sentence Example 1:
Explain / Elaborate Example 2:
Explain / Elaborate + Link to topic sentence
Body 3 - Topic Sentence
Example 1
Explain
Example 2
Explain / Elaborate + Link to topic sentence
Conclusion: (Summarise the main ideas and components - Purpose, Audience, Topic
sentences etc.)
