Analysing the effects of structure

    AQA
    GCSE

    Candidates must examine the writer's architectural choices, focusing on how the text is constructed to manipulate reader response. This requires moving beyond content summary to analyse the sequencing of events, shifts in narrative focus, and the interplay between internal and external perspectives. High-scoring responses explicitly link structural features—such as juxtaposition, cyclical framing, or pacing—to the development of tension, characterisation, or thematic cohesion.

    0
    Objectives
    5
    Exam Tips
    5
    Pitfalls
    3
    Key Terms
    5
    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Identify specific structural features (e.g., shifts in focus, zooming in/out, cyclical structure, foreshadowing)
    • Analyse the effect of these structural choices on the reader's engagement and understanding
    • Use accurate subject terminology related to structure (not language features like metaphors)
    • Select relevant examples from the text (references or short quotations) to support points regarding the text's journey
    • Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the beginning, middle, and end of the extract

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Identify specific structural features (e.g., shifts in focus, zooming in/out, cyclical structure, foreshadowing)
    • Analyse the effect of these structural choices on the reader's engagement and understanding
    • Use accurate subject terminology related to structure (not language features like metaphors)
    • Select relevant examples from the text (references or short quotations) to support points regarding the text's journey
    • Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the beginning, middle, and end of the extract

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡Divide the source text into three distinct sections (Beginning, Middle, End) to track the reader's journey
    • 💡Look specifically for the 'turning point' or major shift in focus, often found halfway through the extract
    • 💡Do not waste time copying out long quotations; instead, reference the events or focus at that specific point in the text
    • 💡Use the 'What-Where-Why' structure: What is the feature? Where does it occur? Why did the writer place it there?
    • 💡Allocate exactly 10 minutes to this 8-mark question to preserve time for the higher-weighted Question 4

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Analysing language features (e.g., adjectives, similes) instead of structural features, which receives zero credit in Question 3
    • Using generic phrases like 'makes the reader want to read on' without explaining *why* or *how* the structure creates this effect
    • Describing the narrative content ('then the character goes outside') rather than analysing the structural method used to present it
    • Writing about sentence lengths (e.g., 'short sentences') without linking them to specific effects on pacing or tension
    • Focusing only on the middle of the text and ignoring the opening or the ending

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

    How is the text structured...
    interest you as a reader
    Analyse
    Evaluate
    Compare
    Write a...

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