Paper 1 Outline - Guided Textual Analysis

Paper 1 is a guided text analysis of unseen non-literary texts. SL students write a guided textual analysis on one of the two given texts. HL students write two guided textual analysis responses. 

Paper 1 will be two different non-literary text types, selected from a list of text types provided in the Language and Literature Guide (pages 21-22).  Each text is accompanied by one non-mandatory guiding question that directs students to consider a specific formal or stylistic aspect. Alternatively, students can choose to respond to text with their own angle or aspect that provides a starting point to their analysis.

Paper 1 now counts for 35% of the final SL and HL LAL grade. 

The four sample Paper 1’s provided by the IB have been a cartoon, an advertisement, an editorial and an appeal. Three of these four have been focused on a global issue and function as an appeal or persuasive text.

Exemplar Guiding Questions have been: 

1. Discuss how different features are used in this webpage to persuade the reader to take action.

2. In what ways is imagery used to provoke a narrative in the viewer’s mind?

3. How are formal features such as layout, fonts and visuals used to create an effect in these advertisements?

4. In what ways does the use of language in this article help to interest and entertain the reader?

The main skill that you are examined on for Paper 1 is your ability to answer the guiding question. 

You will probably have to explain how the writer/creator uses Language/Visual devices to create an effect which fulfills the purpose of the text. 

Then, you need to explain its effect on the reader. 

That is it!!!!!  You can do it!!!

Paper 1 Guided Text Analysis Structure

Introduction:

Introduce the topic of the text type, state the text title, author, text type, and most importantly, the purpose of the text. The thesis statement should address the guiding question and link to the purpose. It is a sentence which presents your argument in relation to the guiding question and the text’s function.

Body of the Essay:

3 to 5 paragraphs with each presenting a specific point (Language/Visual Device) that answers and explores the Guiding Question. 

Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence which clearly introduces the main point (Language/Visual Device) of the paragraph. The main point is supported by examples and explanation. Depending on the question, the focus of each paragraph could be either language features or layout/graphic/visual features. Each paragraph needs to link to the purpose and target audience of the text. It must explain how and why the language/visual/graphic features relate to the purpose and target audience of the text. You also need to comment on its effect on the reader/target audience.

Conclusion:

The purpose of the text/s must be concluded so realisations and conclusions and judgements are reached. A universal application of the message should be stated, and a personal application about what the message of the text/s means to us.

The Paper 1 Rubric

Criterion A - Understanding and interpretation - 5 marks

The analysis of the text should show an understanding of the text's purpose, the target audience, and its context (when appropriate) in relation to the question being asked. The analysis of the text needs to be supported by relevant examples from the text.

Criterion B - Analysis and evaluation - 5 marks

The analysis of the text must show how a writer's choices shape meaning. A good analysis comments on effects of these features on its target audience in relation to the purpose(s) of the text.  A focus on the guiding question (a technical or formal aspect of the text) is important here. 

Criterion C - Focus and organization - 5 marks

The analysis must contain coherent arguments that are well-developed. The analysis must be organized effectively.

Criterion D - Language - 5 marks

The language of the analysis must be clear, varied and accurate. The register must be appropriate, contains formal sentence structure, good choice of words and effective terminology.

Useful LAL Gems for Paper 1

Verbal Language Features/Techniques

Acronym: word made from initials

Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sound

Allusion: literary reference

Anaphora: repetition of word/phrase in successive clusters

Anecdote: personal story

Anthropomorphism: giving inhuman objects or animals living/human emotions and characteristics

Ambiguity: double meaning

Antithesis: opposite/contrast

Aphorism: short, pithy statement

Assonance: repetition of vowel sound

Balanced sentence: first part of sentence is echoed or equalled by second part

Caesura: break/pause

Chiasmus: second part of sentence echoes/uses same words but in different order to first part

Cliché: over used expression

Colloquial language: informal/conversational language

Comparatives: comparing two objects; looking for differences/similarities

Complex sentence: sentence made up of independent and dependent clause

Compound word: two words used

Contrast: opposite

Dialogue: conversation

Diction: choice of words

Ellipsis: removing a word or words from sentence . . .

Emotive language/adjective: language appealing to emotions and feelings

End stopped: sense of line finishes at end of line (with punctuation marks)

Enjambment: a run-on line

Euphemism: indirect/softer expression

Figurative language: metaphors, similes, personification

Hyperbole: exaggeration

Iambic rhythm: rhythm of stressed/unstressed pairs

Imagery: creating mental pictures using figurative language

Imperative: command sentence

Incomplete sentence: missing a subject or verb

Irony: a humorous outcome where the opposite effect is intended to that stated

Jargon: specialised language of a group

Juxtaposition: opposite; looking at contrast

Listing: group of words/examples

Litotes: understatement

Metaphor: a comparison expressing one thing as another

Neologism: invented new word

Onomatopoeia: sound of word echoes its meaning

Oxymoron: two contrasting terms used together

Parallel construction: similar construction of words in successive sentences

Parenthesis: additional information

Pattern of three/tricolon/triplet/triplicate: three terms/words in a phrase

Personal pronouns: we/ you – stand in place of nouns

Personification: giving a non-human thing human characteristics

Pun: play on words using double meaning/ ambiguity

Quotation: reference to anotherʻs words

Repetition: repeating words for effect

Rhetorical question: statement in the form of a question

Rhyme: repetition of similar sounds

Rhythm: beat/metre

Sarcasm: the opposite in meaning to that stated

Simile: comparison expressing one thing like another

Simple sentence: sentence has one subject and one verb and is independent

Statistics: figures

Superlatives: comparison of more than two items

Slang: informal words/ expressions

Slogan: catchphrase

Syntax: sentence structure

Visual Language Features/Techniques

Balance: division of the text into equal parts

Border: frame of the text

Central dominant image: main image in centre of the text

Colour: use of specific colour for specific reason

Contrast: use of opposing colour

Dominant feature: main or most important item which grabs attention

Empty space or white space: use of nothing for effect

Font: style of writing

Hierarchy: order of importance of items, from big to little according to importance

Layout: how parts of the text are put together

Logo: identifying graphic of company

Proportion: size of various parts of the text

Reverse print: white on black as opposed to black on white

Rule of Thirds: graphic effect where text is split into imaginary guidelines of thirds

Symbol: image which represents an idea

Target audience: the supposed recipient/s of the text

Typography: lettering

20 Useful Words for Analysis: “shows” or the dreaded "showcases"

Illustrates

Exemplifies

Justifies

Suggests

Highlights

Expresses

Elucidates

Clarifies

Demonstrates

Delves

Depicts

Conveys

Points out

Pinpoints

Illuminates

Spotlights

Accentuates

Presents

Indicates

Expresses

LAL Paper 1 Text Analysis

Language Elements

Sentence / Syntax (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex, statement, question, exclamatory, declarative, interrogative, imperative, sentence length)

Structure (beginnings, headings, titles, by-lines, ears, quotes, paragraph, introduction, caesura, conclusion, stanza, line)

Punctuation (full-stop, comma, dash, exclamation mark, colon, semi-colon, parenthesis, ellipsis)

Parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, conjunctions)

Logical fallacies (over generalization, hyperbole, faulty cause and effect, red herring, ad hominem (feelings/emotions rather than logic) 

Image devices (imagery, figurative language, metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism, allusion)

Auditory devices (onomatopoeia, sibilance, alliteration, assonance, consonance, euphony, cacophony, rhyme, rhythm, phoneme sounds soft/hard etc)

cliché,

idiom,

parables,

description,

proverbs,

jokes,

emotive language,

rhetorical questions,

simplification,

detail,

bias,

sensationalism,

hypophora,

juxtaposition,

rhetoric,

dilemma,

tricolon,

reported speech,

irony,

satire,

humour,

address, 

poetic

explanation

title, 

register, 

banner, 

numbers, 

headlines, 

captions, 

sound bites,

facts, 

slogan, 

definitions, 

jargon, 

slang, 

invented words, 

repetition 

Visual Elements:

colour, 

space, 

lines, 

shapes, 

proportion, 

font, 

image, 

photo, 

drawing, 

outline, 

layout, 

white space, 

perspective, 

logo, 

symbols, 

distance, 

pattern, 

perspective, 

balance, 

canvas/background, 

techniques (brush strokes, pointillism) 

medium (ink, pencil, spray paint) 

freehand, 

form (poetic closed form, stencil), 

size, 

repetition, 

pattern, 

framing, 

texture, 

finish (gloss, matt), 

positioning, 

product identification (bar code), 

charts, 

graphs, 

tables, 

bullets, 

lists, 

text wrapping, 

angles, 

light and contrast.

More Paper 1 Text Analysis Tools

Subject: What is the subject of the piece? How do you know this? How does the writer present the subject? Does s/he present it immediately or does s/he delay its revelation?

Occasion: What is the time and place of this text? What is the context that prompted this writing? Writing does not occur in a vacuum. A writer’s own biographical experience often influences his/her writings. Writers are also influenced by the larger occasion: a sociocultural and historical environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions that swirl around a broad issue. Then there is the immediate occasion: an event or situation that catches the author’s attention and triggers a response. What led to the text’s publication or presentation?

Audience: Who is this text directed at? Does the speaker identify an audience? Who is listening and why? What assumptions can you make about the intended audience? How does the audience affect how and why this particular text has been written? Who was the document created for? Does the speaker use language and imagery that is specific for a unique audience? Why is the speaker using this type of language?

Purpose: What is the purpose of this text? Why has it been written? What is the message? What is the emotional state of the speaker? How does the speaker try to create a reaction in the audience? How is the poem supposed to make the audience feel (i.e. its intended effect)? What literary devices and techniques have been used to create the message and its effect(s)?

Speaker: Who is the voice telling the story or making the speech? Is someone identified as the speaker(s)? What assumptions can you make about the speaker (e.g. age, gender, class, political bias, emotional state)? How does the speaker influence the text?

Tone(s): What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject? Is that the same as the author’s or is the text intended to be ironic? What level of language does the speaker use? What emotional sense do you take from the piece? How do the choice of details, diction, imagery and syntax point to the tone and its shifts in the text?

Organization: How is the text organized? How does the speaker arrange the content? What rhetorical techniques does the speaker use (e.g. a list, analogy, climax, comparison/contrast, cause and effect, hierarchy, variations of a single theme)?

Narrative: How does the speaker tell the “story”? What details and values does s/he reveal? conceal? invert/subvert? Is it written in first-, second -or third-person point of view? limited or omniscient? How does the speaker treat time or create a chronology? (E.g. interior monologue, stream-of-consciousness, diary, flashbacks, in medias res)

Evidence: What kinds of evidence are used (e.g. personal experience, facts/statistics, observation)? What is the quality of evidence? What kinds of appeals (i.e. logos, pathos, ethos) are made? What is the source of the images (e.g. nature, war, law, science, theology, love)?

Language – groups of words in the text that are related (e.g. sensuous language) or the type of language used throughout the text (e.g. formal language, scientific jargon) can tell us about the speaker and his/her attitude

Emotion – the TONE (i.e. emotional state/psychological attitude of the speaker towards his/her subject) or the intended emotional/psychological impact on the audience

Syntax – sentence structure Long, flowing sentences create a different effect than short, choppy ones. E.g. if the speaker uses awkward sentence structures or poor grammar, we might think he is uneducated. Long flowing sentences might suggest intellectual arrogance or artistic creativity.

Types of Syntax - sentences

Declarative, imperative, interrogative, or exclamatory sentences

Simple, compound, complex or compound-complex sentences

Loose vs. periodic sentences

Natural vs. inverted sentences

Balanced sentence, rhetorical question

Sentence fragments, run-on sentences

Uses of Punctuation

Ellipses . . .                            a trailing off; equivalent to “etc.”; going off into a dreamlike state; an omission

Dash —                                     interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another

Semicolon ;                          parallel ideas; equal ideas; a piling up of detail

Colon :                                       introduces a list; a definition or explanation; a result

Italics                                         for emphasis; implied volume (often equivalent to a stage whisper)

CAPITALS                               for emphasis; implied volume (often equivalent to shouting)

Boldface                                  for emphasis

Exclamation Point !      for emphasis; for emotion

Parenthesis (     )                inserts additional information; minor interruption of a thought

When analyzing tone the basic elements can be analyzed using the LIDDS acronym.

L  anguage        -  overall use of language, such as formal, informal, jargon, etc.

I   mages             -  vivid appeals to understanding through senses (metaphor, simile, etc.)

D  iction             -  the connotation of word choice

D  etails              -  facts that are included or those omitted for a purpose

S  yntax              -  how structure affects the reader’s attitude

Text Types 

There are many different text types. These are some of the main ones for you to find and analyse.

Editorial

Feature article

Magazine article

News article

A Report

Press photograph

Extract from an essay

An Appeal

Pastiche

A Guide

Web page

Directions

Speech

Infographic

A Plea

Diary

Eulogy

Obiturary

Sports report

Reviews

Advertisement

Investigative report

Comment and debate

Opinions columns – Op Ed

Letters to the editor

Mixed media ( a mix of formats and media)

Letter formal / informal

Brochure – informational text

Chart

Diagram

Encyclopedia entry

A set of instructions

Travel writing

Parody

A Review

Manifesto

Interview

Memoir

Radio broadcast

Textbook

Literary Terminology

literary-devices.com/

www.vocabulary.com/lists/353266 

https://literaryterms.net/