AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 3: Structure Analysis

Overview

• Question Context: 8-mark question focusing on analyzing the writer's use of structure, assessing assessment objective 2.
• Sample Question: Analyzing how a writer structures the text to create tension.

Analyzing Structure in an Extract

• Definition of Structure: Organization of text; sequence of events.
• Focus: Less on 'what' happens, more on 'where' and 'why' it happens.

Common Structural Features

• Flashbacks & Flashforwards: Shifts in time.
• Shifts in Focus & Perspective: Changes in viewpoint or subject matter.
• Zooming In & Out: Details described in varying breadth.
• Repetitions: Recurring elements (e.g., weather references).
• Cyclical Structure: Story begins/ends in the same place.
• Foreshadowing: Hints of future events.

Key Points to Consider

• Changes in Mood, Tone, Perspective: Possible variations in exam wording.
• No Requirement to Cover Every Feature: Bullet points suggest possible points for analysis.

Detailed Analysis of Tension

• Progression of Tension: Encourages holistic view of text.
• Structural Shifts: From determination to vulnerability enhances tension by destabilizing certainty.
• Use of Reassurance: Temporary relief followed by heightened tension when the narrator’s assumptions are proven wrong.

Structural Features and Their Effects

• Repetition: E.g., references to mist—potentially linked to tension.
• Tone: Guides reader's response.
  • Initial determination to increasing fear and panic.
  • Reflects emotional descent, heightening tension.
• Perspective: First-person narration.
  • Immersion in narrator's fear.
  • Reader experiences immediate, personal tension.
  • Unreliable due to panic; enhances unpredictability.
• Mood: Atmosphere created for the reader.
  • Uncertainty to panic trajectory; foreshadows danger.

Writing a Structured Answer

• Identifying Structural Features: Only mention features if they create the effect noted in the question.
• Example:
  • Rapid shifts in perception (control to danger) increase tension, reflecting psychological state.
  • Momentary relief (Keckwick’s presence) followed by misdirection heightens tension.
  • Unresolved conclusion (cliffhanger) retains tension beyond the extract.

Conclusion

• Absence of Closure: Reader remains unsettled, mirroring narrator's terror and lack of answers.

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• Additional Resources: Video encourages comments on structural features spotted by viewers.
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