Using structural features

    AQA
    GCSE

    Structural analysis requires candidates to deconstruct the writer's organization of a text, focusing on the sequence of events, shifts in narrative perspective, and the manipulation of time. Responses must move beyond feature spotting (e.g., merely identifying a flashback) to evaluating the specific impact on the reader's engagement and understanding. In creative and transactional writing, credit is awarded for the conscious crafting of structural arcs, including effective paragraphing and varied syntax to control pacing and cohesion.

    0
    Objectives
    4
    Exam Tips
    4
    Pitfalls
    4
    Key Terms
    4
    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Identify specific structural shifts (e.g., outside to inside, broad view to specific detail) rather than just listing events.
    • Analyse the effect of structural choices on the reader's engagement, specifically why the writer chose that sequence.
    • Select judicious examples from the text that demonstrate the movement or development of the narrative.
    • Demonstrate structural control in writing tasks (AO5) through paragraphing, cohesion, and discourse markers.

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Identify specific structural shifts (e.g., outside to inside, broad view to specific detail) rather than just listing events.
    • Analyse the effect of structural choices on the reader's engagement, specifically why the writer chose that sequence.
    • Select judicious examples from the text that demonstrate the movement or development of the narrative.
    • Demonstrate structural control in writing tasks (AO5) through paragraphing, cohesion, and discourse markers.

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡Divide the source text into three distinct sections (beginning, middle, end) to ensure analysis covers the whole text.
    • 💡Use the phrase 'The writer shifts the focus to...' to force a structural comment rather than a language one.
    • 💡In Question 3, focus on the 'What, Where, Why' of the structural feature to move beyond simple identification.
    • 💡For the writing section, plan a cyclical structure where the ending echoes the beginning to demonstrate sophisticated control.

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Analysing language features (metaphors, adjectives) instead of structural features (focus shifts, perspective).
    • Retelling the story or summarizing the plot ('Then he went to the shop...') without analysing the mechanism of the narrative.
    • Using generic, empty phrases like 'to make the reader want to read on' without explaining *why*.
    • Writing about sentence length purely as a mathematical fact without linking it to pacing or tension.

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

    How is the text structured...
    Evaluate
    Write a description...
    Write a story...
    Analyse

    Ready to test yourself?

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