What structure actually means in the exam, the techniques to look for, and how to answer the structure question without slipping into language analysis.
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1.What does structure mean in the exam?
How the whole text is organised and ordered, and how the focus moves through it.
2.What is the difference between language and structure?
Language is about word and sentence choices. Structure is about the order of ideas and where the reader is made to look.
3.What should you consider at the beginning of a text?
What the writer chooses to focus on first, and why that hooks the reader.
4.What is a shift in focus?
When the writer moves attention from one thing to another, such as from a wide landscape to a single figure.
5.What does zooming in achieve?
It narrows attention from a broad scene to a specific detail, making that detail feel significant.
6.What does zooming out achieve?
It widens the view, often to show scale, isolation or the bigger picture.
7.What is a temporal shift?
A change in time, such as a flashback or a jump forward.
8.What is foreshadowing?
Hinting at something that will happen later, which builds tension.
9.What is a cyclical structure?
When a text ends where it began, which can suggest that nothing has changed or bring a sense of completeness.
10.What effect does a short paragraph have?
It isolates an idea and makes it stand out, often creating impact or tension.
11.What effect does a long paragraph have?
It can slow the pace, build detail, or create a sense of being overwhelmed.
12.What effect does a short sentence have?
It creates emphasis, shock or a sudden change of pace.
13.What effect does a long sentence have?
It can build momentum, create a flowing description, or suggest something continuing without pause.
14.What is a narrative perspective?
Who is telling the story: first person using I, or third person using he and she.
15.What effect does first person have?
It creates intimacy and makes the reader share the thoughts of the narrator, though it limits what can be known.
16.What is a motif?
An image or idea that recurs through a text, building meaning each time it appears.
17.What is a cliffhanger?
An ending that leaves something unresolved, making the reader want to continue.
18.What is anticlimax?
A build up that deliberately leads to something ordinary, often creating disappointment or humour.
19.What is contrast used for structurally?
Placing opposite scenes or moods next to each other to make each more striking.
20.How does dialogue affect structure?
It changes the pace and shifts focus onto character relationships rather than description.
21.What should you say about the ending of a text?
What the writer leaves the reader with, and how it relates to the opening.
22.What is the most common mistake on the structure question?
Analysing individual words and techniques instead of writing about the order and focus of the whole text.
23.What phrases help you write about structure?
At the start, the focus then shifts, towards the middle, by the end, the writer moves from, this contrasts with.
24.How many structural points should a strong answer make?
Usually three developed points covering the beginning, a shift in the middle, and the ending.
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