31 terms in 3.4
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A fundamental analytical method involving careful, detailed attention to specific words, phrases, sounds, structures, an
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
The emotional, cultural, or associative meanings of a word beyond its literal denotation. Connotation involves what a wo
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
The literal, explicit meaning of a word as found in a dictionary, without emotional or associative overtones. Denotation
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A cluster of related words, images, and concepts that appear throughout a text, creating patterns of meaning that reinfo
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A literary technique in which familiar things are presented in unfamiliar ways, disrupting habitual perception and encou
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A literary technique in which particular words, images, or ideas are made prominent through unusual positioning, repetit
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
The quality of permitting multiple meanings, interpretations, or emotional responses simultaneously. Ambiguity differs f
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A brief, indirect reference to another text, historical event, myth, or cultural element. Allusions enrich meaning by in
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A metaphor that develops consistently throughout a text, with the central comparison explored and elaborated across mult
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Close Reading & Analytical Techniques
A question posed for persuasive or emphatic effect rather than to solicit an answer. Rhetorical questions create engagem
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A critical method examining how cultural texts (including literature) serve ideological purposes, reinforce power struct
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A critical method (developed by Jacques Derrida) that questions texts' apparent stable meanings by revealing internal co
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A critical method treating literary form as primary to meaning—how structure, language, imagery, and technique create ef
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A critical principle (formulated by Wimsatt and Beardsley) arguing that texts may mean things beyond or contrary to auth
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A literary critical tradition (dominant in mid-20th century) emphasising texts' universal truths about human experience,
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A critical approach studying how narrative works—narrative voice, point of view, time, plot structure, and how these ele
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
A critical approach arguing that meaning is created not by texts alone but through readers' engagement with textual feat
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
The understanding that texts gain meaning through their contexts—historical period, social conditions, literary traditio
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Critical Theory & Interpretation
The skill of examining multiple interpretations of a text, assessing their validity based on textual evidence, and recog
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
Verbs that describe textual effects and analytical relationships rather than simple description. Analytical verbs (sugge
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
AQA's five Assessment Objectives (AO1-AO5) define what students must demonstrate: AO1 articulate informed responses usin
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
A structured method for comparing texts that integrates analysis rather than listing similarities and differences separa
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
In analytical writing, the presentation of an alternative interpretation or criticism of one's argument, followed by rea
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
The skill of incorporating critical viewpoints from academic sources into literary analysis. NEA requires using critical
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
A writing technique where quotations are integrated into sentences (typically shorter quotations of key phrases) rather
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
Language that acknowledges the tentative nature of interpretation, using phrases like 'might suggest', 'could imply', 'a
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
The ability to articulate personal, individual responses to texts while grounding responses in close textual analysis an
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
In comparative essays, the process of moving beyond point-by-point comparison to develop integrated analysis showing how
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
The skill of formulating clear, significant argumentative claims that guide essay development. Thesis statements should
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
The sentence in a paragraph that expresses the main idea, typically appearing early (often first) in the paragraph. A to
Critical Approaches and Terminology
Essay Craft & Exam Skills
A strategic method for analysing poems not previously studied, developed for Paper 1 and Paper 2 unseen poetry sections.
Critical Approaches and Terminology