Key Idea: This topic is the thinking behind every English A answer. Analysis means explaining how a writer's choices work on you, not just what the text says. You do it with one move — choice → effect → meaning — and a simple routine (Read · TAP · Hunt · Explain). The rest of the topic — context, purpose, audience, theme vs message, global issues — just helps you aim that move at the right things. Get this and Paper 1 opens up.
🗝️ The words to know
| Term | What it means | Quick example |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis | Explaining HOW a choice works, not what the text says | ‘k’ feels cold and dismissive |
| Choice → effect → meaning | The move: name it, its effect, why it matters | short line → abrupt → feels urgent |
| TAP | Type, Audience, Purpose — check it early | a poster, for parents, to warn |
| Context | Who, when, where, why a text comes from | ‘I'm fine’ means less after an argument |
| Purpose | The job a text does | persuade, inform, instruct, entertain, warn |
| Audience | The people the text is written for | slang ‘cop them’ → young sneaker fans |
| Theme | The topic — a word or two | time, friendship, technology |
| Message | The point made about the topic — a full sentence | ‘we're too busy to enjoy life’ |
| Global issue | A concern that is big, crosses borders, felt in real life | how going digital leaves some behind |
🔍 The one move that scores
Every point uses the same move: name the choice (a word, a sentence shape, an image), say its effect (what it makes the reader feel or notice), then the meaning — why it matters or what job it's doing. The effect and meaning hold the marks. A label on its own (‘the writer uses a metaphor’) scores almost nothing.
✍️ IB-style worked examples
IB-style question — turn a choice into a point
Analyse this poster above a tap: “Save water. Every drop counts.”
Step by step:
Name a choice: ‘Save water’ is a short, blunt command.
Effect: it's read at a glance and feels firm, like an order you should follow.
Now the phrase ‘Every drop counts’ — it makes each small action feel important.
Meaning (so what): the reader feels their own small effort matters, so they try harder.
The short command ‘Save water’ is firm and easy to take in, and ‘Every drop counts’ makes each small action feel important — so the reader feels their own effort matters and tries to waste less.
IB-style question — use the context and purpose
Source: a leaflet from a new gym. Text: “This time next year, you'll thank yourself.”
Step by step:
Read the source first: it's a gym leaflet, so its purpose is to persuade you to join.
Read the line that way: ‘you'll thank yourself’ speaks straight to the reader.
Effect: it promises a better future you if you sign up now.
Meaning: joining feels like a gift to your future self, which nudges you to act.
The source tells us it's a gym leaflet, so the line is a sales pitch. ‘This time next year, you'll thank yourself’ speaks straight to the reader and promises a better future self — making joining feel like a smart gift to yourself, so you're more likely to sign up.
IB-style question — put the whole topic together
Analyse this notice outside a small café: “New here? So were we, once. Pull up a chair — the kettle's always on, and the first cup is on us.”
Step by step:
TAP: a café notice, aimed at newcomers and passers-by, to make them feel welcome and come in.
Choice → effect: the question ‘New here?’ and the reply ‘So were we, once’ share an experience, so it feels warm and friendly.
Choice → effect: ‘Pull up a chair’ and ‘the kettle's always on’ are homely, everyday images that make it feel like someone's home, not a shop.
Choice → effect: ‘the first cup is on us’ is a generous offer that removes any pressure to buy.
Message: the café is a place where a stranger is treated like a friend.
The notice welcomes newcomers. ‘New here? So were we, once’ shares an experience, so it feels warm rather than pushy. The homely images ‘pull up a chair’ and ‘the kettle's always on’ make it feel like a home instead of a shop, and the free first cup removes any pressure to buy. Together the choices carry the message that here a stranger is treated like a friend.
Important: Don't stop at naming a choice (‘the writer uses a command’) or repeating what the text says (summary). Always add the effect on the reader and the meaning — the ‘so what?’. And never invent context you can't know: use only the source line and clues inside the text.
Tap each card to check yourself.
Is ‘the writer uses a short sentence’ analysis? No — that's just naming a choice. Add the effect: the short sentence feels abrupt and final, making the warning urgent.
What does TAP stand for? Type, Audience, Purpose — check it early so your whole answer stays focused.
Theme or message: ‘friendship’? Theme — a one-word topic. A message makes an arguable point in a full sentence.
A student writes ‘the writer grew up poor’ with no evidence. What's wrong? They invented context — use only what the source line or the text gives you.
What makes a good global issue? It's significant, crosses borders, and is felt in real life — narrow enough to stay focused.
Exam Tips
- Every point runs choice → effect → meaning — never stop at a label.
- Read the source line first, then check TAP (Type, Audience, Purpose).
- Reach the message (a full sentence), not just the theme (a word or two).
- Use only context you're given or can see — never invent it.
- Depth beats coverage: one choice explained fully beats five just named.