The big idea: The article (print or online) is the text type Paper 1 sets most often.
What to look for
- It looks like it just informs.
- But nearly always it also has an angle: it wants you to think or feel a certain way.
- Analyse both the information and the persuasion underneath it.
An article usually has a headline, a byline (the author's name), an opening hook, then a body that develops one clear line of thought.
An online article adds images, captions, subheadings and links — all of which are choices you can analyse.
- Headline
- The title — often designed to grab attention or signal the angle.
- Lede / hook
- The opening line or paragraph, built to pull the reader in.
- Byline
- The line naming the author (and sometimes their expertise).
- Angle
- The particular slant or argument the article takes on its topic.
- Standfirst
- A short summary line under the headline that sells the piece.
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Point the feature → effect → meaning move at these choices. Real guiding questions for articles have asked about diction and imagery, figurative language, narrative structure, and how an article persuades — so these are your best hunting grounds.
The article analyst's checklist
Headline & standfirst
How do they signal the angle and hook the reader? Wordplay, a question, a bold claim?
Narrative voice & tone
Is the voice personal or authoritative? What tone does it strike, and how does that push the reader toward the angle?
Diction & imagery
Loaded word choice and figurative language that colour the topic and steer feeling.
Structure
Hook → development → a turn or resolution. How does the order build the argument or land the point?
Authority & evidence
Facts, statistics, expert quotes or anecdote used to make the angle feel credible.
Direct address & questions
‘You’ and rhetorical questions that pull the reader in and make the argument feel shared.
Headline · Voice & tone · Diction & imagery · Structure · Authority · Address
For an ONLINE article, add the visuals: Images, captions, subheadings and even a comments bar are choices. Ask how the picture supports the angle, how subheadings guide the reader, and how the layout signals a chatty or serious register.
See how examiners mark answers
Answer exam-style questions with model answers. Learn exactly what earns marks and what doesn't.
How this is tested: Article guiding questions are typically ‘How and to what effect are diction and imagery used?’ or ‘How does this article persuade the reader…?’. Both want feature → effect → meaning, focused on the angle.
Take an original opening: ‘We are drowning in convenience. Every meal now arrives in a plastic coffin, and we barely blink.’ Watch the move.
From note to analysis
Note
‘There's a metaphor, "plastic coffin".’ — spotted, but unearned.
Add the effect
‘"Plastic coffin" links everyday packaging to death, which is shocking.’ — now there's an effect.
Add the meaning
‘The metaphor "plastic coffin" fuses convenience with death, so a harmless takeaway suddenly feels lethal — pressing the reader to see convenience culture as self-destructive.’ — choice → effect → meaning, tied to the article's angle.
Name the choice → its effect → the meaning
Notice the move: The hyperbole ‘drowning’ and the metaphor ‘plastic coffin’ aren't just devices to name — they build the article's angle (convenience is quietly harmful). Always connect the choice back to the angle.
How does an article persuade the reader to rethink their approach to food and eating? (a real Paper 1 article guiding-question style)
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Common mistakes: 1. Treating the article as neutral information — find the angle.
2. Listing devices without linking them to persuasion.
3. In an online article, ignoring the image, caption and layout.
4. Retelling the article's content instead of analysing its craft.