Studying a literary work

A novel, play, novella or set of short stories studied in full for the course. HL students study TWO, in English.

The voice that tells the story INSIDE the work. It is NOT the author — a first-person "I" is a narrator, not the writer.

The real person who wrote the work — distinct from the narrator.

Plot = what happens (the events). Structure = how the author arranges those events for effect (order, flashbacks, timeframes).

The big idea a work explores — usually an abstract noun (memory, loss, freedom). Inferred from what recurs, not stated outright.

The main character, whose journey the work follows.

How a character changes across the work — from what they are at the start to what they become, and why.

WHO tells the story: a first-person narrator (an "I" in the story) or a third-person narrator (an outside "she/he" voice).

Detail → quotation → effect: name the detail, quote it, then explain what it does. Effect is where the marks are.

Two literary works, studied in English (the target language). The oral is built on an extract from one.

A theme is a full sentence stating what a work says about a topic — a claim you could argue ("memory can trap us"), not a single word ("memory").

If it is one word, it is a topic; if you can write it as a sentence with an arguable claim, it is a theme.

A repeated image, object or phrase (a locked door, the sea) a writer uses to build a theme.

Repetition, contrast, symbol, and key moments (turning points).

A concrete object that stands for an abstract idea (a fading photograph for memory).

Fitting a short quotation smoothly inside your own sentence, in quotation marks, then explaining what it shows.

The pattern for supporting a theme: make the claim, give a short embedded quotation, explain what it shows.

The central character the work follows, whose choices drive the story.

What a character wants and why — the desire or fear that explains their actions.

How a character is different at the end from the start (proud to humbled); movement usually carries a theme.

A minor character whose contrast highlights a trait in the protagonist.

Show the theme through what happens to a character: name the character, point to a turning moment with a short quotation, then say what theme it carries.

The narrator is the voice inside the work who tells the story; the author is the real person who wrote it. Never confuse them.

The position the story is told from, and how much the narrator can see and know.

A character tells their own story using "I"; we know only what they know — intimate but limited.

An all-knowing outside voice that can enter any character's mind, letting the reader see hidden truths and irony.

A narrator we cannot fully trust (they lie, misjudge or hide things), so we must read around what they say.

Tone is the attitude of the writing towards its subject; mood is the feeling created in the reader. Both are built by word choice.

A simile compares using "like" or "as" ("faithful as a dog"); a metaphor drops the "like/as" and says one thing IS another ("time is a thief").

Giving human qualities to a thing ("the house held its breath") to make it feel alive and shape the mood.

The method for any device: name the technique, quote the text, then explain the effect it creates. The effect earns the marks.

Diction = word choice (formal vs colloquial); sentence style = long flowing vs short clipped sentences and their rhythm. Together they shape voice.