Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language A · specification 4EA1 · Component 1 | Section A: Non-fiction Reading · Free · no account needed
Analysing language and structure (AO2) (4EA1 specification)
The 20% of the qualification awarded for showing how a writer's linguistic and structural choices achieve their effects.
Specification coverage
Component 1 Section A and Component 2 Section A
Assessment objectives: AO2. Suggested learning time: 60 minutes.
Required knowledge
- AO2 is worth 20% of the qualification and is assessed on both examined components
- The mark scheme's top band asks for a subtle and discriminating selection of language and structural devices, with perceptive analysis of their effects
Required skills
- Select the devices worth writing about, not the first three you notice
- Analyse effect rather than name technique
- Write about structure as well as language
How it is examined
- Longer Section A questions on how the writer conveys an experience or attitude
- The 30-mark Component 2 essay on an anthology text
Common mistakes
- Listing devices with a formula: technique, quotation, 'this makes the reader feel'.
- Choosing easy devices — alliteration, rule of three — over the choices actually carrying the passage.
- Ignoring structure entirely. It is named in the assessment objective.
- Explaining the content of a quotation instead of its effect.
This page maps the specification. To learn the content, open the anthology texts — completely free.