Resource of the Week - Structure Analysis in English

Our resource this week is for improving your ability to understand and analyse structure in English effectively. You can download our structure resource by visiting our English resources section on our website or by clicking here.

First, a disclaimer - the most common way students tend to make mistakes in their structural analysis is by discussing language instead of structure and using key vocabulary for language analysis such as “adjective“ or “simile”. To avoid this, focus solely on using the key structural terms below. Some students struggle with telling language apart from structure - in broad strokes, language is WHAT is written whereas structure is HOW it has been written.

It is an acronym and writing frame to support student work in analysing the literary structure of a text. This is excellent preparation for AQA English Language Paper 1, Question 3 or any other structure analysis question in English. The resource itself is quite explanatory, however, below is our explanation for the key structural terms used in this resource:

  • Hook

    • Also called a narrative hook is usually an exciting or mysterious event in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that he or she will keep on reading.

  • Opening

    • The "opening" may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, but ideally it is the opening sentence in the book. It is the introduction to a text which sets the stage for later action.

  • Time

    • “Pace” would be more accurate. Time refers to the speed and manner in which the story unfolds. Is it a blow-by-blow description of a fight where actions take place in seconds? Or a description of a blossoming friendship over the course of several weeks? Or perhaps a description of how a landscape changes over the course of months and seasons?

  • Setting

    • Setting refers to the environment the characters are in. A well-described setting will make it more interesting for readers to completely immerse themselves in the fictional world created by the author.

  • Change

    • Change refers to any key plot points that occur in the narrative. This could be a change in characters, events or setting. E.g. the protagonist falls in love, the detective discovers a clue or the sky darkens.

  • Atmosphere

    • Atmosphere refers to the pervading mood or feeling of the text at any given point. A paragraph describing a beautiful forest glade may create an atmosphere of joy and adventure. The next paragraph describing a ghostly and eerie abandoned shrine is likely to create a sinister atmosphere of trepidation. Any key change (see above) is likely to create a corresponding shift in atmosphere - usually several over the course of an extract!

  • Repetition

    • Repetition is used to draw attention to key themes, ideas or motifs in the narrative by repeating key phrases that the author wants readers to engage with.

  • Focus

    • The simplest structural technique and yet perhaps the trickiest to master. Focus refers to the active description of the text of any particular element in the narrative. E.g. The writer opens with a focus on a gloomy setting, before shifting the reader’s focus to…

Attached in the resource is also a writing frame for writing a 3-paragraph structure analysis response for students to support and scaffold their learning with until they feel comfortable in engaging with the structural techniques independently.

We hope that this resource will be used to aid students’ analysis of structure and develop their writing about structure effectively. From all of us at Libra Education, never stop learning!

Oscar Hardy