Analysing Character and Theme for N(A)-Level Literature in English (SEAB 2022) quiz quiz

Moving from naming a feature to explaining its effect on the reader and meaning

Naming as many devices as possible

Writing the longest answer you can

Memorising the whole text

The writer uses a metaphor.

There is a short sentence in this paragraph.

The harsh word 'snapped' reveals the character's anger and makes the reader flinch.

The passage contains dialogue.

Count the devices named

Check the sentence is over twenty words

Make sure it mentions the author's name

Delete the device label and check the sentence still explains how the words shape meaning

Gather traits, key moments and any change, then organise them into points supported by short quotations

Narrate everything the character does in order

Describe what you think the character looks like

List the chapters the character appears in

A description of a character's appearance

The way a character changes across a text

The first scene a character appears in

A list of a character's relationships

Because it lets you avoid using quotations

Because it means you do not need a thesis

Because change always happens in the final chapter

Because tracing the change gives you a ready-made argument with clear stages to prove

They are the same thing

A theme is shorter than a topic

A topic is a one-word subject; a theme is the full idea or message a text develops about it

A topic is only found in poetry

Friendship

Power

Power can corrupt those who hold it

Family

It is stated once in the title and never again

It is built up across the text through character, events, language and structure

It only appears in the final line

It is the same as the plot

As long passages to show how much you remember

As short, relevant evidence that you then explain

As decoration with no comment

Only at the very end of the answer

Because markers dislike reading

Because long quotations are against the rules

Because short quotations need no explanation

Because it forces you to zoom in on the exact words and spend your sentence explaining their effect

Give another quotation

Move straight to a new paragraph

Explain how the specific words support the point you are making

Repeat the quotation in your own words

Add the writer's date of birth

Delete the quotation

Replace it with a summary of the chapter

Explain that 'cold' suggests an unwelcoming, lonely atmosphere that mirrors the character's isolation

You use only one of them at a time

You make a point, give a short quotation, explain the effect of the words, and link back to your point

You list all four moves and then stop

You quote first and never make a point