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SingaporeEnglish LiteratureQuick questions
Reading Prose Fiction
Quick questions on Prose style and language explained: O-Level Literature in English
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is word choice (diction)?Show answer
The single most important element of style is word choice. A writer who calls a man "thin" creates a different impression from one who calls him "gaunt" or "wiry". Each word carries connotations, and the writer's selection is deliberate. When you analyse, seize the loaded words and unfold what they suggest, exactly as you do with imagery in poetry.
What is naming a style?Show answer
You can often describe a passage's overall style: plain and spare, rich and ornate, fast and tense, leisurely and reflective. Naming the style gives your analysis a frame, but you must always support it with specific features, the short sentences, the loaded words, the chosen details, that create it. Style is a sum of choices, so prove your label from the text.
What is q1?Show answer
What is the difference between analysing the content of a passage and analysing its style? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
A passage uses several very short sentences during a moment of danger. What effect is this likely to create? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Why is it not enough to call a passage's style "descriptive"? [3 marks]
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