1. What is a 'protagonist'?
The main character a story follows
The protagonist is whose story it mainly is, the character the reader follows through events.
2. What is an 'antagonist'?
A character or force that opposes the protagonist
An antagonist creates the conflict the protagonist has to face, whether that's a person, a group or even nature itself.
3. What is 'narrative structure'?
The way events in a story are organised and ordered
Structure is about how a story is arranged: what's told first, what's held back, and what order events unfold in.
4. What does 'first person point of view' mean?
The story is told using 'I' or 'we', from inside a character's perspective
First person puts the reader inside one character's head, seeing events only as that character sees them.
5. What does 'third person point of view' mean?
The story is told using 'he', 'she' or 'they', from outside the characters
Third person steps back from any one character, describing events from the outside.
6. What is 'tone' in a piece of writing?
The writer's attitude towards the subject, shown through word choice and style
Tone might be serious, playful, angry or sad, and it comes through in the words a writer chooses.
7. What is a 'theme' in a text?
An underlying idea or message the text explores
A theme is bigger than the plot itself, an idea like loyalty, loss or belonging that runs underneath the events.
8. What is 'persuasive writing' trying to do?
Convince the reader to agree with a point of view or take an action
Persuasive writing has a goal beyond informing: it wants to change how the reader thinks or acts.
9. What is 'evidence' used for in an essay?
To support a claim or argument with facts, examples or quotes
A claim without evidence is just an opinion. Evidence is what makes an argument convincing.
10. What is a 'thesis statement'?
A sentence that clearly states the main argument of an essay
The thesis statement tells the reader, in one clear sentence, what the whole essay is arguing.
11. What is 'irony'?
When what happens is different from, or the opposite of, what was expected
Irony creates a gap between expectation and reality, which is often what makes it striking or even funny.
12. What is 'symbolism'?
When an object, person or image represents an idea beyond its literal meaning
A symbol carries meaning beyond what it literally is, like a caged bird standing for a lack of freedom.
13. What is 'foreshadowing'?
A hint earlier in a text about something that will happen later
Foreshadowing plants a clue early, so the later event feels prepared for rather than random.
14. What is 'juxtaposition'?
Placing two contrasting things side by side to highlight their differences
Placing opposites next to each other, like joy beside grief, makes both stand out more sharply.
15. What is a 'motif'?
An idea or image that repeats throughout a text, reinforcing a theme
A motif keeps returning across a text, and each time it appears it can deepen the theme it's connected to.
16. What is 'register' in writing or speech?
The level of formality used, adjusted for the audience and situation
You'd use a different register texting a friend than writing a formal letter, even to say the same thing.
17. What is 'bias' in a piece of writing?
A leaning towards one side, which can affect how fairly information is presented
Bias doesn't always mean lying. It can simply mean favouring one perspective, sometimes without the writer even realising.
18. What is 'loaded language'?
Words chosen to create a strong emotional reaction rather than stating something neutrally
Calling a group a 'mob' instead of 'a crowd' is loaded language, it aims at your feelings rather than simply describing.
19. What is the difference between active and passive voice?
In active voice the subject does the action, in passive voice the subject receives the action
'She wrote the letter' is active. 'The letter was written' is passive, and it doesn't even need to say who wrote it.
20. What is a 'clause'?
A group of words containing a subject and a verb
A clause is built around a subject doing (or being) something, which is what separates it from a plain phrase.
21. What is the difference between an independent and a dependent clause?
An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence, a dependent clause cannot
'Because it was raining' can't stand alone, it needs an independent clause attached, like 'We stayed inside because it was raining'.
22. What does 'rhetoric' mean in this context?
The art of using language persuasively and effectively
Rhetoric is about how language is used to persuade or move an audience, not just what is said.
23. Why is citing evidence important in an essay, beyond just stating an opinion?
It shows the argument is grounded in something beyond the writer's personal view, making it more convincing
An opinion on its own asks to be believed. Evidence gives the reader a reason to actually agree.
24. A persuasive speech says 'Every sensible person agrees with me.' What technique is this?
An appeal that pressures the audience to conform, sometimes called a bandwagon technique
This technique pressures the audience by suggesting that disagreeing would make them 'not sensible'.
25. An advert says 'Don't be the only one left behind, buy now!' What technique is being used?
Creating urgency and a fear of missing out
Urgency pushes people to decide quickly, often before they've had time to think it through carefully.
26. Which of these phrases is an example of loaded language describing the same event as the other?
'the mob swarmed the building'
'Mob' and 'swarmed' carry strong negative associations, compared to the neutral 'gathered' or 'stood'.
27. What effect can short, blunt sentences have in a tense scene?
They can create pace and tension, mimicking quick, urgent thoughts or action
Short sentences land quickly, one after another, which can mirror the rush of a tense moment.
28. Why might a writer choose an unreliable narrator?
To make the reader question what's really true, adding tension or a twist
An unreliable narrator makes the reader work, weighing up what to believe rather than accepting everything at face value.
29. What is the purpose of a topic sentence at the start of a paragraph in an essay?
To state the main point that paragraph will explain and support
A topic sentence tells the reader up front what that paragraph is about to argue or explain.
30. Why do essays usually end with a conclusion rather than just stopping after the last point?
To draw the argument together and restate its significance, not just repeat it
A conclusion pulls the separate points together, showing why they matter as a whole, not just listing them again.
31. What effect can an ellipsis (...) have at the end of a sentence?
It can create suspense or suggest a thought trailing off unfinished
An ellipsis leaves something unsaid, which can build tension or suggest hesitation.
32. What effect can a rhetorical question have in a persuasive text?
It makes the reader consider the answer themselves, often leading them toward the writer's viewpoint
By posing a question rather than stating a claim directly, the writer gets the reader to arrive at the idea themselves.
33. Which of these is an example of a dependent clause?
because it was raining
'Because it was raining' cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. It needs an independent clause to attach to.
34. Why might a writer switch from third person to first person part way through a text?
To change perspective deliberately, perhaps to bring the reader closer to one character's inner thoughts
A deliberate shift in point of view changes how close or distant the reader feels from a character's thoughts.
35. What is the difference between a text's 'subject' and its 'theme'?
The subject is what it's literally about, the theme is the deeper idea or message it explores
A story's subject might be 'a family holiday', while its theme could be something deeper, like belonging or change.
36. A political speech repeats the phrase 'we will not be silenced' three times in one paragraph. What is this repetition doing?
Reinforcing the idea and building emotional momentum, a common rhetorical technique
Repetition drums an idea in, and each repeat adds to the emotional force of the one before it.
37. Why might a persuasive text use statistics without explaining where they came from?
To sound authoritative and convincing without giving the audience a chance to properly evaluate the claim
A number sounds precise and trustworthy, even when there's no way to check where it actually came from.
38. A story's title turns out to have two meanings once you've read the ending. What is this an example of?
A title working symbolically, its meaning enriched by what happens in the story
A title can plant a plain meaning early on, then reveal a second, deeper one once the full story is known.
39. Why is passive voice sometimes used deliberately in a report, such as 'mistakes were made'?
It can obscure who is responsible for an action
Dropping the subject entirely, as passive voice allows, can conveniently leave out who exactly is being blamed.
40. Which technique is being used when a writer describes a joyful scene right before something devastating happens?
Juxtaposition, to sharpen the emotional contrast for the reader
Placing joy right beside devastation makes each feel stronger by contrast with the other.
41. Why does an essay's argument usually get weaker if every paragraph makes the exact same point in different words?
A strong argument needs to build and develop across paragraphs, not simply repeat itself
An argument should move forward, adding a new angle or piece of evidence each time, rather than circling the same point.
42. What is the difference between citing evidence fairly and cherry picking evidence?
Citing fairly represents the range of evidence available, cherry picking selects only what supports one view
Cherry picking can make a weak argument look strong by hiding the evidence that doesn't fit.
43. Why might a writer deliberately switch sentence length, from long to very short, in a piece of writing?
To control pacing and emphasise a moment, a short sentence after long ones can land with more impact
A short sentence dropped after several long ones stands out, giving it extra weight.
44. A writer never directly says a character is lonely, but repeatedly shows them eating alone and looking out of windows. What technique is this?
Showing rather than telling, letting the reader infer the character's feelings from detail
Showing detail and letting the reader draw the conclusion is usually more powerful than simply stating the feeling outright.
45. Why might an advertisement use a testimonial, someone saying 'I loved this product', as a persuasive technique?
It uses another person's apparent experience to build trust, rather than an argument based on facts
A testimonial appeals to trust and relatability rather than evidence, which is often exactly why it's persuasive.
46. A novel is narrated by a character whose account keeps contradicting details shown elsewhere in the story. Why might a writer do this deliberately?
To create an unreliable narrator, forcing readers to question the narrator's version of events
The contradictions are the point. They push the reader to actively judge what's really happening, rather than passively accepting the narration.
47. Why can identifying an author's use of loaded language help you evaluate an argument, even when you agree with the writer's conclusion?
Loaded language can make a weak or one-sided argument feel more convincing than the evidence actually supports
Noticing loaded language matters regardless of which side you're on. It's about judging the argument's actual strength, not just its conclusion.
48. What is the difference between 'irony' and simple bad luck or coincidence?
Irony usually involves a meaningful contrast between expectation and reality, coincidence is just an unplanned event
Irony carries a pointed contrast that seems to mean something, while a coincidence is just chance with no particular significance highlighted.
49. Why might an essay's strongest counter-argument be addressed directly, rather than ignored?
Directly addressing it shows the writer has considered other viewpoints, which can make the argument more credible
An argument that acknowledges and answers its strongest challenge looks more thoroughly reasoned than one that pretends no challenge exists.
50. A recurring image of caged birds appears throughout a novel about a character seeking freedom. What is the difference between calling this a 'motif' and calling it a 'symbol'?
The motif is the repeated pattern of the image appearing throughout the text, the symbol is the deeper idea it represents
The caged bird recurring again and again is the motif. What that image stands for, like freedom or entrapment, is the symbol.