1. AS Literature
Lesson One
Textual Analysis

2. All texts, whether written or spoken, have a purpose, audience and context.
Essentially, these terms refer to what a text does, who it is written for and where it appears.

3. One method of textual analysis
What? Who? Where?
What is the text trying to do? Purpose
To whom is it trying to
communicate these ideas? Audience
Where will the text appear? Context
What does it look like? Form

4. Semantic field Grammar Syntax Stylistic features Cohesion Graphology
How?
Does it use specific words or terms?
Is the diction formal or informal?
How are the sentences constructed?
What sound and/or style devices are used?
Does the text fit together to form a unified idea?
How is the text formatted?
Semantic field Grammar Syntax Stylistic features Cohesion Graphology

5. Effect? Purpose Audience Form Does the text do what it sets out to do?
Does it hit its target reader?
Does its layout help?
Purpose Audience Form

6. Adapt what you learned last year to write literary analysis!
A simple and effective way to write an argument is to chain your points together by using a three-point critical sentence:
Identify the point you want to discuss;
Give an example from the text;
Comment on how it works within the text in terms of purpose and audience.

7. Activity Read the distributed texts that are examples of the
different types of written
genre you will encounter
this year. Choose one of
them and follow the tasks outlined below to write your first piece of textual analysis.
Identify the range of examples and ideas that you could use in a textual analysis.
Tabulate your findings because this will give you a series of points that you can use as the basis for your response.
Using a flow chart, organize your findings into relevant sections.
Write out your textual analysis of the piece you have chosen.