IB English A Lang & Lit Topic How to Write About…

Writing About Prose Fiction in Paper 1

When analysing a prose fiction extract, focus on how the writer creates effects through specific choices.
The strongest responses move between close analysis of language (word choice, sentence structure, imagery) and broader observations about narrative technique (voice, perspective, pacing, characterisation).

Start with narrative voice: who is telling the story, and how does their perspective shape what the reader knows and feels?
Then examine characterisation: how are characters presented through dialogue, action, and description? Then examine setting: how does the physical environment reflect or contrast with the characters' inner states?
Finally, examine language: what specific word choices, images, and sentence structures create the passage's effects?

Common Mistake

Do not retell the plot of the extract as your analysis.
"In this passage, the character walks into a room and sees her mother" is summary.
"The narrator's use of present tense creates an immediacy that places the reader inside the character's experience as she enters the room" is analysis.
Always explain how the writing creates its effects, not just what happens.

Active recall

When analysing a prose fiction extract, focus on how the writer creates effects through specific choices.
The strongest responses move between close analysis of language (word choice, sentence structure, imagery) and broader observations about narrative technique (voice, perspective, pacing, characterisation).

Start with narrative voice: who is telling the story, and how does their perspective shape what the reader knows and feels?
Then examine characterisation: how are characters presented through dialogue, action, and description? Then examine setting: how does the physical environment reflect or contrast with the characters' inner states?
Finally, examine language: what specific word choices, images, and sentence structures create the passage's effects?

Common Mistake

Do not retell the plot of the extract as your analysis.
"In this passage, the character walks into a room and sees her mother" is summary.
"The narrator's use of present tense creates an immediacy that places the reader inside the character's experience as she enters the room" is analysis.
Always explain how the writing creates its effects, not just what happens.

Active recall