IB English A Lit Topic Salience & Balance Revision Notes (SL/HL)

IB English A Lit Topic Salience & Balance Revision Notes (SL/HL) | RevisionDojo

Written by official IB examiners

Salience and Balance Controls Focus in Texts

When you read or watch something, you’re not just absorbing words or images at random. You’re being guided.
Some things instantly grab your attention: a loud image, a repeated phrase, a bold idea. That’s salience.
But good writing doesn’t just shout at you. It also knows when to pull back.
That’s balance, it helps the standout moments feel powerful without making the whole text feel chaotic.

Hint

Salience = What stands out
Balance = How it fits in

Salience

Definition

Salience

The deliberate emphasis of certain elements within a text, making them stand out to the reader.

Salience is just a fancy word for what grabs your attention.
Writers do this on purpose.
They want you to focus on key ideas, emotions, or symbols, so they highlight them using specific techniques.
Common ways writers create salience:
1. Contrast: Light vs. dark, rich vs. poor, calm vs. chaos.
2. Repetition: A phrase repeated over and over.
3. Unusual formatting: CAPITALS, italics, bold text.
4. Powerful diction: Words that carry strong emotion or connotation.

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Definition

Paywall

(on a website) an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to the site.

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Note

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam quis nostrud exercitation.

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit.

Tip

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum.

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Salience and Balance Controls Focus in Texts

When you read or watch something, you’re not just absorbing words or images at random. You’re being guided.
Some things instantly grab your attention: a loud image, a repeated phrase, a bold idea. That’s salience.
But good writing doesn’t just shout at you. It also knows when to pull back.
That’s balance, it helps the standout moments feel powerful without making the whole text feel chaotic.

Hint

Salience = What stands out
Balance = How it fits in

Salience

Definition

Salience

The deliberate emphasis of certain elements within a text, making them stand out to the reader.

Salience is just a fancy word for what grabs your attention.
Writers do this on purpose.
They want you to focus on key ideas, emotions, or symbols, so they highlight them using specific techniques.
Common ways writers create salience:
1. Contrast: Light vs. dark, rich vs. poor, calm vs. chaos.
2. Repetition: A phrase repeated over and over.
3. Unusual formatting: CAPITALS, italics, bold text.
4. Powerful diction: Words that carry strong emotion or connotation.

Definition

Paywall

(on a website) an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to the site.

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Note

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam quis nostrud exercitation.

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Tip

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum.

Everything You Need to Know About Analysis5 subtopics

Paper 1 Lit4 subtopics

Paper 2 Lit4 subtopics

Individual Oral (IO)4 subtopics

Higher Level Essay (HLE)3 subtopics

IB English A Lit Salience & Balance Notes

Everything You Need to Know About Analysis5 subtopics

Paper 1 Lit4 subtopics

Paper 2 Lit4 subtopics

Individual Oral (IO)4 subtopics

Higher Level Essay (HLE)3 subtopics

Salience and Balance Controls Focus in Texts

Salience

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Unlock the rest of this chapter with a free account

Salience and Balance Controls Focus in Texts

Salience

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Unlock the rest of this chapter with a free account