OCR A-Level English Language: analysing texts and contexts (Component 01) overview quiz quiz

Three sections: A (close analysis, 20 marks), B (writing, 24 marks), C (comparison, 36 marks)

A single essay worth all eighty marks of the paper, with no separate sections at all

A multiple-choice paper testing the recall of terminology and concepts rather than the analysis of whole texts

Two comparisons of equal weight, each asking the candidate to compare a pair of texts

AO2 and AO5

AO4 only

AO1 and AO3

All five equally

It compares two texts, asking the candidate to weigh one against the other in a single answer

It asks for your opinion on a current language debate, such as whether standards are declining

It is closed book, with the texts withheld until the candidate enters the examination hall

Each part directs you to specified language levels to analyse

AO4, connections across texts

AO1, applying methods and terminology, shared with Section A

AO5, expertise and creativity, which belongs to the writing task

AO2, concepts and ideas about language, drawn on elsewhere

By analysing one text fully from start to finish, then turning to analyse the other on its own

By integrated, idea-led comparison with both texts live in the same paragraph

By naming as many language features as possible across the two texts without comparing them

By writing about the context of each text only, leaving the language analysis to one side

It is too short to gain access to the higher mark bands set out in the marking grid

It uses far too much technical terminology, which examiners regard as feature-spotting

It describes two texts but barely compares them, leaving AO4 thin

It is against the rules of the paper, which require a points-of-comparison structure

Spelling, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary

Length, font, colour, layout

Author, date, title, publisher

Audience, purpose, genre and mode

Texts blend spoken and written features; digital texts especially import speech-like qualities into writing

All texts are ultimately written, so the spoken end of the continuum need not be considered at all

Mode has no real effect on the language of a text, so it can safely be left out of the analysis

Spoken and written language are essentially identical in every respect, which is exactly why a continuum is the right model

Representation is always false, since any version of a subject must necessarily distort the truth

Language makes choices (naming, grammar, presupposition) that build a particular version of a subject

Representation is only about the images and photographs that accompany a text, not its language

Representation cannot really be analysed, because the version a text offers is simply a neutral record

It controls the spelling of verbs in a text, marking out the standard forms from the non-standard

It is a type of font used in print texts, chosen to suit the audience and purpose of the writing

It determines who is the agent of actions and who is acted upon, constructing power and agency

It has no real effect on meaning, and is simply a grammatical label for the verbs used in a clause

Background is forbidden in the answer, so any reference to context at all will be penalised

It makes the answer too long, and examiners cap the marks of any response that runs over length

Context is never relevant to Section A or Section C, so it should be left out of the analysis

AO3 rewards reading features as shaped by context; context and analysis must be integrated

The marks are in analysing how the language constructs the view, not in restating the content

Paraphrase is always wrong in any answer, and including any of it will be penalised by the examiner

Groups of people should not be analysed at all in a representation answer, only individual speakers

It is far too detailed, and examiners prefer a brief summary of what the text says about the group