How do you answer the OCR Section A 'Language under the microscope' question, the directed close analysis of an unseen text in two parts?
Language under the microscope (H470/01 Section A): the close analysis of an unseen text in two directed parts (a and b), each targeting a specified language level, AO1 and AO3 assessed, 10 marks per part (20 total).
How to answer the OCR A-Level English Language Section A question, Language under the microscope (H470/01): the directed close analysis of an unseen text in two parts, each targeting a specified language level, assessed on AO1 and AO3, worth 10 marks per part.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
OCR Component 01, Section A, Language under the microscope, prints one unseen text and asks you to analyse it closely in two parts. Each part directs you to one or more named language levels (for example grammar in part a, lexis and discourse in part b), and each is worth 10 marks, for a 20-mark section. The assessed objectives are AO1 (applying methods and terminology) and AO3 (how contextual factors and language features construct meaning). This dot point covers the task, the two-part structure, and how to score by staying at the directed level and moving from feature to effect.
The answer
Section A succeeds when each part does two things at once: it applies the named language levels precisely (AO1), and it reads how the features construct meaning for the text's audience, purpose and mode (AO3). The unifying idea is directed close analysis: unlike an open question, Section A tells you which levels to use, so the skill is to apply that lens rigorously and to resist drifting into other levels or into general comment.
Read the text and its context first
Before analysing, establish the context: who the text is for, what it is doing, and in what mode (written, spoken, multimodal). AO3 is about the construction of meaning through contextual factors, so every feature you analyse means something because of that context. A two-minute read for purpose and audience pays for itself across both parts.
Stay at the directed level
The defining feature of Section A is that each part names the levels to use. Part (a) might ask for grammar; part (b) for lexis and discourse, or pragmatics. The marks reward analysis at the named level, so an answer that drifts (analysing lexis when asked for grammar) wastes effort. Read the question's wording carefully and keep each part inside its remit, and make sure part (b) does new work rather than repeating part (a).
Move from feature to effect
As across every level, the move from feature to effect is what turns AO1 labelling into AO3 analysis. Name the feature with the correct term, quote a short example, and read what it does to meaning given the context.
- Name the feature at the directed level, with the right term.
- Quote precisely, a short example.
- Read the effect for the audience, purpose and mode.
Examples in context
The text in the exam is unseen, so the moves below are illustrative.
A model part (a) paragraph (grammar). "The recruitment advert is built on the imperative mood, with clause after clause opening on a bare imperative ('Join', 'Lead', 'Build'), which constructs the reader as someone the organisation directs and addresses the audience as already part of the team. Because the purpose is to recruit, the imperatives do persuasive work: they assume the reader's agreement and convert description into invitation." This stays at the grammatical level and reads the effect against purpose.
A model part (b) paragraph (lexis and discourse). "At the lexical level the same advert builds a semantic field of progress ('grow', 'advance', 'future'), and at the level of discourse it is structured as a journey, opening with the reader's present and closing on a promoted future, so the cohesion of the journey frames the job as a path rather than a post." This shifts to the levels part (b) names and does new analytical work.
Try this
Q1. Which assessment objectives does Section A assess? [2 marks]
- Cue. AO1 (applying methods and terminology) and AO3 (how features construct meaning in context); not AO2, AO4 or AO5.
Q2. Why should part (b) not repeat part (a)? [2 marks]
- Cue. The two parts direct you to different language levels, so part (b) must analyse new features and do fresh analytical work.
Q3. Analyse how the writer uses grammatical features to create meanings and representations in an unseen text. [10 marks]
- What the marker wants. Precise grammatical terminology (AO1) fused with analysis of how the features construct meaning for the audience, purpose and mode (AO3), staying at the named level and moving from feature to effect.
A note on the task
This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. The exact wording and the levels directed in Section A vary by paper; confirm the format against the current OCR H470 specification, sample assessment materials and past papers. The directed close-analysis method transfers across every Section A text.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H470/01 2017, Section A(a)10 marksAnalyse how the writer uses grammatical features to create meanings and representations in the text. [10 marks]Show worked answer →
This is a Section A part (a): a directed close analysis at one named language level (here grammar). The mark scheme makes AO1 and AO3 the assessed objectives, in roughly equal measure, on this 10-mark part.
AO1: apply the named level systematically with accurate terminology. For grammar, that means sentence types and functions, clause structure and subordination, mood, modality, voice and word order, named precisely, not loosely.
AO3: read how those grammatical choices create meanings and representations given the text's audience, purpose and mode. A run of imperatives constructs an authoritative stance; a passive backgrounds an agent; complex subordination layers a careful argument. Move from feature to effect every time.
The discipline is to stay at the named level and to analyse, not list. A part (a) that labels grammatical features without reading their effect is AO1 without AO3 and sits in the lower bands; the marks come from the meanings the features construct.
OCR H470/01 2018, Section A(b)10 marksAnalyse how the writer uses lexical and discourse features to position the reader in the same text. [10 marks]Show worked answer →
A part (b): a directed analysis at a different language level or levels from part (a), on the same text. Here lexis and discourse. Again AO1 and AO3 are assessed.
A high-band answer applies the named levels precisely: lexis (semantic fields, connotation, formality) and discourse (whole-text structure, cohesion, how the text opens and develops), and reads how the choices position the reader given the context. The two parts together reward methodical analysis across the levels of one rich text.
Reward AO1 for accurate terminology at the named levels and AO3 for analysis of how the features construct meaning and position the reader. Weaker answers repeat points from part (a), drift to levels the question did not name, or feature-spot without effect. Track the text closely and keep each part inside its remit.
Related dot points
- Comparing and contrasting texts (H470/01 Section C): the extended comparison of two unseen texts in different modes, genres or contexts, assessing AO1, AO3 and AO4, worth 36 marks, structured by idea with the texts woven together.
How to answer the OCR A-Level English Language Section C question (H470/01): the extended comparison of two unseen texts in different modes, genres or contexts, assessing AO1, AO3 and AO4, worth 36 marks, structured by idea with both texts woven together rather than handled one after the other.
- Context, audience, purpose and mode: how contextual factors shape language, the spoken-written mode continuum, and using context to analyse the construction of meaning (AO3, the dominant analytical objective across H470).
How contextual factors shape language for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): audience, purpose, genre and the spoken-written mode continuum, and how to use context to drive AO3 analysis of the construction of meaning, the analytical objective that underpins every task.
- Representation and meaning: how language constructs representations of people, groups, events and ideas through lexis, grammar and pragmatics, and analysing representation as a made, ideological choice (AO3 across H470).
How language constructs representations for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): how lexis, grammar and pragmatics represent people, groups, events and ideas, the concept of representation as a made and ideological choice, and analysing it as central to AO3 across the qualification.
- Lexis and semantics: analysing word choice, word classes, semantic fields, connotation and denotation, formality and register, and moving from a lexical feature to its effect on meaning (AO1 and AO3 across H470).
How to analyse a text at the level of lexis and semantics for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): word classes, semantic fields, connotation and denotation, formality and register, and the move from a lexical feature to its effect on meaning, the core of AO1 and AO3 in every analytical task.
- Grammar, morphology and syntax: analysing word formation and inflection, phrases and clauses, sentence types and functions, mood, voice and word order, and reading their effect on meaning (AO1 and AO3 across H470).
How to analyse a text at the level of grammar, morphology and syntax for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): word formation and inflection, phrases and clauses, sentence types and functions, mood, voice and word order, and the move from a grammatical feature to its effect on meaning.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A-Level English Language (H470) specification — OCR (2015)
- OCR H470/01 Exploring language mark scheme (June 2017) — OCR (2017)