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The language levels toolkit (linguistic methods)

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you analyse a text at the level of grammar, morphology and syntax, and how do sentence structures create meaning?

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.
13 min answer →

How do you analyse a text at the level of graphology and multimodality, and how do visual and design features create meaning?

Graphology and multimodality: layout, typography, colour, images and the integration of word and image in print and digital texts, and reading their effect on meaning alongside the verbal levels (AO1 and AO3 across H470).
How to analyse a text at the level of graphology and multimodality for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): layout, typography, colour, images and the integration of word and image in print and digital texts, with the move from a visual feature to its effect on meaning alongside the verbal levels.
12 min answer →

How do you analyse a text at the level of lexis and semantics, and how do you turn word choice into a point about meaning?

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.
13 min answer →

How do you analyse a text at the level of phonetics, phonology and prosody, and how do sounds and the patterning of speech create meaning?

Phonetics, phonology and prosody: speech sounds and the IPA, phonological patterning (alliteration, rhythm, sound symbolism), and prosodic features in transcripts (intonation, stress, pitch, pace, pause), and reading their effect (AO1 and AO3 across H470).
How to analyse a text at the level of phonetics, phonology and prosody for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): speech sounds and the IPA, phonological patterning, and prosodic features in spoken transcripts (intonation, stress, pitch, pace, pause), with the move from a sound feature to its effect on meaning.
12 min answer →

How do you analyse a text at the level of pragmatics and discourse, and how do implied meaning and whole-text structure create meaning?

Pragmatics and discourse: implicature and Grice's maxims, politeness and face, speech acts and deixis, and discourse structure including cohesion, turn-taking and adjacency pairs, and reading their effect (AO1 and AO3 across H470).
How to analyse a text at the level of pragmatics and discourse for OCR A-Level English Language (H470): implicature and Grice's maxims, politeness and face, speech acts and deixis, and discourse structure including cohesion, turn-taking and adjacency pairs, with the move from feature to effect.
13 min answer →