Analysing & Evaluating Authorial Choices & Literary Features (DP IB English A: Literature: HL): Revision Note
This section is designed to help you strengthen one of the most important skills required for Paper 1: analysing and evaluating authorial choices and textual features. To score well in Criterion B, examiners expect you to explore how writers create meaning through their use of language, structure, form, style and literary techniques.
This section includes:
What are authorial choices and literary features?
Literary features and meaning
Using subject-specific terminology effectively
What are authorial choices and literary features?
Understanding authorial choices is essential when preparing for Paper 1. Authorial choices refer to the deliberate decisions a writer makes in order to shape meaning. In Paper 1, you are expected to analyse and evaluate how successfully these choices construct meaning in the text.
Authorial choices include:
Structure and form |
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Language |
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Narrative and characterisation |
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You are required to analyse and evaluate how these choices:
Develop themes and ideas
Shape the meaning in the text
Convey emotion or atmosphere
Construct characters and relationships
Contribute to the overall meaning of the text
Literary features and meaning
It is not enough to simply identify and name the literary features in a text. The strongest Paper 1 responses analyse and evaluate the effect of these features by examining how and why they have impact.
Criterion B in the mark scheme specifically rewards students who explore the significance of authorial choices and explain how these choices shape meaning.
Let’s explore some key authorial methods and how they can be used effectively in your essay.
Imagery
Imagery uses sensory description to create experiences for the reader and deepen engagement with the text.
Remember, imagery can appeal to all senses, not just visual:
Aural imagery presents sounds
Visual imagery presents sights
Olfactory imagery presents smells
Tactile imagery presents sensations and textures
Here is an example of how you might comment on imagery:
‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’ – Dylan Thomas |
Thomas uses imagery of light and darkness to transform death into a struggle between life and death. Throughout the poem, light becomes symbolic of life and resistance, while darkness represents approaching death. The repeated references to “burn” and “rage” suggest fierce energy and defiance. Rather than presenting death as peaceful or inevitable, Thomas uses this imagery to celebrate the human instinct to resist surrender and preserve dignity in the face of mortality. |
Symbolism
Symbols allow writers to communicate complex ideas indirectly. A symbol often acquires meaning through repetition and context.
Here is an example of how you might comment on symbolism:
Drama: A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams |
Williams uses light as a symbol throughout the play. Blanche avoids bright light and covers lamps with paper lanterns which reflects her desire to conceal both her ageing appearance and her painful past. Light therefore becomes associated with truth and exposure, while darkness and shadows suggest illusion and self-deception. Through this recurring symbolism, Williams develops one of the play’s central conflicts: the tension between reality and illusion. |
Narrative voice and perspective
Narrative perspective shapes what readers know and how they interpret events. Consider:
First-person narration
Third-person narration
Reliability
Internal thoughts
Narrative distance
Here is an example of how you might comment on narrative voice and perspective:
Prose Fiction: The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood |
Atwood’s first-person narration allows readers to experience Gilead through Offred’s limited perspective. As Offred frequently questions her own memories and interpretations, readers must actively construct meaning alongside her. This narrative uncertainty reflects the instability of life under oppression and highlights how authoritarian regimes can manipulate truth and memory. |
Structure
Writers use structure to shape the reader’s experience of a text. Structural choices include:
Repetition
Contrast
Narrative shifts
Cyclical patterns
Fragmentation
Endings
Here is an example of how you might comment on structure:
Non-Fiction Prose: Notes of a Native Son – James Baldwin |
Baldwin structures the essay around both personal experiences and broader social observations. By moving between reflections on his father’s death and discussions of racial tensions in America, Baldwin demonstrates how private grief and societal injustice are interconnected. The structure encourages readers to see personal experiences as inseparable from historical realities. |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Your analysis of literary features will be stronger and more convincing if it is linked to the text’s themes, characters, structure and meanings. For example, commenting on Blanche’s avoidance of light in A Streetcar Named Desire is only insightful if you connect it to Williams’ exploration of illusion and reality. Simply identifying symbolism is not enough; you must explain what it reveals and why it matters. Examiners reward analysis that moves beyond identifying techniques to exploring how they shape meaning.
Using subject-specific terminology to analyse authorial choices and textual features
Literary terminology helps you communicate your analysis accurately and precisely. This will help you ensure you are not missing key features and it will help you do well in criterion D: Language. By using terminology, you will strengthen your analytical writing and develop more sophisticated interpretations of the texts.
Here are some textual features which you should become familiar with:
Symbolism: how objects, settings, characters, or actions represent larger ideas and develop themes | Imagery: how words create images that invite the reader into an experience or setting | Patterns of denotation and connotation: how particular words impact interpretation | Repetition: how repeated words, phrases, sounds, or ideas create emphasis and reinforce meaning |
Syntax: how sentence structure, length and complexity reflect emotions, ideas or character perspectives | Narrative voice and perspective: how the speaker’s or narrator's viewpoint shapes the reader’s understanding of events and themes | Patterns of punctuation: how punctuation affects the meaning of the words around them | Tone: how the writer’s attitude towards a subject, character, or idea influences interpretation |
Allusion: how references to historical, literary, religious or cultural sources deepen meaning | Motifs: how recurring images, symbols or ideas develop themes throughout the text | Irony: how discrepancies between appearance and reality create deeper layers of meaning | Juxtaposition: how opposing ideas, characters, settings, or images encourage readers to reflect on differences and tensions |
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