Blog category
Literature notes
Essays on themes, characters and techniques, plus how to compare poems and write about plays.
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How do you compare a poem with a prose extract?
How to compare a poem with a prose extract in IGCSE Literature: find shared ground, read each form on its own terms, and build one clear argument.
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How does a playwright build dramatic tension?
How playwrights create dramatic tension and how to write about it in IGCSE Literature: stakes, timing, silence and what the audience knows that characters don't.
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How does a poem's form shape its meaning?
How poetic form shapes meaning in IGCSE Literature: read line breaks, stanzas and repetition as choices with effects, not just labels to name.
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How does imagery build mood in a poem or passage?
How imagery creates mood in IGCSE Literature texts, and how to write about it by linking each picture to a feeling instead of just naming devices.
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How do you analyse the structure of a text?
How to analyse structure in an IGCSE Literature essay: read the order and shape of a text as the writer's choices, and explain each effect on the reader.
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How do you approach an unseen poem in the exam?
How to approach an unseen poem in IGCSE Literature: a calm, repeatable reading method that turns an unfamiliar poem into a clear answer under time.
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How do you approach an unseen prose passage?
How to approach an unseen prose passage in IGCSE Literature: read twice, choose a few telling details and turn them into close analysis under time.
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How do you compare two poems without just listing differences?
How to compare two poems in an IGCSE Literature essay: build one argument about how each poet treats a shared idea, not two separate summaries.
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How do you open a literature essay?
How to open an IGCSE Literature essay: write an introduction that states a clear argument in a few sentences instead of retelling the plot.
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How do you plan a comparative literature essay?
How to plan a comparative literature essay for IGCSE: find the shared question, choose two or three links and order paragraphs that keep both texts in view.
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How do you write about a narrator?
How to write about a narrator in IGCSE Literature: read point of view, reliability and voice as the writer's choices that shape what the reader sees.
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How do you write about a theme in a literature essay?
How to write about a theme in an IGCSE Literature essay: turn a big idea into a clear, arguable claim and prove it from the text, not a plot summary.
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How do you write about conflict in a text?
How to write about conflict in IGCSE Literature: spot clashes between people, within a character or against society, and explain what each reveals.
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How do you write about symbols in literature?
How to write about symbols in IGCSE Literature: build a symbolic reading from evidence in the text instead of decoding meanings from a memorised list.
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How do you write about tone in poetry?
How to identify and write about tone in poetry for IGCSE Literature: hear the poem's attitude, name it precisely and prove it from words and rhythm.
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How do you structure a whole literature essay?
How to structure a literature essay for IGCSE: clear topic sentences, linked paragraphs and a conclusion, so the whole answer argues instead of listing.
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How do you turn a quotation into analysis?
How to turn a quotation into analysis in IGCSE Literature: choose short phrases, embed them in your sentence and explain their effect in layers.
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What is a personal response in a literature essay?
What a personal response means in IGCSE Literature and how to show one: your own view of the text, backed by evidence, not bare feelings or "I think".
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What does "context" actually mean in a literature answer?
What context means in IGCSE Literature essays and how to use it well: link a text to its world in a way that deepens analysis, not as background padding.
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Which details are worth writing about in a text?
How to choose the right details for IGCSE Literature analysis: spot loaded words and images worth exploring, and go deep on a few instead of many.
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How is writing about a play different from writing about a novel?
Writing about a play versus a novel in IGCSE Literature: what changes when a text is written for the stage, and how to adjust your analysis for drama.
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How do you write about character development across a text?
Write about character development in IGCSE Literature: compare an early and a late moment, then explain how the writer shows the change in the language.
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How do you write about relationships between characters?
Write about relationships in IGCSE Literature: analyse what happens between characters, including power, silence and change, not two separate portraits.
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How do you write about setting as more than a backdrop?
Write about setting in IGCSE Literature: treat place, time and weather as the writer's choices that build mood, reveal character and carry themes.