How to Analyse Fiction for GCSE

Analysing fiction can seem like an intimidating task and it does take some critical thinking. However, it does not have to be a mystery! First, let’s define literary analysis. Analysis in general means, examining something critically by looking at its separate parts. For example, if you are analysing a football team’s chance of winning a game, you would not just consider their record. You would also consider the strengths and weaknesses of their players, the skills of the coaches, possibly the weather conditions or the type of turf, even their motivation like with rivalries of home field advantage. All of these come together to show a bigger meaning. That is exactly what analysing fiction is doing, only instead of a sports team you are analysing a literary text like a short story, novel or poem.

Here are a few main points to keep in mind while analysing fiction for a GCSE exam:

THEME

Let’s look at a simple example. If we choose to analyse the story of Cinderella, our first step would be to consider what is the underlying meaning of the story. This is called the theme. A theme is a recurring idea or insight found in the text (so it is a hidden meaning within the story). To understand the theme of a story, it might help to think about a broad topic like love, friendship or good vs evil and then describe what the story is saying about that topic. In our example of Cinderella, one of the main topics is dreams. So it is useful to focus on what the author is trying to say about dreams throughout the story.

SETTING

Every story has a setting. Simply put, it is the main backdrop and can help set the mood for the entire story. This is why, a very important part of analysing fiction is understanding the setting and how it relates to the genre or themes of the story. It is easier to understand why the characters in a story are doing what they are doing when we know where they are. The setting could include any of the following:

·       Geographical location/ place of the story

·       Time when the story is taking place

·       Social environment of the story

Carrying forward our previous example of the story of Cinderella, the setting starts out as,

·       Time: Cinderella is a young girl, long ago in the past

·       Place: Her home is in a kingdom far away

CHARACTERISATION

Simply put, characterisation is the method by which writers create characters that are life-like and believable. A combination of components can influence characterisation, such as dialogues, narrative choices and specific theatrics to make the character appear in a certain light. Some questions to ask yourself while trying to understand a character can be:

·       How are the characters described by the writer?

·       How are they viewed by the other characters?

·       What do they say?

·       What do they do?

For example, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are widely recognised fictional characters. This is because both these characters display strong personality traits mainly through dialogue in the book. Mr Darcy is a fairly tall and handsome man but his demeanour is arrogant, unfriendly, aloof and unapproachable. Whereas, Elizabeth is a woman with a lively and playful disposition who is known for her honesty and wittiness. 

LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURE

When analysing and responding to a fictional text, it is also important to look at the language and structure used by the writer and the kind of effect they have on the reader. Language mainly means the words used by a writer and the impact they have on the reader. Whereas, structure means the way the plot of the story is ordered and compiled for the reader’s easy understanding.

HOW TO ANNOTATE

Closely annotating texts is an extremely effective habit to maintain while analysing fiction. Annotating is basically, adding extra notes to a text in order to enhance its meaning and understanding. All you have to do is pick up a highlighter or pencil and get underlining, circling and boxing important bits of information. Annotating ensures that you understand what is happening in a text after you have read it. It helps you summarise a text, highlight important bits of information and ultimately prepare yourself to respond to the questions asked. There are several different ways to annotate text, try out different ways to see what style suits you best. 

Here are some quick tips to annotate text:

·       Use abbreviations and symbols (such as, ‘allit’ for alliteration, ‘met’ for metaphor and ‘oxy’ for oxymoron or try ‘!’ for when you read something interesting or worthy of note.)

·       Highlight/ underline important concepts or phrases. If you are reading from a pdf, try using its highlight, edit and comment functions to help with your annotations.

·       Write brief concepts and questions in the margins. Be as specific or as broad as you would like to be.

·       Circle words or phrases that you would like to elaborate on later.

·       Your annotations don’t have to be pretty. Focus on making your markings and notes functional.

·       Don’t annotate the entire text: be selective!

·       Separate the reading and annotation processes. Quickly skim through the text first, then go back and annotate during the second thorough read.

You can also go through our blog post on ‘How to make revision notes for GCSE’ https://www.lovelearningtutors.com/main-blog/how-to-make-notes  for more details!

However, during an exam, annotations need to be a brief and quick way of responding to a new text. You can smartly use your annotations to pick out minor details from the text and then develop your analysis of these details in your written answers.

HOW TO RESPOND

While responding to the questions during an exam, just follow these easy steps to ensure you have the perfect answer: 

Step 1: Read the extract taking time to notice the language, structure, punctuation, characterisation and themes that have been highlighted. 

Step 2: Read the question and consider what it is asking you. The key to a successful response is to stay focused on the question and understand what you are being asked to do. Simple, I know! But you’d be surprised by how many students lost marks by not answering the questions that are being asked. Sometimes, the question may not only ask you to look at what is happening in the extract but also what is happening in the wider context of the entire text. 

Step 3: Now reread the text with those 2-3 things from the question in mind. 

Step 4: Ask yourself questions like, what specific sentences or phrases answer the question asked or are there any keywords, themes or instances of speech that can help demonstrate your answer. 

Step 5: Once you have identified these points, you can begin to plan your answer. While writing your answer, use a new paragraph to make each point. Using connectives such as ‘firstly’, ‘on the other hand’, ‘in contrast to’ and ‘alternatively’ can help link your ideas.

Using these common formulas can help you structure your answers effectively:

PEE point/evidence/explain

PEEL point/evidence/explain/link to point

PEA point/evidence/analysis

SEAL state your point/evidence/analyse/link

WET words/effect/techniques

RATS reader’s response/author’s intention/theme/structure

Think about which one would be useful for your answer.

Watch this video for a complete, in-depth understanding of the GCSE English Language Paper 1 and quick tips and tricks to successfully answer the questions on your exam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMhQIX9DCcQ

This sums up all our tips for anyone attempting to take the GCSE English Exam. However, it is extremely important to reread your work in order to make any corrections and keep an eye out for any grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes!

If you need a hand figuring out how to improve your writing skills, book a session with one of our expert tutors.