Activities and instructions for 2.1

1. 2.1 W RITTEN T EXT
A NALYSE SPECIF I ED ASPEC T ( S ) OF STUDI E D WRITT E N
TEXT ( S ) , SUPPORT E D BY EVID EN C E

2. P LOT
1. Read the text.
2. Create a flow chart to show the progression of
the story.
 For each section, write a brief description from
the story.
 Include a picture to represent the section.

3. C HARACTERS
 Any information about the characters is important to the
story.
 Characters develop and change during the novel as they
face challenges and conflict.
1. List the characters in the text.
2. Choose 1 character and describe a challenge in their life.
3. Explain how they coped with it (aim for 3 ways).
4. List 6 quotes which support your ideas.
5. What do we learn about the type of person she/he is?
6. Explain what the author wants us to learn from this
character and how they dealt with their
challenges/conflict.

4. C HARACTER P ROFILES
Choose 2 characters and create a personal profile for each
one.
Character
 Name
 Age
 Gender
 Occupation
 Interests

5. P ROTAGONIST AND
A NTAGONIST
 The protagonist is the leading character in the story, the
one that the audience empathises with.
 The antagonist is the main character who is in opposition
to the protagonist.
1. Identify the protagonist and the antagonist.
2. Brainstorm a list of at least 5 adjectives for the
protagonist and 5 adjectives for the antagonist in the
story.
3. Choose 3 adjectives for each person and locate a quote
from the text that supports each adjective.

6. C OMPARE AND C ONTRAST
1. Create a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences
between 2 characters.
2. Choose 1 similarity and one difference and discuss what may
have caused this similarity or difference.

7. E SSAY TOPICS
1. Analyse how a main character OR individual
matures and takes action in a text you have
studied.
2. Analyse how the growth OR breakdown of a
relationship(s) affects the climax in a text you
have studied.
3. Analyse how the writer has influenced your
opinion of a choice made by a character OR
individual in a text you have studied.

8. S ETTING
 Setting may include reference to time, place, historical or
social context, or atmosphere.
1. Identify the 3 main settings in the text.
2. Choose 1 and create a brainstorm of adjectives to describe
it.
3. Locate 3 quotes from the story that link to 3 of your
adjectives.
4. Explain why the setting helps the reader to understand the
characters.
5. Draw a picture of what you think your setting would look
like.

9. S ETTING & E FFECT
1. Explain the effect that the setting has on the life
of the protagonist.
2. Imagine how the setting would affect you. Write
a paragraph to describe how you would react to
the setting.
3. Explain what you think the author wants us to
learn about the protagonist by placing him/her in
this setting.

10. T HEMES
 A theme is a broad idea, message, or moral of a story.
The message may be about life, society, or human
nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal
ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated
explicitly.
1. Brainstorm a list of possible themes.
2. For each theme, describe the relevant section of the
novel where the theme is shown.

11. T HEME AND MEANING
1. Choose one theme and discuss the meaning of your
theme. What does it mean exactly?
2. Explain how this theme may be seen in today’s world.
3. What does the author want us to understand about
this theme?
4. Identify any social issues that may be related to this
theme. For example, health issues; power and
violence related issues.

12. T HEME & CHARACTERS
1. Choose 2 themes and list the characters that are
linked to each theme.
2. Explain why you linked each character to the
theme.
3. Include a quote for each.
4. Explain what you think the author wants us to
learn about these characters by using this theme.

13. T HEME IN ACTION
1. Choose a part of the text that shows one of the
themes in action and create a short cartoon to show
what happens.
 Include dialogue from the text.
1. Create a collage of quotes from the story that are
linked to the themes.
 Split your poster into sections, each section will be for
each theme. Place the quotes in the relevant section.
 Use lettering/words from magazines and coloured
paper.

14. E SSAY TOPICS
1. Analyse how the setting of a text you have
studied influenced your understanding of the
ideas in the text.
2. Analyse how an idea is developed in a text you
have studied.

15. T ECHNIQUES
Techniques include:
 The style of language used (poetic techniques)
 The narrative viewpoint of the text
 Symbols

16. S TYLE OF L ANGUAGE
 Repetition emphasises important ideas and links
different parts of the novel.
1. Find 2-3 examples of repeated words, ideas or
images from the text and record them.

17. S TYLE OF L ANGUAGE
 Atmosphere and creating tension between characters is
important to the text’s effectiveness.
 Tension is achieved through the use of descriptive and
emotive words to show stress or conflict.
 The type of language used can help us understand the
characters and the sort of people they are.
1. Locate at least 5 words or phrases that show stress or conflict
2. Explain what type of language the author uses. Is it formal or
informal? Record an example to support your opinion.
3. Record an example of a character’s speech and explain what
we learn about them as a person.

18. L ANGUAGE FEATURES
 Language features are used to add description, sound
effects and help the reader visualise what is in the
novel. These include: alliteration, assonance, simile,
personification, metaphor, onomatopoeia, rhyme and
repetition.
1. Choose 3 language features and find examples from
the text.
2. For each one, write a sentence to explain why it is
effective.
3. Link each language feature to a theme in the text.
Explain why you linked it – what did it help you
understand about the theme?

19. N ARRATIVE VIEWPOINT
 A first person story (“I”) has one character as narrator. The
viewpoint may be less obvious in other novels but often the
reader only finds out what one character learns or sees other
characters from one person’s point of view.
1. Is the text written in first, second or third person?
2. Whose point(s) of view is the text told from? Identify whose
voice is heard the most in the text.
3. Record an example from the text.
4. Draw a picture of the character and a speech bubble of them
saying something that you found interesting from the text.

20. S YMBOLS
 A symbol is a person, place, or thing comes to
represent an abstract idea or concept -- it is anything
that stands for something beyond itself.
1. Identify 3-4 symbols from the text.
2. Choose 3 and explain what its significance is, where it
is seen in the text and which theme and character it is
linked to.

21. E SSAY TOPICS
1. Analyse how symbols are used to develop an
idea in a text you have studied.
2. Analyse how techniques of a genre or text type
make a text particularly effective for you.

22. A SSESSMENT SCHEDULE
Achievement
 Analyse specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s),
supported by evidence.
Achievement with Merit
 Analyse specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s)
convincingly, supported by evidence.
Achievement with Excellence
 Analyse specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s)
perceptively, supported by evidence.