IB Lang Lit HL key terms

Sustained, detailed attention to the language, structure, and formal choices of a short passage, explaining how specific textual features produce meaning and effect rather than summarising content.

Paper 1 task in which candidates write an analytical essay on an unseen text, guided by a focus question, arguing how meaning is constructed through form, language, and context.

The prompt accompanying a Paper 1 text that directs attention to a particular aspect, such as audience, purpose, or stylistic technique; the response must address it directly.

A text a candidate meets for the first time in the examination, requiring on-the-spot analysis without prior preparation, often paired with another text of a different type or medium.

A concise, arguable claim that states the central interpretation of a text or comparison; it organises the whole essay and should be revisited and developed, not merely restated.

The sustained, coherent progression of reasoning across an essay, in which each paragraph advances the central claim through evidence and analysis rather than listing separate observations.

The opening sentence of a body paragraph that announces the paragraph's controlling idea and links it to the overall argument, helping the reader follow the reasoning.

Paper 2 task requiring discussion of two works studied, addressing a prompt through sustained comparison of how each text treats a shared concern, technique, or theme.

Deliberately chosen dimensions along which two texts are examined, such as narrative voice, treatment of a theme, or use of setting, giving structure to comparative discussion.

The analytical movement between similarities and differences in comparative writing; strong essays explain why texts align or differ rather than merely noting that they do.

An independently researched extended essay on a literary or linguistic topic chosen by the candidate, developed through a focused line of inquiry and supported by a formal bibliography.

The specific question or area of investigation that drives an extended piece of independent work, narrow enough to be answered within the word limit and clearly stated early.

A precisely worded, answerable question framing an independent investigation; it should identify the texts, the analytical focus, and the angle of approach.

Scholarly or critical material about a text, author, or context used to support or challenge an argument, always acknowledged and integrated rather than merely summarised.

The formal acknowledgement of the source of a quotation, idea, or data, giving author, title, and location so a reader can locate the original material.

Presenting another person's words, ideas, or structure as one's own, whether deliberately or through careless note-taking; it is an academic misconduct even when unintentional.

Texts originally written in a language other than the one of instruction, studied in translation; analysis must account for the mediating effect of the translator's choices.

The process of rendering a text from one language into another; the translator's decisions about word choice, rhythm, and cultural reference shape the reader's access to meaning.

The historical, social, political, and biographical circumstances in which a text was written, which inform its assumptions, references, and possible purposes.

The circumstances in which a text is read, including the reader's era, culture, and values; these shape interpretation and explain why meanings change over time.

The body of works widely regarded as culturally significant and routinely studied; the selection is historically contingent and contested rather than fixed or neutral.

A category of text sharing recognisable conventions of form, content, and audience expectation, such as tragedy, detective fiction, or the graphic novel.

An established, expected feature of a genre or medium, such as the soliloquy in drama or the caption in photojournalism; writers may follow, adapt, or subvert it.

The deliberate breaking or twisting of an established convention or expectation, often producing irony, surprise, or critique of the very form being used.

A classification of communication by its medium and social function, such as editorial, blog post, speech, or infographic; each carries its own typical features and register.

The variety of language chosen for a particular situation, shaped by formality, audience, and purpose; shifts in register can signal changes in relationship or stance.

A writer's choice of words, considered for connotation, precision, and level of formality; diction is a primary tool for creating tone and character.

The associations and emotional colouring a word carries beyond its literal meaning, which shape how a reader responds to it in context.

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, as distinct from the associations it evokes; analysis often contrasts the two to reveal layered meaning.

The attitude a text conveys toward its subject or audience, created through diction, syntax, and imagery; it may shift within a work and is inferred, not stated.

The emotional atmosphere a text creates for the reader, produced by setting, imagery, pacing, and sound; it is the feeling evoked rather than the writer's attitude.

Descriptive language appealing to the senses, often through figurative comparison, that creates vivid mental pictures and contributes to tone and theme.

A figure of speech asserting that one thing is another, transferring qualities across domains to create new understanding; extended metaphors sustain the comparison across a text.

A comparison introduced by words such as like or as, making an explicit likeness between two things; the choice of vehicle reveals the writer's attitude.

The constructed persona who tells a story, distinct from the author; its knowledge, reliability, and attitude shape what the reader can know and trust.

The perspective from which a narrative is told, such as first person, third-person limited, or omniscient; it controls access to information and shapes sympathy.

The lens through which narrative information is filtered, describing whose perception or knowledge governs what is presented, independent of who narrates.

A narrator whose account the reader has reason to doubt because of limited knowledge, bias, or self-interest; the gap between telling and truth becomes the point of analysis.

The way texts refer to, echo, or reshape other texts through quotation, allusion, genre, or structure, so that meaning is produced between works rather than within one alone.

An indirect reference to another text, person, or cultural artefact, expecting the reader to recognise it; the reference imports additional meaning into the new work.

An imitation of a text or style that exaggerates its features for comic or critical effect, often simultaneously paying homage and questioning the original.

A work that reworks an earlier text into a new medium or context, such as a novel into film; analysis considers what is retained, altered, or lost in the transfer.

The material channel through which a text is communicated, such as print, film, or digital platform; each medium affords different techniques and shapes audience experience.

An approach treating meaning as produced in the interaction between text and reader, whose expectations, knowledge, and context shape interpretation.

A discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between expectation and outcome; it invites the reader to infer a meaning beyond the surface.

An abstract idea or concern explored across a text, such as power, memory, or belonging; themes are inferred from patterns rather than stated outright.

A recurring element, image, or phrase whose repetition builds pattern and contributes to theme; tracking a motif across a text supports sustained argument.

The way sentences and paragraphs are linked through reference, repetition, and connectives so that a text or essay reads as a unified whole.

The intended or implied readership of a text, whose assumed knowledge, values, and expectations shape the writer's choices of register, evidence, and appeal.

The intended effect or function of a text, such as to persuade, entertain, inform, or commemorate; it is inferred from form, content, and context.

An evaluative claim about a text's quality or significance; in analysis it should be supported by evidence and acknowledged as arguable rather than presented as fact.