IB English A: Language & Literature —Paper 1 Text Type Study Guide

This guide covers every major text type category that can appear on Paper 1 (Guided Literary Analysis). For each type: definition/purpose, audience/context, formal layout features, stylistic/language features, what to prioritize in your analysis, and a short concrete example.

A reminder before you start: Paper 1 always gives you a guiding question. Every feature you identify below is only worth discussing if it serves that question — don't catalogue features for their own sake. Use this guide to build a feature-bank in your head, then let the guiding question decide which features matter for the text in front of you.

SECTION 1: NON-FICTION PROSE

1.1 The Personal/Reflective Essay

Definition & Purpose A discursive prose piece in which a writer explores an idea,

experience, or argument through personal voice and reasoning. Purpose: to think aloud on the page, persuade subtly, or illuminate a universal truth through the particular.

Target Audience & Context Educated general readers; published in literary magazines (The Atlantic, Granta), essay collections, or anthologies. Assumes patience for digression and abstraction.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Continuous prose, minimal subheadings

• Often opens with a concrete anecdote before widening to abstraction (the "telescope"

structure)

• Paragraphs are units of thought, not fixed length — can be very long if following a

train of reasoning

• May use first person throughout; occasional direct address to reader

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Hypotactic (subordinated) sentence structures that mirror complex thinking

• Rhetorical questions used to think through a problem live

• Aphorism/epigram — compressed, quotable generalizations

• Tonal shifts: irony giving way to sincerity, or vice versa

• Allusion (literary, historical, philosophical) assuming a shared cultural register

IB Analysis Focus

• Track the structure of thought: how does the essay move from the particular

(anecdote) to the universal (claim)? This movement IS the argument.• Examine the persona the writer constructs — how reliable, self-aware, or self-

deprecating are they, and why?

• Identify where private experience is used as evidence for a public claim — is this

persuasive or is it a logical leap?

Short Concrete Example

"I did not think, walking back from the hospital that night, about mortality in the abstract. I thought about my father's hands — how they had once held a wrench under a car and now could not hold a cup of tea without trembling. We speak of dying as an event. It is not. It is a long subtraction."

1.2 Travel Writing

Definition & Purpose Prose recounting a journey or place, blending observation, narrative, and reflection. Purpose: to transport the reader, to interpret a culture/landscape for an outsider audience, and often to reflect on the self via the foreign.

Target Audience & Context Readers seeking armchair travel or planning a trip; published in travel magazines, broadsheet travel sections, or standalone books (Bruce Chatwin, Bill Bryson).

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Chronological or episodic structure following the journey

• Sensory-dense descriptive passages interspersed with dialogue/anecdote

• Often a frame: arrival → exploration → departure/reflection

• May include practical asides (place names, dates) lending documentary authority

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Heavy sensory imagery (sound, smell, texture) to evoke unfamiliar place

• Exoticisation or Othering language (worth critiquing) vs. attempts at cultural humility

• Comparative diction ("like," "as if," "reminded me of home") that filters the foreign

through the familiar

• First-person observational voice; shifts between objective reportage and subjective

response

• Humor or self-deprecation when the traveler is the butt of the joke (a power-balancing

device)

IB Analysis Focus

• Interrogate the gaze: whose perspective dominates, and what power dynamic exists

between observer and observed?

• Examine how sensory detail builds atmosphere and whether it idealizes, exoticizes,

or humanizes the place.

• Note where the writer's own identity/culture intrudes on the description — travel

writing is always partly autobiography.Short Concrete Example

"The market at dawn smelled of cardamom and diesel in equal measure. An old woman sold guavas from a basket balanced on her head with the unthinking grace of someone who has done this since childhood — a grace I, sweating under my backpack, would never possess."

1.3 Memoir & Biography (Life Writing)

Definition & Purpose Memoir: first-person account of a period/theme in the writer's own

life. Biography: third-person account of another's life. Purpose: to preserve, interpret, and

make meaning of a life or lives — often to argue for the subject's significance or to process personal experience.

Target Audience & Context General readers, fans of the subject (for biography), or readers seeking emotional/psychological insight (for memoir). Published as books, excerpted in magazines.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Often non-strictly chronological — organized by theme or significant episode rather

than birth-to-death

• Scene-based structure resembling fiction (dramatized dialogue, set-piece scenes)

• Memoir: first person, intimate; Biography: third person, may include cited

sources/quotes

• Chapter or section breaks often marking life-stage transitions

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Retrospective narration — the adult narrator's hindsight colors the child's experience

("I did not know then that...")

• Selective, curated detail — memory presented as if total, but actually highly edited

• Free indirect discourse to render a past self's thoughts

• For biography: balance of authorial interpretation vs. "objective" documented fact;

use of hedging language ("it is likely that," "biographers have speculated") when

evidence is incomplete

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine the gap between the narrating self and the narrated self (memoir) —

how does adult hindsight shape, distort, or justify the past?

• For biography: assess how the biographer's selection and arrangement of facts

constructs an interpretation, not a neutral record.

• Track what is included vs. conspicuously omitted, and what that silence might

mean.

Short Concrete Example"I did not understand, at seven, that my mother's silence at the dinner table was not anger but

exhaustion. I have spent the better part of thirty years rewriting that silence in my head,

giving it kinder meanings each time, the way the sea smooths a stone."

1.4 Letters (Personal & Open)

Definition & Purpose Personal letter: direct written communication to a specific addressee.

Open letter: addressed to an individual/group but published for a wider public audience.

Purpose ranges from private connection/persuasion to public protest or appeal.

Target Audience & Context Personal letters: a single named recipient (though may be

published posthumously, e.g., letters of famous writers). Open letters: published in

newspapers, online, addressed publicly to politicians, institutions, or "you" the reader.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Salutation ("Dear...") and often a sign-off/signature

• Date and sometimes location heading

• Paragraph structure may follow a private train of thought (personal) or a building

rhetorical case (open letter)

• Open letters often have a clear thesis stated early, given the public/persuasive function

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Direct second-person address ("you") creating intimacy or confrontation

• Personal letters: colloquial, intimate diction, assumed shared context/in-jokes

• Open letters: more formal register, rhetorical devices (anaphora, tricolon, direct

appeal) aimed at swaying public opinion

• Modal verbs of obligation/appeal ("you must," "we ask that you")

• Emotive language balanced with reasoned appeal (pathos + logos)

IB Analysis Focus

• Distinguish the stated addressee from the actual/implied audience — an open letter

"to the Prime Minister" is really written for the public.

• Examine how intimacy is constructed or performed through direct address, and to

what persuasive end.

• For personal letters, note the gap between what is said and what is

assumed/unsaid given shared private context.

Short Concrete Example

"Dear Minister, I write not as a constituent but as a mother who has watched the river behind our house rise three feet in five years. You will say this is not your department. I say it is everyone's department, and I will keep writing until someone agrees."1.5 Diary / Journal Entries

Definition & Purpose Private, dated record of thoughts and events, written without (initially) an external audience in mind. Purpose: self-reflection, processing experience, or

unintentional/eventual historical record.

Target Audience & Context Originally intended for the self alone (or no audience); when

published (Anne Frank, Samuel Pepys), the audience becomes posthumous

readers/historians/general public — creating a tension between original privacy and current public consumption.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Dated entries, often fragmented, varying in length

• No transitions between entries — gaps in time are simply left blank

• Present tense or immediate past tense dominant, reflecting in-the-moment processing

• May include unfinished sentences, lists, abrupt topic shifts

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Unfiltered, unpolished syntax — fragments, ellipsis, interruption

• High emotional immediacy; lack of retrospective hindsight (unlike memoir)

• Private shorthand, abbreviations, assumed context not explained (because no audience

was originally anticipated)

• Apostrophe (addressing the diary itself — "Dear Diary," or an absent person)

IB Analysis Focus

• Exploit the tension between private intention and public consumption — what

does it mean for readers to access something not meant for them?

• Track the immediacy and unreliability of in-the-moment record vs. the retrospective

polish of memoir.

• Note gaps, omissions, and abrupt shifts as meaningful silences, not just stylistic

artifacts.

Short Concrete Example

"March 3rd. Could not sleep. The sirens again at 2am — didn't even flinch this time, which

frightens me more than the sirens did. Wrote to M. Did not send it. Bread queue tomorrow, must wake by five."

SECTION 2: MASS MEDIA & JOURNALISM

2.1 Hard News Report

Definition & Purpose Factual account of a recent event, written to inform efficiently.

Purpose: deliver who/what/when/where/why/how with maximum clarity and minimum delay.Target Audience & Context General public; published in newspapers (print/online), wire services, news apps. Read quickly, often skimmed.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Inverted pyramid structure: most important information first, decreasing

significance after

• Headline + (often) subheadline/standfirst

• Byline (author) and dateline (location/date of filing)

• Short paragraphs (1-3 sentences), often one idea per paragraph

• Direct quotations attributed clearly, often from named sources/officials

• May include captioned images, pull quotes, or sidebars

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Objective, neutral register — third person, minimal adjectives, no overt opinion

• Short, declarative sentences; active voice preferred for clarity

• Attribution verbs ("said," "stated," "confirmed," "claimed" — note the connotative

difference between these)

• Numerals/statistics for precision and credibility

• Present perfect/past tense for the lead, often shifting to present tense in quotes for

immediacy

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how the inverted pyramid prioritizes information — what's placed first

reveals what the publication deems most newsworthy, which is itself an editorial

choice.

• Scrutinize verbs of attribution — "claimed" vs. "said" subtly signals credibility

judgments even in "neutral" reporting.

• Note what voices are quoted directly vs. paraphrased, and whose perspective

frames the story.

Short Concrete Example

City Council Approves Controversial Housing Plan By Maria Chen, 12 March 2026

The city council voted 6–3 on Tuesday to approve a contested housing development on the site of the former Riverside Mill, ending an 18-month planning dispute.

"This is a victory for working families," said Councillor Tom Hale, who sponsored the bill.

Opponents, who claim the project will displace 40 existing tenants, vowed to appeal.

2.2 Opinion Column

Definition & Purpose Regular, byline-driven piece in which a known commentator argues a personal viewpoint on current affairs. Purpose: to persuade, provoke, or entertain through a recognizable authorial voice.Target Audience & Context Readers of a particular outlet who often follow that columnist specifically; appears in dedicated "Opinion" sections of newspapers/sites, often with a photo byline establishing personal brand.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Headline often punchy/provocative (more latitude for wordplay than news headlines)

• Author photo and bio often included, reinforcing personal authority/brand

• Looser paragraph structure than news — can build an argument over the full piece

rather than front-loading it

• May open with anecdote, provocation, or direct claim depending on house style

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• First person and strong, identifiable voice/persona (sardonic, righteous, folksy, etc.)

• Rhetorical questions, direct address, hyperbole for persuasive effect

• Concession-and-rebuttal structure ("Some will say X. They are wrong, because...")

• Allusion to current events assuming reader familiarity

• Irony and sarcasm far more permissible than in hard news

IB Analysis Focus

• Map the line of argument and the persuasive techniques (ethos/pathos/logos) used to

build it.

• Examine the constructed persona — how the columnist's voice itself functions as a

rhetorical tool (trustworthy, witty, righteously angry).

• Note where opinion is presented as if self-evidently true, and what concessions (if

any) are made to opposing views.

Short Concrete Example

"Let's be honest: nobody who claims to love 'the great outdoors' actually wants to be

outdoors. They want to post about the outdoors from a heated lodge with excellent Wi-Fi. I should know — I am one of them, and I have the blister-free boots to prove it."

2.3 Editorial

Definition & Purpose Unsigned piece representing the official institutional viewpoint of a

publication (not an individual journalist) on a matter of public concern. Purpose: to shape

public opinion and assert the publication's collective stance.

Target Audience & Context Engaged citizens, policymakers, and the publication's regular readership; appears in a clearly labeled "Editorial" or "Leader" section/page, distinct from both news and signed opinion.

Core Formal Features (Layout)• Unsigned — authority comes from the institution ("The Times believes...") not an individual

• Often shorter and more tightly argued than a personal column

• Clear thesis stated early; structured like a formal argument (claim → evidence → call

to action)

• May be set in a visually distinct typeface/box signaling institutional voice

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Collective pronoun "we" representing institutional consensus, not personal opinion

• Measured, authoritative tone — less personality-driven than a column, more formal

register

• Imperative or modal verbs urging action ("must," "should," "cannot continue")

• Appeals to shared civic values (justice, fairness, the public good)

IB Analysis Focus

• Distinguish editorial institutional authority from individual opinion — note how

"we" constructs collective legitimacy.

• Examine the argumentative structure (claim, warrant, call to action) as a formal

rhetorical exercise.

• Consider what the choice of topic (what the institution deems worth an editorial) itself

signals about its priorities.

Short Concrete Example

"This newspaper has long argued that public transport is not a luxury but an obligation of a just society. The council's decision to cut weekend bus routes does not save money; it merely transfers the cost onto those who can least afford it. We urge reconsideration before the new schedule takes effect."

2.4 Feature Article

Definition & Purpose In-depth, longer-form journalism exploring a topic, trend, or human

story with more narrative and analytical depth than hard news. Purpose: to inform thoroughly

and engage emotionally, often humanizing a broader issue through individual stories.

Target Audience & Context Readers willing to invest more time; published in magazine

sections of newspapers, dedicated magazines (long-form journalism), or weekend

supplements.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Narrative lead (a scene or anecdote) rather than inverted pyramid

• Subheadings breaking the piece into thematic sections

• Mix of narrative scene, expert quotation, statistical context, and authorial analysis

• Often includes a "nut graf" — a paragraph early on stating the article's broader

significance/argument• Photography/pull quotes integrated throughout, not just at the top

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Novelistic techniques: scene-setting, characterization of real people, dialogue

• Varied sentence length for pacing — short punchy sentences at dramatic moments,

longer descriptive ones for context

• Use of a representative individual ("case study") to illustrate a wider trend

• Transitions between micro (personal story) and macro (statistics, expert commentary)

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how the individual case study is used to represent a broader social

issue — is this manipulative or genuinely illuminating?

• Track the structural alternation between narrative scene and analytical commentary.

• Note where emotional engagement (pathos) is built before the argument (logos) is

delivered — feature writing often persuades by making you care first.

Short Concrete Example

"Maria first noticed the cracks in her ceiling the same week the mine reopened. She didn't connect the two until her neighbor's well ran dry. Across the valley, residents are reporting similar damage — a pattern that geologists say is no coincidence. [...] Maria's story is, in miniature, the story of forty other families in Coalbrook."

2.5 Interview (Print/Transcript)

Definition & Purpose Published Q&A or narrativized account of a conversation with a

notable/relevant subject. Purpose: to give readers direct or near-direct access to a subject's views, personality, or expertise.

Target Audience & Context Fans of the subject, readers interested in the subject's

expertise/field; published in magazines, online platforms, podcast transcripts.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Either strict Q&A format (Q: ... A: ...) or narrativized prose interspersing direct quotes

with journalist's framing/description

• Introductory paragraph establishing the subject's significance and the interview's

context/setting

• Bracketed editorial insertions [laughs], [pauses] indicating tone/non-verbal cues

• Often ends on a memorable or revealing quote ("kicker")

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Colloquial, conversational register in the subject's quoted speech (contractions,

hesitations, informal syntax) vs. more polished framing prose by the journalist

• Journalist's interjections often subtly evaluative ("she says, smiling faintly")• Leading or probing questions reveal the journalist's angle/agenda

• Ellipsis and dashes indicating interruption or trailing thought in transcribed speech

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine the power dynamic between interviewer and subject — who controls the

direction of the conversation, and how is this shown through question phrasing?

• Note the journalist's framing language around quotes (adverbs, stage directions) as

subtle authorial commentary/bias.

• Consider what is edited out — an interview transcript is never a complete

unmediated record.

Short Concrete Example

Q: Some critics call your latest work self-indulgent. How do you respond? A: [laughs]

Self-indulgent? Sure. Show me an artist who isn't. I'm not writing for the critics — I never

have been. I'm writing for the version of me that needed this book twenty years ago and didn't have it.

SECTION 3: VISUAL & MULTIMODAL TEXTS

3.1 Print/Digital Advertisement

Definition & Purpose Commercial text combining image and minimal text to persuade an

audience to buy a product, adopt a behavior, or hold a brand favorably. Purpose: persuasion through desire, identification, or fear of missing out.

Target Audience & Context A specific demographic targeted by the product; placed in

magazines, billboards, social media feeds, TV — context (where it's placed) often reveals the target audience.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Visual hierarchy: dominant image, smaller logo, brand name, slogan/tagline, minimal

body copy

• Rule of thirds or central focal point directing the eye

• White space used strategically to convey luxury/minimalism or to focus attention

• Logo placement (often bottom-right or center) for brand recall

• Typography choices (serif = tradition/luxury; sans-serif = modern/clean) as deliberate

signifiers

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Slogans using alliteration, rhyme, or wordplay for memorability ("Just Do It")

• Second-person direct address ("You deserve...")

• Imperative verbs (commands: "Discover," "Experience," "Buy now")• Connotation-heavy single words/phrases rather than full argument (because

space/attention is limited)

• Juxtaposition of image and text creating implied meaning beyond literal content

IB Analysis Focus

• Analyze the interplay between image and text — what does each element do alone,

and what new meaning emerges from their combination?

• Identify the implied narrative or lifestyle being sold (you're not just buying a

product, you're buying an identity).

• Examine visual semiotics: color symbolism, composition, models'

positioning/expression, and what cultural codes they draw on.

Short Concrete Example Visual description: A minimalist white background. A single

watch is photographed at a precise diagonal angle, catching light on its face. Below, in small, elegant serif font: "Time is the only luxury that cannot be bought back." Brand logo, small, bottom center.

3.2 Infographic

Definition & Purpose Visual representation combining data, icons, and minimal text to

communicate information quickly and memorably. Purpose: to simplify complex data for

rapid comprehension and shareability.

Target Audience & Context General public or specific professional audiences (depending on topic); published on social media, news sites, reports, embedded in articles.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Modular sections, often numbered or color-coded, guiding the eye through a sequence

• Heavy use of icons/pictograms standing in for words

• Charts/graphs (bar, pie, line) presenting quantitative data visually

• Minimal running text — mostly statistics, labels, and short captions

• Consistent color palette signaling categories or a brand

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Numerals foregrounded (large font size) for data points

• Short, punchy labels rather than full sentences

• Superlatives and comparatives ("the highest," "twice as likely") to make data feel

significant

• Minimal hedging language — data presented with apparent certainty/authority

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how visual hierarchy and color coding direct interpretation of the data

— what's made big/bold, and why?• Consider what context or nuance is stripped away by reducing data to icons and

numbers (infographics simplify, which can also distort).

• Note the source/credibility (or lack thereof) of the data, and whether the visual

design lends false authority.

Short Concrete Example Visual description: A vertical infographic titled "WHERE DOES

YOUR COFFEE MONEY GO?" with a large coffee cup icon at top. Below, five colored bars

of varying lengths labeled "Farmer: 5%," "Transport: 10%," "Roaster: 15%," "Retailer:

55%," "Tax: 15%" — each bar accompanied by a small relevant icon (a hand, a truck, a

shop).

3.3 Cartoon / Political Cartoon / Comic Strip

Definition & Purpose Single-panel (political cartoon) or multi-panel (comic strip) sequential art combining image and minimal text, often satirical. Purpose: to critique, satirize, or comment on current events/social issues through humor and visual exaggeration, or (for comic strips) to entertain through narrative.

Target Audience & Context Newspaper/magazine readers (political cartoons appear on op-ed pages); comic strip readers across age groups; increasingly published online/social media.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Panels dividing the narrative/joke into sequential moments (comic strips) or a single

condensed panel (political cartoons)

• Caption or speech bubbles carrying dialogue/narration

• Caricature: exaggerated physical features of real public figures for recognition and

ridicule

• Visual symbolism/allegory: figures, objects standing for abstract concepts (e.g., a

vulture labeled "Inflation")

• Gutter space (between panels) implying the passage of time the reader must infer

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Visual irony/incongruity — exaggeration that highlights hypocrisy or absurdity

• Minimal text reliant on visual punchline; words often only confirm/anchor what the

image already implies

• Intertextual/cultural allusion (referencing other artworks, historical images, other

media) for satirical effect

• Captions using understatement or irony to undercut a grim/serious image

IB Analysis Focus

• Decode visual symbolism and caricature — what is exaggerated, and what

argument does that exaggeration make?

• Examine the relationship between image and any accompanying text/caption —

does the caption support, ironize, or contradict the image?• For comic strips: track panel-to-panel sequencing and what's omitted in the gutters

(the implied action between frames).

Short Concrete Example Visual description: A single-panel cartoon showing a politician at a podium, sweating, with a giant melting glacier visible through the window behind him, captioned simply: "...and that concludes my speech on long-term planning."

3.4 Photograph (Journalistic/Documentary)

Definition & Purpose A single still image, often accompanied by a caption, used to

document, evidence, or evoke an emotional/political response to an event or condition.

Purpose: to bear witness, persuade through visual evidence, or provoke empathy/outrage.

Target Audience & Context News readers, NGO/charity audiences, gallery/exhibition

visitors; published in photojournalism, news articles, charity reports, exhibitions.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Framing/cropping: what is included/excluded from the shot

• Composition: rule of thirds, leading lines, foreground/background relationships

• Caption providing factual anchor (who, where, when) — without it, meaning is

ambiguous

• Often paired with a headline or pull-quote in publication context

Key Stylistic/Language Features (Visual "Language")

• Focal point and depth of field: what's sharp vs. blurred directs attention/emotion

• Lighting and color grading: high contrast for drama, desaturation for bleakness,

warm tones for intimacy

• Subject's gaze: direct eye contact with camera implicates viewer; gaze elsewhere

suggests vulnerability or unawareness of being photographed

• Scale and perspective: a low-angle shot can dignify/empower a subject; a high angle

can diminish them

IB Analysis Focus

• Analyze how composition and framing construct meaning — the photographer's

choices are never neutral.

• Examine the caption's role in anchoring (or manipulating) the viewer's interpretation

of an otherwise ambiguous image.

• Consider the ethics of representation: whose suffering/experience is shown, by

whom, and for what audience's consumption?

Short Concrete Example Visual description: A black-and-white photograph, slightly low-

angle, of a child standing alone amid rubble, looking directly at the camera. Caption beneath:

"Aleppo, 2016. Lina, age seven, returned to find her street unrecognizable."3.5 Charity Appeal (Print/Digital)

Definition & Purpose A persuasive multimodal text soliciting donations or support for a

cause. Purpose: to generate empathy and urgency leading to immediate financial/behavioral action.

Target Audience & Context Potential donors, often targeted via direct mail, social media, or magazine inserts; sometimes targeted demographically (age, income bracket) based on the charity's typical donor profile.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Large, emotionally striking central image (often a single individual, especially a child,

evoking sympathy)

• Bold headline making an emotional or statistical claim

• Body text structured as: problem → individual story (case study) → statistic → call to

action

• Clear, prominent call-to-action box (donation amount tiers, QR code, phone number)

often visually separated/highlighted

• Charity logo and tagline for credibility

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Pathos-heavy diction: emotive adjectives, vulnerable imagery ("hungry," "alone,"

"forgotten")

• Direct second-person address creating personal responsibility ("You can give Maria a

future")

• Specific, "humanizing" individual case study standing in for a larger crisis

(synecdoche)

• Urgency markers ("today," "right now," "before it's too late")

• Anchoring numbers (specific small donation amounts: "Just $5 can...") making giving

feel manageable

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how an individual's story is deployed rhetorically to represent a mass

crisis, and the ethical tension this can raise (instrumentalizing suffering for

persuasion).

• Analyze the interplay of statistic (logos) and personal story (pathos) in building

the appeal's case.

• Note how the call-to-action is structured to lower psychological barriers to giving

(small suggested amounts, simple action steps).

Short Concrete Example Visual description: A close-up photograph of a young girl's face,

eyes slightly downcast. Headline in bold red: "SHE HASN'T EATEN IN THREE DAYS."

Body text: "Amara is six. Right now, $5 can give her a week of meals. Will you help her see

tomorrow?" Below: a row of donation buttons — $5 / $25 / $50 / Other.3.6 Poster (Public Information / Propaganda / Promotional)

Definition & Purpose A single-page visual-text composition designed for public display to inform, persuade, warn, or promote. Purpose ranges from public health messaging to political propaganda to event promotion.

Target Audience & Context General passersby — must communicate instantly since

viewing time is brief; displayed in public spaces (streets, transit, noticeboards) or digitally.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Minimal text — a poster must work at a glance

• Bold, large typography for the central message; smaller text for supporting detail

• Strong central image or symbol, often singular and iconic

• High color contrast for visibility from a distance

• Often a clear directive or slogan as the dominant text element

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Imperatives and commands ("Stop," "Join," "Report")

• Symbolic/iconic imagery rather than literal/detailed scenes (must be decoded

instantly)

• Repetition or rhyme in slogans for memorability

• Propaganda posters specifically: simplified, binary moral framing (us/them,

good/evil), idealized or demonized figures

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how simplicity and immediacy are achieved through visual and verbal

economy — every retained element must justify its inclusion.

• For propaganda specifically: analyze how visual symbolism constructs a binary

worldview and an emotional, non-rational call to action.

• Consider the historical/political context of production and how that shapes both

content and the original viewer's likely response.

Short Concrete Example Visual description: A WWII-style poster in red, black, and cream.

A muscular arm in factory overalls rolls up its sleeve against a sunburst background. Bold

block text beneath: "YOUR HANDS. OUR VICTORY." Smaller text at the bottom: "Report

to your nearest recruitment office."

SECTION 4: PUBLIC DISCOURSE

4.1 Speech

Definition & Purpose A text composed for oral delivery to a live (and often broadcast)

audience. Purpose: to persuade, inspire, inform, or mobilize through rhetoric designed for the ear, not just the eye.Target Audience & Context A specific live audience (a graduating class, a parliament, a nation) plus a broader, often global, secondary audience via broadcast/transcript; delivered at ceremonies, political events, protests, trials.

Core Formal Features (Layout — as transcribed text)

• Often opens with direct address/acknowledgment of the audience ("Ladies and

gentlemen," "Fellow citizens")

• Structured for oral delivery: shorter sentences, frequent pauses (often marked by

punctuation), built-in moments for audience reaction (applause lines)

• Tripartite structure common: exordium (hook) → body (argument/narrative) →

peroration (rousing conclusion)

• Repetition of key phrases functioning as structural anchors throughout

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Anaphora (repeated opening phrases) for rhythm and emphasis ("We shall... we

shall... we shall...")

• Tricolon (lists of three) for rhetorical satisfaction and memorability

• Rhetorical questions engaging the live audience directly

• Direct address ("you," "we") building collective identity/solidarity

• Pathos-driven emotive language balanced with ethos (speaker's credibility/authority)

and logos (reasoned claims)

• Pauses/emphasis implied through short sentence fragments or dashes

IB Analysis Focus

• Analyze how oral rhetorical devices (anaphora, tricolon, rhetorical questions)

build persuasive momentum — these are designed to be heard and felt, not just read.

• Examine the construction of a collective identity ("we") and how it unites the

audience around the speaker's cause.

• Consider the occasion and context of delivery — how does knowing this was spoken

aloud, to a specific audience, change your reading of register and structure?

Short Concrete Example

"We did not ask for this fight. We did not seek this burden. But here we stand — tired, yes; afraid, yes; but unbroken. They said we would scatter. We did not scatter. They said we would forget. We have not forgotten. And we will not, not now, not ever, back down."

4.2 Manifesto

Definition & Purpose A public declaration of beliefs, intentions, and demands, typically

from a political, artistic, or social movement. Purpose: to galvanize support, define a

movement's identity, and demand change.Target Audience & Context Potential supporters/members of a movement, the wider public,

and opponents; published as pamphlets, political party documents, art movement statements, online declarations.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Often organized as numbered points, declarations, or principles ("We believe...," "We

demand...")

• Bold, declarative opening statement establishing the movement's core identity

• May use a list format for clarity and force of repetition

• Sectioned by theme/principle, building toward a call to action

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Absolutist, declarative diction — minimal hedging, strong modal verbs ("must,"

"will")

• Anaphoric repetition of "We" statements establishing collective identity and resolve

• Binary, oppositional framing (the movement vs. the establishment/status quo)

• Present tense for timeless, urgent assertions

• Often deliberately provocative or aphoristic phrasing designed for quotability

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how repetitive, listed structure builds cumulative rhetorical force and a

sense of inevitability/unity.

• Analyze the construction of "us" vs. "them" and how this binary mobilizes group

identity.

• Consider the gap between aspiration/rhetoric and feasibility — manifestos often

prioritize emotional conviction over practical detail.

Short Concrete Example

"We reject the slow politics of incremental compromise. We demand clean water, now. We demand fair wages, now. We are done waiting for permission to exist with dignity. This is not a request. This is a declaration."

4.3 Blog Post

Definition & Purpose Informal, often first-person digital writing on a personal or topic-

specific website/platform. Purpose ranges from personal expression to building an

audience/brand around expertise or opinion.

Target Audience & Context Niche or general online readership depending on the blog's

focus; subscribers/followers who may have an ongoing relationship with the writer; published on personal sites, Substack, Medium, etc.

Core Formal Features (Layout)• Title, often clickbait-adjacent or personality-driven

• Author bio/photo, sometimes comment section enabled (implying dialogic,

participatory reading)

• Hyperlinks embedded in text (intertextual, allowing readers to verify/explore further)

• Shorter paragraphs than print essays, often with subheadings, bullet points, or

numbered lists for scannability

• May include embedded images, GIFs, or social media embeds

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Highly informal, conversational register — contractions, colloquialisms, direct

address to reader ("you know that feeling when...")

• First-person, confessional or opinionated voice; little pretense of objectivity

• Humor, self-deprecation, or deliberate provocation to build relatability/engagement

• Hashtags or hyperlinked references assuming digital literacy

IB Analysis Focus

• Examine how the informal, conversational register builds intimacy and trust with

the reader, functioning as a persuasive strategy in itself.

• Note the use of digital-specific features (hyperlinks, formatting for scanning) and

how they shape reading behavior differently from print.

• Consider the blog's implied ongoing relationship with a returning audience —

how does the writer assume prior familiarity?

Short Concrete Example

"Okay, so. We need to talk about why everyone suddenly cares about sourdough. (You know who you are.) I have a theory, and it's not just 'pandemic boredom' — though sure, that's part of it. Stick with me here. [continue reading →]"

4.4 Social Media Campaign / Post

Definition & Purpose Short-form digital text (often combined with image/video) designed for rapid circulation, engagement, and amplification across a platform. Purpose: to spread a message virally, build a movement, or shape public discourse through accessible, shareable content.

Target Audience & Context Platform-specific audiences (X/Twitter's brevity-driven public discourse vs. Instagram's visual-first audience vs. TikTok's youth-skewing video audience); shaped heavily by the affordances of the specific platform.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Strict or implicit character/length limits shaping concision

• Hashtags functioning as both categorization and rallying cry (#MeToo,

#BlackLivesMatter)• Visual-text integration: image/video often more prominent than accompanying caption

• Engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments) visible and part of the text's social

meaning

• Threading (sequential posts) for longer arguments within a brevity-based platform

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Extreme economy of language — every word must work hard within character limits

• Hashtags as a rhetorical device: condensing a complex issue into a memorable,

searchable, shareable unit

• Emojis/visual punctuation supplementing or replacing words

• Imperatives and calls to action ("Share if you agree," "Tag someone who needs to see

this")

• Irony, memes, and intertextual references assuming high cultural/platform literacy

IB Analysis Focus

• Analyze how the hashtag functions rhetorically — as slogan, search-tool, and

identity marker simultaneously.

• Examine how platform constraints (brevity, virality mechanics) shape the

rhetoric itself — the medium is not neutral.

• Consider the collective, participatory nature of campaigns — how does the text

invite the audience to become co-producers (via sharing, remixing, hashtag use) rather

than passive readers?

Short Concrete Example

"We marched for eight hours today. My feet hurt. My voice is gone. I have never felt more

certain we are on the right side of history. #StandWithUs #NotBackingDown [Image: a

crowd holding handmade signs, viewed from above] 12.4K Retweets · 45.2K Likes"

SECTION 5: LITERARY FORMS

5.1 Poetry

Definition & Purpose A literary form using condensed, often rhythmic and figurative

language to evoke emotion, image, or insight. Purpose: aesthetic expression, emotional

resonance, and meaning-making through form itself (form is never incidental in poetry).

Target Audience & Context Varies enormously — from intimate, personal readership to

public performance audiences (spoken word); published in poetry collections, literary

magazines, or performed live.

Core Formal Features (Layout)• Line breaks — deliberate, meaningful divisions controlling pace, emphasis, and

ambiguity (enjambment vs. end-stopped lines)

• Stanza structure — regular (quatrains, couplets) or irregular, each carrying structural

significance

• Form: fixed forms (sonnet, villanelle, haiku) carry inherited conventions/expectations

the poet may follow or subvert; free verse rejects fixed pattern deliberately

• White space on the page as a meaningful visual element

• Title functioning as an interpretive frame/lens for the poem

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Imagery (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) as the primary vehicle of meaning

• Sound devices: rhyme (end/internal), alliteration, assonance, consonance,

onomatopoeia

• Rhythm/meter: iambic pentameter, free verse cadence — pace mirrors meaning

• Figurative language: metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism — often working

on multiple levels simultaneously

• Volta (turn) — a shift in argument/tone, especially in sonnets, often signaled by a

conjunction ("but," "yet")

• Caesura (mid-line pause) for dramatic or rhythmic effect

IB Analysis Focus

• Treat form and content as inseparable: ask why THIS structure (line breaks, stanza

length, rhyme scheme or its absence) serves THIS meaning.

• Track shifts/turns (volta) in tone, argument, or perspective across the poem — these

are almost always significant.

• Analyze how sound (rhythm, rhyme, assonance) enacts meaning rather than

simply decorating it (e.g., does a halting rhythm mimic hesitation or grief?).

• Consider the speaker (never assume the poet = speaker) and their relationship to the

implied listener/reader.

Short Concrete Example

Untitled The kettle screams the hour again — not loud enough to wake the house, just loud enough to wake the part of me that still expects you in the kitchen, still sets two cups from habit, not from hope.

5.2 Short Fiction (Extract)

Definition & Purpose A compressed narrative prose form, often excerpted for Paper 1 from a longer story. Purpose: to render character, conflict, or theme with economy, often through a single significant moment or epiphany rather than expansive plot.

Target Audience & Context Literary fiction readers; published in short story collections,

literary magazines, anthologies.

Core Formal Features (Layout)• Dense, economical structure — every detail typically carries weight given limited space

• May begin in medias res (mid-action), with backstory revealed through allusion rather

than exposition

• Often structured around a single pivotal scene/moment rather than a sprawling plot

arc

• Dialogue formatting (quotation marks, paragraph breaks per speaker) revealing

character through speech patterns

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Narrative voice/point of view: first person (intimate, limited, potentially unreliable),

third person limited (close to one character's perspective), or omniscient

• Free indirect discourse: blending narrator's voice with a character's thoughts without

explicit attribution

• Symbolism and motif: recurring images carrying thematic weight disproportionate to

their narrative "size"

• Show, don't tell: action/dialogue/detail implying emotion or character rather than

stating it directly

• Controlled, often abrupt or ambiguous endings (especially in literary short fiction)

resisting neat resolution

IB Analysis Focus

• Analyze the narrative perspective and its reliability/limitations — what does this

lens reveal, distort, or withhold?

• Examine how a single scene/moment is made to carry disproportionate symbolic

or thematic weight given the form's compression.

• Track what is implied rather than stated — short fiction relies heavily on inference,

silence, and subtext.

• Consider the extract's position within the larger (unseen) narrative — what might

come before/after, and how does that shape your reading of this excerpt specifically?

Short Concrete Example

She set the plate down without looking at him. "Eat," she said, the way she always said it — not as an invitation but as a fact, like weather. He looked at the food, then at her hands, which were trembling slightly, though whether from the cold or something else he had stopped trying to guess.

5.3 Drama Excerpt (Play Script)

Definition & Purpose A scripted text intended for theatrical performance, conveying story primarily through dialogue and stage direction rather than narration. Purpose: to be enacted live, generating meaning through performance as well as text.Target Audience & Context Theatre audiences (live) and readers of published play scripts;

the text is always incomplete on the page — it anticipates embodiment, staging, and audience reaction.

Core Formal Features (Layout)

• Character names preceding each line of dialogue (often capitalized)

• Stage directions (often italicized/bracketed) indicating movement, tone, setting,

props

• Act/scene divisions structuring the dramatic action

• Minimal narrative description — setting and atmosphere conveyed through dialogue

and stage directions rather than prose description

• Asides/soliloquies marked distinctly, breaking the fourth wall or revealing private

thought to the audience alone

Key Stylistic/Language Features

• Subtext: what characters mean vs. what they literally say — dialogue often relies on

implication, evasion, or irony

• Dramatic irony: audience knowledge exceeding character knowledge, creating

tension

• Distinctive idiolects per character (diction, syntax, rhythm) revealing class,

personality, education, emotional state

• Pauses, interruptions, overlapping dialogue (marked typographically) revealing

power dynamics or emotional disruption

• Stage directions as authorial commentary — even minimal ones (e.g., "[pause]") can

be loaded with meaning

IB Analysis Focus

• Treat dialogue as the primary vehicle of characterization — analyze diction,

syntax, and rhythm per character as deliberate authorial choices.

• Examine the function of stage directions: what do they reveal that dialogue alone

cannot (tone, movement, visual symbolism)?

• Analyze subtext and what is left unsaid — drama often communicates most

powerfully through evasion, silence, or contradiction between word and stage

direction.

• Consider the performative dimension: how might staging, blocking, or actor

delivery shape meaning beyond the words on the page?

Short Concrete Example

MARGARET: (not looking up from the letter) You're back early. THOMAS: Am

I. MARGARET: (folding the letter, too carefully) I wasn't expecting you until

six. THOMAS: No. I don't suppose you were. (A long pause. Neither moves.)

Quick-Reference Comparison TableText Type Primary Mode of

Persuasion

Key Structural

Signature Easiest Trap to Avoid

Don't just summarize the

Personal Essay Ethos via reflective

voice

Particular → universal

movement

"story," analyze the

thinking

Travel Writing Pathos via sensory

Journey-based

Don't ignore the power

imagery

chronology

dynamic of the gaze

Memoir/Biography Ethos via curated

Theme-based, non-

Don't treat memory as

memory

linear

objective fact

Letter (open) Logos + pathos,

Salutation → argument

Don't ignore the real vs.

direct address

→ sign-off

stated audience

Diary Authenticity via

Dated, fragmented

Don't forget the

immediacy

entries

privacy/publication tension

News Report Logos via

"objectivity" Inverted pyramid Don't assume neutral

language is truly neutral

Opinion Column Ethos via personal

voice Loose, persona-driven Don't confuse persona with

the writer's true self

Editorial Ethos via

Formal claim-

Don't mistake "we" for

institutional "we"

evidence-action

individual opinion

Don't ignore the

Feature Article Pathos then logos Narrative scene +

analysis

synecdochal use of

individual stories

Interview Authenticity via

direct quote Q&A or narrativized Don't forget the edit is

invisible

Advertisement Pathos via image-

text synergy Visual hierarchy Don't analyze image and

text separately

Infographic Logos via data

visualization Modular, icon-driven Don't take the "objectivity"

of data at face value

Don't only describe the

Cartoon Satire via visual

irony Panel(s) + caption

joke — analyze its

argument

Don't forget the caption

Photograph Pathos via

composition Frame + caption

anchors ambiguous

meaning

Pathos via

Charity Appeal

individual case

study

Poster Immediate visual-

verbal impact

Speech Pathos/ethos via

oral rhetoric

Manifesto Ethos via collective

declaration

Blog Post Ethos via informal

intimacy

Problem → story →

CTA

Don't ignore the ethics of

representing suffering

Minimal text, bold

image

Exordium-body-

peroration

Listed

principles/demands

Conversational,

scannable

Don't overlook

historical/political context

Don't forget it was meant

to be heard, not read

Don't ignore the us-vs-

them binary construction

Don't mistake informality

for lack of craftText Type Primary Mode of

Persuasion

Key Structural

Signature Easiest Trap to Avoid

Social Media Post Virality via brevity

+ hashtag Platform-constrained Don't ignore the medium's

effect on the message

Poetry Form-meaning

unity Lines/stanzas/sound

Don't separate form

analysis from meaning

analysis

Short Fiction Implication via

compression Single pivotal scene

Don't summarize plot

instead of analyzing

technique

Drama Excerpt Subtext via

dialogue/staging

Dialogue + stage

directions

Don't forget the unwritten

performance dimension

Final Exam-Day Reminders

• Always start from the guiding question. It tells you which 3-4 features from this

guide are actually relevant — you do not have time to discuss everything you know

about a text type.

• Identify the text type early, but don't stop there — naming "this is a charity appeal"

earns you nothing; explaining how its specific charity-appeal features serve its

purpose does.

• For multimodal texts, always discuss the relationship between image and text — that

interaction is usually where the richest meaning lives.

• For literary extracts, remember the extract is a fragment of something larger —

speculate briefly and purposefully about context only insofar as it illuminates the

passage itself.

• Always link form back to effect on the reader/viewer/listener — a feature

identified without a stated effect is only half an analysis.