English Language and Literature Help Sheet:
When you want to be ‘critical’ or show a ‘personal’ response in your English Language and Literature exams, you might use any of these phrases.
Remember to substitute the writer’s last name for ‘The writer’ in the examples, e.g. Shakespeare, Orwell, Stevenson, Wordsworth, etc. and ‘tweak’ the phrasing to suit what you want to say.
The writer’s deliberate use/choice of the word/image xxx shows…
The use of the structural device xxx reinforces the writer’s message that…
In using the vivid imagery of xxx the writer creates a feeling of…
The writer’s juxtapositioning of xxx and xxx cleverly reminds the reader/reinforces the feeling of/creates an impression of…
Interestingly…
In order to shock the reader, the writer uses…
The writer uses xxx to great dramatic impact, as…
Surprising the reader with xxx the writer reinforces…
The writer deliberately uses xxx to startle the reader and make them feel…
The writer’s fascinating use of xxx (structural and/or language device) creates a sense of xxx in the reader
The writer’s cautious/sparing use of…
By using xxx (structural and/or language device) the writer intensifies the atmosphere/image/message of…
The writer’s use of xxx astonishes the reader as…
The surprising use of xxx highlights the writer’s message/point of view/opinion…
Thoughtfully, the writer has...
Evoking a strong reaction of xxx in the reader…
The use of powerful/emotive/evocative/vivid/impressive/astonishing xxx
English Language and Literature Help Sheet:
When you want to compare and/or contrast TWO (or more) ideas or texts in your English Language and Literature exams, you might use any of these phrases.
Remember to substitute the writer’s last name for ‘The writer’ in the examples, e.g. Shakespeare, Orwell, Stevenson, Wordsworth, etc. and ‘tweak’ the phrasing to suit what you want to say.
Comparing similarities:
Interestingly, both writers use…
It is worth noting that both texts/writers present…
Similarly,
Comparatively,
Likewise,
Another way in which the writers’ ideas/use of language/presentation of a moral is similar is…
Equally, the writer of xxx has presented their opinion…
Contrasting or considering differences:
Conversely,
Alternatively,
On the other hand,
Juxtapositioned with this is…
The polar opposite of xxx is presented by…
However, xxx is diametrically opposed to this…
Contrary to this…
On the contrary…
English Language and Literature Help Sheet:
When you want to comment on the effect of ideas/imagery/language/structure/techniques or texts in your English Language and Literature exams, you might use any of these phrases instead of ‘this is effective as it engages the reader’!
Remember to substitute the writer’s last name for ‘The writer’ in the examples, e.g. Shakespeare, Orwell, Stevenson, Wordsworth, etc. and ‘tweak’ the phrasing to suit what you want to say.
The writer engages the reader’s sympathy by…
The use of the image/technique is effective as it evokes the feeling of xxx in the reader.
By using this powerful verb/adverb/adjective the writer cleverly elicits an emotional response of xxx in the reader.
The deliberate use of emotive language requires the reader to feel…
The writer’s clever use of evocative imagery engages the reader’s sense of sympathy/ empathy/pity/excitement, etc…
By creating a mood/atmosphere of xxx the writer ensures that the reader feels xxx too.
The writer’s deliberate use of a semantic field linked to the theme of xxx means that they evoke/create/reinforce/highlight/emphasise a mood/atmosphere/sense of…
In order to make the reader feel sympathy/pity/fear, etc. for the protagonist/antagonist, etc. they make clever use of…
By creating a sense of xxx with their use of imagery/powerful verbs/semantic field/ structural device, etc. the writer elicits a feeling of xxx from the reader.
In order to intensify the emotional response in the reader, the writer uses…
The atmosphere/emotional response, etc. is intensified by the writer’s deliberate/clever /interesting use of the image/technique/structural device, etc.