Introduction

Close textual analysis skills are absolutely fundamental to good AS and A Level English Literature essays. This is your chance to engage with writers’ methods and to discuss these in a suitably academic way, showing off an understanding of how the subject works and relevant literary terminology.

This is the focus of AO2 (Analysis) and it is essential to pack as much detail as you can into your work for the higher grades. You will be working on this skill continually throughout the course, applying it to a wide range of different texts, but this topic introduces you to the key principles of analysis and explains the three-part critical response, PQC. (You may previously have called this PEE or PEA, but it doesn’t matter what you call it as they all mean the same thing.)

The level of analytical detail expected at AS is higher than at (I)GCSE, so you should be expanding your critical vocabulary throughout the course and looking at ways to deepen and develop your analytical points. You will read more about literary terminology later in this module.

Task

This document explains both the three-part critical response, and how to use it, with examples:

PRINT OUT & READ – Style Tip 3: Close Textual Analysis (PQC)

Print it out and read it very carefully. Come back to it regularly to help you complete your assignments.