Literary theory gives you different lenses for reading. The same text can reveal different things when you ask different questions.
🔍 Common lenses
A critical lens is a set of questions about a text. Formalist reading focuses on the text itself: form, language and structure. Historical/biographical reading explains it by its time and its author’s life. Feminist criticism asks about gender roles and power. Marxist criticism examines class, money and power. Psychoanalytic criticism explores desires, fears and the unconscious. Postcolonial criticism studies empire, culture and identity.
formalist: How do structure and imagery create meaning?
feminist: Who has power? How are women represented?
Marxist: Who owns what? How does class shape events?
psychoanalytic: What do dreams, desires and fears reveal?
postcolonial: Whose voice is centred or silenced?
6 lenses listed above
🖼️ See it
A lens is a way of asking questions. Different lenses reveal different meanings in the same passage.
🧭 Using a lens
To use a lens, pick a question it raises, find evidence in the text, and explain what the lens reveals. Do not force a theory onto a text: use it when it genuinely helps. Two lenses can give competing readings, and strong essays acknowledge this.
Text: a servant hides the master’s mistake.
Marxist reading: class loyalty hides unequal power.
Psychoanalytic reading: fear of authority shapes the servant’s choice.
readings combined: 2 lenses → 2 interpretations
Theory is a tool, not the answer. Always return to the words on the page.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 7
Formalist
A formalist critic would mainly examine:
Words on the page.
✏️ Quick check · 2 of 7
Marxist
A Marxist reading of a novel asks mainly about:
Class.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 7
Feminist
A feminist critic might ask:
Gender.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 7
Postcolonial
Postcolonial criticism is concerned with:
Empire.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 7
The lenses listed are formalist, feminist, Marxist, psychoanalytic and postcolonial, plus historical.
How many lenses is that?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Count them.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 7
A 1200-word essay gives 30% of its words to a feminist reading and 45% to a Marxist reading. The rest is the introduction and conclusion.
How many words are the introduction and conclusion together?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
words
Find the remaining percentage first.
✍️ Type your answer · 7 of 7
A 1000-word essay spends 40% of the words on the second lens.
How many words is that?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Multiply.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
A critical lens is:
Question 2 of 5
Psychoanalytic criticism draws on ideas about:
Question 3 of 5
The biographical approach looks at:
Question 4 of 5
Reader-response criticism focuses on:
Question 5 of 5
Why might a critic use more than one lens?
Lesson 2 · Argument
🎯 Rhetorical Analysis of Complex Texts
Rhetorical analysis explains how a text persuades. At this level you move beyond naming devices to showing how they build an argument.
📐 Analysing choices
Identify the rhetorical situation (speaker, audience, purpose, context) and trace how the writer’s choices (structure, evidence, diction, syntax, tone) serve the purpose. Move from what (device) to how (effect) to why (purpose).
Device: repeated “we”
Effect: creates unity between speaker and audience
Purpose: persuades listeners to act together
WHAT → HOW → WHY (3 steps)
🖼️ See it
Link every device you name to the writer’s purpose and the audience.
🧩 Structure of an argument essay
A strong rhetorical analysis has a thesis that names the strategies and their purpose, body paragraphs organised by strategy or by stage of the text, and commentary that links every example to the thesis. Avoid summarising or judging the argument; analyse it.
thesis: By combining personal anecdote with statistics, the author builds credibility and urgency, persuading readers that reform cannot wait.
body 1: ethos through experience
body 2: logos through data
body 3: pathos through imagery
3 body paragraphs
Verbs matter: use precise ones such as emphasises, juxtaposes, undermines, evokes, not “shows”.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 7
Effect
Which sentence analyses effect rather than just naming the device?
Explain how.
✏️ Quick check · 2 of 7
Thesis
Which is the best thesis for a rhetorical analysis?
Strategies plus purpose.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 7
Avoid
In a rhetorical analysis you should avoid:
Not your opinion.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 7
Verbs
Which verb is most precise for analysis?
Be specific.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 7
WHAT → HOW → WHY is a three-step process.
How many steps?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Count them.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 7
An essay has an introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion.
How many paragraphs are there?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Add.
✍️ Type your answer · 7 of 7
An analysis uses 6 quotations across 3 paragraphs, equally spread.
How many quotations per paragraph?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Divide.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Rhetorical analysis is NOT:
Question 2 of 5
Juxtaposition means:
Question 3 of 5
The purpose of a text is:
Question 4 of 5
A rhetorical shift is:
Question 5 of 5
Concession in an argument can:
Lesson 3 · Literature
⚖️ Comparing Texts
Comparing two texts reveals things neither shows alone. A good comparison is built around ideas, not around the texts one after another.
🔗 Finding common ground
Start with a shared idea or concern (power, loss, identity, nature) and identify similarities and differences in how each text treats it. Compare form and structure, language, perspective and context.
shared idea: the cost of ambition
text A: ambition → ruin (tragic)
text B: ambition → success but loneliness (ambivalent)
similarity: both warn that ambition has a price
difference: A is tragic, B is bittersweet
🖼️ See it
Organise by point of comparison rather than by text, and always say how the two differ or agree.
🏗️ Organising a comparison
Organise by point (point-by-point: each paragraph compares both texts on one idea) rather than text-by-text. Use comparative connectives (similarly, whereas, in contrast, both…). Keep a clear thesis that states what the comparison reveals.
point-by-point plan (2 texts, 3 points):
paragraph 1 theme: text A & text B
paragraph 2 language: text A & text B
paragraph 3 structure: text A & text B
3 body paragraphs, each with 2 texts = 6 pieces of evidence
Give both texts equal attention. Check the balance of evidence.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 7
Point-by-point
A point-by-point comparison is organised:
Idea by idea.
✏️ Quick check · 2 of 7
Connective
Which word signals contrast?
But.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 7
Starting point
The best starting point for a comparison is:
Common ground.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 7
Thesis
A good comparative thesis:
It argues.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 7
A comparison uses 3 points and discusses both texts under each.
How many pieces of evidence (text × point) are there?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Multiply.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 7
An essay of 900 words has equal space for 3 points.
How many words per point?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Divide.
✍️ Type your answer · 7 of 7
A comparison finds 4 similarities and 3 differences.
How many points of comparison is that?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Add.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Which connective signals similarity?
Question 2 of 5
Context in comparison means:
Question 3 of 5
Which is NOT a good basis for comparison?
Question 4 of 5
Balance in a comparison means:
Question 5 of 5
A genre is:
Lesson 4 · Writing
✍️ Advanced Composition: Voice & Revision
At this level you are asked to write with a distinct voice and to revise with purpose. Good writing is rewritten writing.
🎙️ Voice and style
Voice is the personality in the writing, produced by diction, rhythm, tone and point of view. Vary sentence length and structure, use concrete detail, prefer strong verbs to adverbs and avoid clichés. In personal and narrative writing, show through scenes; in analytical writing, be precise and economical.
weak: She walked slowly and sadly out of the room.
stronger: She trudged out, the door clicking shut behind her.
cliché → fresh: “as cold as ice” → “cold as a washed stone”
sentences of 4, 9, 22 and 6 words: varied rhythm
🖼️ See it
Work from big issues to small ones, and read your writing aloud to hear its voice.
🔁 The revision process
Revise in layers: global (purpose, structure, argument), then paragraph (unity, flow), then sentence (clarity, concision, variety), then word (precision), then proofread. Read aloud, get feedback, and let a draft rest before revising.
draft 1: 1200 words → cut 15% → 1020 words
(0.15 · 1200 = 180 words cut)
revision layers: global, paragraph, sentence, word, proofread = 5
Cut first, then polish. Most drafts are improved by removing words, not adding them.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 6
Strong verb
Which sentence uses a stronger verb?
One precise verb.
✏️ Quick check · 2 of 6
Cliché
Which is a cliché?
Heard a thousand times.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 6
First step
When revising, you should start with:
Big picture first.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 6
Voice
Voice in writing is created mainly by:
Style choices.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 6
A draft of 1200 words must be cut by 15%.
How many words must be cut?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
words
Multiply.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 6
A 1200-word draft is cut by 180 words.
How long is the revised draft?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
words
Subtract.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Which technique varies rhythm?
Question 2 of 5
Concision means:
Question 3 of 5
Why read your writing aloud?
Question 4 of 5
Which is a global revision?
Question 5 of 5
Peer feedback is most useful when it is:
Lesson 5 · Literature
🌀 Modernism & Postmodernism
In the twentieth century writers questioned what a story is and what truth means. The result was experiments with voice, structure and form.
🧩 Modernist techniques
Modernists responded to a fragmented world. Stream of consciousness records thoughts as they occur. Fragmentation breaks narrative into pieces. Multiple perspectives and allusion create layers. Free verse and imagist poetry used concrete images (a few words, one image).
stream of consciousness: “…and yes I said yes I will Yes.”
fragmentation: collage of voices and quotations
imagism: one clear image, no wasted words
modernist core: “make it new”
🖼️ See it
Both break with tradition, but modernism mourns lost certainty while postmodernism plays with it.
🔮 Postmodern play
Postmodern writing questions grand narratives and objective truth. Its features include metafiction (a text aware that it is fiction), intertextuality (references to other texts), pastiche, irony, unreliable narration and blurred boundaries between high and popular culture, or fact and fiction.
metafiction: the narrator addresses the reader about the story itself
intertextuality: a novel retells a classic from another view
pastiche: imitation of other styles
3 postmodern features above
Ask what the form is saying. In these texts, structure is part of the meaning.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 6
Stream of consciousness
Stream of consciousness mainly aims to:
Thoughts.
✏️ Quick check · 2 of 6
Metafiction
Metafiction is writing that:
Self-aware.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 6
Intertextuality
Intertextuality means:
Texts in conversation.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 6
Imagism
Imagist poetry values:
One image.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 6
Modernism flourished roughly from 1910 to 1945.
About how many years is that?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
years
Subtract.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 6
A modernist poem has 8 lines of free verse. 6 contain an image.
What percentage of lines contain an image?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
%
Part ÷ whole.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Modernist writers often responded to:
Question 2 of 5
Pastiche is:
Question 3 of 5
A fragmented narrative:
Question 4 of 5
Allusion is:
Question 5 of 5
The postmodern attitude to truth is often:
Lesson 6 · Language
🌐 The English Language: History & Meaning
English is a mix of many languages and keeps changing. Looking at where words come from and how meaning shifts shows how language works.
🏺 Where English words come from
English began as a Germanic language (Old English), absorbed Norse words from Viking settlers (sky, egg, window), and after the Norman Conquest of 1066 took thousands of French words (government, justice, beef). The Renaissance added Latin and Greek (science, democracy). Today English borrows from every language and creates new words constantly.
Old English: cow, pig, sheep (farm animals, Anglo-Saxon farmers)
French: beef, pork, mutton (meat on the table, Norman lords)
Norman Conquest: 1066
printing press in England: 1476 → 1476 − 1066 = 410 years after the Conquest
🖼️ See it
Conquest, printing and dictionaries shaped English vocabulary, spelling and standard forms.
🔬 Meaning, semantics and change
Semantics studies meaning. A word’s denotation is its core meaning and its connotation its associations. Meaning changes by broadening (holiday from holy day), narrowing (meat once meant any food), amelioration, pejoration and semantic shift. Etymology traces a word’s history.
narrowing: meat (any food → animal flesh)
broadening: holiday (holy day → any break)
amelioration: nice (foolish → pleasant)
pejoration: silly (blessed → foolish)
4 kinds of change listed
Language change is not decay. Every living language evolves with its speakers.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 6
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest of 1066 added many words from:
The Normans.
✏️ Quick check · 2 of 6
Narrowing
When “meat” changed from meaning any food to meaning animal flesh, this was:
More specific.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 6
Pejoration
“Silly” once meant “blessed” and now means “foolish”. This is:
Worse.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 6
Etymology
Etymology is the study of:
Origins.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 6
The Norman Conquest was in 1066. Caxton brought the printing press to England in 1476.
How many years after the Conquest was that?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
years
Subtract.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 6
An English dictionary has 600 000 words and 28% come from French.
About how many come from French?
Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
Multiply.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Semantics is the study of:
Question 2 of 5
English “sky” and “egg” come from:
Question 3 of 5
The printing press helped to:
Question 4 of 5
A neologism is:
Question 5 of 5
Which statement is most accurate?
Final Challenge
🏆 12-Question Challenge Quiz
Questions from every topic in this course. Pick an answer for each one, then hit Check My Answers.
0 / 12
💪 Keep practicing — go back through the lessons and retake the quiz!
Q1 · Critical Lenses
The danger of using a lens is that you might:
Q2 · Critical Lenses
Why might a critic use more than one lens?
Q3 · Rhetorical Analysis of Complex Texts
A good commentary sentence always links an example to the:
Q4 · Rhetorical Analysis of Complex Texts
Concession in an argument can:
Q5 · Comparing Texts
Comparison essays are strongest when organised:
Q6 · Comparing Texts
A genre is:
Q7 · Advanced Composition: Voice & Revision
The most effective way to improve a draft is often to:
Q8 · Advanced Composition: Voice & Revision
Peer feedback is most useful when it is:
Q9 · Modernism & Postmodernism
Which technique do both modernists and postmodernists use?
Q10 · Modernism & Postmodernism
The postmodern attitude to truth is often:
Q11 · The English Language: History & Meaning
The study of how a word’s form and meaning developed is: