What the exam asks
Whether you are reading an unseen non-literary text in Paper 1 or writing a closed-book essay on two literary works in Paper 2, examiners reward candidates who zoom in on specific words, sentence structures and figures of speech.
- Paper 1 guiding questions often target language directly (for example, “How does the writer use diction and tone to persuade the reader?”) or ask a broader question where language analysis provides your detailed evidence.
- Paper 2 rewards analysis of small-scale features and/or broader authorial choices (such as structure or narrative perspective), even without the texts in front of you: Criterion B1 judges the quality of your analysis, not which kind of choice you pick. You do not need to memorize long quotations (the IB does not expect quotations in Paper 2), but recalling a key metaphor, a shift in tone, or an author’s distinctive register is one of the best ways to show the precise analysis that top marks in Criterion B1 need.
- Criterion D (Language) across all components rewards precise subject terminology used naturally to sharpen your explanation, not listed for its own sake.
Core ideas
1. Diction, connotation and semantic fields
Diction simply means word choice. Always qualify the term with an adjective, such as colloquial diction (chatty, everyday words), clinical diction (cold, technical words) or archaic diction (old-fashioned words).
- Denotation vs connotation: Denotation is a word’s literal dictionary definition; connotation is the web of associations, emotions and implied values it carries. Describing a politician’s plan as a “scheme” rather than a “strategy” uses negative connotations of deceit.
- Loaded or emotive language: Words chosen specifically to trigger a strong emotional reaction rather than a rational one (for example, calling a tax increase a “raid on family savings”).
- Naming and labelling: How a writer chooses to label people or events frames the reader’s perspective. Calling a group “migrants”, “expats”, “refugees” or “newcomers” shifts their implied status and agency (their power to act for themselves).
- Semantic field (or lexical field): A group of words from the same domain of meaning woven through a passage. If an opinion column about school exams uses the words “trenches”, “barrage”, “casualties” and “surrender”, it builds a semantic field of warfare, framing education as destructive combat.
2. Tone, mood and shifts
Tone is the writer’s or speaker’s attitude towards the subject or audience, such as sardonic (grimly mocking), urgent, reverent (deeply respectful) or patronizing (talking down to the reader). Mood (or atmosphere) is the emotional feeling created for the reader, such as claustrophobic (trapped and closed-in), euphoric (intensely happy) or melancholic (deeply sad).
Tone is never created by a single word; it emerges from the combination of diction, syntax and punctuation. Top-band analysis looks for tonal shifts—the exact moment where a text pivots from, say, nostalgic warmth to bitter irony—and explains why the writer shifts at that point to guide the audience’s response.
3. Register and mode of address
Register is the level of formality and the style of language suited to a particular social situation or professional domain (such as legalistic, conversational, academic, intimate).