GCSE & IGCSE English Language key terms

101 terms with short definitions you can learn for the exam. Type to filter the list.

Assessment objectives 14

AO1 (15%) IGCSE: Read and understand a variety of texts, selecting and interpreting information, ideas and perspectives.
AO1 (9.4%) GCSE: Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas; select and synthesise evidence from different texts.
AO2 (13.1%) GCSE: Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using subject terminology.
AO2 (20%) IGCSE: Understand and analyse how writers use linguistic and structural devices to achieve their effects.
AO3 (15%) IGCSE: Explore links and connections between writers' ideas and perspectives, and how these are conveyed.
AO3 (8.8%) GCSE: Compare writers' ideas and perspectives, and how these are conveyed, across two or more texts.
AO4 (18.8%) GCSE: Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references.
AO4 (30%) IGCSE: Communicate effectively and imaginatively, adapting form, tone and register for specific purposes and audiences.
AO5 (20%) IGCSE: Write clearly with a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, appropriate paragraphing and accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation.
AO5 (30%) GCSE: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, adapting tone, style and register to form, purpose and audience; organise ideas with structural and grammatical features for coherence and cohesion.
AO6 (20%) GCSE: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.
AO7 (Spoken Language) GCSE: Demonstrate presentation skills in a formal setting.
AO8 (Spoken Language) GCSE: Listen and respond appropriately to spoken language, including questions and feedback on presentations.
AO9 (Spoken Language) GCSE: Use spoken Standard English effectively in speeches and presentations.

Key terms glossary 87

Adjective: A word that describes a noun, such as 'bleak' or 'gleaming'.
Adverb: A word that adds to a verb, adjective or another adverb, often showing how, when or where: 'slowly', 'suddenly'.
Alliteration: Repeating the same sound at the start of nearby words, as in 'the silent, silver sea'.
Anecdote: A short personal story used to make a point more vivid or believable.
Antithesis: Placing opposite ideas side by side in a balanced structure, as in 'not a burden, but a gift'.
Apostrophe (punctuation): A mark that shows missing letters (don't) or possession (the girl's bag, the girls' bags).
Assonance: Repeating the same vowel sound in nearby words, as in 'the low moan of the old road'.
Atmosphere: The mood or feeling a writer creates in a place or scene, such as tense, peaceful or eerie.
Audience: The people a text is written for. You adapt your register and content to suit them.
Autobiography: A writer's account of their own life, written by themselves. A form of literary non-fiction.
Bias: Presenting one side unfairly, leaving out or playing down evidence for the other side.
Brackets (parentheses): A pair of marks that add extra information or an aside: 'My uncle (who hated boats) came too.'
Climax: The point of greatest tension or importance in a story or text.
Colloquial language: Informal, everyday language like that used in speech, such as 'a bit fed up'.
Colon: A mark that introduces a list, an explanation or an example: 'One thing mattered: survival.'
Comma splice: An error: joining two complete sentences with only a comma. Fix it with a full stop, a semicolon or a conjunction.
Complex sentence: A sentence with a main clause and at least one subordinate clause: 'Although it rained, we walked.'
Compound sentence: Two main clauses joined by a conjunction such as 'and', 'but' or 'so'.
Conjunction: A joining word: coordinating (and, but, or, so) or subordinating (because, although, when, if).
Connotation: The ideas or feelings a word suggests beyond its basic meaning: 'home' suggests safety and warmth.
Counter-argument: An opposing view that a writer mentions and then answers (rebuts) to strengthen their own case.
Cyclical structure: A text that ends where it began, echoing the opening to give a sense of completion or change.
Dash (punctuation): In your own writing, a short hyphen-style dash can add an aside or a dramatic pause. Use it sparingly; a colon or commas often work better.
Dialogue: The words characters speak, shown in speech marks with a new line for each new speaker.
Direct address: Speaking straight to the reader using 'you', which makes a text feel personal and involving.
Discourse marker: A word or phrase that links ideas and guides the reader: 'However', 'Furthermore', 'As a result'.
Ellipsis: Three dots (...) showing words left out, a trailing thought or a pause that builds suspense.
Emotive language: Words chosen to stir strong feelings, such as pity, anger or fear.
Exclamation: A sentence showing strong feeling, ending with an exclamation mark. Use sparingly in formal writing.
Explicit information: Information that is stated directly in the text.
Facts and statistics: Checkable information and numbers that make an argument seem reliable and authoritative.
Figurative language: Language that is not meant literally, such as metaphor, simile and personification.
First-person narrative: A story told by a narrator using 'I', which gives direct access to their thoughts and feelings.
Flashback: A jump back in time to an earlier event, often used to explain a character's feelings.
Foreshadowing: Hints early in a text about what will happen later, which build expectation or tension.
Form: The type of text, such as an article, letter, speech, review, guide, leaflet or story, each with its own conventions.
Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration for effect: 'I have told you a million times.'
Imagery: Descriptive language that creates pictures in the reader's mind and appeals to the senses.
Imperative: A command verb that tells the reader to do something: 'Imagine', 'Act now', 'Stop'.
Implicit information: Meaning that is suggested rather than stated, which the reader has to infer.
Inference: Working out what a writer suggests, using clues in the text.
Irony: When the intended meaning is the opposite of what is said, or when events turn out the opposite of what is expected.
Juxtaposition: Placing two contrasting things close together to highlight the difference between them.
Literary non-fiction: True writing that uses literary techniques, such as autobiography, memoir, travel writing, diaries and letters.
Metaphor: Describing something as if it is something else: 'The classroom was a zoo.'
Modal verb: A verb that shows certainty or possibility, such as 'must', 'should', 'could', 'might', 'will'.
Monosyllabic: Having one syllable. Monosyllabic words can create a blunt, emphatic tone.
Mood: The overall feeling a text creates in the reader.
Narrative perspective: The point of view from which a story is told: first person, second person or third person.
Narrative voice: The personality and tone of the narrator who tells the story.
Noun: A naming word for a person, place, thing or idea. A precise noun is often stronger than an adjective.
Omniscient narrator: A third-person narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of every character.
Onomatopoeia: A word that sounds like the noise it describes, such as 'crash' or 'hiss'.
Oxymoron: Two contradictory words placed together, such as 'deafening silence'.
Pace: The speed at which events unfold or a text reads. Short sentences can quicken pace; long ones can slow it.
Paragraph: A group of sentences on one idea. Start a new one for a change of time, place, topic or speaker.
Pathetic fallacy: Using weather or setting to reflect characters' feelings or the mood, such as a storm during an argument.
Personification: Giving human qualities to something that is not human: 'The wind howled at the door.'
Perspective: A writer's point of view or attitude towards a subject, shaped by their experiences.
Purpose: What a text sets out to do, such as to argue, persuade, inform, advise, describe or entertain.
Register: The level of formality in language, chosen to suit the audience and purpose.
Repetition: Repeating a word, phrase or structure to emphasise an idea or make it memorable.
Rhetorical question: A question asked for effect, not to get an answer, which makes the reader think.
Rule of three (triplet): Grouping ideas or words in threes for rhythm and emphasis: 'safe, fair and free'.
Second-person narrative: Writing that addresses the reader as 'you' throughout, making them part of the experience.
Semantic field: A group of words linked by one topic, such as war words used to describe a football match.
Semicolon: A mark that joins two closely linked main clauses or separates items in a complex list.
Sensory language: Language that appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.
Sentence fragment (minor sentence): A deliberately incomplete sentence used for effect: 'Silence. Then footsteps.'
Sibilance: Repeating 's' and 'sh' sounds, which can suggest softness, secrecy or menace.
Simile: Comparing two things using 'like' or 'as': 'as cold as stone'.
Simple sentence: A sentence with one main clause. It can create clarity, shock or emphasis.
Standard English: The form of English accepted as correct in grammar and usage, expected in formal writing and speech.
Structure: How a text is organised and ordered: openings, shifts in focus, sentence and paragraph lengths, and endings.
Subordinate clause: A clause that adds information but cannot stand alone as a sentence: 'because she was late'.
Superlative: The form of an adjective meaning 'most', such as 'greatest', 'worst' or 'most dangerous'.
Symbolism: Using an object, colour or event to stand for a bigger idea, such as a closed door for loneliness.
Synthesis: Drawing information together from two texts to show what they have in common (GCSE Paper 2 Question 7(a)).
Tension: A feeling of anxious suspense that makes the reader want to know what happens next.
Third-person narrative: A story told using 'he', 'she' or 'they', by a narrator outside the action.
Tone: The attitude or emotion in a writer's voice, such as angry, nostalgic, sarcastic or hopeful.
Topic sentence: The first sentence of a paragraph, which tells the reader what the paragraph is about.
Transactional writing: Writing for a real-world purpose and audience, such as a letter, article, speech, review or guide.
Travel writing: Literary non-fiction describing journeys and places, often from a personal perspective.
Verb: A doing or being word. Powerful, precise verbs such as 'clawed' or 'trudged' create strong images.
Viewpoint: The opinion a writer holds and wants the reader to share.
Zoom (structural focus): Moving from a wide view to a small detail, or back out again, to guide the reader's attention.

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