Subject grammar profiles

English literature

Literature essays interpret texts. Students need language for analysis, for weaving in quotations and for tentative readings.

Analytical language

Verbs such as presents, conveys and suggests let students talk about the writer’s choices.

The writer presents ___ as ___ through ___.

Short quotations work best inside the student’s own sentence.

___ describes ___ as “___”, which suggests ___.

May, might and could let students offer readings without overclaiming.

This could suggest ___, or it might show ___.

Events in a text are discussed in the present tense, which many students find unexpected.

In Act ___, ___ ___.