Unit 4 — Reading and responding to texts

Unit 3 vs Unit 4

Expect less reliance on what is stated outright and more on inference, gaps, and ideological assumptions — still grounded in textual evidence.

In Unit 4 you should routinely ask: What does the text assume is “normal”? Whose values appear neutral and whose are marked as other? What is not said at crucial moments, and who benefits from that silence? How might readers in another historical moment read the same ending differently?

Reading strategies

• Track patterns and ruptures — where the style suddenly shifts, a narrator slips, or imagery contradicts the stated moral.
• Map focalisation — who sees, who is looked at, whose interiority we access, and what the text withholds.
• Connect form to politics — genre choices, chronology, and closure are arguments too, not neutral packaging.

Assessment

See the Outcome 1 SAC guide and connect revision to Section A.