Understanding Text Types

Paper 2 Section A may present any of a wide range of non-fiction text types. Understanding the conventions, features, and typical purposes of each text type will help you read the extracts more effectively and analyse them with greater confidence. This lesson provides a detailed guide to the most common text types you may encounter.

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Why Text Type Matters

Knowing the text type helps you:

• Anticipate the purpose — A speech is designed to be spoken and persuade; a diary entry is private and reflective.
• Identify the audience — A newspaper article is written for the general public; a personal letter has a specific recipient.
• Understand the conventions — Each text type has expected features (e.g. a speech uses direct address; a letter has a salutation and sign-off).
• Analyse the writer's choices — Why has the writer chosen this form? How do the conventions shape the language?

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Text Type Reference Guide

1. Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Feature	Description
Purpose	To inform, entertain, persuade, or argue
Audience	General public; varies depending on the publication (broadsheet vs tabloid)
Tone	Can be formal (broadsheet) or informal (tabloid); opinion pieces are often passionate
Key features	Headlines, subheadings, short paragraphs, reported speech, expert opinions
Language	Varies widely — may use emotive language, statistics, interviews, and rhetoric

2. Speeches

Feature	Description
Purpose	To persuade, inspire, argue, or inform
Audience	A specific audience (parliament, a crowd, a school assembly), but also the public
Tone	Often passionate, authoritative, or rousing
Key features	Direct address ("you," "we"), rhetorical questions, repetition, tricolon, pauses
Language	Designed to be spoken aloud — rhythmic, emphatic, memorable

Exam Tip: When analysing a speech, consider that it was written to be heard, not read. Techniques like repetition and rhythm have a powerful oral effect that should be part of your analysis.

3. Letters

Feature	Description
Purpose	To inform, persuade, argue, complain, or express personal feelings
Audience	Specific recipient — may be personal (friend, family) or formal (newspaper, council)
Tone	Varies — personal letters are informal and emotional; formal letters are measured
Key features	Salutation ("Dear..."), sign-off, clear sense of audience, personal address
Language	Depends on audience — personal letters use anecdotes; formal letters use evidence

4. Diary and Journal Entries

Feature	Description
Purpose	To record, reflect, and process personal experiences and emotions
Audience	Originally private — the writer is writing for themselves
Tone	Intimate, honest, reflective, sometimes raw or emotional
Key features	First person, date entries, stream of consciousness, private thoughts
Language	Personal, unguarded, reflective; may be fragmentary or emotional

5. Autobiography and Memoir

Feature	Description
Purpose	To recount and reflect on personal experiences from the past
Audience	General public — written for publication
Tone	Reflective, nostalgic, sometimes humorous or confessional
Key features	First person, past tense, retrospective perspective, personal anecdotes
Language	Descriptive, reflective, crafted for a public audience (unlike a diary)

6. Travel Writing

Feature	Description
Purpose	To describe, entertain, inform, and share personal responses to places
Audience	General public — readers interested in travel and culture
Tone	Varies — adventurous, reflective, humorous, awed, or critical
Key features	Sensory description, cultural observation, personal reflection, comparison
Language	Rich descriptive language, sensory imagery, simile and metaphor, personal voice

7. Essays and Opinion Pieces

Feature	Description
Purpose	To argue a case, present a viewpoint, or explore an idea
Audience	Educated general public; readers of newspapers, magazines, or journals
Tone	Often formal, authoritative, or passionate
Key features	Clear thesis, structured argument, evidence and examples, conclusion
Language	Formal register, rhetorical devices, logical connectives, expert references

8. Blog Posts

Feature	Description
Purpose	To share personal opinions, inform, entertain, or persuade
Audience	Online readership — varies widely depending on the blog
Tone	Informal, conversational, personal, sometimes provocative
Key features	First person, direct address, informal vocabulary, links and references
Language	Colloquial, engaging, opinion-driven; may include humour and personal anecdotes

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19th-Century Text Types

The 19th-century source on Paper 2 may include:

Text Type	Common Topics
Newspaper articles	Social conditions, industrial progress, crime, exploration
Letters (personal or public)	Family matters, political campaigns, social reform
Speeches	Political reform, abolition, women's rights, labour rights
Travel writing	Accounts of journeys to unfamiliar lands, colonial exploration
Diary entries	Personal reflections on daily life, major events, travel experiences
Essays	Social commentary, philosophical arguments, literary criticism

Features of 19th-Century Writing

Feature	What to Expect
Formal register	More elaborate and formal than modern writing
Complex sentence structures	Longer sentences with multiple clauses and semicolons
Archaic vocabulary	Words and phrases no longer in common use
Different social attitudes	Views on class, gender, race, and empire that reflect the era
Elaborate description	Detailed, often flowery descriptive passages

Exam Tip: Don't be put off by the style of 19th-century texts. Focus on what you can understand and analyse — the same analytical skills apply regardless of the period.

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19th-century vs 20th/21st-century: what to expect

flowchart TB
    Paper2["Paper 2 Section A<br/>Two Linked Non-Fiction Texts"]
    Paper2 --> Old["Source B usually<br/>19th-century text"]
    Paper2 --> New["Source A usually<br/>20th/21st-century text"]
    Old --> O1["Formal register<br/>Long sentences"]
    Old --> O2["Archaic vocabulary<br/>Semicolons + dashes"]
    Old --> O3["Letters · essays<br/>speeches · diaries"]
    New --> N1["Informal register<br/>Shorter sentences"]
    New --> N2["Modern idiom<br/>Contractions"]
    New --> N3["Blogs · articles<br/>memoirs · travel"]

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How Text Type Affects Your Analysis

When analysing a text in the exam, consider: