IB Poetry: 7 Tips on How to Write about Structure

Many students know what a poem is about but struggle to explain how the poem works—especially when it comes to structure. In exams, markers are not looking for a list of techniques; they are looking for an explanation of how structural choices shape meaning and purpose.

This blog will show you how to write about structure clearly, confidently, and analytically, using as a model Bob Orr’s poem “The Tyre Shop”, an IBDP English A Literature past paper from May 2016. The full essay is provided at the end of this blog.

1. Start with Structure in Your Topic Sentence

A strong paragraph about structure begins with a clear claim. You should:

- Name the structural feature

- Explain what it does

- Link it to the poem’s purpose or meaning

Example from the exemplar:

“Bob Orr uses structural devices in The Tyre Shop to mirror the poet’s creative process and to elevate an ordinary encounter into a meditation on artistic inspiration.”

This sentence:

- Focuses on structure

- Connects structure to purpose

- Sets up what the essay will prove

Exam tip: Avoid vague phrases like “The poet uses structure effectively”. Always say *how* and *why*.

2. Identify the Overall Shape of the Poem

Before zooming in on techniques, describe the big picture:

- Is the poem linear or episodic?

- Does it move through time?

- Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end?

In “The Tyre Shop”, the poem:

- Moves from morning to night

- Progresses from waiting to observation to reflection

- Feels loose and drifting, not tightly controlled

Example analysis:

“The poem is structured as a loose sequence of observations, mimicking the speaker’s stalled attempt at writing.”

This shows the marker that you understand structure as organisation, not just line breaks.

3. Zoom In on Openings and Endings

Examiners love analysis of beginnings and endings because they reveal purpose.

The Opening

Ask:

- Does the poem begin immediately or slowly?

- Is there momentum or delay?

Example:

“The poem opens with a delayed beginning… The dash and enjambment structurally defer momentum, reflecting the speaker’s lack of inspiration.”

Here, structure mirrors content: the poet is stuck, so the poem feels stuck.

The Ending

Ask:

- Is there a resolution?

- Or does the poem resist closure?

Example:

“The poem ends without conventional closure, structurally reinforcing its meditation on uncertain creative outcomes.”

This shows high-level thinking: structure is not accidental. It supports the poem’s message.

4. Link Structure to Extended Metaphor

Structure is often how metaphors unfold over time, not just how they appear in one line.

In “The Tyre Shop”:

- Tyres → planets → sun → moon

- Workshop mechanics → cosmic imagery

Strong structural insight:

“The metaphor unfolds gradually rather than being stated outright, allowing meaning to accumulate.”

This tells the examiner:

- You see progression

- You understand development, not just identification

Exam tip: Use phrases like *“builds,” “evolves,” “accumulates,” and “shifts”* when writing about structure.

5. Analyse Pace, Line Length, and Enjambment

Structure includes:

- Short vs long lines

- Fragmented sentences

- Enjambment and pauses

Example:

“The short, fragmented sentences mirror the careful calibration being described.”

Instead of saying “there are short sentences,” the essay explains:

- Why they are short

- What effect they create

This is what examiners reward.

6. Track Time as a Structural Device

Time is one of the easiest—and most impressive—structural features to analyse.

In this poem:

- Morning = routine, frustration

- Evening = reflection, insight

- Night = clarity and imagination

Example:

“The poem’s structure follows a temporal arc from morning to night, which parallels the speaker’s movement from frustration to clarity.”

This shows:

- Structural awareness

- Conceptual thinking

- Clear linkage to meaning

7. Finish by Linking Structure to Purpose

Strong essays always return to purpose.

Example conclusion:

“The poem’s form enacts the very creative process it describes, making structure essential to its meaning.”

This elevates your response from *technique-spotting* to *interpretation*.

What Examiners Want to See

✅ You understand structure as:

- Organisation

- Progression

- Pace

- Development of ideas

✅ You can explain:

- How structure shapes meaning

- How it reflects purpose

- Why it matters

❌ They do not want:

- Lists of techniques

- Feature-spotting without explanation

- Generic statements

A Final Exam Formula

When writing about structure, aim for this pattern:

Structural feature → How it works → Effect → Link to purpose

If you can do that, you’re writing at a top-band level.

“The Tyre Shop” is a perfect poem to practise this skill because its structure is not neat or rigid—and that is exactly the point. Just like the poem suggests, meaning often arrives gradually, through attention, patience, and thoughtful alignment.

Good luck—and remember: structure is not the frame around the poem.

It is the poem.

Exemplar Essay

Bob Orr uses structural devices in The Tyre Shop to mirror the poet’s creative process and to elevate an ordinary encounter into a meditation on artistic inspiration. Through episodic progression, extended metaphor, and a deliberately unresolved conclusion, the poem enacts its purpose: showing how poetry emerges unpredictably from everyday observation.

The poem is structured as a loose sequence of observations, mimicking the speaker’s stalled attempt at writing. The poem opens with a delayed beginning: “It begins every morning—/I’m sitting at my desk trying to tap into inspiration/but really I’m just waiting for the tyre shop man to show up —”. The dash and enjambment structurally defer momentum, reflecting the speaker’s lack of inspiration. Short, conversational lines such as “we’re neighbours I guess you could say” and “I notice like me that before anything else he drinks coffee” create a drifting rhythm, structurally enacting idleness and waiting. The simile “when he winds up the roller doors it’s like the first act of a play” positions the poem structurally as a performance unfolding in scenes, reinforcing the episodic nature of the speaker’s observations. This meandering structure mirrors the speaker’s mental state and reinforces the poem’s purpose by showing creativity as something that arises indirectly rather than through forced effort.

As the poem progresses, its structure supports an extended metaphor linking tyre alignment to poetic composition. The metaphor unfolds gradually rather than being stated outright, allowing meaning to accumulate. The physical imagery of tyres “stacked up like black donuts” evolves structurally into cosmic imagery when they “become the dark rings of invisible planets,” marking a shift from mundane to imaginative perception. Midway through the poem, the speaker explicitly connects structure and craft, “to get words to align. To work out their balance/their weight. The true measure of their rhyme.” The short, fragmented sentences mirror the careful calibration being described. The poem’s movement from workshop mechanics to celestial imagery of the planets, the sun, and the moon is structurally cumulative, each image building on the last rather than replacing it. By structuring the metaphor as a gradual alignment, Orr reinforces the poem’s purpose of equating poetic craft with manual labour and patient precision.

The poem’s structure follows a temporal arc from morning to night, which parallels the speaker’s movement from frustration to clarity. Early references to routine, “every morning,” and “before anything else he drinks coffee,” situate the poem in repetitive time. The structural pivot occurs with “But later I watch as the sun subsides,” signaling a shift in pace and tone. The sunset and moonrise are given extended lines: “A wild orb of redness tearing itself apart” and “the moon will lift out over the great emptiness and silence,” slowing the poem structurally to emphasize contemplation. This structural slowing and widening of focus suggests that inspiration arrives through reflection and time, reinforcing the poem’s purpose of valuing observation over productivity.

The poem ends without conventional closure, structurally reinforcing its meditation on uncertain creative outcomes. The line “The other poem may or may not ever / be written” foregrounds uncertainty, structurally refusing resolution. The enjambment across “— oh / stranger and neighbour.” delays emotional emphasis, highlighting the speaker’s evolving relationship with the tyre shop man. The final triadic structure, “my accomplice/my mentor/ and my muse!” builds rhythmically to a climactic declaration, ending the poem with affirmation rather than completion. This open-ended structure emphasizes that inspiration is relational and ongoing, fulfilling the poem’s purpose by celebrating unexpected sources of creativity.

Through episodic progression, extended metaphor, temporal structuring, and an unresolved ending, Orr’s structural choices embody the poem’s central idea that poetry is not forced into being but discovered through attention to the ordinary. The poem’s form enacts the very creative process it describes, making structure essential to its meaning.