What basically distinguishes literature from other disciplines is its________

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks what basically distinguishes literature from other disciplines. The key word is "distinguishes": we need the feature that sets literature apart, not one it shares with other subjects.

Step 2: Explain the concept Literature is the art of written (or oral) works such as prose, poetry and drama. Its defining feature is that it is art made with language. Writers invent characters, settings, events and images, so literature is built on imagination and creativity.

Step 3: Test each option

• A. Use of creative imagination: This is the feature that sets literature apart. History, Sociology, Geography and Science report or analyze reality. Literature creates fictional or artistically shaped worlds, even when it draws on real life. ✔
• B. Exposition of human experiences: Literature does deal with human experience, but so do History, Psychology, Sociology, Government and Religious Studies. This does not distinguish it.
• C. Communication of ideas: Every discipline communicates ideas, so this is too general.
• D. Portrayal of places: Geography and History do this too, and it is not central to literature.

Step 4: Answer The feature unique to literature is its use of creative imagination, which is option A.

Step 5: Exam tip When a question asks what "distinguishes" or "differentiates" something, eliminate the options that other subjects share. Many subjects communicate ideas and discuss human experience, but only literature is fundamentally built on imaginative artistry. Remember: Literature = Imagination + Language Art.