Basic Guidelines for Unit 2 Language from Steve

BASIC CHECKLIST
AREAS TO CONSIDER WHEN WRITING/ANALYSING YOUR ADAPTED PIECE OF WORK (UNIT 2 DESK STUDY)

Basically these are some of the tricks/techniques that you can make use of when writing your piece in the exam. Remember-the more of these techniques that you can employ the more you will have to write about in the analytical section of the exam. This is not an exhaustive list it is just a series of tricks/issues and techniques that you can make use of when writing your piece and then analysing it. If you cover most of these areas you will do well.
Audience-you must tailor your writing to fit the audience at hand. Every decision you make from lexical and grammatical choices to the tone of your piece will depend upon the audience.

Purpose-the purpose of the task will determine the style of your writing and the techniques you need to apply. The purpose will even determine the layout or structure of your writing and any graphological features.
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Facts/opinions-most styles of writing will feature a mix of fact and opinion. Clever use of assertion can also help you to present opinions as if they were facts.

Bias-can you spot a lack of objectivity in the writing of others and comment on it. You may also need to employ bias yourself for effect. Can you spot where the bias is in this news report about the World Footballer of the Year Award?

It seems that every November when the annual World Player of the Year jamboree emerges from the heat, pressure and glory of another season’s competition and the eyes of the football cognoscenti turn to Zurich the same hallowed names emerge to take their seemingly pre-ordained place amidst the effulgent glare of the world soccer firmament. Cristiano Ronaldo, for all his histrionics, and recalcitrant mood swings demands attention for his stunning goal output. Forty two times he troubled the scoring charts last year, even if his penchant for missing vital spot kicks could have (some might argue, should have) cost his club dearly.



Rhetorical devices and tricks-these are basically the use of dramatic or persuasive words or structures to manipulate the intended audience. Basically all of the writing that you will be doing in the exam will be asking you to manipulate one audience or another.

There are three types of rhetoric (as put forward by Aristotle) ethos, pathos (the one you will be making most use of dealing as it does with emotions and feelings) and logos

Lexical issues-the words chosen will provide you with most of your analysis. I will not waste time going over something you covered exhaustively last term. However, there are a number of key lexical issues you might wish to bear in mind:
1. Is the language subject specific
Does the writer us colloquialisms?

Are contractions used (he’s/we’ve) to create a more friendly/informal/relaxed atmosphere?
Are pre/post modifiers used (that was a cracking shot)

Does the writer use figurative language to create effects (metaphor/simile/personification)?
Are lexical choices equivocal or unequivocal? (it is possible that some slight damage will be caused )
Do we see a lot of high frequency conversational type phrases, the sort you would commonly see in a conversation ((you know, we can see etc). Using language like this means you are trying to achieve a certain tone.

8. How far do lexical issues decide tone/feeling?

9. Are lexical choices formal or informal?


Sound patterns-you will be able to comment on examples of:


Alliteration-A repetition of the same sound or letter in the same position ate the start of a word
Assonance-repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds

Consonance-A repetition of consonant sounds in the same position in a sequence of words

Onomatopoeia-a word whose sound echoes its meaning


Rhyme-you know what this is


Miscellaneous tricks that the clever writer might consider making use of. All of the techniques below have been explained to you in class.

Irony
2. Oxymoron
3. Paradox
4. symbolism
5. Hyperbole/understatement
6. Puns
7. The use of lists
8. Subtle repetition
9. Figurative language

· Grammatical issues-you can make use of any of the tricks/techniques that you discovered last year. However, there are a few key areas you may wish to address:

Sentence structure-simple/compound/complex sentences

Consider the use of pre/post modification (especially in newspaper journalism)
Use of tense-past/present

Use of active and passive voice (often to be found when you are attempting to write a more formal text)
Parts of speech:some examples-verbs-cried/adjectives-fast/nouns-gorilla/conjunctions-and,if,because/pronouns-he,she/prepositions-on,in,to/adverbs-quickly/interjections-ouch

Mood and tone of the writing-all writers (hopefully you included) will be aiming to create a specific mood and the tone of the language they use will be crucial in achieving this. Try to consider the tone that you are employing and comment on the effect you were attempting to achieve.

THE KEY ISSUE
In the examination you will be asked to write for a specific audience and purpose. All of the points above will help you to achieve that aim. However, you will also be asked to write a commentary on your work-which analyses the language choices you have made. You will also be asked to focus on how you reshaped the materials in the pack you were given to create your piece.


Reshaped means change and modify. The clever student will adapt, modify and utilise the tricks, techniques and language in the various articles to create a new and effective hybrid article of their own.

Every time you comment on your language choices analyse and examine the way you have changed the original material to come up with your work. This shows intelligence and awareness. You will be presenting the examiner with vivid evidence of the fact that you have understood the gist and message of the original materials, yet you were clever enough to adapt them to fit the audience/purpose of your task. The beauty of it is you are analysing your own work-so simply do the following:

· Point out the effect you are trying to create through your use of language
· Show how you have adapted the original material and why you chose to change it

You don’t have to do this for every point (obviously some of what you write will be completely your own work) but the more you refer back to the question the better you will do

An example taken from the environmental pack:

The Headline of article A proclaimed “America out on a limb,” in referring to the USA’s unilateral stance on climate change. However, in adapting this material for readers aged 11-16 I believed that I need blunt and more obviously forceful approach. I chose to use a metaphor, like Article A though I believe mine better captures the essence of America’s selfish need to stand alone on climate change. “Selfish America goes it alone” emphasises how the United States, in refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocols, has chosen to distance itself from the wider international community. I wanted my readers to that this was widely seen as craven insensitivity and selfishness, placing America beyond the pale and opening them up for well deserved criticism.