Approaching the Anthology A questions

1. Approaching the Anthology A questions Wednesday, 13 March 2013

2. Anthology A: Questions 4&5 • Remind yourself of the format: • 1 question is textual analysis • 1 question is CREATIVE writing based on the theme(s) of the passage • The triplet addressed will always be INFORM, EXPLAIN, DESCRIBE

3. The passage… • Remember that this is prepared material. Although this Is not explicit in the mark scheme, the examiner may well expect a little more! • You are expected to be able to comment on : • Voice, imagery and appeal to the senses • The writer’s thoughts and feelings • Techniques of persuasion • Sentence length and variety • Structure • Language issues in general • You might consider this a “reverse-trappers” process….

4. YOU should also slap the text • S: Structure • L: Language • A: Audience • P: Purpose

5. For each of the letters, find key elements to write about: S How is the article structured distinctively? What use is made of layout on the page to create effect? What is the balance between images and text? Is there a headline or a use of subheadings?

6. L • What sort of writing type is used – persuasion, advice, analysis, narrative, information… • Is the language heightened at all? If so, how? • Are there obvious literary devices in the writing? Why? • Is it serious or is it more relaxed? • How does the language relate to the writing type identified?

7. A • Who is the intended audience? • What is the writer’s relationship with the audience? • How does the writing reflect the age/thoughts of the intended audience? • What specific features of the passage make it suited to a specific audience?

8. P • Why was the passage written? • What is the writer trying to achieve in this passage? • What features of language and content show the purpose of a passage.

9. Concentrate on “Explorers or Boys…” • You have 10 minutes. What can you find to say about the passage in front of you. • Consider responding to the question: • “How does the author use a range of literary devices to entertain the reader and to make their opinion clear?” • We will feedback – use SLAP to organise your thoughts and remember to quote and discuss to word level – PEE all over this one! • Some of my ideas can be found here: • Explorers or... JWPBLOG link

10. The creative writing… Inform, Explain, Describe are all quite objective elements. Describe is not about telling a long story but about describing a “spot in time” Adjectives and Adverbs Emotive Language Quotation from witnesses might be quite subjective Punctuation Organisation and visual perspective • clarity and organisation • Impersonal voice • Possible subheadings for clarity • Polls and statistics • Quotation from trusted sources • Clear paragraph structure

11. REMEMBER THE FORMAT… • Each task will have a specified format which you MUST adopt… • Letter • Speech • Report • Newspaper report • Magazine article • Interview ( this has been known and needs a Q+A approach)

12. A revision task • Work through the anthology and note all the possible themes for the passages… • Make a chart and create yourself some possible titles.