1 Was a Tricky Passage as It Required Students to Think

8/6/2019 1 Was a Tricky Passage as It Required Students to Think

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1 was a tricky passage as it required students to think harder than usual. I predict this is the new path ofCommunication Studies, no longer are students going tojust read the extract once and see the languagetechniques and strategies jumping out at them but nowthey will have to read and read again.Fear not students, as usual a writer always usesstrategies and languagetechniques/devices to achievethe purpose or to make the main point...always. Awritercannot write without these three things re.Strategies/techniques, a specific purpose and a mainpoint! Back to 2009 Module 1, many students were caughtlooking only for language devicesand techniques andwhen they did not uncover any they became desperateand wrotethe first things that came to their mind. Theywere right in believing that there must besome tool inthe extract but they were wrong in believing that this toolwas only language techniques. In this case there weremainly strategies hardly any of theformer.

Rule No. 1 when there are none or few language orliterary devices or techniqueslook for strategies as it was in this essay.Rule No 2. A writer always uses the techniques and strategies to make and emphasise the main point andsecondly a writer always use techniques and strategiestoachieve the purpose. Identify the purpose and main point correctly and more than ever you will be able to identifythe techniques and strategies used to help achieve thepurpose.Your main idea should mention that the only way womencan break away from the vicious cycle of

illiteracy,poverty, repeated childbearing is by becoming educated.The important thing here is to realizethat there is astrong correlation between education and illiteracy.Remember that the main idea and the writer s purposeare connected; so if the main idea is that

education is thekey to breaking the stranglehold of that illiteracy,poverty, lack of a political voice and avoice on the holdthen the purpose of this piece is to make readers aware/to sensitize them/ to persuadethem of the main idea. Soanything that says something like the purpose of thispiece is to sensitizereaders to the fact that education isthe only means for women to escape/break away fromtheclutches of poverty,illiteracy, repeated childbearing/unplanned pregnancy etc.So CAPE always asks for you to discuss strategies andlanguage techniques and most times thelanguagetechniques are easy to find but in CAPE 2009 you lookedand looked and some of you only saw ...repetition of education and illiteracy and if you looked really hardyou would have seencontrast of the effects of illiteracyand then you saw nothing else...and you were stuck.Listen in a case like this CAPE is not mad...they won t askyou for something if it wasn t there but youneed to besmart...go back to the question. If you look you will seewhat are always there...strategies and languagetechniques...never language techniques alone! So ifthere are no more language techniquesthen you need to identify and discuss strategies...it s as simple as that! And so in this particular question students needed toidentify and discuss strategies such as the way theinformation was laid out. It was done as a list providingthe benefits of education; there wereexamples ofthe effects of illiteracy from around the world,statisticalinformation/data,useofnonemotive/academic language, the use of a reputableinstitution as UNESCO, and the presentationoffactual information.


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Another BIG CLUE can be as it was in this case... if thereis a lot of statistical data from a seriousinstitution suchas UNESCO believe this it most likely will not containsuch things as hyperbole (if theorganization is asreputable as this one is then the organization will notexaggerate the information!), it hardly will have emotiveword (the language is academic..can you imagine thosestaid, seriousstatisticians writing in emotive words?),hardly likely to have all those easy devices as

simile,personification and metaphor.Seriously though don t panic in the first essay, to panicin module one essay is most likely going to set off anegative reaction in the next two essays. So keep yourcool, use your head and think!

C APE COMMU NI C ATI O N ST UD IESG U ID ELINES F O R WRITING MODU LEO NE ESSAYNB: Every year the CXC report continues to lament the fact thatstudents do badlyon this essay. This happens because studentseither writeinsufficientinformation on the effectivenessof the devicesor they are confused

between thewriters main point and the writers purpose.Tips on distinguishing theM ain Point/ M ain Idea and the WritersPurpose/Intention/Intent:

Remember that the main point/Idea is what the writer iswriting about, theidea that iscoming out from what you are reading; if youwere asked what the piece was about,whatever you respond that should be themain idea. The M ain Idea/Point is NEVER aVERBso it can never be stated likethis...The main point/idea of this passage is toinform... If you have done thisthen your answer will be incorrect. Alwaysremember the main point/idea is never to do something rather it is stated likethis... The main point/idea of the piece isthat students have problems answering


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the M odule O ne essay.... O n the other handthe writers purpose/intent isALWAYS STATE D AS AVERB! It is what the writer wants happen as a result of your reading the piece.So the writer wants to inform the reader of..., to entertainthe reader..., tocriticise ... To argue that..., To convince readers that....Remember that allwriters write with a purpose/intent in mind which is mainly toshift the readersfrom point A to point B!If you understand and can identify thesetwo different concept s you are on your way to satisfying one- third of the essayrequirements. The next two thirds arecorrectly identifyingthe language strategies/techniques/devices that the writer employed to help her achieve the M ain Point/Idea and the Purpose/Intent.Toneis the attitude of the author towards the topic that he/she is writing about. O neeasy way of understanding tone is to ask what attitude did I get from readingtheauthors words? Always use Adjectives to describe Tone! Examples:humorous,mysterious, creepy, straight-forward etc. Some of the techniques that the writer

employs areSimile, M etaphor, Personification, Alliteration, Imagery,RhetoricalQuestion, C onversationaltone, Anecdote, Historical data, Statistical data,Repetition, and Humor.O nce you have identified a technique you need to write it out (do not givelinealone) and then you must write aboutthe effectiveness of the device, inotherwords what is this device adding to the piece, how does it appeal to thesensesand therefore to your understanding and most importantly how is it aidingtheauthor to achieve her purpose and expand her main point?Effectivenesscan also bemeasured in terms of D o the strategies chosen by theauthor match his/her

purpose?For example when a writer uses the strategy ofhistorical dataits effectiveness isto add/lend credibility to what she is saying as a reader caneasily check therecords.C onversational tone(found inanecdoteand use of Personal Pronouns)on the other hand allows for the reader to be drawn into the piece as one feels thatthe writer isstriving to make us comfortable with the piece.The challenge isN O T TO D EFINEthedevices but rather toidentifyappropriateexamples (use quotation marks) from the

passage to support and thensay how they add or why you believe that the writer used them and how in rarecases they took away from the piece.As with every essayone must haveproper organisation. There must be anopening, a body for the

content and a conclusion where no new ideas must beintroduced. The correct useof transitionalwords will enhance your essay. Refrainfrom making your essay readlike a list of devices. For example do not say the first,the second etc.) D o notanalyse the piece by its paragraphs but by thestrategies/techniques found.D epending on the length of the example one woulddo,keeping in mind the wordlimit of the essay and keeping within it. M ore examples of strategies/techniques:U se of anecdotal responses/examples


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Rhetorical questionsReport of factual data from websitesU se of expert/specialist adviceuse of step by step process approachInformation from creditable source/sC hanges in writers toneM oving from specific to generalAddressing the audience directlyU se of C reole and StandardU se of contrast/comparisonU se of humour Analogy to emphasise the idea of for differenceIn-depth/intensive reporting of characters thoughts for better understandingExamples of effectsExamples of benefits

Language techniques Noticeable use of things like contractions in dialogueU se of exclamations gosh, hey, whoaRepetitionsU se of simple/short sentencesU se of dispassionate academic languageU se of emotive languageFinally, the best way to overcome this challenge is to practice writing this typeof essay!AC TIVITY1. Identify other intentions for writing. (writers intention/purpose for writing)2. What are other Adjectives that can be used to describe a writers Tone?


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Look at the questions and make a comment that connects all or as many of the questions as possible. Whenanswering each question specifically the tip is that you want to make a GENERA L statement thats acts asthe Intro to the paragraphto frame this Intro you ask yourself what do I know generally about what thequestions is asking for.

Using Module 2 from 2004 from Paper 2

There are many factors that influence a writers language choice; some of these are the context, theaudience and the message content. In Alicia McKenzies Pinkie this is certainly the case as we see as thechoice of language is Creole in the Basilect variation.a. The relation between language choice (Creole) and context/setting/situation (the beauty parlour) : context influence language choice. The context in Communication refers to the place (a hairdressing salon) and thegrouping of people (interpersonal conversation). The term language choice implies that there are other languages that could have been used but this was specifically chosen. In this excerpt the language choicewas creole in the Basilect and Mesolect variation. Because the context is casual the language is casual. The persons in the conversation are friends/acquaintances and as such they are comfortable to speak to eachother in their mother tongue. Creole is appropriate as Pinkie and Ms Daisy obviously are West Indians and assuch when the Creole is spoken by either of them it is understood. Examples are:


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b. As with question (a) there are factors such as audience, content and nationality which when taken intoconsideration lend to the appropriateness of a narrators choice of language. In this case the narrator usesthe Basilect variation as seen in I start to tell her bout a whole heap of strikes in England .... Who are the people whod read this? Most likely it will be West Indians. Pinkie was complaining about her birth country in

creole and so one expects the narrator to respond likewise in creole. Also there is a perception that creolewill get the true meaning and feelings across. For example in the opening sentence Pinkie says that is why this country willnevah get ahead, nevah get ahead. A reader immediately knows that she is angry and in acomplaining mode. So it is appropriate because of these main reasons: they are West Indians friends, thetopic lends itself to complaint, and they are in a casual/informal setting.

c. Is Pinkies language linguistically or non-linguistically motivated? How do we identify linguistic motivation? When we are asked for linguistic factors you should write about such factors as Phonetics how the speaker articulates their speech sounds e.g. Guyanese roll their r And Trinidadians do not Phonology - how the speaker systematically uses sounds in language / the sounds of words Morphology how words are structured or formed e.g. dog, yes, swing or un-happi-ness Syntax how the speaker constructs sentences or how words are organized e.g. phrases, clauses,sentences Semantics how the speaker makes meaning of the words in the sentence e.g In the US most people refer to death as passed whereas in Trinidad we say died or in the US they say pop for soda and in Trinidad we say soft drink or sweet drink and sometimes you may even hear seet drink

Non linguistic factors can persons believing: that Americans and British speak the same way that learning to speak in a foreign language by just listening to the television or being in that country for ashort holiday or from being around foreigners regularly e.g. a Hotel worker, tour guide that an accent is all that is needed to learn a language

d. A video presentation of any piece will enhance it especially in the area of clearing up fuzziness of words, phrases and situation. (give examples from the excerpt here)


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COMMUNICATION MODU LE 3 ANSWER

SAMP LE FOR MODU LE 3 (SPEAKING and WRITING) CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIES

SCENARIO: A group of farmers from a rural village in your country has invited you to give the

Opening Address at their workshop titled The Effects of Harmful Chemicals.

In an essay, discuss how you will develop your presentation looking specifically at:I)The communication challenges that you most likely will encounter as you address the members of this rural farming community II)The language variety, register and vocabulary that you will take into considerationIII)Such factors as your organizational strategies, visual/audio visual aids and any other resourcesthat you may use in your presentation.

ANSWER

oMain challenges can be in the form of some farmers being unwilling to make a paradigm shift asthey prefer to stay doing and using the same old chemicals. Another way this can be said is that among the farmers have an unwillingness to embrace/adopt changeoThere is a likelihood that some farmers may harbour mistrust for outsiders coming into their villageoLack of interest /an air of complacency which can lead to boredom with your presentationoThe challenge of how do you get the message of the need for change from harmful chemicals that they have been using for so long to newer and safer/more effective chemicals/ even eco-friendly chemicalsoThe challenge of not coming across to the farmers as either too educated and complex or on theother hand making your message too simplistic/ finding the right balance is the key

oThe register can be moved between casual and formal oThe content of your presentation must be relevant and clearly defined oPresentation must not be too long as to bore and confused oFind out before hand if there were other issues dealing with harmful effects of the chemicalsoTry to fit in with the audience, pay attention to dress code do not over dress etc ...be as natural as possibleoWhen speaking make eye contact with the audienceoProvide a question answer session so as to give the farmers time to have their say oAsk them to work with you sensitive to their needs and concernsoRemember that your visual aids are just that aids do not make them your focus! oYour presentation must have a clear introduction, body and Conclusion

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1 Was a Tricky Passage as It Required Students to Think