A2 LL - RECASTING TEXTS NEXT TERM

Next term we will be covering the following articles probably in the order listed below. Please make sure you have read the articles, made notes - using your own words - on the main points in each article and consider the possible re-cast questions that the examiners might ask. Finally read the questions and posts linked to these articles on the blog.

Week beginning 11 April

Jacqueline Kennedy page 320
Everybody Wins and all Must Have Prizes page 148

For the group I share with Stephen these articles will be discussed  in the week beginning 2 May - Friday 6 May.

Week beginning 18 April

'What Became of the Flappers' page 313
Bridget Jones's Diary page 300

Week beginning 25 April

The English Aristocracy page 114
Report on the Fall of the Berlin Wall page 125

Homework for the Easter holiday is also to complete at least one recast task and commentary covering the articles we've discussed in class since my return under timed conditions - one hour.

The deadline is either Thursday 14 April - for the group I share with Brian
or Friday 15 April - for the group I share with Stephen

A2 LL - RECAST GENRE - LEAFLETS

Leaflet

LEAFLET - A DEFINTION –

a printed sheet of paper containing information or advertising and usually distributed free.

"pick up a leaflet from your local branch"

synonyms:

pamphlet, booklet, brochure, handbill, circular, flyer, handout, advertisement, bulletin, mailshot, bill, notice;

EXAMPLE OF A LEAFLET TEXT

Christian Aid Work With HIV

We are committed to ensuring that wherever we work on HIV, we help ensure our partners' responses include addressing other related health risks, in particular malaria and tuberculosis.

We have 148 partners working on HIV in 40 countries who are brilliantly placed to incorporate a response to malaria, TB and other poverty-related health issues into their community-based structures.

 

A community-led response

The majority of our HIV partners are in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV-related diseases are now the leading cause of death. Two-thirds are already working on other poverty-related diseases.

Most of our partners rely on networks of dedicated health volunteers who are able to assist those in their own communities. Often these are hard-to-reach communities with poor access to even basic health facilities.

 

For example, in Nigeria – where 300,000 children die of malaria every year – our partners working on HIV are also distributing long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

The most vulnerable, including pregnant women, children under the age of five, people living with HIV and the elderly, receive these nets as a priority, but distribution also goes on to include all families in the areas where they work.

We also have numerous health programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East.

 

Our priorities in this area of our work are:

•community-based HIV, malaria and TB prevention, care and support

•working with leaders of all faiths to challenge HIV-related stigma and promoting HIV prevention

•defending the human rights of people living with HIV

•reaching out to youth in new and creative ways

•support for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV and malaria

•HIV work in fragile states, and in conflict and post-conflict areas.

Back in the UK and Ireland, we keep health issues high on the agenda of our supporters and donors through advocacy, campaigning, education and fundraising.

 

HIV and SAVE

Christian Aid supports the SAVE approach - originally developed by our African partner organisation ANERELA+ - as a way of working more effectively to prevent HIV infection.

 

SAVE provides a holistic way of preventing HIV. It incorporates the principles of the ABC approach  (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use) while also providing comprehensive information about other, non-sexual routes of HIV transmission and prevention, promoting support and care of those already infected and actively challenging HIV-related stigma and discrimination, discrimination and denial. Find out more about SAVE and how you can help support this work by donating money and volunteering on a regular basis. Contact………………….

KEY FEATURES OF A LEAFLET

Purpose – to inform and often to persuade

Audience – general / specific – depends on context

Layout – don’t concern yourself with layout – focus on headings, sub headings and the actual text itself

Main headings

Sub headings - often questions are used as sub headings

Factual information

Action points

Contact details [optional details] 

Use bullet point statements

Short concise case studies

Quotations from experts

High frequency lexis

Inclusive lexis - keep it simple
define low frequency lexis - technical terms
Formal lexis

Rhetorical techniques [if persuasive]

Variety of syntax

IB EASTER HOMEWORK 4

Of course if you are at all serious about achieving a respectable grade in English in the final exams. That will be three teaching weeks away once we are back - by the way. It will be absolutely essential that you know these plays very well.


I expect that you will be reading and re-reading the plays over Easter. Use study guides, watch performances on youtube, research the internet for information. Read speeches aloud, read aloud with friends or family.


I will be giving a quiz on each play when we meet during the week beginning 11 April.

IB PAPER 2 - ESSAY INTRODUCTION TEMPLATE

We were discussing introductions to the paper 2 question today and we identified four elements to a good introduction to a paper 2 answer. They were: 

1. Define the main topic of the essay. Put this into you own words. Also make reference to the connotations and associations that you intend to explore in the plays.
2. Name the plays you are going to use and identify the key episodes - about two episodes from each play - that you are going to write about in detail.
3. Explain briefly and concisely how each episode addresses the main topic of the question.
4. Make a couple of key comparative / contrasting points you are going to make between the two plays you are going to write about.

Remember to

• be very detailed and concise in your introduction.
• give an overview or summary of your whole essay.
• avoid making any quotations in your introduction.

IB YR 2 - PAPER 2 ESSAY TEMPLATE

Below is an essay template to help you write the paper 2 exam.


Firstly consider what the main topic of the essay title actually is by listing synonyms, connotations and associations with the topic stated in the question. Put these into your own words.


Secondly name the two plays you are going to write your essay on. And jot down how the play links to the concepts in the title. At this point you must also identify two or three episodes from each play that you can draw on for illustration and expansion in your essay. Try and choose episodes that enable you to write a lot.


List about three sub topics from each play that will answer the essay question.


Identify short and simple quotations that you could use in your essay. Choose quotations that contain clear dramatic conventions and or literary techniques.


Identify dramatic conventions / literary techniques and consider how the dramatic conventions / literary techniques in the quotations have an impact or intended impact on the audience.


What comparative / contrasting links can you make between the two plays.

Key concept / Plays
Identify key episodes	Play 1	Play 2
Main ideas
Quotations
Analytical points
Comparative points
Concluding points

IB EASTER HOMEWORK 2 - PAPER 2 QUESTION

Here are the three paper 2 questions we will be exploring together in class the first teaching week we have after the Easter holiday. However you should write the essay before we discuss the questions in class. 


Over Easter choose one question and write an essay on the question.


You must hand this in to me by Wednesday 13 April.


'In real life, we are frequently unsure of the motives behind the actions of our fellow human beings, but in a play we must be sure, or the character will become blurred.' In plays you have studied, compare how far and by what means dramatists have ensure that the audience will be very clear about the motives of significant characters.


Drama is often the expression or investigation of power: characters can, at different moments in a play, be oppressors or victims, dominant or subservient, users and used. In terms of power and its effects, discuss three or four characters from the plays you have studied, and say what this power-play adds to the play as a whole.


'In drama there are more interesting roles for men than women'. Discuss to what extent you agree with this statement and what it is that makes a role interesting. Refer closely to at least two plays you have studied.

IB - EASTER HOMEWORK 1 PAPER 2 EXAM

Here are the three questions we discussed in class on Wednesday 23 March. You should choose one of these titles to write up an essay using two of the three plays studied for this unit.


The deadline for this work is Wednesday 13 April.


The difference in a play between what is being said and what is being done can provide one focus of interest for the audience. In plays you have studied, by what means and to what effect have dramatists made good use of such differences?

What part does fantasy play in the lives of the characters in plays you have studied; how is this fantasy presented and to what effect on the audience?

Using plays you have studied, write an essay on the presentation of the relationships between male and female characters [or between characters of the same sex], giving some idea of the dramatic effects achieved by these means.

A2 LL - RADIO DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT - SOME KEY FEATURES

Voices
I recommend using between 2 or 3 voices maximum for your short script. This will create variety and this will be interesting to any listeners - your audience. It's also a commentary opportunity to show that you are aware of the genre convention of radio broadcasts.

 Layout
Examiners are concerned primarily with the text of your script. They will focus most of their attention on the main body of the text. However a simple wide margin will enable you to write simple notes under a heading like 'Conventions / Speaker'  and then the main body of your text in the rest of the page.

Conventions
Consider such things as main presenter, witness / expert witness / member of the public, sound effects, direct address to the audience, title music, historic evidence - like past news bulletins or extracts of interviews,

 

Use one or a maximum of two sound effects in your recast text. Perhaps use one at the beginning and one at the end of your extract. Remember that you are being assessed on your use of written language; however one very clear way of getting marks is to identify the genre of a recast text. One straight forward way of achieving this is to adopt its layout and the conventions - a way in which something is usually done. By quoting the conventions of a recast text you will be preparing for a good commentary paragraph. For example

Conventions / Speaker	Text
Voice of invigilator announcing the start of an exam. Sound of shuffling students /  papers	The time is now 9.30 this exam lasts two and a half hours. You can turn over the question paper now
Jeremy Paxman – [Presenter]	Well it’s that time of year again where all over the country students are sitting their exams. I have with me in the studio today……..

Commentary extract

I used a recording of the start of an exam to draw the listener’s attention to the subject matter of the documentary. I wrote this declarative in note form because it’s part of the convention of radio script writing, ‘Sound of shuffling students /  papers’ to make the programme sound realistic and to add tension for the listeners. I thought the sound effects would draw their attention.

Have a look at the way sound effects are used in the example documentary script I’ve reproduced.

But remember not to spend very much time on the layout and conventions. It says in the assessment objectives, ‘Convincing use of form with sustained evidence of audience and purpose being addressed. ‘ The term ‘form’ here relates to layout and conventions. The references to ‘audience and purpose’ will be dealt with using language.

I think if you use the margin in the answer book of the exam to place conventions and speaker information , that would be enough.


Click here for a link to a radio documentary script. Notice the layout of the script is different from the one above. Perhaps you'd prefer to use this layout.

A2 LL - RECASTING QUESTION - SLIMEBALLS ALWAYS HATE A STRONG WOMAN BY JULIIE BIRCHILL

Read the source material which follows and answer both questions:

Text A is from an article entitled [] by [Slimeballs Always Hate a Strong Woman by Julie Birchill]
It was first published in [The Times in 2004]

You are [part of a Margret Thatcher support group or fan club who are raising money to build a Margret Thatcher memorial statue. You have been asked to write the text of a leaflet promoting this memorial and persuading people to donate money]


Using the source material, write the [text of the leaflet]

 Your audience will consist of [a general adult audience]

You should adapt the source material, using your own words as far as possible. Your [leaflet] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.

In your adaptation you should:

• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience

• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.

(25 marks)

 AND

Question 3

Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your commentary must comment on the following:

• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose

• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and

 achieve particular effects.

You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.

(15 marks)


Click here for a link to some good clips of Margret Thatcher.

Click here for a link to a Julie Birchill interview

Click here finally for one of Thatcher's iconic moments and a bit more

A2 LL - QUESTION ON JACQUELINE KENNEDY BY KATHERINE ANN PORTER

Read the source material which follows and answer both questions:
Text A is from an article entitled [Jacqueline Kennedy]by [Katherine Ann Porter]

It was first published in [Ladies’ Home Journal in 1964].
You  [have been asked to script the introductory voiceover that will introduce a radio documentary about the life of Jacqueline Kennedy.]
You should adapt the source material, using your own words as far as possible. Your [script] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.
In your adaptation you should:

• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience

• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.
(25 marks)
AND
Question 3
Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your [script]
commenting on the following:
• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose

• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.
You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.
(15 marks)




Click here forr an extract of film footage on Jacqueline Kennedy

IB STANDARD ENGLISH

PAPER 1 UNPREPARED COMMENTARY

EXAM CHECK LIST

EXAM TIMETABLE / ESSAY STRUCTURE

	ACTIVITY	ACTION
3	Skim read texts	Decide which passage to write on. Read the opening and or closing paragraph / stanza. Read the guide questions. Which genre appeals to you?
2	Read guide questions	Once you’ve decided on the text read the guide questions carefully. Go over them more than once. They will help you focus AND structure your essay. They will prescribe to you the approach you must take in your answer.
15	First reading	Read text and annotate ·         identify plot and structure of extract ·         identify narrative voice* ·         Identify key themes or ideas linked to the guide questions ·         Notice the settings** ·         Identify main characters ·         What do you notice about the writing style***
5	Second reading	Close reading. Identify key quotations that illustrate the points you have identified in the first reading. Select carefully what quotations to use. Use quotations that you can write three or four different comments on the quotation. Identify patterns in the text. Consider the relationships between different features of the text, for example the relationship between action and words spoken, character and setting, theme and narrator.
5	Plan	Draw up a list of 8-15 bullet points – just a word or phrase, these are the core of a paragraph or paragraphs. Decide what the most important feature of the text is. For example the main character, a key theme or idea, Number the bullet points. Number the most important point first. That will be your first paragraph and so on.
50	Write	Write the introduction first. Your essay summarised. Present an argument about the text – an underpinning observation. State plot. List your key points – no quotations. List the key literary features that are used in the text. Then begin with your main point. You’ll feel confident about writing about this. And go on writing the second main point and third and so on. Cross the points out in your plan as you write. Avoid writing your   commentary in chronological order. You don’t have to think what to write you have done that work. Concentrate on expression of ideas. Write clear and simple and straightforward points. If a new idea comes to you while writing – add it to your plan and write it as a footnote at the end of the essay. Don’t disturb the flow. Keep writing.
5-10	Reread and edit	Read essay over. Check plan. Have you included all main points? Check for spelling, expression, punctuation. Write up footnotes.

* Is the narrative voice in the 1^{st, 2nd} or 3^rd person? If third person restricted or all knowing, all seeing. There may be references to an imagined audience -2^nd person. This is a direct address to an audience.

** Setting includes physical environment; interior, exterior, light, dark, morning, evening, city, country, weather, furniture, physical / geographical features

***See glossary of some key literary terms

STRUCTURE OF PARAGRAPH

1	Main point	State simple main point of paragraph
2	Introduce quote or put quote in context	Elaborate on the main point by going into detail. And or put the quotation in context – where in the passage, what has happened
3	Quotation	Select a short quotation, a word or a phrase that you can write a lot about.
4	General comment	Link quotation to the main point of the paragraph
5	Literary comment	Identify the literary feature used in the quotation
6	Effect comment	What is the effect of this technique on the generalised reader
7	Attitude comment	Attitudes expressed through character or narrator
8	Connotations / Denotations	Define key words in the quotation. Comment on relevant associations to the word

IB - PAPER 2 MOCK EXAM FEEDBACK

Some General Observations

• Remember that there are at least a hundred plays on the prescribed list to choose from and many more possible couplings of plays to choose to write on. Therefore examiners may not know the plays you've chosen very well. However Translations and Streetcar are two very popular plays.

• Read the questions carefully - sometimes examples of concepts are given but you do not need to be restricted to these alone. They are only examples. In your exam - generosity and selfishness were offered as examples of opposing motivations. However you were not limited to these two concepts.

• Make sure you spend some time considering all three plays and how you can apply these key concepts in the broadest and most inclusive way possible.

• Remember to identify some important comparative observations as you plan.

  

• Define the key concepts in your introduction and relate these concepts to the two plays you are going to write about - this will be a summary /overview of your argument.

• Make sure that you refer explicitly to dramatic conventions and or literary techniques in your answer, such as - monologue, dramatic irony, expressionistic techniques, symbolism and climax.

• Make sure you refer in specific detail to specific scenes in the play. And where possible actually quote, words or phrases from the plays you are writing about.

• And remember that if you quote then refer to specific dramatic conventions or literary techniques and their impact on us as an audience.

• Where relevant and appropriate make clear comparative observations between the two texts.

• Remember there are five criterion used to mark your essay. Each criterion is worth 5 marks. They are marks to indicate:

• the depth of knowledge and understanding you have of the two plays in relation to the question

• how well you have responded to the specific demands of the question - this relies on careful reading of the question, planning and practicing questions

• appropriate and relevant use of dramatic conventions / literary techniques - relies on the detail of your analytical response

• how well you have structured and organised your essay - this relies on planning

• how clear, varied and accurate is your language - this relies on you using an appropriate formal, academic register, good vocabulary, varied syntax and appropriate terminology

IB - PAPER ONE MOCK EXAM FEEDBACK

General Observations

• Address directly and explicitly the guide questions in your introduction by giving a concise but detailed summary or overview of your answer.
• Structure your commentary by using the guide questions as headings for your answer
• Every paragraph must address an aspect of the guide question
• Use quotations as evidence to support the assertions you are making
• Only use short quotations - ideally a word or short phrase of between two and five relevant words
• Each analytical paragraph must contain an assertion, followed by evidence - a quotation - and finally comments on the quotation that will include: identifying language features and comments about their function and intended impact on a reader.
• Failure to do this will result in you only describing the extract rather than analysing it. Therefore you will only achieve a maximum of 2 / 5 marks for criterion 2
• Only use quotations if you are going to analyse the language features of the quotation
• Write clear, concise paragraphs using a formal academic register. Use appropriate technical terms where relevant and appropriate

• You could refer to audience, purpose[s] and genre in your introduction and develop these in detail in your main commentary 

Prose specific points

Make it clear to the examiner that you are answering a question about a work of prose. Do this by making specific reference to prosaic features such as sentences, paragraphs, characterisation, narrator and plot.

Here is a brief list of the techniques and terms relevant to this extract, most of which I'd expect to find in your analysis:

aysyndectic listing,
direct address,
list of three,
direct address,
first and second person personal pronouns
exaggerated politeness features,
low frequency lexis,
hyperbole,
repetition,
alliteration,
pre modifying adjectives and adverbs
repetition of the prefix 'un'
complex declaratives,
short, simple declaratives,
cliches
Latin usage
abstraction


Poetry specific points

Make it clear to the examiner that you are answering a question about a poem. You can do this by making references to specific poetic conventions, such as stanzas, rhyme and metre.


Here is a brief list of techniques and terms, relevant to this poem, some if not most of which I'd expect to find in your answer.

narrative poem
child's narrative perspective
first person narrator
restricted / biased perspective but also
childhood memory from an adult perspective
prosaic style
simile
metaphor
alliteration
sibilance
sensuous language
syntactic parallelism
long, complex declarative sentences
short,simple declarative sentences
high frequency lexis
formal register
some informal phrases
contrasts - fire night /sleep play / children / adults / poverty wealth  

A2 LL - QUESTION - NET PROPHET

You should read and make relevant notes on the whole article. However we are going to concentrate on the text from ‘On the top floor of building eight’ on page 341 to ‘ I’d have moved in a different direction' on page 344.



Read the source material which follows and answer both questions:

Text A is from an article entitled [Net Prophet]by [Leslie White]
It was first published in the [Sunday Times in 1995].

Use the section of the text from ‘On the top floor of building eight’ on page 341 to ‘ I’d have moved in a different direction' on page 344.

You [have been asked to contribute to a radio programme about ‘men of vision’, by scripting a section about Bill Gates. produce the opening text for your section.]

You should adapt the source material, using your own words. Your [script] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.

In your adaptation you should:

• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience

• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.

(25 marks)

AND

Question 3

Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your [script]
commenting on the following:

• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose

• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects. 


You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.


(15 marks)


A recent programme on Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs - featured Bill Gates. It includes some biographical details and some of his favorite music. Click here for a link to the programme. 

A2 LL - QUESTION - POOR IMMORTAL ISADORA

Read the source material [the whole article] which follows and answer both questions:

Text A is from an article entitled [Poor Immortal Isadora]by [Dorothy Parker]
It was first published in the [New Yorker in January 1928]

You [have been asked to produce the opening section of an online encyclopaedia page about Isadora Duncan]

You should adapt the source material, using your own words. Your [online encyclopaedia page] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.

In your adaptation you should:

• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience

• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.

(25 marks)

AND

Question 3

Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your[online encyclopaedia page] commenting on the following:

• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose

• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.

You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.

(15 marks)





Click here for a youtube clip about Isadora Duncan


Click here for a link to a website about Isadora Duncan - it could act as an online encyclopaedia article about her.


Click here for a brief article on how to write an encyclopaedia

A2 LL - NOTE FOR WEEK BEGINNING 14 MARCH

Here is just a reminder that we'll be covering two articles next week.

 

They are:

 

Net Prophet by Leslie White on page 339

 

and

 

Poor Immortal Isadora by Dorothy Parker on page 316

 

You should read and make notes on the significant content of both articles. Consider what possible recasting tasks could be set on them. And read and consider the exam questions posted on this blog.

 

If there are any follow up links on these posts then pend some time considering the wider context of these articles.

 

• Make sure you are on time for the start of the lesson.
• Bring your copy of Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs to the lesson.
• And finally read and makes notes on both articles

A2 LL - QUESTION - DIANA REGINA

Read the source material which follows and answer both questions:


Text A is an extract from an article entitled [Diana Regina] by [Camille Paglia]

It was first published in [New Republic in 1992].

You are a [a curator of an exhibition about Diana at the Victoria and Albert museum]

Using the source material, from The pagan goddess page 335 to  the end of The Hollywood queen on page 337; write the text of an information display board introducing a section of the exhibition titled Diana's Private Life and Public Persona.]

Your audience will consist of [people interested in the royal family and particularly the life of Diana.]

You should adapt the source material, using your own words as far as possible. Your text
should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.

 In your adaptation you should:

• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience

• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.

(25  marks)

AND

Question 3

Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing the text of your museum introduction text commenting on the following:

• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose

• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.

You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.

(15 marks)