A guide to completing a successful language analysis
A guide to completing a successful language analysis The task Analyse the use of language (both written and visual) in persuasive texts that debate a current issue in the Australian media. The criteria Knowledge and Skills 6.6 or 5.6 Use appropriate metalanguage to identify, analyse and compare the ways in which the language of selected persuasive texts from the Australian media is used to position readers in particular ways Sophisticated analysis and insightful comparison of the ways in which the language of selected persuasive texts is used to position readers in particular ways. Construct a sustained, coherent and logical argument Sophisticated construction of a sustained, coherent and logical argument. Review and edit written work for expressiveness, fluency and coherence Highly expressive and coherent writing with confident use of highly appropriate metalanguage. Need to know How to distinguish between different text types. How headlines work to persuade. How to identify persuasive techniques. How each persuasive technique works. How to articulate how the writer positions the reader to agree with his/her POV. How to identify a writer’s contention. How to identify persuasive techniques in images. Vocabulary that describes tone. How to write an analytical essay (including embedding quotes). Activity Confident Kind of know No idea. Help! Different text types Persuasive techniques How to write essay Handy to know How the media works (eg the types of issues/stories different newspapers and magazines cover, how issues get coverage in the first place, what is news etc). Who some of the more well-known columnists are and how they write. Why someone would want to persuade someone else. Why someone would want to simply ‘stir the pot’. What is an issue. What the current topical issues are. Who the target audience is of particular articles/certain publications. What is a media issue? With the person next to you, try to define what an issue is. Definition: An issue is a controversial subject with at least two opposing sides. It is debated in a range of media texts. Issues Game You need to stand up and go to the side of the room where your answer to the question is located. The question is always: Is this an issue? Your answer will be either Yes / No / Don’t know 1. Ben Cousins NO! Ben Cousins is a high-profile person but Ben on his own is not an issue. He may be in the media a lot but he is not an issue. A recent issue related to him is: “Should he have been allowed to profit from a documentary that showed him taking illicit drugs?” Does the AFL’s illicit drugs policy give players the best chance at rehabilitation? YES! There are views for and against this topic. It has been in the media on and off for the past few years. It has been debated a lot recently due to the Ben Cousins doco and the Travis Tuck story. The Federal Election NO! The Federal Election is a major event in Australia. While it has been in the news a lot lately, the ‘Federal Election’ is not an issue because you cannot have a point of view for or against the Federal Election. Should the voting age be dropped from 18 to 16? YES! There are views for and against this topic. It has been in the media on and off for the past few years. Other popular issues Should Australia become a republic? Should school uniform be compulsory? Should public transport be free? Whether Australia should have a cap on population. Whether Bert and Patti Newton should have gone on ACA about their son’s troubles. Different FORMS of persuasive writing Q: Where are persuasive texts most likely to be found? A: In the media. Q: Which types of media can the SAC material be taken from? A: newspaper, magazine, online, blog, email, speech. Year 10 – Page 173 of text book. Year 11 – page 159 Different media text types (FORM) Opinion pieces Columns Letters to editor Editorials Feature articles Photographs Cartoons Speeches Different media text types 2 Year 10s: turn to page 169 Year 11s: turn to page 159. Activity: - Get into pairs. - Using a copy of The Age find an example of each of each text type. YR 11 HOMEWORK: Answer the discussion points questions from page 162-167. Headlines Headlines are written by the editor or sub-editors of a newspaper. They are generally: - Brief and designed to catch the eye of the reader - Big and in a distinctive font. - Dramatise and sometimes sensationalise an issue. - Are designed to manipulate reader to feel something toward issue. - Use a range of persuasive techniques like: puns, hyperbole, sensationalism. Headlines continued... Year 10 – p. 171 Year 11 – p.156 Activity: Year 11 – using your copy of The Age, do the activity on page 157. Activity: Year 10 – read page 171. Use your copy of The Age to complete the same activity for three headlines of your choice. Points of view (contention) Once you’ve identified the issue, you need to identify the writer’s point of view – their stance on the issue. A writer will be either support (for) the issue or be against it. Year 11 – consider the example on pages 154-155. Year 10 – page 184 Helpful vocabulary: The writer John Doe is passionately in favour of ... ; adamantly against the issue ... ; The writer claims in a ___ tone that ... Tone Year 10 – page 201 Year 11 – page 175 Tone: The mood or feeling of the language used by the writer. Tip for identifying and describing tone: Ask yourself what the writer’s purpose is ... To inform? To ask questions? To make people laugh? Then extend on that verb and make it an adjective... Eg inform = informative tone, ask questions = ________ tone; make people laugh = ________ tone. Tone 2 Tone can be difficult to detect in writing. It is much easier to determine tone in a __________. All writers use tone to convey their attitude on an issue. If you can identify a writer’s tone, you will easily be able to identify their stance on the issue. Likewise, if you can identify their stance, this will give you a hint on what kind of tone is being used. Tone 3 It has been said that tone falls into two broad categories, serious and non-serious OR approving and disapproving. APPROVING DISAPPROVING Tone – words to describe tone Serious Non serious Concerned, informative, angry, optimistic, pessimistic, calm, accusing, aggressive, alarming, assertive, authoritative, bitter, disappointed, guarded, outraged, pleading, reasonable, respectful, sympathetic, empathetic, arrogant, cynical, sceptical. Comical, mocking, sarcastic, flippant, amusing, antagonistic, bemused, condescending, dismissive, humorous, satirical. Approving Disapproving FILL IN THE TABLE FILL IN THE TABLE Tone 5 Tones can shift throughout an article (p 175 – yr 11) Tone depends on context. You need to read between the lines to pick up on tone. Tone can be subtle or blunt. Tone handout – from ‘The Issues Book’ Persuasive techniques Writers use these – intentionally or not – to persuade readers to agree with them. Indentifying persuasive techniques and merely listing them is the easy part (believe it or not!) By doing this alone you will not get a very good grade. You need to show HOW they actually work by explaining the intended effect of the language on the intended audience. You need to provide three or four good examples as evidence to show the writer has used a PT you have identified. Persuasive techniques Alliteration Appeal to tradition and custom Connotations and loaded words Irony Appeal to hip pocket nerve Anecdote Appeal to justice Emotive language Metaphor and simile Appeal to loyalty and patriotism Appeal to authority Attacks Evidence (stats, graphs, diagrams) Pun Voice: active and passive Reason and logic (10 book) Appeal to common sense Praise Exaggeration (hyperbole) Appeal to family values Cliche Generalisation Repetition Appeal to fear Colourful language Inclusive language Rhetorical question Persuasive language 2 These are some more difficult terms: Pejorative language: language with negative connotations. Eg: hooligan, lazy, stupid are all pejorative and make us think negatively about the people who are described. Techniques that come under the umbrella of ‘pejorative language’ include: attacks, appeal to sense of fear, hyperbole etc. Figurative language: language that is not literal. These include euphemism, metaphor, simile, analogy. Satire: the art of creating humour out of what is originally intended to be serious. 1st, 2nd person: read from little book. Understatement: when a lesser expression is used than would be expected. Emotional appeals (little book page 17) Appeal to our sense of love Appeal to our sense of humanity Appeal to our sense of morality Appeal to our sense of social responsibility Appeal to environmental responsibility Appeal to sense of justice/injustice Appeal to self interest Appeal to tradition Appeal to sense of pride/vanity Appeal to people’s desire to be modern/fashionable Appeal to conformity Appeal to democracy Persuasive techniques 3 There are heaps of persuasive techniques. Year 11 – page 177 Year 10 – page page 183 Let’s do a quick revision test. Take 10 mins to revise the persuasive techniques in your books and we’ll do a test on them. REMEMBER: Your language analysis MUST NOT be simply a list of persuasive techniques. As you discuss which persuasive techniques the writer uses, you need to show HOW and WHY the techniques are persuasive. How the techniques work Year 11 – page 177-182 Year 10 – page 206 Analysing single words or short phrases Handout from ‘The Issues Book’ p44. Analysing images Images you are likely to get in a SAC include - Cartoons - Photographs - Graphics - Diagrams - Graphs Cartoons How they persuade They attract attention. Cartoonists can often say with their pictures what writers can’t with their words. Cartoons provide a strong and succinct message combining text with an image. The text is often in a speech or thought bubble. Persuasive techniques in cartoons include: exaggeration, irony, attacks, emotional appeals, satire, puns and humour. Cartoons continued... Cartoons almost always use some kind of humour. Often a cartoonist will identify a humorous or absurd element of the story/issue and draw a picture that pokes fun at it. Famous cartoonists Mark Knight Ron Tandberg Michael Leunig More Leunig... Leunig Bruce Petty Photographs Generally have a powerful emotive impact on readers Photos can support a point of view by: - Highlighting an extreme aspect of the issue - Showing expressions on people’s faces that convey an emotion - • • and therefore having an impact on the reader. Showing people in a familiar context that encourages the reader to empathise with those people... Eg commuters crowding on a platform waiting for train Presenting a landscape – pretty or ugly – in a way that provokes an emotional response to the issue. Sometimes photos are not very persuasive but merely complement the story by catching the reader’s attention and sum up the story in a small space. Further reading: page 193 of textbook. Writing your response (1 article only) INTRODUCTION Form (what type of media text is it?) Author (who wrote it, where was it published?) Contention (what is the writer’s point of view on the issue? Tone (describe the tone/s writer uses in the piece). Techniques (which persuasive techniques will you be focusing on in your essay?) Body paragraph 1 Start by analysing the Headline and any images that are in the piece. A discussion on tone can take place here too. - Describe headline. Then say how it persuades/draws reader in/gives you an idea of the contention/tone. - Describe image. Say how it persuades/draws reader in/gives an idea of the emotion of the piece etc... Body paragraph 2 Analysis of first persuasive technique. - TEEL • OR • Analysis of first part of the piece. • Continue this approach for Body paragraphs 3, 4, 5. Conclusion Summarise your piece. Make a closing statement. Stretch it out. Analysing more than one article Page 198 Handout. Things to NEVER do. Handout. Weblogs/blogs What is a blog? A blog (derived from the term web log) is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments. What do they look like? How do you know it’s a blog? What persuasive techniques are found in Blogs? Some examples of blogs Jessica Watson’s blog: http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/_blog/Official_Jessica _Watson_Blog/ • Andrew Bolt’s blog: http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/ • Ricky Gervais blog: http://www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php Putting it together... Let’s look at the example on page 205. Extra reading Year 11 – 187-207. Bob Hillman article on the Education Age website (talks about news articles and photos) http://education.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=1 36&intversion=259 Bob Hillman article about Language Analysis task http://education.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=1 36&intversion=249 The 5 Steps to Language Analysis Step 1 Read the article carefully and take notes. You will need to read the article twice to get the most out of it. Use the first reading to identify the writer’s overall point of view; then use the second reading to focus on how the point of view is developed and presented persuasively. The 5 Steps to Language Analysis Step 2 Prepare your ideas for writing. Rewrite the contention in your own words. List the supporting points or arguments – also in your own words. Select the persuasive words, phrases and techniques you are going to analyse. Select some quotations to use as evidence – be selective, what are the most effective examples to use? The 5 Steps to Language Analysis Step 3 Plan your structure. As in all essays, the analysis will have an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. The 5 Steps to Language Analysis Step 4 Write your language analysis. Use the plan you have constructed and stick to it. Use a range of ideas for sentences starters and vary your vocabulary. The 5 Steps to Language Analysis Step 5 Edit and proofread your work. Use the editing and proofreading checklist. If you use this in your practice examples then it will become automatic when you do your SAC and examination. Language Analysis Editing and proofreading checklist. Check that you have: Included introduction details: type of text; who wrote it; when and where it was published; the tone and main contention of the piece. Explained the context of the text (that is, relevant aspects of the issue) if needed. Identified persuasive techniques and strategies and shown how they persuade. Discussed any visual material included. Linked your paragraphs. Constructed a strong conclusion. Used clear expression. Corrected spelling and grammar. Varied your sentence structure and vocabulary. Language Analysis Check List Have you identified the FACTT in your introduction? F – form A – author C – contention T – tone T – techniques The 5 Steps to Language Analysis Step 1 – Read carefully and takes notes. Step 2 – Prepare your ideas. Step 3 – Plan your structure. Step 4 – Write your language analysis. Step 5 – Edit and proofread your work. Examination criteria. Section C - Language Analysis understanding of the ideas and points of view presented, analysis of ways in which language and visual features are used to present a point of view and to persuade readers, controlled and effective use of language appropriate to the task.
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