Revision: Essay Structure
Remember that you will now be dealing with multiple texts (usually a main article, one or two smaller supporting/contrasting articles, and a visual source). This requires you to approach your language analysis essays in a new way. You have two options regarding how you structure your responses:
Option 1: Segmented Approach
- Discuss each article and visual source in turn, beginning with the main article, then turning to supporting articles and ending with visual sources.
Option 2: Integrated Approach
- Discuss the articles in tandem, guided by the main article.
- Use the structure of the main article (i.e. its arguments) to structure your response.
- Discuss supporting articles when they raise a COMPLEMENTARY or CONTRASTING argument to the main article.
While, strictly speaking, it is possible to do well with either approach, the second approach (integrating your analysis) will nearly always result in better analysis and better marks. You should therefore be trying to use this approach, especially in your practise responses, and use the more basic ‘segmented’ approach only if you have trouble identifying the core arguments.
You can revise the slides from our final class of the term, which include details regarding structure, here: Language Analysis Essay Structure (revised)
Holiday Homework
TASK 1: CONTEXT
Re-read (and re-re-read) Life of Galileo in preparation for our context study, and read Every Man in this Village is a Liar, as we are scheduled to beginning it before the end of term. There is a useful app on Life of Galileo in the app store called ‘LA Theatre Works – The Life of Galileo’ that provides an audio version of the play. It is quite cheap at about $4 and is worth considering.
Here is a quick literary crit on Life of Galileo from the perspective of the Encountering Conflict context that you may find useful to help focus your reading of the text: Life of Galileo – Encountering Conflict
TASK 2: LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
Your homework in relation to language analysis is to (1) carefully read over the text and sample responses for ‘Overprotective Parenting’ and then (2) write at least two practise responses of your own using the following articles:
Text 1: Overprotective Parenting
- Text: Overprotective parenting
- Sample response 1: Overprotective parenting response 1
- Sample response 2: Overprotective parenting response 2
Text 2: Changing the Australian Flag
- Text: Australian Flag
Text 3: Xavier’s Muck-Up Day
- Text: Xavier Muck Up Day
Text 4: Vaccinations
Please email through your responses to me as you complete them.
Don’t forget the other revision tasks that should be well underway or completed by now:
- Know your tone words. Flash card templates are here: Tone Word Cards v3
- Know your appeals. Flash cards are here: Appeals v2
- Know your audiences. Learn the terms on these cards: Language Analysis Audiences
- Know your persuasive techniques. Use section 3 (all activities) of Using Language to Persuade to revise and let me know of any questions. Use the Engage Education Wiki to revise techniques: http://wiki.engageeducation.org.au/english/#links-6195
- Know your connotations. Use this worksheet for some quick revision: Word Connotations Exercise
Other materials from recent classes:
- Cartoons for analysis: Cartoons – set 1
- Article (ethical fashion): 2013 What we wear is really to die for
- Ms Haake’s introduction to language analysis: https://youtu.be/chNWXrQaXGw