Language Workshop

Important stuff you should KNOW…

Tips for answering exam questions:

Number your questions in the middle of the page

Rule off after each question DO NOT start an answer with, “Well, I

think…” Use a formal register and Standard English Remember “ ” if you’re quoting from the

text Refer to the author as ‘Johnson’ not

‘Shaun’ Look at the MARK ALLOCATION!

An ‘open-ended’, ‘own opinion’ type of question must be answered RIGOROUSLY! Refer to the text; justify your standpoint in a sophisticated manner

Be able to consider the position of the reader (i.e. What effect is a text having on the reader? How is language being used to manipulate the reader?)

Be able to cross-reference (analyse /access / compare different texts and styles of writing) e.g. a question may ask you to compare an article and a cartoon

How the summary is marked:Global mark is first given

Very weak: 1-3 ½ Below average: 4-5Average: 5 ½ - 6 ½ Good: 7-8Very good: 8 ½ - 10

Then 1 mark subtracted for each of the following:

Is the summary in the requested form (e.g. table)?

Are full sentences used? Is there excessive lifting? Are more than 100 words used? (More than

110 words summary is not marked.) Is a word count provided? Is the word count accurate?

Things to revise: Idiomatic expressions e.g. The Maths test on

Friday was just the last straw…[For a FIZZER: Which band has an album entitled ‘Final Straw’?] Satire Allusion Irony Tone (tragic, humorous, tongue-in-cheek,

conversational, bereft, critical, biting, etc.) Malapropism (e.g. I am not under the affluence

of alcohol!)

Style - can be formal, informal, literal, figurative, detailed, concise, simple, verbose, etc.- is developed through diction and language usage- is dependent on purpose, setting (time and place of writing) and audience

Ambiguity Rhetorical questions Synonyms/antonyms Active/passive voice (NB for positioning of

writer/reader) Pun Target market Visual/graphic clues Punctuation (apostrophes, dash, hyphen, italics,

comma splicing, etc.) Antithesis (e.g. It was the best of times; it was

the worst of times)[For a FIZZER: Who wrote the classic novel from which the above is taken?]

Parts of speech (especially VERBS, compound words)

Types of sentences and phrases/clauses Abbreviations and acronyms[For a FIZZER: for what does the acronym ‘scuba’ stand?] Misrelated participle (e.g. Wading across the

river, the current swept me off my feet.) Biased writing, sensationalism, fact & opinion,

sentimentality vs sincere emotion, propaganda Gender and language Summary skills (Full sentences! Get rid of the

fluff.)

Comparative and superlative (trappe van vergelyking)

Jargon Neologism [For a FIZZER: example?] Colloquialisms (we could’ve, like, gone if

we sort of felt like it…), slang (Yo, whaddup, dog?), dialect (the bushveld tranquility was shattered by the cry of a kwêvoël…)

Textual editing

Language has powerGet it right…

[For a FIZZER: Who wrote what’s on the plate?][For another FIZZER: Spot the error.

Concord error: Correct: The sack of oranges was heavy.

Incorrect: The sack of oranges were heavy.

[The sack is the subject of the sentence, and it is a singular subject.]

Comma splicing Correct: The lake was calm. The sun was falling

dappled through the autumn leaves. With a twist of melancholy he wondered when he’d see her again.

Correct: The lake was calm; the sun was falling dappled through the autumn leaves.

Correct: The lake was calm and the sun was falling dappled through the autumn leaves.

Incorrect: The lake was calm, the sun was falling dappled through the autumn leaves, with a twist of melancholy he wondered when he’d see her again.

NEVER string sentence after sentence together like this! NEVER separate

complete sentences with a comma!

A complete sentence must stand alone, or be

linked to another sentence using a conjunction or a semi-colon (;).

Other common mistakes:

Correct: a lotIncorrect: alot

Correct: He could have gone anywhere and done anything.Correct: He could’ve gone anywhere and done anything.Incorrect: He could of gone anywhere and done anything.

Correct: St Alban’s College [The College belongs to St Alban.]Incorrect: St. Albans College [No fullstop after ‘St’! ‘Saint’ ends with a ‘t’!]

Correct: Romeo and JulietIncorrect: Romeo & Juliet [Don’t abbreviate in formal writing.]

Correct: See you later!Incorrect: C u l8r! [SMS speak is for SMSing ONLY! Don’t ever use it in formal writing!]

Remember: a phrase is a group of words without a finite verb. A clause is a group of words with a finite verb.

Do not switch tenses when you’re writing. If you start a descriptive passage in the past tense, stick to the past tense! Don’t switch to the present tense halfway through. Remember that literature essays are always written in the present tense (e.g. Rodrigo is distraught upon hearing of Othello’s marriage to Desdemona).

Types of sentences:

Simple, Complex and Compound Sentences:

A simple sentence has only one finite verb (i.e. it is a single (main) clause; it has one subject and one predicate).

E.g. I went to Istanbul. Beyond the ridges of the distant koppies the day reluctantly gave way to night.

A complex sentence contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses (less important clauses that add extra detail to the main clause).

E.g. I went to Istanbul as soon as I had saved enough money.

[The subordinate clause is ‘as soon as I had saved enough money’. This is not a main clause: it cannot stand on its own but needs the support of a main clause and adds detail to that main clause. This particular clause is a subordinate adverbial clause of time: it is describing the finite verb (went) by telling us more about when the subject went to Istanbul.]

The building, which was rather dilapidated, would serve our purposes well enough.

[The subordinate clause is ‘which was rather dilapidated’. It cannot stand on its own as a main clause but adds detail. This is a subordinate adjectival clause: it is describing the building (noun).]

A compound sentence contains more than one main clause (and possibly a couple of subordinate clauses as well). A compound sentence often joins two simple sentences with a co-ordinating conjunction like and, but, or, yet, so, nor, etc.

E.g. I went to Istanbul but I prefer Paris. [Note that ‘I prefer Paris’ is a main clause that could quite happily stand on its own if it wanted to.]

He seemed well-qualified for the job yet I didn’t trust him.

Loose, Periodic and Mixed/Balanced Sentences:

Rama is the cleverest, even though he is too modest to admit it.

Destroying the competition with his powerful brain, Rama emerged as the cleverest.

Rama is the cleverest, and he is the most handsome.

[For a FIZZER: Are these sentences true or false?]