Welcome to Higher English!

Let’s get stuck in… Textual Analysis NAB Friday 21 st June.

What is Textual Analysis? Close Reading of a poem, a piece of Drama or a piece of prose fiction. You will be doing a poem. It will be great. You will love it!

What do you need to know? Word choice Imagery Aural Imagery (alliteration and onomatopoeia) Sentence Structure Effects of punctuation Tone etc, etc…

Remember… Understanding = what (Explain…) Analysis = How? Evaluation = How well?

Different Types of Analysis Questions Show how the writer uses language… Imagery word choice sentence structure To what extent do you find the use of imagery successful in word choice sentence structure How effective is the writer’s use of Imagery word choice sentence structure

Marks Available These questions can be worth 2 marks, 4 marks or even 5/6 marks. DON’T PANIC The higher tariff questions just need to be broken down. A six mark question may be 4 or 5 points very well explained. A four mark question might be 3 points very well explained or four points that are a bit less developed.

Laying out your answers Show how the writer uses language… (6 marks) This is a very common question in Higher close reading, as well as in Textual Analysis. Here the word language means word choice/ imagery/sentence structure/tone/any other techniques which is appropriate.

You should present your information like this… Imagery Point One Point Two Word choice Point One Point Two Sentence Structure Point One Point Two Hopefully, when you see an answer laid out like this, you can see how to build up to six marks without finding it too intimidating.

If your question specifies imagery or word choice or sentence structure, you don’t need to use a heading but you should continue to use bullet points

Learning Intentions You will be able to explain the word DENOTATION You will be able to explain the word CONNOTATION. You will understand how to answer word choice questions in the exam.

On your own, write down all the words you would use to describe Victoria Beckam’s appearance. Compare your answers with a partner.

How may of your words had negative connotations? How many had positive connotations? Page 41 “How to Pass Higher English” Copy the section “Key Words and Definitions”

Word Choice Formula. The word “…..” suggests…..

Pages 41 to 43 “HTPHE” We will look at example one together. You will read Example 2 very carefully on your own. You will then be asked to explain the answer to your partner, who will tell you if you are correct!

Complete examples 3 and 4 in your jotter. We’ll look at the answers on page 85.

Imagery Simile Metaphor Personification

Imagery Questions Imagery questions are asking you to identify and explain a comparison found in a simile, a metaphor, in personification or implied within a word. Ask yourself- what is being compared to what? Then start by describing whatever it is being compared to. This is called ‘deconstructing the image’. Go on to explain the similarity or the ideas we are given by the comparison. Add your evaluation of why this is effective

Imagery Questions Use the just as formula every time. If you begin your answers this way there is a much greater chance you will be given the marks. e.g. The lake was like a mirror.

The lake was like a mirror. Just as a mirror….

Use the just as formula every time. If you begin your answers this way there is a much greater chance you will be given the marks. e.g. The lake was like a mirror. Just as a mirror is flat, silver and reflective, the water in the lake was shining and still enough to reflect the surrounding scenery perfectly.

What is Burns telling us about pleasure from the imagery in these lines? But pleasures are like poppies spread: You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white – then melts forever.

Just as poppies… Just as poppies do not last long but wilt and wither very quickly, so pleasure is also very short lived – pleasure does not last.

What is Burns telling us about pleasure from the imagery in these lines? But pleasures are like poppies spread: You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white – then melts forever.

Just as snow which falls on a river.. Just as snow falling in a river melts away almost immediately, pleasure is a very temporary thing which does not last.

Question One ‘Too many tourists are so wedded to their camera that they cease to respond directly to the beauty of the places they visit. They are content to take home a dozen rolls of exposed film instead, like a bank full of Monopoly money.’ Show how the simile used here highlights the writer’s disapproval of the behaviour of the tourists. (2)

Question 2 ‘The Thames marks the edge of things. It is what makes north London north, and south London south. Like a twisty ruler, it measures out the intricate social gradations between the east and west of the city.’ Show how the imagery of these lines helps to develop the statement, ‘The Thames marks the edge of things.’ (3)

Question 3 ‘And in August this year, a tremor of apprehension ran through the scientific community when the Russian ice-breaker Yamal, on a tourist cruise of the Arctic, muscled its way through the unusually thin ice to the North Pole to find itself sailing serenely into an astonishingly clear blue sea.’ What impression are you given of the progress of the Yamal by the imagery of these lines? (2)

Imagery Question Three ‘So when Ali did finally refuse the draft, I felt something greater than pride; I felt as though my honour as a black boy had been defended, my honour as a human being. He was the grand knight, after all, the dragon slayer.’ How does the imagery in these lines emphasise the admiration the boy felt for Ali? (2)

Homework Tuesday 11 th June Both sides of the worksheet on “Concept One - Word Choice”. Questions E, F, G