2B - Theory

 

2B - Walkthrough

  Really, this is a component which should NOT have you panicking.

You will be given a small set of data from the genre of 21st century English.



This could be from:



SMS

Twitter

Facebook

Snapchat

Instagram

Email



All the questions will ask you to do will be something like 'analyse how the context of this data affects language use in the 21st century'.



You already know ALL of this! You really do. All you have to do is imagine you are explaining EVERYTHING to a 95 year old, and you can't go far wrong (ie, just be prepared to explain what the heck is going on as if you are talking to someone who has never seen a text message or abbreviation in their life.)



Got it?



Key terms:



If you see any of these, you'll need to point them out and explain why and how they are being used. Don't just assume that you only need to mention them once. You might make a point about how a smiley face to a friend shows informality or flirting, whereas you might later make another point about how inappropriate a sad face is when used in a formal situation.



*Abbreviations

*Acronyms

*Initialisms

*Emojis/Emoticons

*Sociolect

*Elliptical expression

*Elision

*Logograms (when a symbol is used to carry meaning, like '+' or '@'

*Hyperlinks

*Hashtags

*Retweets

*Tagged friends

*Mentions

*Like/Dislikes



Again, none of this should scare you. This is the sort of language you use EVERY DAY. You just need to switch your brains on, look at the contexts, and ensure that you are fully explaining WHY these things are happening.





Grouping and Planning





Answering this question really is EASY.



The Sample Assessment material showed 8 SMS messages and expects you to write about 4-5 paragraphs.



Whilst we don't know that YOUR data will feature SMS messages, we can assume it will be a similar length.



So, just try to GROUP the data into about 4-5 paragraphs. Don't just blindly work your way through it one text at a time This won't show off your skills. See if any of the texts/tweets/message have anything in common, and tackle these in the same paragraph.



For example, don't do this:



Paragraph one - discusses sms 1

Paragraph two - discusses sms 2

Paragraph three - discusses sms 3...



Because if you do that, you'll find that you eventualy start repeating yourself.



Instead, do it like this...

Paragraph one - discusses all messages which feature arguments

Paragraph two - discusses all message which are sent in a more formal context

Paragraph three - discusses all messages which are sent by older people

Paragraph four - discusses all texts which are SPAM messages or unwanted messages

Paragraph five - discusses all texts sent between close friends and family





Linking to Context





 Follow this formula and you won't go far wrong.



1. Point out a language feature

2. Show a clear example or examples of where we see this in the data

3. Explain why this happens in a general sense - 'Emojis like this are used to express emotion rather than putting things into words which means that word counts are cut down, and there is less chance of messages being misread on an emotional level

4. Explain why this happens in this particular context - 'Within this message, it is particularly important that this 'laughing' emoji has been used, as the recipient is an older individual who may be more inclined to misread the sarcastic tone of the text if the emoji was not used to clarify it.



It is that last point which will ensure you are always linking to context. So, within each message, consider and comment on the following factors:



*How old is the sender/recipient? Is this having any effect on the language used?

*Is there a language/culture barrier between sender and recipient? Any linguistic effect?

*How well do the sender and recipient know each other? Is this affecting anything?

*Is the message informal or formal? Why? How is this shown linguistically?

*How far apart are the sender and recipient? Any linguistic effect?

*Is the message wanted or unwanted? How does this affect the things the sender says?

*SPAM MESSAGES - Remember, SPAM companies will use abbreviations and hyperlinks to keep word counts and costs down. They will also use a whole host of tactics to trick people into following the messages. Point these out when they shows up, and explain what you know about spammers.

*Multimodality - Do any of the messages show signs of CONVERSATIONAL features? Why? Point these out.



 ETC ETC ETC.



Do you see the benefit of this??? Essentially, this will guarantee that each PG has a nice specific focus, you won't be repeating yourself, and you should ALWAYS be able to link VERY EASILY to the context of the messages, showing how it is affecting language use.



Nick

2A - Specific Change Terms

 Don't freak out about these - just revise them!

You should also be able to identify examples of these phenomena in any historical texts you are presented with, and mention them as they crop up. This does not mean that you should write entire paragraphs about them, just that, if you see an example of pejoration, say this...


"The noun 'shambles', which has gone through a process of pejoration over time, is used here to express an attitude that the organisation of the kitchen is chaotic.'


See...so the pejoration bit is not the main point, it is just mention as a 'by the way'.


Language Change Terms


Semantic change/ semantic shift - an umbrella term for where any word or phrase has changed its meaning over time.
Example - 'Gay' used to mean 'happy', but now means 'homosexual'


Pejoration - A process where a word takes on a more negative meaning over time.
Example - 'Silly' used to mean 'happy', but now means 'idiotic'.




Amelioration - The word has become more positive in meaning over time.
Example - 'Brilliant' used to means 'bright', but now means 'extremely good or impressive'


Weakening - A word means the same thing but has lost impact over time.
Example - 'Awesome' used to mean 'beyond comprehension'. Now it is just a throw-away colloquialism for 'good'.


Narrowing - A word that used to refer to a variety of things now only refers to something far more specific.
Example - The word 'fowl' used to be a direct synonym for all species of birds. Now, it refers to a specific group of birds commonly used in cuisine such as hens, geese and ducks.


Broadening - A word which used to be very specific now refers to a much wider spectrum of things.
Example - The word 'desktop' used to mean 'the top of a desk'. It still means that now, but also the visual display on a computer screen.


Borrowing - A word which is clearly adopted from another language or culture.
Example - 'Pyjamas', 'Croissant', 'Boomerang', 'Tepee', 'Kindergarten'.


Neologism - A brand new word made up because there was not a suitable one already in existence


Compound - 'Lawn + mower = Lawnmower', 'Flower + pot = flowerpot'


Blend - 'Britain + Exit = Brexit', 'John + Edward = Jedward'


Clipping - 'Television' becomes 'telly', 'Telephone' becomes 'phone', 'perambulator' becomes 'pram'


Initialism - an abbreviation which is not said as an individual word - Like: FBI, DVD, BBC


Acronym - Where the abbreviation is said as a word - Like: Ofsted, Nato, Fifa

2A - 60 Marker Walkthrough

  Ok,

So you are going to want a general walk-through for the essay. You know this already. There is no way around the fact that it is a BIG essay. Remember, if you follow the timings I have outlined in an earlier post, you should have between 60-65 minutes to write it.

THE QUESTION WILL PROBABLY ASK YOU HOW THE CONVENTIONS OF THE GENRE, OR ANOTHER RELATED ASPECT OF THE GENRE, HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME. WHATEVER IT ASKS YOU, YOU MUST ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY AND SIGNPOST YOUR ARGUMENT BACK TO THE QUESTION IN EACH PARAGRAPH.

Got it? Sorry if that looked a bit shouty, but it's pretty much the most important thing on the exam so take note.

So...make sure you do the following things:

1. Read the blurbs for each texts and highlight any key words that will give you clues about the content of the text. Often, you will see clues to do with the class, social position, age of writers etc.

2. Aim to find FIVE key points in each text which directly answer the question. ie, if the question asks you to talk about how the conventions of the genre have changed, then aim to find as many conventions per text as possible. Alternatively, if the question asks you something like 'how have attitudes towards love changed over time? Find points which mostly answer this question. And so on.

3. Write your paragraph clearly with a focused TOPIC SENTENCE, back them up with bits of EVIDENCE and use TERMS to discuss the KEY WORDS of PRAGMATIC SIGNIFICANCE. Remember, don't classify EVERY word, just the ones which carry meaning or are the most important.

4. If you come across KEY LANGUAGE TERMS, point them out as a 'by the way' sort of point. Don't just look out for grammatical stuff...comment on words which are archaic, or have changed meaning too.

5. Write your paragraphs QUICKLY and CONCISELY - you will need to get through a lot of them.

6. Write your 5 PGs on text A, then 5 on B, then 5 on C.

7. Ensure, in the majority of your paragraphs, that you make a comparison with one of the other texts.

8. STICK TO YOUR TIMINGS!!! YOU MUST COVER EACH TEXT EQUALLY!!! If you get a third of the way through your time and you have only done 4 PGs, MOVE ON!! Don't carry on with Text A forever, as your essay will be weak.

9. Remember, your paragraphs can differ in length. Some may be longer (but not too long), and some may only be short.

10. WRITE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. It is a long essay....there is no avoiding that...so write FAST. Write FASTER THAN YOU EVER HAVE BEFORE. WRITE UNTIL YOUR HAND ACHES. It will be worth it!

Do all the above, and you'll be fine.

Nick