Standard Grade English

1. Standard Grade English Close Reading

2. Types of Question? • Understanding • Analysis • Evaluation • What do they test you on?

3. Understanding • Testing whether you have grasped the meaning of a text. • Often you will be asked to quote an expression. Key tip – no more than 6 words. • If not asked to quote you should always use your own words, replacing those of the text with a suitable synonym.

4. Example • We were in Dracula’s castle sited on the remote Tihuta mountain pass where the Victorian Gothic novelist Bram Stoker based the home of his fictitious vampie – two days’ carriage ride from Bistrita in northern Transylvania. • Give two pieces of evidence which suggest that Bram Stoker wrote the novel Dracula more than 100 years ago.

5. Analysis • Sometimes you will be asked to explain the effect of an image or a certain technique. • You may be given a phrase from the text and asked to comment on its use. • What you need to think about is what the writer was trying to do. What picture? What emotion?

6. Analysing the Image • Think of the example, ‘Fred is a pig’. • What you need to do is look at what is being compared. • Take each part separately. • Which features of item 1 are being given to item 2?

7. Analysing the Image • Once you have decided which features are being compared, you then need to decide on the effect of this comparison. • What does it suggest? • What makes this comparison effective?

8. Task – Practice! Here are some examples of similes, metaphors and personifications. Identify each and explain its effectiveness. 1. The surface of the lake mirrored the trees by its edge. 2. The tramp looked like a bundle of old rags. 3. The rain came down in buckets. 4. The wind in the trees crooned softly. 5. His remark in class was met with stony silence. 6. The pond was so still it was like clear glass. 7. The actor gave a very wooden performance. 8. The long train journey was a nightmare for the young mother.

9. Note: • When asked to explain the effectiveness of an image you must think about the comparison being used. • Think about the features which are being transferred from one item to another. • Then, explain what this comparison suggests. What extra information does it give you?

10. http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/gigaquiz?path=english/close_reading/appreciating_writer_test&infile=appreciating_writer_testhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/gigaquiz?path=english/close_reading/appreciating_writer_test&infile=appreciating_writer_test

11. Evaluation Questions • Come at end of paper – focus on effectiveness of techniques. • Use a quotation. • You should then go on to explain why it is being used (what is the effect). • You should keep in mind the message and tone of the whole passage. • Bear in mind the overall ideas, emotions etc the writer wished to communicate. • If asked about the effectiveness of the title, think about how it links with the ideas from the text.

12. Question Types & Key Concepts • Context questions: you must (1) give a definition of the word and (2) explain how the information around it links with this idea. It is a good idea to quote a further word which means something similar. • Contrast: ensure evidence given displays clear opposites. • Word choice: consider what the word means and what is suggests. • How ideas are carried on: quote words with similar meaning and explain what they suggest.

13. Question Types & Key Concepts • Looking at feelings: think about word choice and what is suggested about the character’s emotions. • Looking at the writer’s feelings: found when looking at newspapers. Again, consider word choice as often reflects attitude. • Questions about links: look for linking words and phrases such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘however’. Identify words which refer to previous idea and those introducing new topic.

14. Question Types & Key Concepts • Style – Typically you are asked to recognise the difference between formal and informal styles. • Formal – Complex language and sentences, always grammatically correct, impersonal tone, more factual. • Informal – Uses colloquial (aka slang) expressions, abbreviations, personal pronouns (I, you) making it more subjective. • “” – You may be asked to recognise when something is spoken. Often inverted commas indicate something is possibly false or ‘so-called’.

15. Sentence Structure - Punctuation Colon (:) Used to introduce a list, an explanation, a quotation, an illustration. Its purpose is to introduce something which completes the idea. Semi-colon (;) Connects closely related ideas, sometimes contrasting. Also used to separate items in a list. Comma (,) Separating marks often used to indicate a list, but also to separate clauses or phrases within a sentence. Ellipsis (…) Often used to show a ‘tailing off’, show thought, suspense, rambling. Often used in fiction to suggest uncertainty. Dash (-) Can have same function as a colon. Also used to indicate an unfinished sentence, giving a more dramatic break to the ideas. Brackets () Used to give additional information. Often used to give an ‘aside’, a personal comment/thought.

16. Sentence Structure – additional advice • What idea or emotion is the writer trying to put across? • How is the reflected in the sentences used? • Complex sentences (;:,) often used to indicate an excess of information, overwhelming ideas or emotional intensity. • Short sentences/minor sentences are often used to hook our attention at the start, at points of suspense or to suggest a chatty, informal style.

17. Technique Test Key terms you need to know!

18. Define and/or give examples of: • A simile. • Personification. • Alliteration. • Rhetorical question. • Sarcasm. • Dialect. • Metaphor. • Tone. • Pun.

19. Techniques and Terms • Go to: http://chilleng.wikispaces.com/S4 Download document!

20. Word Choice • Think about the particular connotations linked with the word and what it is being used to suggest. • Skinny vs slender. • Home vs house. • Antique vs old. • Devour vs consume. • Assertive vs pushy

21. Sentence Structure

22. Standard Grade Revision Writing Exam

23. Looking at the Criteria • Any piece of writing is marked on the following areas: • Expression and Style. • Content/Ideas and Relevance. • Structure, Paragraphing and technical accuracy. • Intelligibility!

24. So what does this mean? • Plan your writing: brainstorm  bullet point. • Proof reading is VITAL! • Not sure about spelling? Use a synonym. • Avoid repeating the same word/phrase too often. • Is it good? Great? Fantastic? Or maybe phenomenal? • Remember you can use // to mark a new paragraph. • Top tip – Tipex!

25. Important Reminders • The next few slides are aimed at revising key features of writing. • You should copy each note into your jotter. • Even if you think you won’t attempt an imaginative piece with dialogue – you should still copy the note!

26. Dialogue • Direct speech and reported thought must be placed within ‘speech marks.’ • Each time the speaker changes, you should take a new line. • Capital letters must always be used at the start of speech. • Before the closing speech mark, you must use some form of punctuation. • If the sentence continues after the speech, you must use a comma; ‘He seems nervous,’ whispered Jane. ‘Perhaps we should help?’

27. Sentence Variation • A simple sentence has at least a subject and a verb e.g. ‘He died.’ • You should try to use sentences of different lengths through your writing. • Long sentences can be created using conjunctions such as ‘and’ or ‘but’. • Different types of sentence can suggest different attitudes/emotions e.g. command versus exclamation. • You can alter the order of information in your sentence for effect. Compare ‘Hugh entered the room slowly’ and ‘Slowly, Hugh entered the room.’

28. Show not Tell • In creative and personal writing, aim to describe places, people and events rather than simply stating. • Rather than saying, ‘Hannah seemed angry,’ you could say, ‘ Hannah shoved her way into the room. Her face was verging on purple, a piercing look in her eye.’ • The verbs and adjectives you use can suggest a lot more and can create mood/atmosphere; ‘The room was filled with abandoned toys; rusted tin soldiers, dolls with fading dresses and teddies revealing their stuffing. Underfoot, the floor creaked and groaned…’

29. Senses When describing a setting, make sure that you take into account each sense. You should try to include enough sense detail to give an impression of the place.

30. How to ‘hook’! Opening lines

31. Discursive Writing • Remember the different types: provocative, illustration, anecdote. • Past paper question – 2008: All you need is an audience. The media give young people the idea that success comes easily. Give your views. • Provocative: Nowadays it doesn’t take much to become rich and famous. Most ‘celebrities’ today have no talent whatsoever. • Illustration: Her face was splashed across every tabloid. The phone was ringing off the hook. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of her. What made her so popular? Not much. A link with a star, slight bending of the truth and cha-ching, instant cash! • Anecdote: Recently I’ve struggled to understand why certain people are given so much attention in the media. Take Jordan for instance. Every time I pick up a magazine I seem to come across a detailed account of her life in LA, her struggling relationship, her drunken nights out… Is this success?

32. Discursive Writing • How could you begin the following: • We do not give the older generation the respect they deserve. Give your views. Note – you can make up an anecdote!

33. Creative – Short story • You are asked to develop setting, character and plot. • As part of your plan, why not think about the mood and atmosphere you wish to create? Is this a happy, sad, tense, romantic or dramatic story? • Set the scene, then introduce character into your location. • Think about structure: flashback or flash-forward.

34. Creative – Short story • Create suspense: try using dialogue to introduce action but only hint at vital clues to events. • Leap into the event: avoid the ‘once upon a time’ type openings. Instead, involve us in the event. • Thought: 3rd person is recommended, but remember you can include thoughts and feelings of characters without having to ‘report’ it. • ‘Where is he?’ she wondered. ‘Why is he so late?’ • Where was he? Why was he late?

35. Plot • One central event. • Short period of time. • Build up towards a ‘peak’ in the action. • Final resolution at end. • Sometimes ends with a twist. • May include a ‘moral’ / lesson learned.