Intro Quiz: Analysing language: Selecting evidence

Video: Analysing language: Selecting evidence

﻿Welcome to today's English lesson. I'm Mrs Crompton. Our focus today is language analysis and in particular were going to look at the selection of evidence. You will need a pen and paper. Take a moment to make sure you've cleared any distractions away and have everything you need to hand. To begin with, we're going to look at subject terminology. And this is part of our toolkit when it comes to analysis. The subject terminology is like the skeleton. It strengthens our analysis by giving it the backbone, by being able to be precise about the observations that we make. However, it's still the effect of the language choices that we need to focus upon. If you look at the terminology on the screen, noun, verb, adjective, adverbs, simile, metaphor, personification, and imagery. I am hoping that the majority of those terms are familiar to you. And one of the key points to make here is that it does not have to be complex and elaborate to be effective. It's the accurate use. And it's the importance of the effect that we always concentrate upon. If there is anything that you would like to take down from this screen? Please do pause at this point and resume it when you're ready. Now, in terms of the subject terminology, we'll just have a look at one of those terms in a little bit more detail. And have a look at how there are different types of nouns, that may help pause in the precision of our analysis. If we know a little bit more about them. So again, what we'll do is read through the slide together, understand the meaning behind these terms, and then you will have opportunity to pause the video and take down any notes that you require. So to begin with a concrete noun, refers to material objects which we can see or touch. So table chat . And looking at a text and seeing whether there are a large number of concrete nouns to anything else, might tell you something about feeling that's being created. It might add to the mood or the tone. So thinking about the choices from this point is then the important part of the effect. And abstract now refers to things which are not material objects, such as ideas, feelings, and situations. So an abstract noun would be something like love, hate. Thinking about those abstract details might again give you an interesting insight. If you are able to a distinction suddenly, you might find in a text that is a key line with an abstract noun. That's very different to a previous section that could be relevant. So being able to say that it's an abstract noun is helpful. A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words, usually announced under noun or an adjective noun and it can be hyphenated or open. And the reason I give you this particular bit of terminology is that we have a compound noun in replacement for the name of one of our main characters, the red hat girl. So the red hat go is a compound noun. And finally, we have collective noun. This is account noun that denotes a group of individuals. So pause at this point, take down your notes and resume when you are ready. Welcome back, so what we're going to do now is to read a little extract from the Tiredness of Rosabel. And within this extract on the first reading, I just want you to start to consider the following question. How does the writer use language to describe Rosabel bus journey home? So you're just reading and familiarising yourself with the extract. And as you do, so you might be starting to make a few notes to yourself, of words and phrases that help you to answer the focus of the question. We're looking at language, but the focus is how Rosabel bus journey home is being described. Where are those details about the actual bus journey, okay? Over to you, I will give you control to read through the passage and make those initial notes, and I'll be waiting for you with the next step. Welcome back, so what we can do when we start to look at a passage like this, is to start considering different bits of subject terminology , and identifying word classes. But we need to be really mindful of what is important. Let's have a look at a really small snippet from the abstract. Rosabel looked out of the windows, The street was blurred and Misty, but light striking the panes turned their dullness to opal and silver. And the jeweler's shop seen through this fairy palaces. So we have a detail here of something that Rosabel observed on her bus journey home. And it's talking in particular about the situation when she sees the streets through the bus window. We've got a few words picked out for us blurred and misty, objectives verbs, the lights, the noun now the light striking the panes turns the dullness of the pains to old opal and silver interesting objective choice. That actually turns into a metaphor. They use it in metaphorical way. The dullness is termed opal and silver, opal and Silver. Then link in with the jewellers shops. And we now have this idea of wealth. I'm also seeing a contrast in the language between the blurred and misty and the dullness and this more exciting vibrant language of wealth through opal and Silver, but also quite magical language in fairy palaces. So I can pick these details out and label them. I've got a couple of metaphors here, I've got some adjectives and some nouns that I've noticed that are particularly important, light and dullness versus the adjective is blurred and misty and opal and silver. Also the metaphorical phrases the opal and silver and fairy palaces. Is that enough though, let's have a look at what we are actually doing with this information. In terms of success criteria for a task like this, we need to be able to demonstrate that first of all, we understand the text, and not just the little extract we're looking at, but the whole of the text and how this part of it fits in with the overall meaning. We also need to be able to select, what I'm going to call rich evidence. Evidence that allows us to actually unpack and explore in more detail. And then finally, we need to link the evidence. Let's have a look at these columns in a little bit more detail. So you're being asked to look at a small portion of the text, but it's important to think about the whole extract. The language used here is also part of our overall big picture interpretation. So what is it that Rosabel bus journey home symbolises? And really, if we remember her situation, that moment on the bus is a moment where she reflects on just how stuck she feels. And the bus journey gives her the moment to reflect on everything that's happening, not just that day, but generally in her life. So we want to look at language that helps us, explain that within our answer. Within the evidence by selecting two or three key quotations. We're going work with three today. The advice is make sure you can control your analysis. Now that seems like an odd thing to say, but if you pick a quotation because you know, Oh, it's a metaphor, so I must use that, well, yes you should, if you can tell me what the metaphor actually interprets too. If you can unpack the individual words within that metaphor, if you don't know what a word means, don't use it. There are plenty of other lines that you can select. So make sure you can control what you're talking about and make sure your focus remains on the effect of the words. So we're always talking about the word and the effect. A really common trap is for students to start telling me about their interpretation of the ideas. It's always the word and the effect it's connotation around that word, it's the way that it links and works in combination with other words or sentence constructions, because the language is also the sentences around it. And that's where we link into the final part. So you've got to be able to link one of the selections to the other. The question doesn't say, pick a few language features. I found a similar, that's an adjective, here's a metaphor. I actually asks you to think about how the language works to make meaning, and if possible try and demonstrate that big picture as a final point. And if you remember, when I looked at this, as a really small snippet, I was already looking at connections between the language. So the two nouns of light and dullness, are contrasting, we then have two sets of abject title phrases, the blurred or myisty streets, the opal and Silver that the dullness turns into. And we've also got the metaphor of the fairy palaces. And so I was looking at the connections and what we have building up here is a contrast between reality and the world she wants to be part of, a contrast between what is her norm and what she dreams of. It's not even the reality of what's out there is? it's not really a fairy palace, it's a jewellery shop. But it might as well be a fairy palace to a girl like Rosabel, who's never going to be able to go in there. So what we're looking at is the way that the language is working together. Let's continue a little bit more. So bearing in mind, we want to share that we understand the text, we've selected rich linked evidence. Let's have a look at a response together. So this is a response that a student has written, and I would like us to think about what we can do to improve. In this extract, Mansfield uses language in a range of different ways to describe Rosabel bus journey home. The use of metaphors complex sentences and sensory imagery helps the reader get a sense of how the bus journey is for Rosabel. She knows it's very wordy. There's lots of things there but it's not very precise how does the Rosabel bus journey home feel? It's not very clear, we've got a list of all the terminology. So I know that the student knows these words, but no examples. So it's not a particularly effective introduction. One thing we are going to be working towards in a follow up session is being more precise at the start of an answer. Then we have adult working with some evidence. The right to use his sensory imagery, okay? And the line sickening smell of warm humanity. This has been used to share Rosabel is uncomfortable in the bus, okay? The use of sibilance in sickening smell emphasises the feeling , sickening makes me think of being unwell, which makes the buss on pleasant. Now, there are a couple of things here that are a little bit troublesome, "sickening smell of warm humanity". Do you know I think that's one of the hardest images in the whole extract. And this is what I mean by being in control. I don't think the student in control and that's why they end up. Even though they know , the sickening smell is the use of sibilance. And I think they're more impressed with themselves that they know what sibilance is, and trying to get that in their answer, they're not able to do anything with it. Sickening makes me think of being unwell, what the meaning of it is within this passage. So this is an example of a student picking the wrong quotation. Let's see where it goes. The smell of warm humanity suggests the bus is cramped, well I'm convinced now they don't really know what to do with that part. That's a really difficult image. It's a really difficult concept here I was starting to look at what mankind values in society. That's really difficult to pin down, and it doesn't mean that the bus is cramped, So not being in control is definitely in evidence here. So far, his response is not working very well. So she's left to breathe hot and stuffy air, which supports the feeling of being uncomfortable. So it's not just about the fact that Rosabel sat on the bus and she's not very confident, there is so much more that the bus represent. It's about being stuck, Isn't it? It's about being on something that is potentially a journey to something else, but you're just stuck in the same route. All of that's been missed. At the end of the extract, Mansfield uses a metaphor. So again, the focus here is on subject terminology and identification rather than linking. Through her half- closed eyes, the whole row of people on the opposite seat seemed to resolve into one meaningless staring face. This metaphor suggests that the bus was dull and plain. Again, that doesn't come from that particular metaphor, which, but when not being precise, the faces of the people looked so similar, Rosabel isn't interested in them. It makes the bus ride seemed boring. And we can see here that we've moved more into discussing some ideas. And the ideas are quite literal when not really analysing language at all. So that the whole response breaks down a little bit. This is not what we're going to do. We are going to learn from this and we are going to remember to link our evidence, okay. So we today are going to concentrate on selecting the very best evidence. And the method that we are going to use is this idea of cloud analysis. It sounds very fancy. It's really quite simple. So I'm going to show you what I mean by this. First of all, let's talk about rich quotations. Rich quotations allow you number one to do something with them. So the quotation of fairy palaces is really powerful because there are so many connotations that we can unpack from the word fairy and the word palaces as two separate words, and then combined together. So that is a rich quotation. It's allows us to explore and expand on the meaning. And it also gives us an inroad into talking about what that image means to the character and to the narrative itself. We know that that is what Rosabel dreams off. So that is a rich quotation. And what I would like us to do is to put our very best rich quotation, that answers the question in the middle cloud that you see. So you're going to be asked to draw this up on your piece of paper, turn it landscape. And in the middle, you're going to put your best quotation. You are then going to select two more quotations with the idea that you are linking the evidence. So you're going to think about how the idea is contrasted or reinforced throughout the passage with additional quotations. Remember what I did when I looked at the very small example and we picked out how the language was working together. Listen again, to the phrase I used, how it is contrasted or reinforced, that's really useful way of linking ideas. So what you're going to end up with a three bits of evidence your best one in the middle. And then you're going to draw the little line and think about how you're linking them together. And you can use the sentences, this is contrasted. This is reinforced by within each cloud, you also have to remember to unpack and examine the connotations of the words. Some of you will know that as exploding the quotation, some of you will talk about mining a quotation or picking a quotation. It's about zooming in and thinking about the details. And this is your focus for today. It's getting three effective quotations that you can link together to explore the language use and to explain how it shows that Rosabel bus journey home is a symbol of her feeling trapped in her situation, okay? So what you're then going to get, even to pause the video and read, I'm going to give you the passage again so you can work through. So a lot of instruction that , we'll go back to the beginning of the slide. You're now going to apply that learning work through the slide slowly pausing, draw up the clouds first, then start to think about how to link and connect the language that's used. That's where the interesting stuff comes. That's where you will notice. Ooh look, there's a pattern of two adjectives that are negative. Now I've got two objectives that are positive, and we find that by looking at connections, okay. Control is over with you. Draw the grid and then move on to working through the passage again at your own pace, I will be waiting for you when you have completed And welcome back, So at this point as a final check, what I would like you to is to make sure that the three quotations that you have selected match our criteria. Do they demonstrate your understanding of the text in relation to the focus of the question and the passage as a whole? Have you selected your three quotations and have you been able to link the way that the language works together? Pause the video while you self assess, resume when you are ready. And welcome back, all that remains for me to say is thank you for your focus today. Please bring this planning with you to your next learning session. In our next lesson, we will look at how to write our response up. Don't forget to complete your exit quiz and enjoy the rest of your learning today.

Exit Quiz: Analysing language: Selecting evidence

Completed: Analysing language: Selecting evidence

In this lesson we will be looking at language analysis skills. We will start by building our confidence with subject terminology, understanding what good analysis needs to contain and then really working on the most crucial skill; selecting the best evidence. You will have opportunity to really slow down the process and we'll work through a step by step guide to being successful in this skill area.

English

Analysing language: Selecting evidence

Introductory Quiz

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Final Quiz

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