Question 3: Comment On

Word Types

Literary texts are made up of words that have been deliberately chosen by the author. As you read a text you are looking for thought-provoking words that are rich in meaning. Such choices can evoke an emotional response from the reader, as they aim to stimulate the different senses such as, sight, sound, touch, taste and scent.

Familiarise yourself with the main word classes:

__Noun __

1. Person, Tom
2. Thing, house
3. Abstract - state or emotion that you cannot physically touch, anger

Verb

1. Action, climb
2. Event, raining
3. Situation, be, have

Adjective

1. Describes the noun, luxurious, red, messy

Adverb

1. Gives more information about a verb or adjective, nearly, quickly

Pronoun

1. __Personal __- Used in place of a noun, often to avoid repetition
2. __Subjective __- Acts as subjects of the verbs, I, you, we, he, she, it, they
3. __Objective __- Acts as the objects of verbs and prepositions, me, you, us, him, her, it, them
4. __Possessive __- Refer to something that is owned, mine, yours, hers, his, ours, theirs
5. __Reflexive __- Referring back to the subject of the clause, myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Preposition

1. Show the relationship between the noun and pronoun, above, before, in, under, with

Conjunction (Connective)

1. Connect clauses, phrases and sentences
2. Co-ordinating conjunctions, For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (In English grammar there are only seven and you do not place a comma before them!)
3. Sub-ordinating conjunctions, Whilst, After, Although, Because, Since (In English grammar there many and you must place a comma either directly before them or within the clause!)

Determiner

1. Introduces the noun, a/an, the, this, those

Interjection

1. Word or phrase that conveys a strong emotion and often followed by an exclamation mark.

Language Techniques

You need to be able to scan through the text and identify which methods the writer has deliberately used for effect. Literary techniques have an emotional impact as they aim to stimulate the different senses such as, sight, sound, touch, taste and scent. They add flavour to a piece of writing and heighten meaning for the reader.

__Listed below are some common techniques that writers use to make their writing more engaging: __

Metaphor

1. Figure of speech that gives meaning through a comparison which is not literal, The Headmaster is a dragon.

Alliteration

1. Using a succession of words that begin with the same letter, Timid Trevor tried to navigate.

Threes/List

1. A group of nouns, adjectives or verbs, Bold, courageous, gallant King.

Emotive Language

1. Stirs emotion in the reader through specific choices in vocabulary, The grieving, pot-bellied orphans were destitute.

Personification

1. Giving an object human characteristics, The trees danced gracefully in the tender sunshine.

Repetition

1. Reoccurring words or phrases, He was a very, very, naughty child.

Opinion

1. Offering your ideas and thoughts on a matter, Homework is a waste of time.

Onomatopoeia

1. Words that imitate the sound when spoken, ping, crashed, slurring

Facts/Figures

1. Numerical values that offer logical information, two men walked down the street, 72% of the population…

Rhetorical Question

1. Evoking a reasoning response from the reader by asking a question that doesn’t require an answer, This makes sense, does it not?

Exaggeration

1. Magnification or understatement about a matter, His leg was broken into thousands of pieces.

Allusion

1. Figure of speech that makes reference to a place, event, literary work, myth, art, etc. but it must be recognised by the intended audience. She is my Juliet.

Direct Address

1. Talking directly to the audience, You should buy this perfume!

Sentence Forms

Literary texts are formed through use of sentences. Successfully engaging pieces use a range of sentence forms or structures for effect.

__There are commonly five types of sentence forms in English: __

Minor

Word or phrase that can stand alone but still be understood without a verb,

Hello. No! Okay, Fantastic.

Simple

A word or phrase that features one verb.

This new car has broken down twice.

Compound

1. Features two verbs, as two independent clauses or two simple sentences are join together using a co-ordinating conjunction. (I call this the glue that holds them together and balances out the two sentences.) Each side of the co-coordinating conjunction must have a verb to keep it balanced.
2. Co-ordinating conjunctions,For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So,(In English grammar there are only seven and you do not place a comma before them!)_This new car has broken down twice so I must take it back to the garage. _

Complex

1. Features two verbs, as one independent clause is connected with one or more dependent clauses. The Sub-ordinating conjunction acts as the glue holding the clauses together.
2. Sub-ordinating conjunctions,Whilst, After, Although, Because, Since(In English grammar there many and you must place the comma either directly before them or within the clause!)This new car has broken down twice, since I bought it from the garage.
3. What I like about complex sentences is that you can reverse the clause order and it should bear the same meaning. You could write:Since I bought it from the garage, this car has broken down on me twice.

Compound-Complex

1. Features three or more verbs and one dependent clause and one or more independent clauses. You can merge the different sentences and place them in an order that will make sense, with accurate punctuation.Since I bought it from the garage, this car has broken down on me twice so I must take it back.

As you read the text, what type of words are you looking for?

Your answer should include: Thought-provoking / Rich / Meaning / Evoke / Emotion

Are commas used in compound sentences?

No

What is the purpose of using language techniques?

Your answer should include: Purpose / Emotion / Response / Flavour / Interesting / Engaging / Stimulate / Heighten / Meaning