Section C: Language Analysis Hey, its not so bad..

Section C: Language Analysis

Hey, it’s not so bad.

If you learn anything today:

Has connotations = suggests that

You just sound smarter.

Reviewing the Prac Exam

Did you… ?

Chunk it. Linking all visuals/ presentational devices to a chunk?

Crank out your intro in about two minutes? You are not going to get your marks here.

Cover GAP in your Intro: Genre Audience Purpose (contention)?

Genre

So what type of text was it?

Awesome clues can be found in the section which says: BACKGROUND!

Audience

Once again – check the background and think logically.

There is usually more than one audience. List the more specific ones first and the general ones last.

Who were the audiences?

There is no such thing as the ‘General Public’

Because it includes this bloke.

What was the writer’s contention?

Multiple choice style:

A. Exams can be stressful B. Don’t ban the examC. People sit exams D.My Grandma owns a green kettle

Where did the examiners hide the contention for this piece?

Yes, that’s right: In the freakin’ headline!

Only a genius possessed of great evil could have planned this!

Sample intro

With the pressure of educational professionals and students themselves pushing for the end of the exam and suggestions of different assessment, Bronwyn Leigh, an educational professional for over 30 years, responds with an article published in the ‘Learning Now’ magazine, in November 2011. As stated clearly in the rhyming headline “Don’t ban the exam”, Leigh believes that although there are faults with exams, that it is a fair way to assess students. The magazine targets educators and those interested in education matters, with readers able to respond via letters in following editions.

It is worth noting that the push to eradicate exams for Year 12 is supported by very little research. No doubt most of us can guess some of the claims made against exams: that they unfairly discriminate against bright students whose anxiety hinders their ability to do well; that they are an unnatural form of assessment because no-one really has to work under exam pressure in the ‘real world’; and that they allow for cramming rather than deep learning experiences. There is a little merit in all of these claims – we all know of someone who didn’t perform as well as they were expected to because they had a meltdown before walking into the exam room, for instance. But these claims alone do not justify calls to abandon a form of assessment that has been reliably used in education since the mid-nineteenth century. And all of these claims can actually be used to promote exams rather than to condemn them. If students panic before exams they need to be taught how to cope with stressful situations because they are, like it or not, part and parcel of everyday life. In fact, many people do have to work under exam-like pressure in the ‘real world’: imagine being a doctor in the emergency section of a hospital and having to say to a bloodied, distraught accident victim, 'hang on while I check my reference book’. Imagine being a teacher and regularly needing to say, ‘I’ll get back to you on that one’ in response to student questions.

It is worth noting that the push to eradicate exams for Year 12 is supported by very little research. No doubt most of us can guess some of the claims made against exams: that they unfairly discriminate against bright students whose anxiety hinders their ability to do well; that they are an unnatural form of assessment because no-one really has to work under exam pressure in the ‘real world’; and that they allow for cramming rather than deep learning experiences. There is a little merit in all of these claims – we all know of someone who didn’t perform as well as they were expected to because they had a meltdown before walking into the exam room, for instance. But these claims alone do not justify calls to abandon a form of assessment that has been reliably used in education since the mid-nineteenth century. And all of these claims can actually be used to promote exams rather than to condemn them. If students panic before exams they need to be taught how to cope with stressful situations because they are, like it or not, part and parcel of everyday life. In fact, many people do have to work under exam-like pressure in the ‘real world’: imagine being a doctor in the emergency section of a hospital and having to say to a bloodied, distraught accident victim, 'hang on while I check my reference book’. Imagine being a teacher and regularly needing to say, ‘I’ll get back to you on that one’ in response to student questions.

Analysis In a rational tone Leigh argues that calls to ban the exam are based on “very little research”. The word research has connotations of science and therefore Leigh is able to reduce the credibility of this suggestion. Leigh provides further counter-argument against claims that exams are not useful in the ‘real world’ by creating the highly emotive image of a “bloodied distraught accident victim”, a situation that her audience, or their family could one day be placed in, and sarcastically invents a doctor who has never had to face a stressful situation, referring to his “handbook”. Leigh also positions the reader to see any suggested problems with examinations as a reason to “promote exams rather than to condemn them”. She uses the common phrase “part and parcel” to convey the idea that we should accept exams as part of growing up and the reader may feel that those wanting to ban the exam are simply looking for an easier option which could result in people missing out on an important part of their education.

Visuals

The exam: still a fair and accurate way to assess students

Visuals2. What does it suggest?

Equal opportunity for students to perform and to display their knowledge

A challenge

Chairs are empty because exams have been banned

1 What can you actually see?

Image of empty chairs and desks in a traditional exam arrangement

The medium sized image is located in the top left hand corner and, after the headline, is the first item the reader views

Desks and chairs literally fill the entire image

3. What written text does it link to?

“the long isolating rows of single tables”

“If students panic before exams they need to be taught how to cope with stressful situations because they are, like it or not, part and parcel of everyday life.”

Caption: The exam: still a fair and accurate way to assess students

The letters

The letters in response to Leigh’s article and published in the following edition, present differing views. Brian Stanfield of St. Kilda agrees with Leigh’s argument, believing that if a thesis were to replace exams “the gap between students… will widen” and appeals to the hip pocket nerve of parents who cannot afford tutors and educators who are limited by funding. Stanfield’s use of the terms “socio-economically advantaged” and “disadvantaged” has connotations of rich and poor and appeals to an Australian sense of fairness.

A second letter from…

A copy of this PP will be on the wiki!