English Language Homework Policy

Hi all,

Now that the 4 week induction/change over period has come to an end, I will be implementing the homework policy in class. The policy is as follows:

Stage 1: In the event that you do not complete the homework for the deadline, you will be given 24 hours to complete it and hand it in.

Stage 2: If you still have not completed the homework after the 24 hour extension, your tutor will be contacted and the missed deadline will be recorded on your student portal. At this point you will need to see the Director of Faculty (DOF) to complete the homework in one of your free periods.

Stage 3: If you still have not handed in the homework, parents will be contacted and a Cause for Concern (CFC) will be raised, which means you will be moved onto a disciplinary process.

Homework is very important to your progress on the course, and completing homework and receiving feedback for your work will decide whether you get your target grade or not. Sometimes a missed deadline is out of your control, and so you should use the 24 hour extension period and get it in as quickly as possible in order to avoid being moved onto a disciplinary. The 24 hour extension period should not be used for every piece of homework - if you miss the initial deadline for more than 3 pieces of work, parents will be contacted and you may still be moved onto the disciplinary process.

If you have any concerns about not being able to complete homework for the deadline, please come and see me at the end of your lesson and let me know in advance.

A reminder: I am still waiting for the following pieces of homework from the following people, and these need to be handed in on Monday. If the Monday deadline is missed you will move to Stage 2 (if they are on your blogs, please copy and paste them into an email):

Ode to a Hoody Analysis:
Megan
Lucy

A Level article PEE Paragraphs
Megan
Mahad
Connor
Pip
James
Grace
Lucy
Beth

See you all on Monday

Claudia

Writing a PEE paragraph for linguistic analysis

Morning everyone,

We're really pushing on in our linguistic study now. So far we've conquered the word classes, mastered the frameworks and tamed some terminology, and the next hurdle is becoming proficient in close linguistic analysis.

Over these next 2 lessons we will be laying the groundwork for you to get to grips with how to analyse language to an A level standard, using the '8 things I wish I knew before starting my A levels' advice column as source material and your terminology tables.

The framework to follow when completing any analysis is the basic PEE structure: Point, Evidence, Explanation.

For language, using that framework, you can structure your paragraphs with this basic method:

1. The author's use of linguistic terminology (for example hyperbole) and the reason for its use
2. Quote the sentence where the technique appears
3. Analyse the effect of the technique, both on the audience and how it contributes to the text as a whole (i.e. how it suits the GRAMPS)

You should also include a topic sentence before you introduce your main point. This will give your paragraph and analysis focus. 

A good PEE paragraph should give you nothing more to say about the point you are discussing, leaving you free to move on to the next one. Here is an example of a PEE paragraph in action:

Topic sentence: As the article is primarily intended for an audience of 16 to 18 year olds, the author uses an informal and conversational register to appeal to this age group. 

Point: As part of the informal tone, the author of the article consistently uses contractions as opposed to the more formal non-contracted terms.

Evidence: This can be seen all throughout the article with examples such as "teachers don't usually chase you up on work you haven't done and lessons you've missed."

Explanation: The use of contractions gives the article a conversational tone, and addresses the reader in a friendly manner. As the purpose of the article is to give advice, this kind of informal tone is gentle and non-threatening. (This explanation also links you back to the topic sentence.)


Today's Task

Today you are going to plan and write 4 PEE paragraphs in response to the A Level article using the advice above. You all identified terminology and linguistic techniques which had been used in the article, so you should have a few points you want to make. Your question is as follows:

How does the author of the article use linguistic techniques to suit the GAP? (Genre, Audience and Purpose)

Click here to access the article if you need a copy, and click here to access some advice on the DOs and DON'Ts when writing PEE paragraphs, and also a writing frame to help you write your first paragraph. Print out your 4 paragraphs with the question at the top and hand them into me at the end of the lesson.

As always, ask for help if you get stuck

Claudia

Additional Terms

Hello all,

As I mentioned in today's lesson, even if you studied languge for a decade you'd still never learn all the terminology we can apply to written and spoken texts.

You all have a fairly comprehensive terminology booklet, but there are some terms you may need which are missing.

To add more terminology to your analysis, click here to access some extra terms (some may be repeated). For homework, choose 5 terms from this extras sheet and find them in the article, and then provide some analysis of why the author has chosen to use them.

On Wednesday we will be going through tups and techniques on how to write a good linguistic analysis.

Have a good week!

Claudia

Computer room lesson - Stephen Fry 'Planet Word' write up

Morning all,

There's a few tasks I'd like you all to be getting on with today, so there should be no one with nothing to do.

Before you start I am missing homework from the following people and this needs to be handed in immediately:

Megan
Mahad
Cameron
Lucy

Storm and Alice, you were absent when the work was set so please come and see me and I can talk you through the task.

Could everyone also leave a comment underneath this post with your blog URL, and I'd like you all to add each other to your reading lists. This way you can follow each other!

On Monday as a follow up to the Stephen Fry documentary on swearing, I asked you to gather some data from the conversations you have had over the past few days, and record down any instances of swearing. The data I asked for was as follows:

• What was the conversation about?
• Who swore? Was it a friend or family member?
• What swear word did they use?
• How many times did they swear
• What emotion were they trying to convey?

With this info in mind, complete the following tasks:

1. Create a titled 'Why do we Swear?' Summarise in your own words what you learned from the documentary, and discuss your own swearing habits and your views on swearing as a linguistic construct. A few hundred words will be fine.  
2. Then you should record what you found by listening more attentively to your conversations, for example did you notice that your friends or family swear often or infrequently? Essentially you need to answer the five questions in the bullet points.
3. Write up a paragraph or two on the subject of swearing - does it offend you? On Monday I asked you this: is there any word that offends you more than others? Why?

This all ties in to the topics we are exploring on, Language, the Individual and Society and Language Diversity.

Tomorrow we will be starting to look at linguistic terminology - this is absolutely essential to your study of language, so spend some time this evening reading the booklet and familiarising yourself with some of the terms.

Word Classes and Grammar Frameworks - Building up analysis

Morning everyone,

Today you will be starting to use the grammar frameworks and word classes we have covered in the last few lessons to look at a text critically and build up analytical paragraphs. We will be using the 'Ode to a Hoody' text that we've annotated in class, so if you don't have one of these please come and see me before you begin.

Firstly, scroll back through my recent posts to find the PowerPoints on the frameworks and word classes to re-familiarise yourself with the content. If you missed Thursday or Monday's lesson this is essential and you must read the PowerPoints before starting.

Today's Task

Using GRAMPS, the grammar frameworks and word classes, write an analysis of 'Ode to a Hoody'.

In order to do this successfully you may want to first spend some time annotating the text and making notes so that you have the foundations for writing paragraphs.

You may also want to give each paragraph a framework to focus on, for example your introductory paragraph could discuss the GRAMPS of the text, and then each paragraph following could focus on a different framework. Remember to discuss the word classes in each paragraph, for example how the use of dynamic verbs suit the GRAMPS.

When finished, email me your paragraphs as a word document and then post them on your blogs.

Any confusion, come and see me.

Claudia

Word Classes

Hi everyone,

Excellent work in our lesson on word classes today. There was a lot of information to digest and the notes I saw from you in class looked excellent - a very good start to the academic year! For those of you who were absent (and those of you who were not, but still want a refresher) follow the link below to the PowerPoint we went through in class and make sure you read through this before Wednesday's lesson:

Word Classes PowerPoint

You will also need a copy of thee 'Ode to a Hoody' article we used as we are going to begin analysing this through the frameworks and word classes on Wednesday. Those of you who were present, keep looking through the article and identifying the different word classes. If you missed Today's lesson, please come and see me in B16 before Wednesday to pick up a copy.

See you all on Wednesday in C7!

Claudia

Grammar Frameworks

Hi everyone,

Here is the PowerPoint from yesterday's lesson. Use this to revise and get to grips with the frameworks.

If you are struggling with your homework, send me an email and I will try to gt back to you before Monday.

Have a good weekend!

Claudia

Welcome to my new Year 1 Language class!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my English Language Blog! I will update this blog frequently with interesting articles and resources which will help your study of this amazing subject. I will be asking you to update your blogs too, as this will be a great addition to your notes, and computer room lessons will be posted to the blog also.

You all should have created a blog as your summer task, but if you haven't you need to make one now. Follow these instructions:

Go to blogger.com and enter your Gmail details. If you don't have Gmail, make an account now (this will also be useful when we use Google Docs in class). Keep a note of your Gmail address and password!

Make your blog, and then everyone needs to send me the URL via email to cal@stbrn.ac.uk

Your URL should be something like 'claudiaslanguageblog.blogspot.com'. If you have something different to this, let me know.

Then you have one or two tasks to do:

1. If you have not completed your summer task, you can do this now. Click here to access the task.
2. Type up your notes from your discussion earlier in the lesson about your Linguistic Fingerprint. What is it about your language use that makes you unique and what little quirks do you have when you talk?

Happy reading and happy writing!

Claudia