Reading for Understanding, Analysis & Evaluation Homework Booklet Miss Grant Contents 1. In Your Own Words 2. Word Choice 3. Imagery 4. Sound 5. Tone 6. Linking Questions 7. Evaluation 8. Papers In Your Own Words Questions In your own words questions are asking you to show your understanding of certain words or phrases. You need to paraphrase, swapping the words with other words that mean the same. This is to show that you have got the jist of the phrase. Usually, you will be asked to change an unusual word into your own words. There are a couple of ways to do this: 1. Use the context – what is the rest of the sentence/paragraph about? 2. Look at the unusual word – does it look like any other words you know? Example Writher’s phrase: “Once a rare sight on British roads, women lorry drivers are increasing in number.” ✓ 1st approach – the article is about women lorry drivers. There are more female HGV drivers in the UK than before. Writer’s phrase: “Vertiginous cliff” ✓ 2nd approach – vertiginous = vertigo When do you get vertigo? When something is steep or high. “vertiginous cliffs” = “steep hills” Word Choice Questions Word choice questions are asking you about what impression a word is giving to you. It is about the connotations of a word. How to answer: 1. Identify the word they are asking about. 2. Explain what the means. 3. Explain what it makes you think of/what impression it is giving you. Q1. Explain why the writer chose to say the animals were in “agony”. A1. The word “agony” means to be in a great deal of pain. The writer chose to use this word to express the level of pain and agony that the animals are in. Q2. Explain why the writer chosen to use the phrase “the excitement is tremendous”. A2. The word tremendous means big or great. This gives the impression that there was a huge amount of excitement surrounding the event. Imagery Personification How to answer ✓ Identify the use of personification ✓ What is being made to seem like a human? ✓ What impression is this giving? Q: “these surroundings/threw walls to the sky” A: the surroundings are being described as being able to throw up a wall, much like a builder can. This gives the impression that Scotland’s surroundings are creating mountains that act like walls. Metaphor – a comparison when something is said to be something else. A non-literal meaning How to answer ✓ Identify the metaphor ✓ Explain what two things are being compared ✓ What image does this create? Q: “Europe is a reservoir of ideas” A: Europe is being compared to a reservoir. A reservoir is a body of water that is usually distributed as drinking water. This creates the image that Europe is a body where ideas are shared and can be used by others with access to it. Simile – a comparison that uses ‘like’ or ‘as’ How to answer ✓ Identify the simile ✓ Explain what two things are being compared ✓ What impression does this gives? Q: “Europe is like a reservoir of ideas.” A: Europe is being compared to a reservoir. A reservoir is a body of water that is usually distributed as drinking water. This creates the image that Europe is a body where ideas are shared and can be used by others with access. Sound Alliteration How to answer ✓ Identify the alliteration – is it soft, harsh? (‘S’ sounds/’K’ sounds) ✓ Explain what impression it is giving you (harsh, soft) – is it to make it easier/more difficult to read? ✓ Is it imitating the sound of anything? Q: “the gentle whistle of wind whispered through the window.” A: The repetition of the “w” sound creates a soft, gentle sound. This also imitates the sound of the wind in the house and gives the impression of the quiet sound it makes. Q: “The king kicked the crown around the castle” A: The repetition of the “k” sound is a harsh sound, which gives the impression of how harsh the action is. It could also imitates the sound the clattering sound the metal crown would make on the castle floor/walls. Repetition How to answer 1. Identify what is being repeated 2. Explain why it is being repeated – usually for emphasis Q: “He ran and ran and ran.” A: “Ran” is being repeated here to emphasise how far the person is running and to give the impression of a long distance. Tone Tone is usually the hardest thing to identify Tone is linked to emotions – what emotion was the writer feeling at the time? What emotion was the writer trying to make you feel? The answer to the above questions are the answer to the question. How to answer ✓ Identify the tone ✓ Identify the word/phrase/sentence structure that creates this tone ✓ Explain how the word/phrase/sentence structure creates this tone Tone: light-hearted/fun Q: “…she joked.” A: the use of the word ‘joked’ shows that she wasn’t taking the moment seriously, creating the light-hearted/fun tone . Q: “It is frankly an insult to the expertise and knowledge of guests…” A: The use of the word “insult” says that the writer is angry or disgusted by the way the guests are treated. The word “insult” suggests that the groups are being treated unfairly and that the writer is angry at this. Sentence Structure Short sentence How to answer ✓ Identify the sentence ✓ Identify the purpose – is it emphasising? Q: “That’s all.” A: This short sentence is emphasising that there was no more that the author wanted to say about this talk. The shortness of the sentence emphasises his shortness of interest in continuing the conversation. Long sentence How to answer ✓ Identify the sentence ✓ Identify the purpose – is it giving a lot of info? Is it reflecting the length of time that’s passing? Q: “and he ran as far as he could, over the bridge, down the High Street, through the car park and across back gardens before finally coming to a stop outside of his house.” A: This long sentence contains information about all the places the boy has run, and the length of the sentence highlights the length of his journey. List How to answer ✓ Identify the list ✓ What is the purpose of the list? Q: “there were pickled herring, spiced eel, smoked haddock, smoked mackerel, peppered salmon and cod’s roe.” A: This list identifies various types of fish, highlighting how many there was behind the counter at the fishmonger. Linking & Rhetorical Questions Linking Question This is to show that you have understood how the article is structured and how it all links together. How to answer 1. Identify the words in the second paragraph that links to the ideas of the previous paragraph. 2. Identify the words in the first paragraph that links to the second paragraph. 3. Explain how each of these words link to each other and the ideas of each paragraph. Q: “Either way, she’d lost none of her poise. “Let’s be honest, I’m better at this than he is anyway,” she joked. The moment was mostly a fun political stunt” A: The phrase “the moment” links back to the previous paragraph, where there is a description of what happens. The link is effective because it links the previous paragraph with the explanation that is about to come in the second paragraph. Rhetorical Question This is a question that doesn’t need a response. The writer is usually asking you to think about the subject. Sometimes they will go on to answer the question, or they may leave you to ponder the question for yourself. How to answer ✓ Identify the rhetorical question ✓ Explain the purpose Q: “That’s just the way of it, right?” A: The rhetorical question here is making us question whether that really is just the way of it, and we are now expecting the writer to go on and explain whether it is or not. Rhetorical questions are also used as links. The writer may ask a question then go on to answer it. You would answer it the same as above. Evaluation Evaluation This is to show that you have understood what the purpose of the article/conclusion was and whether it as effective. How to answer ✓ Identify the purpose of the article/conclusion (depending on the question) ✓ Identify the words/phrases/ideas that link to the introduction or the rest of the article. ✓ Explain how these words/ideas make the conclusion/article effective – do they persuade you? Entertain you? Answer questions posed at the start? ✓ The answer is that it is always effective – never say that it’s not effective unless you have a really, really good reason for it not being effective. Article 1 Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya: 'I resent that I have to prove I'm black' Actor responds to criticisms made by Samuel L Jackson over casting of black British actors in American films | Gwilym Mumford | 14 March 2017 1 Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya has responded to criticisms made by Samuel L Jackson over the casting of black British actors in roles about US race relations, saying that he resented having “to prove that I’m black”. 2 In an interview last week Jackson questioned the casting of Kaluuya in Get Out, a horror film centred on an interracial relationship between a black American man and his white partner. “I tend to wonder what that movie would have been with an American brother who really feels that,” he told radio station Hot 97.1, adding.