How to Write the Thing

8/6/2019 How to Write the Thing

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Today

This week is about you writing your report. I can guide/question

you as you go along, but I cannot tell you what to write. Ifyouve done the annotation and data chart work, then there will

be plenty of time to conference with me and make sure you are

doing the right thing.

Before we start I will go over the things you need to be doing inyour writing in order to succeed at each level.


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The Standard


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The main thrust...

Conclusions Achieved

Merit

Excellence

Interpretations

Qualitative Judgements

Conclusions are basic level pieces of analysis. They are often

simply regurgitations of what we know language techniques

achieve when they are used. They dont tend to require any

significant engagement with the text.E. G. Personal pronouns are used in the ad to create direct

address, which establishes a relationship between the speaker

and the reader.


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Conclusions should allow you to create interpretations...


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Conclusions should allow you to create interpretations...

Lets try an example:

The manipulation of the readers desire for uniqueness or individuality can also beseen in the frequent use of direct address. Every ad makes use of the personal

pronoun you or your in order to directly address the reader. The effect here is to

create a relationship between the speaker and the reader. By using the personal

pronoun, the distance between the speaker and the reader is reduced and the

sensation of a one-to-one relationship is produced. I feel as though the advertiser is

using this language in order to make the intended reader feel special by creating this

more intimate connection with them. The effectively makes the product seem less a

part of a large corporate machine and instead gives it some humanity, almost

personifying the product as it speaks intimately with the reader.

How are words used in Covergirl ads and what are their effects?


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Interpretations require you to make decisions about meaning or intention.

You should be asking yourself Why do I think the advertiser decided to

use language this way? What was the impact? By considering and

articulating your thoughts on the use of language you are interpreting the

language and expressing your understanding of why the technique was

used in a particular case.

It can often be useful to start the sentence I feel as though... or I think

this has been used because...

Do be aware though, that good writers will find ways to remove the I

statements so as to make their writing more effective and authoritative.


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Qualitative Judgements

These are the most difficult and tend to distinguish Merit from Excellence.

These tend to be 1 - 3 sentence expressions of how the language used

across range of ads suggests something about the society in which we live

in or the society in which the ad was produced for. You might also make

this step by discussing the way in which language is used in order to try and

establish attitudes or values in society.

They always connect to wider society.

And they are generally found in the answers to questions 2 & 3.


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Lets try another example:

What similarities and differences can be seen across Covergirl ads and what might the

implications of this be?

The most striking similarity across all of the ads is the focus on and repetition of concrete nouns.

Lips, lashes and eyes are repeated over and again, to the point that the word eyes isrepeated seven times within a single 30 second mascara ad. What this suggests is an emphasis

on outer appearances. This is not surprising for a make-up ad. However, it does seem to suggest

that the exterior is being privileged over the interior and that beauty as a concept is explicitly

linked with exterior appearance over and above traits such as emotional integrity or intellectual

ability. The repetition of these concrete nouns and the associated emphasis on external beauty

implies that the target market needs to be primarily concerned about their exterior beauty. While

this might be connected to giving young women confidence, I think the fact that it is something

seen across all the ads means that the stereotype of women as appearance minded is being

seen as more important than other elements of beauty such as intellect and emotional maturity

within our society.


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These are the most difficult judgements to make effectively as it can be tempting

to just write broad statements about the nature of the world we live in without

making any connection to the language being used.

It is really important that when attempting make these judgement statements that

they come from your analysis of text; they must be grounded in the language

being used by the advertiser and what their usages suggest about the

society/culture we live in.

It is also important that you draw these wider conclusions from what youve found

across a range of ads. Notice that in that example I was discussing the way inwhich the fact that the use and repetition of concrete nouns across all of the ads

led me to conclusions about what society privileges.


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Advice

Use question one primarily as an opportunity to develop conclusions and interpretations.You may decide to write a brief conclusion at the end of this question that draws

together the threads and begins to make some qualitative judgements.

Question two should allow some room for qualitative judgements. You should be trying

to make connections to societys attitudes and values in this question, while still having

a focus on the use of techniques.

Question three can detach itself from direct analysis of language techniques and can

focus itself on treating the connections between the language used across all of the ads

and what it suggests about the world we live in.

Try to structure all of your writing in mini paragraphs.

Use the exemplar you have in front of you. I wrote it and so it is representative of what

this department sees at the kinds of things you should be doing for Achieved, Merit and

Excellence.

How to Write the Thing

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