Author: nguye16224@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg
ENGLISH – Let’s look at some text types
I just wanted to use this space as an informal way of considering the different text types that we might get on the paper one exam. I’ll try to talk about the conventions of the different text types, as well as common purposes, whether they aim to appeal or to challenge values, who their target audience usually is, that kind of analysis. Do I have my paper one mock tomorrow*? Maybe, but that’s not the point.
*it has now become today
Political Cartoons
The context will be an issue with some sort of importance and relevancy. Usually, they’ll cover recent issues or issues with increasing importance (urgency/rarity/relevancy). Depictions of the characters will often be caricatures (perhaps of famous people), mocking them and challenging whatever it is they’re doing. If the character is doing or saying something particularly foolish, rarely will the audience be supporters of that individual, and will often oppose that person strongly. These political cartoons act as a confirmation of their views, not necessarily to educate but to reiterate a point more emphatically. There’ll also be elements of symbolism or personification (you might be able to throw in some anthropomorphism, analogies, or hypophora, maybe even a synecdoche).
Graphic Narration
We struggled a lot with this one at first but it’s actually really interesting after thinking about it in a bit more depth. You could point out that there may be text boxes that are differentiated from the normal speech bubbles, and often times these boxes serve the purpose of narration. The composition of the graphic gives the impression of a documentary of sorts, panning around the scene, often having a subject of interest. You could also point out the colour scheme, whether it’s warm and inviting, perhaps to entice readers to buy or invest in what they’re promoting, or whether it’s cold and harsh, maybe to point out an uncomfortable truth and challenge the complicit behaviour of the audience.
Magazine Covers
Although it is unlikely to get something like this on the exam (lol watch me get this on today’s mock) there’s still many things you can infer from the visual elements and composition—you just gotta be extra vigilant. If there’s a subject, what is it? What is it doing? Is it a person? What kind of person? Are there any implicit or explicit gender roles being presented? What about any products featured, what can we say about social class? What values are being promoted or challenged here? I guess these are questions you should consider for any paper one analysis. But more specifically to this heavily visual example, lookout for eyeline, frames, juxtaposition, colour scheme—whether it’s warm and inviting, or cold and contrasting. What could the purpose be?
There’s still a ton of other things you could get, like personal essays, advertisements, short comics, infographics, memoirs, excerpts of autobiographies. Heck, we even prepared for a eulogy. I guess the main point is look out for all the small details and try to draw it back to a main point. Using your understanding of the techniques and stylistic conventions, draw it back to a main point. I should probably continue this and you know what I’ll shush and do that.
Differences between articles: opinion, news, feature, editorial
An op-ed piece is like the special guest of the newspaper. It’s a piece that could be written by anyone, a feature article. This makes sense because it’s in its own little section, and it features a random person who submitted their opinion piece to the newspaper. Editorial is like the opinion piece of a general body, one that represents the newspaper for example. “We, at the New York Times, believe that…”. Google defines it as a piece where the editor expresses their opinion about a topical issue. Basically what I said. Opinion pieces are similar to op-eds, the opinion column is just…an opinion of the author. Not necessarily aligned with the newspaper, perhaps it could be more informal, however, it probably wouldn’t deviate too far from the newspaper’s values and beliefs.
Expanding on editorials, they seem to build on arguments and try to persuade readers to think the same way they—the newspaper/general body—do (ooHo that grammar tho). Editorials influence public thought, promote critical thinking, and maybe even inspire people to take action for an issue. This website described them as “an opinionated news story”.
Opinion pieces promote single viewpoints, using the first person ‘I’. There might be anecdotes to top off the personal tone. Again, authors will be trying to promote their viewpoint, perhaps using more ethos, pathos, logos rhetoric appeals to connect with readers and establish their importance.
To be continued…
ENGLISH – Richard Flanagan’s “A living sea of waking dreams”
The impression this article from The Guardian gave me—thinking from a cynical point of view—was that they were trying to advertise hope and the beauty of the world, implicitly making people want to buy the book. Considering the context the novel was written in, with the preceding Australian bushfires, the ongoing pandemic, this would theoretically mean that the target audience would extend to a global scale where anyone would gladly buy hope. While Williams, the author of the article, doesn’t contribute any new ideas, the reiteration and choice to emphasise the insightful parts of the interview does effectively promote careful consideration of the sublimity of the natural world and the things we, the middle class and wealthy, once took for granted. By beautifying the “mundane” aspects of life, both Flanagan and Williams appeal to the sentimental side of people, where they long for the things they once had or for things they didn’t realise they had the privilege of having. Perhaps, considering the UK origins of The Guardian, by promoting hope, it would inspire citizens of the UK to step up their behaviour in order to regain the everyday luxuries of life.
CAS – Considering Ethics in Coaching
While I may have overused the example of boxing, I felt that when considering the ethical implications in an in-depth and personally-related manner, it was the most relevant. When working kids I’ve realised that you need to be careful of your behaviour, not that I wasn’t behaving well, but they do look at you and follow the example you set. I experienced this the other day when I was helping out with boxing class of younger kids, around 7 to 11 years old. Initially, they were mucking around when we asked them to split off into pairs, but when I helped out a younger girl and properly did the drill with her, the kids around us watched and then started to take it seriously, maybe because they felt a sense of competitiveness, but they were doing it nonetheless.
As a result of this, I’ve found myself becoming more aware of my actions in any situation. Not necessarily acting differently, but just aware of what I’m doing and how it could affect others—if it negatively affects them then I’ll obviously stop. This is more of a minor and personal example, but it does feel quite significant to me and it’s a consideration I definitely want to uphold in the future as I become more involved in different communities.
ENGLISH – Who is Arundhati Roy?
Consider the first twenty pages of her Booker Prize winning debut novel, The God of Small Things . . . (this PDF has the first chapter of the novel —33 pages— and then selected the selected essays that represent her non-fiction work). Discuss the opening with a classmate, then go to your portfolio and record your thoughts in the form of a fiction —that is, imitate her style as you describe you and your classmates discussing her book. Include a knowing 3rd person narrative voice, dialogue, description of each character, and, somehow . . . the SOUND and roll and weirdness of Roy. If you can.
OR, if that’s too tough, create a post consolidating your first impressions of Roy and what you’ve observed about the profiles of her that we have in front of us. Knowing that her personality is associated with strong opinions, how are the writers’ feelings detectable in the profiles we have read?
From the first couple of pages of her novel, The God of Small Things, personally, I think it’s quite obvious that this is a well-thought-out, meticulously crafted narrative. What stuck out to me was the calling attention to the small things, especially considering the title of the book, which feels pretty significant. It seems like her style or ‘convention’ (purely based on the first 7 pages) involves constructing a childlike wonder (at least at this point while Rahel and Estha are young) by noticing small details, like the baby bat on the sari, or how Sophie Mol smelled like cologne and coffin wood. The overall gist of the scene is described just enough for readers to be able to infer what’s happening and understand the important parts, but this is understood from a third-person point of view, picking up on every detail and remaining detached from the situation.
CAS – LO5 Collaboration!
CAS – LO4 Sustainabrew
CAS – LO4 4 Samba
CAS – Project Week Missing Pieces
Investigation –
Planning – Our planning document for our trip to Try4Cambodia, our action plan with a heavy focus on initiative in service.
Action – Our EXTENSIVE planning document for project week, including our itinerary, key information, booking of hotels and flights. A lot of logistics things.
Reflection – I reflected about the planning process here.
Demonstration –