Post by mrcaldicott on Oct 10, 2014 9:28:10 GMT
...ESPECIALLY if you missed Friday 10th October's lesson for bunking off on your holidays early...
Close Reading NAB – the final ‘evaluation’ (E) question.
The bad news – it’s 6 marks for one question.
The good news – you can do it! You just have to make sound, intelligent points that evaluate and comment upon the writer’s ideas throughout the passage. This means you can get evidence / quotes to back up your comments from anywhere in the whole passage.
Evaluation takes understanding and analysis a little bit further. The key word in these questions is usually ‘effective’. This means you are required to comment on how successful the writer has been and, using the kind of quoting, explanation and technical language you use in the other two areas, think about their reasons for writing and how they communicated their ideas to you.
From the NAB mark scheme (in italics):
In answering this question, you may include points you have mentioned in previous answers, although you should not rely too heavily on these.
You may wish to consider:
• The writer’s use of examples
• Their use of language / persuasive techniques
• The way they conclude their argument
You do not have to use bullet points, although you may find this a useful way to order your thoughts. It certainly helps the marker sort out your thinking, rather than trawling through a muddled ‘mini essay’ which can be vague and repetitive. All markers have to go on is this:
5-6 marks clear and insightful response to the text
4 marks sound response
3 marks adequate response
2 marks some merit but too thin
0-1 mark inadequate response
An example of a similar ‘E’ question to your NAB one:
Consider the ideas about children’s play throughout the passage.
To what extent do you agree with any of these ideas? How effectively has she presented them? Support your views with close reference to the ideas and language of the passage. (6 E)
*AND THEN ANOTHER HELPFUL LOAD OF TEXT...HAPPY READING...*
Higher English ~ Close Reading NAB preparation
In your Close Reading NAB, you will have 50 minutes to read a short newspaper article and answer questions on it. The questions are worth 30 marks. This differs from your final Higher Close Reading exam, which asks you to read and answer questions on two passages. You get 1 hour 45 minutes to do this.
N.B.: In the Close Reading final exam from 2010 onwards, individual questions will NOT ask you to phrase your answer ‘in your own words’. Examiners want to see all candidates automatically use their own words in the answer AS WELL AS quote from the passage. It is never enough to ‘just quote from the passage’ at Higher. Questions will use words such as ‘explain’ or ‘show’ – to achieve these aims, you must use the clearest and most precise vocabulary that you are able to. However, the NABs still use the old format (i.e. questions will specify you to ‘use your own words’.)
Types of questions
N.B. ‘By referring to…’ means quote from the passage to back up your evidence.
In the Close Reading NAB, you will be asked questions on the following areas:
• In your own words (DO NOT use words from the passage – also if it says three things, write about three things, not one or two!
• Word Choice
• Picking out information and paraphrasing
• Tone
• Sentence Structure
• Rhetorical question
• Exaggeration
• Imagery
• Own words/context – take each word, explain what it means for 1 mark, then quote a phrase that backs this up, from the relevant lines.
• Evaluation question
* * *
IMPORTANT - Examples of how to phrase certain answers
From the 2005 Higher Close Reading Past Paper (The threat of comets and asteroids)
2c) How does the language of lines 18-29 highlight the writer’s ideas? You should refer to at least two of the following techniques: structure, word choice, imagery. 4 A
USE HEADINGS, QUOTATION MARKS AND (in word choice answers) THE WORD SUGGESTS!
P.T.O. FOR EXAMPLES
Word Choice
“Smashed” suggests great force in the collision of comets
“Catastrophe” suggests complete disaster
Imagery
“punctuate the story” – just as when we write stories we use punctuation to allow the story to flow better and make sense and move on to a new point, comets have ended one way of life on earth and changed it so that species must adapt. It is comets that have ended one thing but begun another.
“wiped out” – just like chalk can be easily wiped clean on a blackboard, a species can also easily disappear after a comet impact.
9b) Show how effective you find the writer’s use of imagery in lines 106-112 in conveying the excitement of the “debate”?
TOO MANY MISS THIS OUT (WHY?) OR WRITE DOWN SEVERAL IMAGES (‘State of ferment’ ‘significant brewing’ AND VAGUELY SAY “THESE CONVEY EXCITEMENT”. How??!
REMEMBER: IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN.
“heated” – just as when objects are heated, their temperature increases and they become hotter, so has the debate in the sense that perhaps it has become more violent and loud, like a heated discussion.
12) Show how lines 28-42 help you to understand the meaning of the word ‘Armageddon’ (line 29) 2U
METHOD: SAY WHAT THE WORD MEANS, THEN EXPLAIN HOW THE SURROUNDING WORDS (QUOTE THEM) MADE YOU REALISE THIS.
‘Armageddon’ means complete destruction of the Earth. ‘The end of the world is nigh’ suggests a final, irreversible conclusion of destruction in our future.
Sometimes context questions are phrased like this: ‘Explain briefly in your own words what the author means by ‘Armageddon’ in the context of lines 40-45’ (or similar). The method for answering remains the same.
Tone
The tone of a passage is how the piece sounds if you were to read it out. It may be linked to the attitude of the writer, but not always, so be careful. Obviously you cannot read out loud in an exam, so practice trying to hear how it ‘sounds’ in your head as you read. The words you use to identify tone are important, and are all to do with speaking in a certain way. Examples of tone include: Bitter, angry, cheerful, nostalgic, anxious, cynical, relaxed, optimistic/pessimistic, critical, humorous.
As with answers on Word Choice, quote the word or phrase which creates the tone, identify the tone (e.g. bitter) and explain how what you’ve quoted creates the tone.
A last key point – there are several questions in the NAB that ask you to discuss the writer’s use of language, or sometimes just ‘the writer’s language’. It’s important to know that this means to take your answer from any area, i.e. Word Choice, Sentence Structure, Tone etc. If the question is for 2 marks, you can just pick one of these areas to focus on, if it’s for 4 or above, take your answer from more than one (e.g. Word Choice and Sentence Structure. Use separate headings)
ALSO - IMPORTANT INFO ON CODES IN YOUR NAB
Code guide for CR questions:
‘U’ (Understanding) – WHAT the writer is saying
‘A’ (Analysis) – HOW the writer says it (ie which techniques they use)
‘E’ (Evaluation) – HOW WELL the writer says it.
Close Reading NAB – the final ‘evaluation’ (E) question.
The bad news – it’s 6 marks for one question.
The good news – you can do it! You just have to make sound, intelligent points that evaluate and comment upon the writer’s ideas throughout the passage. This means you can get evidence / quotes to back up your comments from anywhere in the whole passage.
Evaluation takes understanding and analysis a little bit further. The key word in these questions is usually ‘effective’. This means you are required to comment on how successful the writer has been and, using the kind of quoting, explanation and technical language you use in the other two areas, think about their reasons for writing and how they communicated their ideas to you.
From the NAB mark scheme (in italics):
In answering this question, you may include points you have mentioned in previous answers, although you should not rely too heavily on these.
You may wish to consider:
• The writer’s use of examples
• Their use of language / persuasive techniques
• The way they conclude their argument
You do not have to use bullet points, although you may find this a useful way to order your thoughts. It certainly helps the marker sort out your thinking, rather than trawling through a muddled ‘mini essay’ which can be vague and repetitive. All markers have to go on is this:
5-6 marks clear and insightful response to the text
4 marks sound response
3 marks adequate response
2 marks some merit but too thin
0-1 mark inadequate response
An example of a similar ‘E’ question to your NAB one:
Consider the ideas about children’s play throughout the passage.
To what extent do you agree with any of these ideas? How effectively has she presented them? Support your views with close reference to the ideas and language of the passage. (6 E)
*AND THEN ANOTHER HELPFUL LOAD OF TEXT...HAPPY READING...*
Higher English ~ Close Reading NAB preparation
In your Close Reading NAB, you will have 50 minutes to read a short newspaper article and answer questions on it. The questions are worth 30 marks. This differs from your final Higher Close Reading exam, which asks you to read and answer questions on two passages. You get 1 hour 45 minutes to do this.
N.B.: In the Close Reading final exam from 2010 onwards, individual questions will NOT ask you to phrase your answer ‘in your own words’. Examiners want to see all candidates automatically use their own words in the answer AS WELL AS quote from the passage. It is never enough to ‘just quote from the passage’ at Higher. Questions will use words such as ‘explain’ or ‘show’ – to achieve these aims, you must use the clearest and most precise vocabulary that you are able to. However, the NABs still use the old format (i.e. questions will specify you to ‘use your own words’.)
Types of questions
N.B. ‘By referring to…’ means quote from the passage to back up your evidence.
In the Close Reading NAB, you will be asked questions on the following areas:
• In your own words (DO NOT use words from the passage – also if it says three things, write about three things, not one or two!
• Word Choice
• Picking out information and paraphrasing
• Tone
• Sentence Structure
• Rhetorical question
• Exaggeration
• Imagery
• Own words/context – take each word, explain what it means for 1 mark, then quote a phrase that backs this up, from the relevant lines.
• Evaluation question
* * *
IMPORTANT - Examples of how to phrase certain answers
From the 2005 Higher Close Reading Past Paper (The threat of comets and asteroids)
2c) How does the language of lines 18-29 highlight the writer’s ideas? You should refer to at least two of the following techniques: structure, word choice, imagery. 4 A
USE HEADINGS, QUOTATION MARKS AND (in word choice answers) THE WORD SUGGESTS!
P.T.O. FOR EXAMPLES
Word Choice
“Smashed” suggests great force in the collision of comets
“Catastrophe” suggests complete disaster
Imagery
“punctuate the story” – just as when we write stories we use punctuation to allow the story to flow better and make sense and move on to a new point, comets have ended one way of life on earth and changed it so that species must adapt. It is comets that have ended one thing but begun another.
“wiped out” – just like chalk can be easily wiped clean on a blackboard, a species can also easily disappear after a comet impact.
9b) Show how effective you find the writer’s use of imagery in lines 106-112 in conveying the excitement of the “debate”?
TOO MANY MISS THIS OUT (WHY?) OR WRITE DOWN SEVERAL IMAGES (‘State of ferment’ ‘significant brewing’ AND VAGUELY SAY “THESE CONVEY EXCITEMENT”. How??!
REMEMBER: IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN.
“heated” – just as when objects are heated, their temperature increases and they become hotter, so has the debate in the sense that perhaps it has become more violent and loud, like a heated discussion.
12) Show how lines 28-42 help you to understand the meaning of the word ‘Armageddon’ (line 29) 2U
METHOD: SAY WHAT THE WORD MEANS, THEN EXPLAIN HOW THE SURROUNDING WORDS (QUOTE THEM) MADE YOU REALISE THIS.
‘Armageddon’ means complete destruction of the Earth. ‘The end of the world is nigh’ suggests a final, irreversible conclusion of destruction in our future.
Sometimes context questions are phrased like this: ‘Explain briefly in your own words what the author means by ‘Armageddon’ in the context of lines 40-45’ (or similar). The method for answering remains the same.
Tone
The tone of a passage is how the piece sounds if you were to read it out. It may be linked to the attitude of the writer, but not always, so be careful. Obviously you cannot read out loud in an exam, so practice trying to hear how it ‘sounds’ in your head as you read. The words you use to identify tone are important, and are all to do with speaking in a certain way. Examples of tone include: Bitter, angry, cheerful, nostalgic, anxious, cynical, relaxed, optimistic/pessimistic, critical, humorous.
As with answers on Word Choice, quote the word or phrase which creates the tone, identify the tone (e.g. bitter) and explain how what you’ve quoted creates the tone.
A last key point – there are several questions in the NAB that ask you to discuss the writer’s use of language, or sometimes just ‘the writer’s language’. It’s important to know that this means to take your answer from any area, i.e. Word Choice, Sentence Structure, Tone etc. If the question is for 2 marks, you can just pick one of these areas to focus on, if it’s for 4 or above, take your answer from more than one (e.g. Word Choice and Sentence Structure. Use separate headings)
ALSO - IMPORTANT INFO ON CODES IN YOUR NAB
Code guide for CR questions:
‘U’ (Understanding) – WHAT the writer is saying
‘A’ (Analysis) – HOW the writer says it (ie which techniques they use)
‘E’ (Evaluation) – HOW WELL the writer says it.