Unfamiliar Text - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Unfamiliar Text

Writing a response using the

TEMPERS methodSlide2

You have the resources in front of you

Step One: Panic

Step Two: Try not to panic

Step Three: Use a strategy to answer the questionsSlide3

Read the texts

Read them slowly

Make notes about ‘the speaker’

Whose voice it is - what sex/nationality

Is ‘the speaker’ also the author?

Why are they writing about this subject?Slide4

Let’s do this for A Winter’s Tale

Make notes about ‘the speaker’

Brian Turner (see bottom of page)

Whose voice it is - what sex/nationality

A man, living in Central Otago, New Zealand

Is ‘the speaker’ also the author?

Yes

Why are they writing about this subject?

Living in the middle of the Otago winter he ponders the things in life that really matter. He wants people to know

why

he lives there and what he gets out of it.Slide5

Think about the techniques

Question One

Identify ONE

language technique

used in the first three paragraphs of the text (lines 1.-17). Provide an example, and show

how it relates to the rest of the text

.

Achieved

Merit

Excellence

Identifies and gives an example of at least ONE valid language technique from lines 1-17AND Makes a relevant comment about how the technique relates to the rest of the passage Identifies and gives an example of at least ONE valid language technique from lines 1-17AND Presents a valid and detailed discussion of how the technique relates to the rest of the passage.There may be more than one reference point, and the discussion will provide more detailIdentifies and gives an example of at least ONE valid language technique from lines 1-17AND Presents an integrated discussion of the links between the technique(s) and the rest of the passage.There will be a sense that connections are being made across the passage.

This is a theme question!Slide6

Look at the passage again

In Russian literature, stars in the sky have been described as resembling frost on the blade of an axe. That image resounds, strikes me as entirely apt if you live in my part of the world, the inland spaces of southern New Zealand.

It’s brisk, bristly and bright in the morning as I write this. There are no clouds anywhere over Rough Ridge to the east or Blackstone Hill to the west. I imagine diamonds are glinting in the snow on my back lawn. I’m sitting here in my possum socks. On my head I have on e of my several woollen beanies. My stringy frame hosts a singlet, a very thick lined “bush shirt”, and over that two woollen jerseys. For the time being I’ve lost my fingerless woollen mittens. In my “main” room is a small woodburner that, years ago, I put in what was previously an utterly useless, ineffectual fireplace.

I live in a tiny house, a shoebox, and have the unenviable distinction of hunkering in a very small town, Oturehua (population 30-40), near the head of Ida Valley in the Maniototo region of Central Otago. A few kilometres up the road are the snow-draped and pleated slopes of my beloved Hawkdun range, and a bit further off, in the northwest, is that wonderful mammoth, Mt St Bathans. In every direction are high hills and mountains, their shapes and hues often replicated by the most wonderful and startling skyscapes I have seen anywhere.Slide7

The Question

Identify ONE

language technique

used in the first three paragraphs of the text (lines 1.-17). Provide an example, and show

how it relates to the rest of the text.

What are three of the most common techniques ‘known to man’?

Simile, metaphor, alliteration…ok go find them!Slide8

Question 1

Identify ONE

language technique

used in the first three paragraphs of the text (lines 1.-17). Provide an example, and show

how it relates to the rest of the text.

Technique

Example

Simile

“stars in the sky…resembling

frost on the blade of an axe” (line 1)

Alliteration“it’s brisk, bristly and bright” “startling skyscrapes” Metaphor“diamonds are glinting in the snow on my back lawn”“my stringy frame”Slide9

Using the TEMPERS approach to write the answer

The author Brian Turner uses the technique(s) of ____________ . An example of this(these) is ___________________________ . This relates to the rest of the passage in that …Slide10

Excellence response

A language technique used by the author Brian Turner in the first three paragraphs of the text is a simile “stars in the sky…resembling frost on the blade of an axe”. This relates to the rest of the passage through its appreciation of the relationship between man and nature but also the insignificance of man in comparison to the size of nature. In this passage, Turner is writing about why he enjoys living in the harsh Otago winter, finding an appreciation of the simple things in life and discovering what is really important.Slide11

Question 2

What conclusion does the writer reach? What techniques does he use in the last three paragraphs to get his point across?Slide12

Let’s look at that passage

People have said bluntly that I must be mad living here, which reminds me of Yeats reflecting on who might be “Mad as the mist and snow”. Well, half those I know everywhere strike me as a bit mad, and I’m sure I’m no different. It’s the so-called sane I fear most, those afflicted with rational-it is laved with vanity and self-delusion. They're much in evidence among the “we-will-do-betters” who seldom do, and who yap more loudly in the lead up to election times.

One feels of and in this land, challenged by it often, and a certain distaste for pretension or affectation. In my case there’s a disinclination, too, to listen to too much whinging about rights and entitlements driven by unreasonable or unsustainable expectations. Living here helps emphasise the difference between needs and wants, forces me to learn how to get by and make do.

Often I’m reminded of Thoreau who, for a time, learned from nature, set out “to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life”. He was looking for ways to apprehend the essence of what is less grasping, and hoped to become more appreciative of simpler, respectful pleasures.Slide13

The Question

What conclusion does the writer reach? What techniques does he use in the last three paragraphs to get his point across

?

Slide14

The Question

What conclusion does the writer reach? What

techniques

does he use in the last three paragraphs to get his point across

?

the use of the term technique

s

would suggest that you need to find AT LEAST two!Slide15

What is the point?

What conclusion does the writer reach? What techniques does he use in the last three paragraphs to get his point across?

Possible points include…

The hardships of winter, in a hostile and inhospitable environment, remind the writer of what really matters

‘the basics’, like warmth and a sense of community, are what is really important in life

Self-reliance helps create a resilience of spirit

Those who do not understand the writer’s choice of lifestyle are themselves petty and delusional

Winter is beautiful but harsh, and teaches us somethingSlide16

The Question

What conclusion does the writer reach? What techniques does he use in the last three paragraphs to get his point across

?

Let’s go technique hunting!

Slide17

Possible techniques

Spoken language features/conversational language

Contractions, abbreviations, use of personal pronoun (I’m, I)

Colloquialisms (yap, whingeing)

These allow a sense of personal engagement/enjoyment

Reinforce the writer’s view of the world

Attempt to persuade others of the writer’s viewsSlide18

Possible techniques

Diction

Formal, almost legal language (apprehend, entitlements, One)

Makes the writer’s thoughts more forceful – he has the weight of the law behind himSlide19

Possible techniques

Quotations and allusions

Yeats, Thoreau, Russian

Literature (not in this section however)

Links to other literary figures show that the writer wants to be taken as seriously as them

Appeals to an educated audience – this is no ‘buffoon’ writing about ‘the simple things’Slide20

Possible techniques

Neologisms/compound words

(rational-it is, ‘we-will-do-betters’, self-delusion)

Reinforces the reflective and/or the persuasive effect

Reinforces the mocking/sarcastic toneSlide21

Possible techniques

Abstract nouns/negative emotive words

Vanity, self-delusion, pretension, affectation

Reinforces the mocking/sarcastic tone

Encourages the reader to accept the writer’s view of the world

Abstract Nouns name ideas (justice, peace, truth, vanity, self-delusion) and cannot be touched or seenSlide22

Excellence Example

This was actually written by an AGGS student in the examination in 2009

The writer incorporates quotes of highly esteemed persons such as Yeats to reinforce his point. The writer reaches the conclusion that life in a remote area with the surroundings of nature and just the essentials is preferable to the lives of those who critique this and who appear pretentious – “who yap more loudly in the lead-up to election times”. The use of quotes backs up his claims and emphasises that he is not alone in his belief, others share such sentiments too. He uses neologisms such as ‘rational-

itis

’ so that he can subtly satirise those who deem themselves sane by using a word that may come across as sounding slightly silly.Slide23

Question Three

What mood is established in lines 1-6 of the poem? With reference to the text, explain the effect that is created.

Techniques…

Diction/word choice

Imagery

Personification

Strong verbs/words of actionSlide24

Examples of moods

Negativity/hopelessness

Shown by diction/word choice

‘fruitlessly’, ‘barren’, ‘cold’, ‘sunless’

Negativity

also reinforced by strong verbs/words of action

‘fall’, ‘arms grip’, ‘haul’Slide25

Examples of moods

Coldness and rejection

Shown by diction/word choice

‘fruitlessly’, ‘barren’, ‘cold’, ‘sunless’Slide26

Examples of moods

Sadness/melancholy

Shown by images,

e.g

: the tree is barren; the poet’s love will bear no fruit; autumn is linked to a ‘patient’

References to ‘pain’ and ‘old pain’; ‘worn art’ suggests tiredness/dejectionSlide27

Examples of moods

Familiarity and resignation

Shown by personification of tree

‘once more in love’

Also by diction

‘sad reminiscence’, ‘age-worn friends’, ‘rediscovering’Slide28

Examples of moods

Nostalgia

The tree is trying to hold onto the warmth of autumn – remembering better timesSlide29

The explanation of effects

This may include:

How the writer uses language to create a mood

How the mood helps to tell us what the poet feels and why

How the writer uses the poem’s mood to create a response in the reader about the poem’s subject matter/theme/ideasSlide30

Examples of effects

An idea is created by the mood

The poet is pessimistic about the onset of autumn: none of the benefits of the approach of autumn (autumn harvest, colours of leaves,

etc

) are contemplated

Autumn is unwelcoming

A realisation that halting or changing the passing of the seasons is impossible – humankind is powerless in the face of nature

Realisation of the nature cycle of the seasonsSlide31

Examples of effects

Image(s), in the sense of visualisations, are created by the mood

Reminds the reader of a cold winter’s day

Makes the reader think of the misery of old age

An emotional reaction/response is inspired by mood

e

.g. sympathy for poet/treeSlide32

An excellence example from 2009 AGGS student in exam

It seems as if a mood of weariness and melancholy is established in the first 6 lines of the poem with the use of words/phrases such as ‘age-worn friends’, ‘sunless world’, and ‘damp’. These all connote a sense of the glum so that the poem in turn evokes an almost numb sadness. The first line ‘Fruitlessly I fall once more in love’ incorporates a verbal pun in that there is imagery of a fall of fruit from a tree and yet it is fruitlessly. Here bears a contradiction. It incorporates the act of falling with the act of being in love so that the mood within the poem is wary yet also a sort of friendly amiableness. The use of figurative language such as the simile of ‘like a patient down the street’ and personification of ‘her cold arms grip’ give the effect of connection between the reader and the tree which is given human qualities. The abstract concept of love with the concrete nouns following sort of gives the effect of juxtaposition, yet also reinforce the human qualities the writer may associate with the presence of the tree (such as companionship) Slide33

Question Five

With reference to the last three lines of the poem, explain the point the writer is making about the

onset of autumn

.Slide34

Ideas may include

The poet recognises his powerlessness in the fact of nature (I am nothing)

The coldness/barrenness of autumn makes the poet feel like a rejected/bereaved lover (retread the mashed grass that my first forays made)

The poet dreads the onset of winter (wish only to hide in the ignorance of sleep)

The poet feels bereft – there is no external force which cares about his life (The awareness grows that I am nothing to her)

The repeated personification of the tree (I am nothing to her) may suggest

tha

the poet’s relationship with autumn may be a metaphor for a failed relationship in his life

The ‘ignorance of sleep’ may suggest that he wishes to depart life

The ‘ignorance of sleep’ suggest a childlike perspective; sleep will make it go away and he will not have to think about it in sleep

The onset of autumn is predictable and cyclical (‘I retread the mashed grass’ - just as he has done many times before)