Reference - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

ReferenceHumphrey, S., Love, K. & Droga, L. (2011). Working Grammar: An introduction for secondary English teachers. Victoria: Pearson

Evaluative VocabularySlide2

Evaluative vocabularyEvaluative vocabulary is used to express positive and negative feelings and judgements

.

Writers use evaluative vocabulary to

:

Influence the ways in which a reader responds to the text

Influence reader opinions on issues or the facts expressed through the text

Get the reader to empathise with characters

Persuade the reader to take up a particular viewpoint.

Create an emotional and empathetic connection with the reader

The use of evaluative vocabulary can significantly increase the

power

and

emotional impact

of a text.Slide3

Attitudinal adjectives(Humphrey et al., 2011, pp. 70-71)

Attitudinal adjectives

are adjectives which evaluate nouns explicitly.

Noun groups often use a

combination of classifiers, factual and attitudinal adjectives

as in the examples below.

e.g. beautiful (attitudinal adjective) polished (factual adjective) marble (classifier) statues a terrific (attitudinal adjective) little (factual adjective) road movie (classifer)of a book

Sometimes a number of attitudinal adjectives are used in the one noun group

. This tends to build up the intensity of the judgement or emotion surrounding the noun being evaluated.

e.g. a

clever

,

moving

and thoroughly

engrossing

story

an

elegant

,

eloquent

and

wonderful

woman in her eighties

a

stony

and

stubborn

and

deafening

silenceSlide4

Exercise (verbal)(humphrey et al., 2011, p. 71)

Identify the explicit attitudinal adjectives which function as pre-modifiers in the noun groups below:

Extract from Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address delivered on 20 January 2009

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation…

(Answers on next slide)

What purposes are achieved/effects created by the use of all of these attitudinal adjectives in the speech extract?Slide5

answersExtract from Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address delivered on 20 January 2009On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the

petty

grievances and

false

promises, the recriminations and

worn-out

dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation…Slide6

Evaluative vocabulary across grammatical categories(humphrey et al., 2011, p. 72)

Evaluative vocabulary can be expressed across

all grammatical categories

– not just adjectives.

Effective writers use resources from a range of grammatical categories to accumulate positive and negative evaluations of characters, issues or settings.

e.g. After she left the mission, her brother let her know that her mum had died years before, a broken woman fretting for the children…From Kevin Rudd’s Apology Speech – Rudd uses adjectives and verbs to evaluate the feelings of Nanna Fejo’s mother when her children were taken away.(broken = adjective, fretting = verb)On the next slide is a table of evaluative vocabulary across some different grammatical categories.Slide7

Table of evaluative vocabulary(humphrey et al., 2011, p. 72)

Grammatical

Structures

Examples of Evaluative Vocabulary

Adjectives

miserable, safe, confident,

wary, satisfied, mightiest, evil, normal, unfriendly, eloquent, dark, grimy, broken-down, terrible, stuffyVerbsscreaming, crying, grown fond, crave, strike terror, cursed, (the sky) darkenedAdverbialsbitterly, safely, calmly, tenaciously, greedily, graphicallyNounsfear, hope, terror, horror, sadness, honesty, beauty, destructionSlide8

exerciseThink of a noun. Using three evaluative adjectives (you can use ideas from the previous table if you like), write a sentence describing that noun.

Now write a sentence describing that noun using a combination of evaluative adjectives, verbs and adverbials.

What are some different effects you can achieve through the varied use of evaluative vocabulary?

Reflection

:

How could the use of evaluative vocabulary change or improve your writing? Slide9

Extension exercise (or homework)Identify a topic or object you are passionate about.

Write a paragraph using evaluative vocabulary across all grammatical categories to convince the reader of your feelings about that object or topic.

Read your paragraph to the class or a small group. Are you convinced or moved by each others’ writing? Why/ why not?