Some advice for the Comprehending Section…

First of all, revise your text conventions. Revise your SWAT codes and language conventions as these will form the basis of your responses.

STRUCTURE

Your FIRST sentence needs to be your THESIS statement. You won’t have time to write an introduction so you need to get to answering the question as quickly as possible. In this first sentence, you need to use the key words/terms of the question to frame your response to it.

Your SECOND sentence should begin analysing/engaging with the text. It should contain reference to HOW textual conventions (be they language conventions/visual conventions) work to frame a specific response from the reader/viewer.

The best approach after that is to show how further language/visual conventions work TOGETHER to maintain a consistent reading of the text in response to the question.

It should simply be an extended TEEEL paragraph.

You DO NOT need to write a conclusion or to re-state your ideas because you want your response to be as concise as possible.

So… in conclusion

Start with your THESIS statement. Use the KEY WORDS/TERMS from the question to help frame your argument.

Then an extended TEEL paragraph in which you try and demonstrate how several language/visual conventions have helped shape your reading of the text.

Please note the image above. This is the final three paragraphs of the article we looked at yesterday.

Some things to note about the ending:

• ‘Reflecting on this, I…’ helps the writer to signpost the transition from the main body of her think piece to a more reflective tone, signalling the transition towards the ending of her response. Think about using a discourse marker like this in your final paragraphs. You might, for example, use ‘Thinking about this…’ or ‘On reflection,…’
• The tone at the end of this think piece is intensely personal.
• Notice how the language in the final paragraphs purposely echoes the language of the headline and how this angry, furious tone is established in the opening paragraphs. The language here works both as a structural device and works as a language pattern.
• Note the rhetorical repetition of the adjective ‘furious’ in that second paragraph. Repetition is used here to reinforce the angry tone of the think piece. It also works to align the headline with the conclusion in terms of language.
• ‘Anger’ and ‘furious’ could be considered synonyms.
• ‘revenge on the racists’ uses alliteration to demonstrate a link between these two ideas. Works as a rhetorical device.
• Final sentence ends the think piece on a more positive tone and reveals her hopes for her own family. Intensely personal still.

The conclusion of your think piece needs to echo the tone you established in your headline and the opening couple of paragraphs. It also needs to reflect on the content of your think piece and summarise your own thoughts/perspectives.

Think about how you use:

• Emotive language
• Personal, inclusive language
• Rhetorical devices

to summarise your central issue/idea and how you ensure your own perspective(s) come through really clearly.

As ever, show me your work-in-progress for feedback.

Please note the above image. It is an annotated copy of a think piece we looked at last term.

Things to note:

• How the think piece combines the personal, the anecdotal with her wider consideration of the issue she’s writing about.
• How she shifts between the ‘I’ and the ‘we’.
• How she integrates her own research and the bigger picture with her own thoughts and perspectives.
• How the tone is conversational in places (she uses the word ‘kids’ for example) with a more formal point of view.
• How she uses language patterns and synonyms to establish and maintain a consistent perspective on her issue.
• The use of metaphors to give the response a distinctly sophisticated feel.
• How the language used reflects the tone set in the headline.