'How Does The Writer Use Language?: How To Get An A or A at English Language GCSE: 'Comment On How Writers Use Language'

8 Mar 2013
How to get an A or A* at English Language GCSE:

'comment on how writers use language'
ATeacherWrites.com
Want an A or A* in GCSE English? Here's
the secret (pass it on). A-A* for poetry
is here.
Follow this checklist of things to look
for in the question 'How does the
writer use language?'
Learn as many as you can. Yes, you can
revise English. Don't forget to explain
what specific effect it creates or what
mood/meaning the words suggest.

(1) WORD PICTURES

imagery: or ‘word-pictures’
includes: personification, metaphor, similes, sensory language,
adjectives, etc. Any place the writer puts an image or picture
in your mind - ‘we need a police force of children’.
How to write about it: ‘this comic image shows that
the adults’ behaviour is so bad, and so warped that even a
child can see it’s wrong.’
sensory language: touch, taste, smell, sights (colour, light,
shape), sounds are used to create a vivid picture of the scene -
to [increase whatever effect/theme the writer is trying to get
across] Link this to sounds (sibilant, plosive, etc) wherever
you can. Comment on if it’s a positive mood - light, bright,
soft; or negative - dull, harsh, uncomfortable.
How to write about it: ‘the writer paints
a negative picture of the scene with dull, depressing sensory
language: ‘brown’ and thick, heavy words like ‘sludge’,
‘slop’ and ‘shriek’ which uses a sharp onomatopoeic sound to
break, unpleasantly, into the mood.’
(2) FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: MOOD

semantic field or lexical field: a group of words referring to
the same topic, e.g. ‘flames’, ‘damnation’ and ‘hell’. This is
most worth commenting on where there’s an interesting
contrast, e.g. love described as ‘war’ - something unexpected
which shows us a strange truth about love: it can be hurtful,
violent, you can feel destroyed, etc.
This normally highlights a particular mood.
How to write about it: ‘flames suggest it is burning,
unstoppable, and links to the idea of ‘hell’. The semantic
field of 'hell' suggests that this is moral evil, not just a bad
situation.’
personification: giving human qualities to non-human things:
actions, emotions etc.
e.g. The wind shivered. The crows cackled. The door
groaned.The bird looked at me sadly. The chin of the house
jutted angrily into the street. The frown of the broken down
house...
This builds mood. You can work out what from the words
used.
metaphor: normally metaphors suggest a mood or feeling.
Highlight the key mood word, quote and comment on it.
e.g. Diamonds glinted on the sharp edges of the water. His
eyes were cold blue marbles. The sound died on the air.
Sunlight spilled through the window.
simile: easy to spot as one thing is compared to another
using like or as. e.g. He was assharp as a needle. His eyes
burned like dying fires. The sound fell like feathers in dead
air. (N.B. ‘dead air’ is a metaphor).
(3) SOUNDS
sibilant: /s/ sounds (not /sh/). Effect depends on context, and
the meanings of the words around it. How to write about it:
e.g. The sibilant sounds in ‘softly, sweetly, sickly’ creates a
soft, gentle mood, which turns sinister on ‘sickly’ as the
sounds flow across the line. The unusual shift in mood within
the same, sibilant sound, creates a disturbing effect.
plosive /b/ /p/ /t/ /d/ sounds create an abrupt, sharp, sometimes
shocking effect. Look for plosives blended with sibilants or
liquids - as a short, sharp shock after the softer mood OR,
where both are interlaced (sib/plo/sib/plo/sib/plo) think about
which feels stronger - is it a juddering effect, stuttering (be
creative with your interpretation: what does it make you think
of?)
liquid /l/ this can flow, creating a sense of quick, light
movement - or of water - ‘light slipped down the lee of the
hill’, or sound thick and heavy e.g. ‘ladling’, ‘slop’.
alliteration is easy to spot. Words close together start with the
same letter (same sound). Alliteration emphasises these words
and connects them, so it's a form of linking. Sometimes the
link is striking: 'delicious death' (name for a chocolate cake).
You should comment on the meanings of the words that have
been linked and what this suggests.
How to write about it: 'alliteration links the
contrasting ideas of 'death' and 'delicious' to suggest a cake so
good even death becomes delicious - that it's deadly, perhaps
an intense experience.'
onomatopoeia sounds like what it describes; crack, crash,
boom - are obvious ones. Light, sharp, spark, split are light,
sharp sounds; mud, dull, thick, gloop, earth - are heavy, dull
sounds. When writing in detail about onomatopoeia, find a
few words that go together (e.g. three words with light, sharp
sounds, or three dull, heavy ones).
long syllable: light, fool, love, breach, steep, oil - drawn out,
sensual feel as the sound lingers. In combination with dull
sounds, can seem ‘thick or hard to say’.
short syllable: hot, pit, go, bat: short, sharp, abrupt effect.
(4) CONTRASTS
juxtaposition: two words, ideas, events or characters who are
positioned close together to create a particular dramatic effect,
often a contrast that emphasises the qualities of each - or how
something is out of place, etc.
How to write about it: ‘The writer juxtaposes the
old man with the freshness of his surroundings and the beauty
of the spring. This emphasises his frailty, and the transient
(fragile> quickly passing) nature of life.’
antithesis: two words or ideas that are the exact opposite:
heaven/hell, light/dark, despair/hope.
How to write about it: ‘the imagery (or semantic
field) of despair is set in antithesis to the theme of hope that
runs through the piece. The writer suggests that even in such a
‘desolate’, ‘twisted’, ‘bleak’ landscape, we can still find
‘light.’
oxymoron: opposite words that are put straight next to each
other: ‘bittersweet’, ‘despairing hope’, ‘true betrayal’.
How to write about it: ‘The oxymoron ‘despairing
hope’ shows the extent to which these conflicting emotions are
intertwined - and perhaps in such a bad situation, hope
becomes even more important.’
comparative: words like 'bigger' 'smarter' 'faster' 'more'
Look at what the writer is comparing.
How to write about it: e.g. ‘the writer uses the
comparative ‘even sooner than’ to show it’s worse and
coming sooner than we expect. This heightens the sense of
danger, challenging our expectations.’
superlative: words like 'biggest' 'smartest' 'fastest' 'most' -
look at context: e.g. is the item the the biggest in the world, or
just in that particular zoo? How to write about it e.g. ‘The
writer uses the superlative to show that the blue whale is the
largest on earth, and yet terribly endangered. The juxtaposition
of huge size and extreme vulnerability creates a shocking
effect.’
(5) EFFECTS OF STRUCTURAL CHOICES

Long/short sentences: the use of long, complex sentences
often increases tension.
Short sentences can be abrupt, shocking. A short sentence is
often used after a long sentence, to make the theme/idea/of
point even more forcefully.
Lists: long lists create a sense of profusion, busyness, a
cluttered or claustrophobic mood.
Rule of Three: A set of three words or ideas shows a rounded
view: comment on which elements the writer has chosen to
include. What do these tell us about the theme or the writer’s
attitude/thoughts and feelings?
Repetition: emphasises whatever idea/theme the word
suggests. Or perhaps the writer repeats the word to show a
second way of interpreting it.
First and last words in a paragraph or sentence: writers
emphasise words through structure: they put words in first or
last position to emphasise them. Writers often rearrange the
word order in their sentence to make sure the important word
comes first... or last. Like alliteration, it's very easy to spot.
(6) FACTS AND STATISTICS

Statistics (numbers, %, fractions, exact locations) show the
scale of the [thing], to fix a precise image in the reader's mind
about the size of the problem or issue and where or how it is
important
Facts (specific place, details of what happened: e.g. Richard
SillyPerson, 23, floated across the English Channel using
45 helium filled balloons strapped to a chair)
‘from Manchester to Mumbai’, ‘in people aged 45-60’. ‘the
tsunami reached a height of a hundred
metres and devastated property ten miles inland’.
How to write about it: e.g. 'the facts 'from
Manchester to Mumbai' shows the scale of the problem' OR
'the specific facts about the balloon flight seem matter of fact,
contrasting with the silliness of what the man did. Also, '45
helium balloons' seems not enough to cross something as big
as 'the English channel'.'

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8 Mar 2013

How to get an A or A* at English Language GCSE:

(1) WORD PICTURES

(2) FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: MOOD

(5) EFFECTS OF STRUCTURAL CHOICES

(6) FACTS AND STATISTICS

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