Paper 1 Essay

General Notes
 It is possible to reword the guiding question into your thesis statement.
 Every single one of your points should be rooted in your guided question or in your
identified thematic concerns.
 The tone of the text should be illustrated throughout your paragraphs in your analysis
of language.
 Usage of quotes:
o Use short, specific, short quotes.
o Integrate them into your analysis
 Purposes
o Persuade
o Entertain
o Inform
o Instructing
o Call to action
 One technique for constructing points is PEEL.

1. Point
2. Evidence
3. Explanation
4. Link
 Your answer should address all of the below (MAPSS)
1. Meaning
2. Audience
3. Purpose
4. Structure
5. Style

Stages of an essay
1. Introduction
o identify the text type
o identify the temporal and spacial context
o identify the author and purpose
o Write three striking devices/conventions.
o identify predominant techniques and provide thesis statement (statement of
intent)
2. Second stage
o Audience
o Primary & Secondary Audience
o Textual evidence
o Identify audience and purpose
o Provide examples and textual references
3. Third stage
 o Statement on the content of the text
o Context of interpretation
o How It was relevant contemporarily, and how it is relevant today
o Identify thematic concerns
4. Fourth stage
o Purpose
o Context of composition
5. Fifth paragraph
o Content and theme
o How is the message/theme reaching the audience?
o Differentiate theme from the content
6. Sixth paragraph
o Structure of the text
o Also consider punctuation, sentence structure
7. Seventh paragraph onwards
8. Additional paragraph
o Comment on images present, if any
o If the image plays a large role in anchoring the text, it should be analysed
earlier in the essay.
9. Conclusion
o Comment on the overall effectiveness of the text
o Personal response - could include critiques

Paper 1: Texts and conventions

Speech
Structural elements

 Salutation - shows the relationship between speaker and audience.

 Introduction
o Establishes purpose
o Introduces stance of the speaker
o Relates to the audience
 Body paragraphs
o Purpose is emphasised through different techniques.
o Repetition of the purpose using rhetorical devices.
o Proving the benefits of the purpose using appeals.
 Conclusion
o Call to action
o Concludes message and ends with finality.

Linguistic elements

 Aristotelian appeal: Logos, ethos, and pathos

 Use of facts and figures
  Anecdotes or personal examples
 Allusions
 Figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, imagery)
 Hyperphora, anaphora, rhetorical structures
 parallel structures, tricolon
 Asyndeton, polysyndeton
 Personalised language, usage of second person pronoun

Article
 Structural elements
o Masthead or title
o Headline
o Strapline under headline, more detail
o Standfirst (might or might not be there)
 Short paragraph summarising entire article
 Generates interest in the audience
o Byline
 name of the writer
o Image and caption
o Pullquote
 One or two lines that grabs the attention of the audience.
 Pulled out of the matter
 relevant and important text.
o Introduction
 States the purpose and topic.
 States the relevance of the topic by relating to the audience.
o Body matter (largest part)
o Conclusion
 Either one of the four:
1. Author gives a comment
2. Talks about an investigation
3. Predicts a consequence
4. Call to action.
o End credits
 Shows the credibility of the journalist.
 Call to action, eg. comment on twitter, etc.
 Linguistic elements

Opinion Columns
 Inherits all conventions from article.
 Opinion is stated very strongly in first paragraph.
 Body paragraphs have arguments in favour and rebuttic arguments.
 Newspapers and magazines often have columnists who write for them
 Generally speaking, newspapers or magazines want there to be a cult of personality
surrounding these columnists to generate good sales and brand loyalty
 Columnists may be very outspoken in their opinions
 Nevertheless, their opinions are in tune with the readership of a particular magazine or
newspaper
  Furthermore, their opinions are newsworthy, meaning that they both comment on the hot
topics of the day and their opinions are worthy of publication.

Structural Elements

 Introduction
o Introduces the issue and states the writer’s stance.
 Conclusion
o Strongly puts forth call to action.

Editorial
 At times, the reader of a magazine or newspaper gets to hear the editor’s voice directly
 This usually takes the form of a brief explanation or justification on hoe they have decided to
cover a topic in their newspaper or magazine
 Remember editors are the gatekeepers at a publishing house who decide what goes in to the
final publication
 In an editorial they may comment on their journalists’ fieldwork, their columnists’
reputation, or their newspapers’ status in society

Op-ed
 This is written by a renowned person, somebody who has authority in a field.
 Opposes the stance of the editorial.
 Written prose piece typically published by a newspaper or a magazine written by a named
writer/public personality usually not affiliated by the publication’s editorial board
 Op Eds are different from editorials (which are usually unsigned and written by the editorial
board members) or Letters to the editor (which are submitted by the readers to the
journal/newspaper)
 Examples:
o the general of an army may write an op-ed about the status of war
o a famous rockstar may write an op-ed in Rolling Stone magazine
o the president of a country may write a letter to a political opponent, which he or she
wishes to be published as an op-ed

Features common with editorials

 Short sentences and simple sentence construction

 Active voice rather than passive voice in verbs
 Short words from common vocabulary
 Almost no use of number or math
 Attention grabbing title
 Important point first, not last
 Use of people’s first and last names for ‘human interest’
 Affiliation language (business, university, titles, location) for persuasion
 Who, what, when, where, why, how

Infographics/image
  Contains all the conventions of a cartoon or a graphic novel.

Structural Elements

 Stacking and flow between images and photographs.

 Number of images
 Spacing and use of negative space
 Foreground
 Background
 Mid ground

Graphical/linguistic elements

 Camera angles
 Colour scheme - light and shade
 Simple, fluent language
 Use of formatted text
 Facial/bodily gestures and expressions

Blog
 Begins and ends with a hook, an attention grabber.
 Retains the curiosity and interest.
 Feedback mechanisms from the audience are present.

Linguistic Elements

 Personal
 Audience focused
 Informal
 Follows online conventions
 Figurative, but to the point

Letters
Structural Elements

 Salutation
 First paragraph
o Sets out the purpose of the letter
o Introduces context and content for analysis
o Contains statement of intent
 Body paragraphs
o Contains purpose and contextual clues
 Closure
o Call to action (formal open letter)
o Reiterating purpose + intent
o Pleasantries
Linguistic Elements

 Base three elements for analysis:

o The tone, which establishes the relationship of the writer to the primary audience
o Relatability of the text
o Purpose of the writer
 Possible devices:
o Anecdotes
o Contextual references
o Inference
o Minced words, euphemisms
o Questions
o Imagery
o Vernacular/local language
o Sarcastic elements
 Uses emotive, personal language
 Contains subliminal references
o The hidden implications of the text
o The real meaning of the text below the language

Tabloids
1. Informal
2. Use of puns
3. Use of alliteration
4. Exaggeration for effect
5. Slang
6. Colloquial language
7. Informal names used
8. Short, snappy sentences
9. Heightened language (over the top)
10. Brand names
11. Sexual innuendos
12. A focus upon appearance / colours
13. Frequent use of elision e.g. won’t, don’t.

Broadsheets
1. More formal
2. Metaphors rather than puns (puns - sometimes used, although more subtle)
3. subtle rhetoric
4. More complex sentences (look for sentences separated by lots of commas, semi-colons etc.)
5. Statistics
6. Descriptions of people tends to relate to personality or position in society ;
7. Politician’s comments often included, with a commentary by the journalist
8. Focusses more on being authenticity and sophistication

Internet Article
  Name of the journal – masthead
 Headline
 Contextual information under the headline, it establishes relevance of lead story – standfirst
 Image
 Caption
 Name of the writer, when it was published, place – by-line
 Lead story
 Selective excerpts magnified - pull quote
 Quotations/sources
 Other reading suggestions - off-lead
 Sidebar

Characteristics

 Voice – this refers to many aspects of language including word choice, verb tense, tone and
imagery
 Newsworthy – is the column relevant to its time? What makes it newsworthy?
 Call to action – columnist usually call on the reader to become involved or care about an
issue
 Humour – this is really an aspect of voice; humour usually helps readers see a topic through
an original and fun perspective
 Hard facts – this aspect of newsworthiness gives an opinion column credibility
 Logos – appealing to logic will help persuade your readers

Cartoon/Graphic Novel/Comic Strips

All three text types have very similar formal elements.

All three text types are forms of visual sequential art which have a narrative thread or a main
theme. These appeal to both realms of our identity and awareness:

1. The Sensual – the physical world

2. The Conceptual – the world within. For example, inanimate objects would have their own
identities

When analysing any of these three text types, you need to identify both the realms to give a
good analysis.

Conventions of a Cartoon
1. Panel (refers to the framed image)
2. Splash (a kind of panel that spans the width of the page)
3. Voice over (refers to the hard line where the narrator can speak to the reader)
4. Speech bubble / Speech balloon / Thought balloon
5. Emanata (refers to the teardrops, sweat drops, question marks, or motion lines)
6. Gutter (refers to the space between panels)
7. Minor details
 8. Shape of text (bubbles)
9. Irony
10. Exaggeration
11. Imagery
12. Analogy
13. Symbolism
14. Labelling
15. Main focus
16. Stereotypes
17. Use of words
18. Target audience
19. Bias
20. Tone
21. Perspective
22. Context

Codes
Written codes
upper case, lower case, Font, Speech bubbles

Written codes - upper case, lower case, Font, Speech bubbles

 Special effects lettering

  Emotions through lettering

Technical codes
layout, sequencing, framing, angle, lines, shape

 Color - affects the reader’s experience.

 Graphic weight – contrast in an icon/panel.
 Degree or intensity of colour and its effect
 Camera angles

Symbolic codes [Emanata]

colours, objects, body language, clothing, setting

Effects of panels
 Normal panel - One single idea
 Splash – Two or more panels clubbed – run on ideas
 Bleed – The panel goes beyond the page - Emphasis on a Single idea

Types of Transitions
Moment to moment
Moment to mom

 a linear progression of events

Action to Action
 a single subject in distant action to action progression
Subject to Subject
This is from idea to idea.
Scene to scene
 Transition in place and time

Aspect to Aspect
 wandering eye effect, seeing different aspects of a place, idea or mood.
Non-sequitur
 no relationship between the two panels whatsoever.

Positioning of the Icons

Foreground
The object is closer to the reader as compared to the other objects in the scene. It’s the first
thing the reader sees.

Mid-ground
The object stands in the middle of the scene that is being shown. Allows centering of image
by using natural resting place for vision. The artist deliberately decides to place the
image where a viewer would be most likely to look first.

Off-centre
Not in the positions stated above. Placing a subject off-centre can also be used to create
visual tension.

Background
The objects in the background (not usually the subject) help add contextual /sub-textual
information for the reader

Graphic weight
Contrast in an icon/panel.

 Degree or intensity of colour and its effect : A term that describes the way some images
draw the eye more than others,
 Creating a definite focus using color and shading in various ways including:
 The use of light and dark shades; dark-toned images or high-contrast images draw the eye
more than light or low-contrast images do
 A pattern or repeated series of marks
 Colors that are more brilliant or deeper than others on the page

What is a Cartoon?
 Single panelled, simplified line drawing encasing a comprehensive idea – either critical,
satirical or simply humorous Sequential visual art
 Simple line drawings – Iconic characters – Simple style - objective - universal appeal –
 The reader identifies himself with the cartoon

What is a Comic Strip?

 A series of sequential visual art with multiple panels that tells a story – humorous, with
content that appeals to a younger audience [ Garfield, Archie ]
 Serialized, episodic collection of comic strips with the themes of adventure, fantasy,
mythology, Romance etc. - that appeal to the younger audience – Ex. Marvel comics

What is a Graphic Novel?

 Mature, complex content - deliberately try to dissociate themselves with comics that have a
juvenile content.
 One single story neither serialized nor episodic
 Audience : Adults (mostly who are enamored by the comic form)
 Themes : serious themes which have a deeper impact on a community – call for a change or
illustration of an issue
 Example : Persepolis – Issues of marginalized women, Growing up during Islamic revolution
 Maus : Holocaust experiences

Propaganda Techniques
Purpose
 persuades the masses
  influence emotions, opinions and attitudes
 direct people’s choices while maintaining the illusion of “free will”

Devices and techniques

 bandwagon – asking people to join the crowd and take action because ‘everyone’ is
doing it
 card stacking – focusing on the best features and leaving out problematic facts
 testimonial – using a famous person to endorse the product, service or an ideology
 glittering generalities – using words and ideas which evoke an emotional response
 transfer – relating a product or an idea with something or someone who like
 name calling – connecting another person, product or an idea with something negative
 plain folks – using regular people to sell a product, service or an idea
 direct address – engaging the audience by speaking to them directly, by using
personal pronouns and shared experience
 repetition – repeating the same word, phrase or idea more than once for emphasis
(enhances recall value)
 undermining opposing views – criticising or countering the opposite argument
 appeal to authority – suggests that an argument must be correct because someone in
power said so, it is an argumentation fallacy as it is not based on valid reasoning;
example – the ‘keep calm’ posters are often accompanied with a Tudor Crown which
essentially suggesting that people should keep calm because the authority is saying so
 false dilemma – when readers/viewers are provided with only two extreme binaries
and pressured to take sides
 equivocation – when a word is used in two different senses in an argument

Paper 1 Handbook
Text Types and Conventions

General things to analyse

 Stylistic devices
 Language
 Mood
 Style
 Tone
 Target audience
 Themes and subthemes
 Structure
 Layout

Text-based devices

 Allusion
 Diction
 Alliteration
 Allegory
  Colloquialism
 Euphemism
 Hyperbole
 Simile
 Register
 Listing
 Synthetic personalisation
 Onomatopoeia
 Symbolism
 Irony
 Minor details
 Rhetoric
 Parallelism
 Hooks
 Conciseness
 Lengthiness
 Varied sentence structure (cadence & rhythm)
 Repetition
 Hooks
 Polysyndeton
 Hyperphora
 Tricolon
 Foreshadowing
 Imagery
 Juxtaposition
 Metaphor
 Personification

Graphical devices

 Use of color/gradients
 Written and technical codes
 Symbolic codes [emanata]
 Lighting
 Iconography
 Camera angle
 Graphic weight
 Sequitur (connected) and non-sequitur (unconnected) transitions
 Size, shape, and form
 Labelling
 Gutter (space between panels)
 Voice over, speech/thought bubbles
 Art style, jagged lines vs smooth shapes
 Foreground/Background
 Centering/off-center positioning
 Rule of thirds
 Negative space

Essay Writing Guidelines

Introduction
 Make it
o Focused
o Purposeful
o Comprehensive
 What is the text type, mention briefly.
 The main idea of the text
 Introduce the main argument in the introduction
 Contextual information that enhances one’s understanding of the text
 Identify the main aspects you are going to analyse/discuss in the essay
o See what stands out and say you’re going to explore them.
 Thesis statement should have clarity and flair. Don’t make it too complex. What are the
aspects, and what are the ideas? Three lines in the end.
 is the main idea, and is how it has been brought out. We will be exploring <this, this and
this> to further investigate .

Paragraphs
 All paragraphs should be linked to the main argument
 Do not make a summary.
 Follow PEAL
o Point
o Evidence
o Analysis
o Link it back
 Write topic sentences that link the dicussion point in the paragraph to the main argument.
o Use flair and polish this sentence up. Don’t be too direct.
 Explain the point
 Explicit evidence from the text to illustrate the point
 A couple of sentences to bring out the meaning of the evidence to prove your point
 A comment on the impact it has on the audience.

Conclusion
 Write 5-6 sentences
 Restate your main argument in different words
 Evaluate the text and its effectiveness on its impact on the reader. Talk about the
importance of language.
 Point out the relevance of the text to everyday situations/global situations and how the
techniques and strategies are evolving as the reach of media evolves and marketing
strategies evolve.