Can you write about LANGUAGE?
Do you waffle in exams?
Do you write too little?
Do you write too much?
Do you just write the first thing that comes
into your head?
Do you know what the examiner wants?
How can you write sensibly about another
writer’s words?
Here you will find out how…
1
Think of three things to say about the
meaning of this word – e.g. what it looks
like, what it’s for, etc.
Now, think of
at least one
thing about
what the
word sounds
like (say it to
yourself).
gem
What else does
this word make
you think of?
If you put all your ideas
together, you might come up
with something like this…
2
A gem is a precious stone – something
sparkling and attractive. It might also mean
something beautiful and pleasing to the eye.
The word
‘gem’ is a
short
‘clipped’
word, that
makes me
think of a
small, neat
item.
gem
And if you
put all of
this in
one
paragraph
you get…
This word makes
me think of
something really
worth having,
something valuable
and perhaps
hidden.
3
A gem is a precious stone – something
sparkling and attractive. It might also mean
something beautiful and pleasing to the eye.
The word ‘gem’ is a short ‘clipped’ word,
that makes me think of a small, neat item.
This word makes me think of something
really worth having, something valuable and
perhaps hidden.
4
Here it is again, this time in a sentence:
It is, there’s no doubt about it,
a gem of a bay, Lulworth Cove.
So what is the impact of the word in this
sentence? Try to find three things that the
writer gains by using the word ‘gem’.
5
This time, we have two words to analyse.
Consider the meaning of the two words.
Think
about the
sound of
the words.
moving
relentlessly
Write down your
ideas and compare
them with the next
slide.
What else
do the
words
make you
think of?
6
‘Moving relentlessly’ means moving without
stopping – continually on the move. The
word ‘relentlessly’ is a long word with a
repeated ‘l’ sound, which echoes the
repeated movements. The words make me
think of something determined and
unfeeling, like the sea or an army.
7
Look at the sentence that contains these words.
An almost unbroken line of people
is moving relentlessly up the
steep path.
So what is the impact of the words in this
sentence? Try to find three things that the
writer wants to make us think, by using the
words ‘moving relentlessly’.
8
You have looked at three ways to look at
language:
• looking at the full meaning
• listening to what words sound like
• thinking of what the words make you
think of
Let’s identify some other things to look out
for…
9
See if you can match up each device and description.
formal/informal
This can be a play on words or a
gentle joke with the reader.
humour
e.g. exaggeration, or rhetorical
questions
imagery
Words which relate to a
particular topic or specialism.
emotive language
Words which make you feel
something, e.g. anger, guilt
rhetorical devices
Words which create pictures in
your mind, e.g. metaphors
technical/specialist
Is the writing is proper/correct
or more casual or friendly?
10
For each of these extracts, decide which elements of
language you would comment on:
An almost space-age complex
Isn’t it all just a big green theme park?
The Eden Project has generated substantial
economic benefits for the area.
Something huge, strange and magical has
been growing in a giant crater in Cornwall.
11
Here is a longer extract. Choose three words or phrases,
and comment fully on the language used for each one:
Newton Hall was once a handsome and imposing
country house that looked down on the Higham Valley
with pride. Now it has been abandoned and forgotten
by the outside world, and a thousand prying eyes
couldn’t pierce the gloomy thicket of thorny trees that
surround it.
But if a wanderer were to stumble a way through the
forbidding, rusted iron gates, they would discover a
vast mansion that was once graced by ancient and neoclassical sculpture and set in landscaped gardens. It is
a relic of another age. Can it now be made a part of
the twenty-first century?
12
Plenary
In no more than twenty words,
compose some advice to give to a
Year 9 student about how to write
about language meaningfully.
13