1. Meaning
2. Codes & Conventions
3. Connections
4. Judgement

If you focus on the short story
Meaning
Story
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Photos
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 Conventions 
Connections 
Judgment 
If you focus on the photo-essay
Meaning
Story

Photos

Conventions  
Connections
Jugement

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Remember: BOTH TEXTS must be used for the first 2 questions.

1. What is the meaning/message of each text?
2. How does each text relate to the guiding question?
3. Establish the purpose and audience of the text. Try to give a reason for your choice.
• BE SURE TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES, AND
DISCUSS THEM!
• If you give quotes, set them up (give context)

Goalie is a short story written by Rudy Thauberger. This story was written specifically for sports fans (we can see this through the attention to details about the goalie’s equipment and techniques). The author wants to entertain the reader, but also make him/her to think about the pressure and pain that devoted players go through every game. Thauberger’s main message is that people put incredible
pressure on themselves when they are doing the things that they most love. We see this in the story when the goalie begins to practice. He pushes himself hard because he wants to get better, and wants to be the best at something he loves.
Even though the games cause him intense physical and psychological pain, he perseveres. Thauberger conveys this through the goalie’s statement to his worried father: “What choice do I have? What else have I ever wanted to do?” (3). The goalie loves playing hockey and being a goalie, even though there is pressure from fans, players, and even his coach – “without the game, he’s miserable”, says his father (2). He endures the pain because without the game, his life is empty.
Referring to the quotation in the guiding question, “Playing the game: finding the balance between passion and pressure”, we see how the goalie feels forced to follow his passion, to be the “perfect” goalie, even though this means dealing with crushing pressure. It seems like he hasn’t found the balance yet, though… he constantly shows his anger – by messing up the garage, breaking his hockey sticks.
In the end, as his dad says, “Win or lose, he comes home angry”.

The photo-essay “Playing the Game” asks its viewers to consider the passions, joys, and pressures of hockey. The intended audience would be people who have played the game, since the different settings (ponds, parks, and arenas) will evoke strong memories for anyone who has laced up skates before. The collection of images gives the message that hockey is for everyone, but that the more organized the game, the more pressure players will face. We can see this in the carefree play of “Backyard
Gathering” and “The Spirit of the Game”, where players are playing in backyards and on frozen ponds. It seems like sport for fun. Meanwhile,
“Hockey Girls” and “Facing Off” show the more intense nature of organized sport.
This photo essay deals with the guiding question by showing that as the sport gets more organized, the level of passion gives way to more pressure.

Short Story
• Identify one literary
technique (give quote or specific example)
• Explain how it is used in the story (how does it affect the message or the reader?)
• Is this technique effective?
Photo Essay
• Identify one photographic
technique (give specific example)
• Explain how it is used in the photo essay (how does it affect the message or the viewer?)
• Is this technique effective?
Choose your preferred text
(the one you will use for the rest of the exam).
• Jusftify / explain why you have chosen to deal with this text.

• Long Shot
– The subject is shown at a relatively small scale (from far away).
Emphasizes setting.
• Wide Shot
– Subject takes up full frame, or most of it. We look at whole subject, within setting.
• Mid Shot
– Closer in – shows part of the subject in detail. The photographer wants us to look closer.
• Close Up
– A certain feature takes up the whole frame. Detail or emotion is important here.

• Foreground
– The part of the scene or picture that is or seems to be toward the front.
• Background
– The part of the scene or picture that is or seems to be toward the back.
• Does the image emphasize one or the other?
• Does the background give us extra insight into the foreground?

• How does the setting affect the way we see the subject, or the message of the piece overall?
• Does this image contain any elements that are symbolic? Ie: objects that represent bigger ideas?

Text Connection
• Make a detailed connection between your preferred text and another text.
– Book, poem, song, short story, film, TV show, etc.
• Look for deeper connections (ie: think about similarities in meaning or theme).
Global Issue/Event
• Make a detailed connection between your preferred text and a global issue, or a world event (can be a historical event).
Be sure to refer back to the exam text… be as specific as you can!

• Death of a Salesman
• Just Lather, That’s All
• The Goalie
• ABC Antidote
• Lord of the Flies
• Angela’s Ashes
Langston Hughes
– The Negro Speaks of
Rivers
– I too sing america
– Theme for English B
Maya Angelou
– Still I Rise
– I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings

1. Explanation of the quality of the preferred text.
– Is this text well written? Why?
– What could be improved? Why?
2. Explanation of how well preferred text addresses (answers) the guiding question.
– Judge whether it does a good job or not. Explain
* Don’t just restate ideas from earlier in your response!