ASSESSMENT LA447 – WEEKS 6 & 7
COMMENTARY WRITING
WEEK 6– WRITE a 600 words commentary in Spanish about one of the films seen
during the first previous 4 weeks, submit on OCS together with your part in the
conversation below with a watermarked copy to administrators in L&L by midday
Friday Week 6
Instructions to write a COMMENTARY
Definition : a commentary is a prose composition with a definite subject consisting of a systematic
series of comments or annotations on the text of a film. Features: A good commentary will always
explain, rather than merely summarise, paraphrase, or list effects.
Types of commentary
SOURCE MATERIAL
TYPE OF COMMENTARY
Literary
explicative
News
Sports
Books
Films
Articles
Biblical
critical
analytical
antagonistic
descriptive
historical
Points to keep in mind when writing a commentary
| Purpose | Audience | Context | Subject matter | Form and structure | Lexis | Grammar | Spelling and
punctuation | Style | Presentation | Drafting and revision
Format and content objectives of a commentary
1. Produce your own reading of a film, a book, a passage, an article, a piece of prose, a report on a
product which will increase and give a new angle to the reader’s understanding of it;
2. Consider your choice of titles and endings carefully ;
3. Produce a coherent structure and content, in correct language and style; Beware of shifts in
pattern, voice/tone, imagery, argument;
4. Explain your personal impression; Interpret the content; discuss the techniques; assess the effects
achieved
5. Treat writing techniques as inseparable from its meaning; Do not turn commentaries into lengthy,
personal, critical opinions on the themes raised by the passages; Add appropriate quotations
COMMENTARY WRITING
1. A commentary should not be a summary of the film/novel.
2. It should not be a description.
3. Your commentary should include a headline, introduction, body,
conclusion.
4. You must deal with the issues presented by the questions above.
5. You must discuss these issues illustrating with examples from the film/novel/materials.
6. You must write quotations from the materials/film/novel.
7. You must use appropriate language.
ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY
Definitions of analysis and analytical
 an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the
whole
 the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and
their relations
 analytic/al: using or skilled in using analysis (i.e., separating a whole--intellectual or
substantial--into its elemental parts or basic principles); "an analytic experiment"; "an
analytic approach"; "a keenly analytic man"; "analytical reasoning"; "an analytical mind"
An analytical commentary is a piece of written prose in which a topic is broken down
in the component parts specified in the title question. The parts will be looked at and
investigated in their relations to finally arrive at a conclusion.



EXPLANATORY COMMENTARY
Definitions of explanation and explanatory
An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes,
and consequences of those facts.
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or
circumstances etc
explanatory - serving or intended to explain or make clear; "explanatory notes"; "an explanatory
paragraph"
An explanatory commentary is a piece of written prose that describes a set of facts/concepts
which clarify the causes and consequences of those facts/concepts. The facts/concepts will be looked
at and clarified in their relations to finally arrive at a conclusion.
Use of Spanish Language in a commentary
1. You must try to show your personal knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and structures.
You must introduce a reasonable number of the lexis and grammar structures that we
have seen every week. You must underline these structures so that I can see clearly
what you have used.
2. You must use connectors to link paragraphs and ideas. You must use CONNECTIVES
AND relators to connect sentences.
Connectors & relators
1. Connectors : lexical expressions that are used to link ideas and paragraphs and which give more
flexibility and a better style to the language. (pero; aunque; a pesar del hecho que ; sin embargo/;
no obstante, pese a/a pesar de; and many others)
2. Relative/relator : a grammatical link (1 to 3 words) which joins sentences by linking the following
structure to the closest previous referent:
a. El que/la que/los que/las que;
b. quien/quienes;
c. cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas;
d. el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cuales
e. cuanto/como;
f. donde
when linking clauses.
Connective Conjunctions
3. Conjunction: a word or group of words which links other words and clauses. They are not
marcadores del discurso (connectors)
4. coordinantes =
a. Y, E, NI, QUE;
5. disyuntivas =
a. O, U, BIEN;
6. adversativas =
a.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
AUNQUE, PERO, SINO, SIQUIERA; expresiones adversativas = AL CONTRARIO,
ANTES BIEN, SI BIEN, NO OBSTANTE, SIN EMBARGO
alternativas =
a. YA (ya esto….ya lo otro)/YA, SEA/SEA;
subordinantes =
a. expresiones subordinantes = PUESTO QUE;
comparativas =
a. COMO y las expresiones ASÍ COMO, COMO QUE, DE ESTA MANERA;
condicionales =
a. SI, COMO y las expresiones SIEMPRE QUE, CON TAL QUE, DADO QUE, YA QUE,
UNA VEZ QUE;
continuativas =
a. ASÍ y las expresiones ASÍ QUE, AHORA BIEN, SOBRE TODO; finales = PARA,
PORQUE y las expresiones PARA QUE, A FIN DE QUE, CON EL FIN DE QUE;
ilativas =
a. AUNQUE, LUEGO, y las expresiones POR CONSIGUIENTE, ASÍ QUE, EN
CONSECUENCIA, DE MANERA QUE;
temporales =
a. CUANDO, ANTES, LUEGO, DESPUÉS, EN SEGUIDA.
Films:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
LA MISIóN in library
Spanglish in library
10.000 YEARS BC
The Conquest of Paradise
La Pelota Vasca: La Piel Contra la Piedra in library