Monday, 20 June 2016
Creative writing support - plot
This is quite an interesting exploration of the value of a good plot. I would say it is invaluable - what can you do in a very short piece? Here is some support on writing short fiction - we will work on writing some 'mini sagas' which are 50-word stories. If you can read some 'flash fiction' (1000 words or less) at home, you will avoid the college smoothwall. If you get good (practise!), you may be able to get your work published!
Friday, 17 June 2016
Grammar help - Khan Academy
These are quite fun little tutorials and tests on grammar - I'm sure you can find something you don't know!
Lang Lit - more Dystopian novels: Player Piano by Vonnegut and Animal Farm by Orwell
This looks good (although I haven't read it - I like some of his other novels). And, as I said in the lesson, Animal Farm is great.
Revision? What, right now? Yes! (style model)
There is a danger that you 'crammed' knowledge in time for the exam that you won't retain if it is not reinforced... and you will need it all this coming year. So do little and often, starting now. Read this well-written informative piece (under 1000 words so suitable style-model length) and let it convince you that little and often is better (secondary purpose: to persuade).
Monday, 13 June 2016
A-Level Lang computer room lesson 14/06/16
Non-exam-assessmentnesses,
today I need you to feed back your findings from the reserach task yesterday and comment on each other's posts. I also need you to find an 'information' style model about a language issue in one of our study areas e.g. gender, accent/dialect, child language, language change etc.
A serious point is the importance of keeping a bibliography of anything you read and make notes from. A long bibliography looks good, for starters, but more importantly you might end up putting ideas in your coursework that come from sources that are not in your bibliography if you are not careful, and that is plagiarism. You can be withdrawn from all AQA exams if you sign to say you have credited all sources and you haven't.
You can use one of the online Harvard referencing programs to help you - there are many but it is wise to keep a backup copy on another program e.g. on Word. Also back up your coursework regularly by emailng it to yourself or putting another copy on a thumb drive.
Today:
1) post what you found out yesterday that you could test with a Harvard reference at the bottom
2) find an informative style model about lanugage (you don't have to write about language in the coursework but this doubles-up the reading for your investigation and creative work)
3) list the conventions and effective techniques of the style model you have chosen in a blog post with a link to the text - what have you learned about writing in this form for this audience and purpose? What have you learned about language issues?
4) comment on other people's blog posts with what data they could test the theory they posted with and what they could consider in terms of collecting data - start with the two people after you on the register so everyone gets comments. Find out who that is from me.
today I need you to feed back your findings from the reserach task yesterday and comment on each other's posts. I also need you to find an 'information' style model about a language issue in one of our study areas e.g. gender, accent/dialect, child language, language change etc.
A serious point is the importance of keeping a bibliography of anything you read and make notes from. A long bibliography looks good, for starters, but more importantly you might end up putting ideas in your coursework that come from sources that are not in your bibliography if you are not careful, and that is plagiarism. You can be withdrawn from all AQA exams if you sign to say you have credited all sources and you haven't.
You can use one of the online Harvard referencing programs to help you - there are many but it is wise to keep a backup copy on another program e.g. on Word. Also back up your coursework regularly by emailng it to yourself or putting another copy on a thumb drive.
Today:
1) post what you found out yesterday that you could test with a Harvard reference at the bottom
2) find an informative style model about lanugage (you don't have to write about language in the coursework but this doubles-up the reading for your investigation and creative work)
3) list the conventions and effective techniques of the style model you have chosen in a blog post with a link to the text - what have you learned about writing in this form for this audience and purpose? What have you learned about language issues?
4) comment on other people's blog posts with what data they could test the theory they posted with and what they could consider in terms of collecting data - start with the two people after you on the register so everyone gets comments. Find out who that is from me.
Friday, 10 June 2016
A-Level Language coursework
Investigatives,
you will be getting a coursework booklet next lesson and I will email the Powerpoint on the course structure to you all.
For homework for next Friday, I need you to collect a 'style model' i.e. a good example of writing to learn from (of around 750-1000 words) from at least two of the key areas (if you can find one or more than one from each area, great - we will aim to have at least a couple from each area over the next couple of weeks to choose from):
The text you eventually choose will go into your coursework folder so that you can show how you learned from it when writing your own piece. It should have the same audience, the same purpose and the same form as the text you choose to write but it should have different content, so don't pick an opinion article on Brexit if that is what you want to write but perhaps do pick an opinion article on a different aspect of politics, so you are writing for the same audience.
you will be getting a coursework booklet next lesson and I will email the Powerpoint on the course structure to you all.
For homework for next Friday, I need you to collect a 'style model' i.e. a good example of writing to learn from (of around 750-1000 words) from at least two of the key areas (if you can find one or more than one from each area, great - we will aim to have at least a couple from each area over the next couple of weeks to choose from):
- storytelling e.g. short story, dramatic monologue, biography
- persuasion e.g. speech, charity letter, opinionated article
- information e.g. travel journalism, local history, researched blog post
The text you eventually choose will go into your coursework folder so that you can show how you learned from it when writing your own piece. It should have the same audience, the same purpose and the same form as the text you choose to write but it should have different content, so don't pick an opinion article on Brexit if that is what you want to write but perhaps do pick an opinion article on a different aspect of politics, so you are writing for the same audience.
Language change and gender - Australian 'power of words'
This cringe-making video gives a little window into Australian English and political correctness issues. It was linked to by Gary Nunn in a Guardian article this week on the problem with the noun 'guys'.
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