7. Analysing Language And Techniques copy.pdf
- 1. Main strategy: shares her personal experience of being a VCE student I’m in the middle of my VCE - this exam cover-up has sent the rumour mill wild Saria Ratnam, November 15, 2024 I’ve taken a break from studying for my last VCE exam to write this piece. Once I walk out of that exam room next Wednesday, I know that VCE will gradually begin to recede away into the distance. Before long I won’t remember the Wordsworth quotes, chemical formulae and sections of the Constitution that I spent two years cramming into my brain. But right now, VCE still feels like my entire life. Most of my waking hours, for the past two years, have been spent working towards these five exams in November. And so those exams come to be imbued with a colossal significance that would be hard for anyone except a year 12 student to understand. We’re all trapped in the same bizarre, pressurised bubble; and yes, we’re aware that our ATARs aren’t the be-all and end- all, but we’re so emotionally invested and exhausted that it doesn’t seem that way right now. establishes personal connection emphasises the extent of her personal experience equates VCE to life describes the immense impact of VCE expresses the emotional impact of VCE Main strategy: describes the emotional impact of the bungle That’s why, when I found out on Thursday that questions from at least 22 VCE exams had been leaked to some students due to a technical error, I wasn’t just shocked, but pretty devastated. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s claims that no student will be disadvantaged feel, at best, hollow. If the compromised questions aren’t counted in our results, then that’s frustrating for everyone who legitimately got them right. And any student who’s seen some of the questions beforehand will have saved time, and therefore gained an advantage, for the rest of the exam – which can’t be factored in. To most people observing this scandal, it’s no doubt another news story about an embarrassing bureaucratic blunder. To me and tens of thousands of teenagers across the state, it means everything; the unravelling of two years of work. It feels profoundly unfair to have put in so much effort, to have endured the tears, stress and meltdowns that VCE inevitably entails, and then find out that some people got an upper hand. conveys the depth of her emotional response rejects the meaningless of VCAA’s comments underscores the significance of VCE describes the level of injustice rule of three conveys the hardship of VCE A Ticking Mind Resource P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w
- 2. From: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/i-m-in-the-middle-of-my-vces-this-mistake- and-cover-up-has-destroyed-my-confidence-20241114-p5kqsk.html Main strategy: argues that the main issue is VCAA’s mismanagement I don’t blame anyone who viewed the leaked questions. The cover pages were published legitimately on the VCAA website for students to fairly gain information about the structure of the coming exams. Some may have simply copy-and-pasted without realising that this allowed them to access actual exam questions that were supposed to be hidden. Instead, I feel frustrated by how this has been handled. Quite frankly, it doesn’t make sense that after the questions were leaked, they weren’t rewritten entirely, and that only perfunctory changes were made. Especially as the error was discovered in October. In one of my subjects, Legal Studies, the only amendment to the exam was the names of the people in the scenarios. In the Specialist Mathematics exam, the numbers but not the actual question were changed. When we, as students, have spent months preparing for these assessments, it doesn’t seem right that a few questions couldn’t be rewritten to preserve the exams’ integrity. acknowledges the legitimacy of students’ actions expresses her key feeling derides VCAA’s response contrasts the huge extent of student preparation to limited extent of VCAA response Main strategy: emphasises the take away message And that’s what is most disheartening about this saga. Not the mistake itself, but the failure of authorities to own up to it. We’ve been taught to respect our education, act with integrity, work hard, and trust that it will pay off. And the faith that we’ve put in our educational system has been undermined. More than that, the VCAA is also one of the first bureaucratic authorities that year 12s directly interact with. One of our first insights into the workings of government. And what we’ve seen is three consecutive years of exam mistakes, culminating in this year’s colossal blunder. This scandal risks disillusioning us, eroding our trust in the nature of authority. We’ve seen in the US and many other parts of the world, what happens when young people lose trust in leaders and government. This week, Victoria’s year 12s were shown an example of the bureaucracy lacking accountability; preserving its self-image with a cover-up, at the expense of integrity and honesty. That’s a lesson on leadership and power that we won’t forget. criticises VCAA as acting immorally describes the destructive impact the issue warns about future impact Uses educational language to emphasise a key message a teaching body can learn A Ticking Mind Resource P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w
- 3. Analyse quotes and techniques A range of quotes have been put in bold in each section of this opinion piece. Some annotations have been provided to give you a guide about the main strategy and the impact of quotes in each section. Your task is now to analyse the quotes and techniques. As you do so, follow these three guidelines: 1. Analyse persuasive words and phrases in terms of how they demonstrate the main strategy of a section 2. If the quote is longer than 2-3 words, you must pick out the most essential words to analyse. 3. Start your sentences in different ways and use different verbs. 4. Use the models of different sentence structures and the verb list to help you Sentence Structure Sentence start Sentence end 1. introduce evidence 2. evidence 3. analysis beginning with ‘ing’ verb Ratnam shares her sense of being both “shocked” and devastated” , evoking a sympathetic response in her readership of adults who are interested in the education system of Victoria. 1. label technique 2. provide evidence 3. analysis 4. link By using the emotionally laden terms “shocked” and “devastated” , Ratnam highlights and emphasises the emotional toll on VCE students and appeals to the audience’s sense of themselves as adults interested in the wellbeing of young people. 1. evidence 2. analysis The words “shocked” and devastated” elicit sympathy from a readership of adults concerned for the educational and emotional wellbeing of young people. 1. ‘ing’ verb to introduce evidence 2. evidence 3. analysis 4. link Labelling her reponse as “shocked” and devastated” , Ratnam appeals to her audience’s sense of themselves as sympathetic and interested and so positions them to condemn exam leak as being detrimental to the mental health of young people. 1. analysis 2. introduce evidence 3. evidence In order to appeal to her audience’s sense of themselves as sympathetic to the situation of young people, Ratnam presents the exam leak as having dire emotional consequences through her description of her reaction as “shocked” and devastated”. A Ticking Mind Resource P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w
- 4. Author action Audience impact connects to the audience emphasises shared experience of… highlights the universality of… speaks to the audience as a group who… reaches out to the audience as… links themselves with the audience by… reassures builds trust creates belief causes fosters develops primes prompts heightens increases strengthens generates activates triggers engenders galvanises inspires confronts establishes highlights emphasises the audience to believe… the audience to think… the audience to recognise… the audience to view… the audience to associate… the audience to acknowledge that… the audience to see… the audience’s sense of… the audience’s value in… the audience’s interest in… the audience’s desire for… the audience’s concerns about… the audience’s fear of… connects to the audience’s identity or values appeals to invokes affirms validates recognises acknowledges places to the fore says something negative criticises attacks lambasts demeans denigrates derides ridicules says something positive praises lauds celebrates champions uses evidence cites refers to supports their case with points to makes something seem important emphasises highlights reinforces reiterates exaggerates generalise puts a name or picture to a thing describes characterises portrays labels equates…with… Note: All of these verbs can be turned into ‘-ing’ verbs. i.e emphasises > emphasising A Ticking Mind Resource P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w P r e v i e w