1. Section A - Reading
Question 2: Presentational Features
Approaching and answering
Question 2
2. Question 2: Presentational Features
•8 marks
•12 minutes
•You need to briskly analyse the language of presentational
features such as headlines, sub-headlines or captions
•You need to briskly analyse the image
•You need to explain how presentational features are
effective, and how they link to the text itself
3. Match the headline to the picture!
1. Government bans
calculators from primary
maths tests
2. NHS Direct to close most call
centres, cutting hundreds of
jobs, says union
3. Britain to stop aid to India
4. Most UK ash trees will be
diseased within 10 years,
ministers told
5. Top five regrets of the dying
6. Anger over ‘harsh’ GCSE
English grades
4. Match the headline to the picture!
1. Cost of university
accommodation ‘doubles in
10 years’
2. Is the Six-Million-Dollar Man
possible?
3. The consequences of having
a ‘foreign’ name
4. The women living in
Chernobyl's toxic wasteland
5. Coffee threatened by
climate change
6. Don't like the licence fee?
Simple. Don't pay it
5. •Burning questions on tunnel safety unanswered (About the possibility of fires in the
Channel tunnel)
•Science friction (About an argument between scientists and the British government on the
topic of BSE or mad cow disease)
•Between a Bok and a hard place (About the remote chances of the Welsh rugby team
beating the South African team)
•Waugh cry as Aussies blast off (Waugh is an Australian cricket player)
•Return to gender (About a reoccurrence of sexual harassment in London post offices)
•A shot in the dark (About the murder of a Russian politician)
•Dutch take courage and prepare for the Euro (About the introduction of the Euro into
the Netherlands)
•Silent blight (On the incidence of sore throats among teachers)
•No flies on this heart-stopper (A review of the play of The Lord of the Flies)
•Why the Clyde offer is not so bonny (About a take-over offer by a Scottish engineering
company)
•Resurgent Welsh dragon too fired up to lose its puff (About a game of rugby
involving the Welsh team)
•On a whinge and a prayer (On the resignation of a minister of the British government)
•Officials say atoll do nicely (About the fraudulent sale of small Pacific islands)
Headlines with puns…
…often contain an idiom (well known phrase / saying) or a cultural
reference. Which of these do? Which don’t you understand?
6. Headlines with other devices…
Which use alliteration? The ‘rule of three’? Repetition?
Personification? Cliché? Exaggeration? Rhetorical questions?
Figurative language?
•Merseyside derby: It's the hope that kills you
•Starbucks wakes up and smells the stench of tax avoidance
controversy
•Bargain Hunter: Pretty planters and rattan rocking chairs
•Up, up and away in Bristol’s beautiful balloons
•The Philippines: The world's budget English teacher
•Metropolitan Police declare war on anti-social behaviour
•We've been on the back foot with the EU ever since we
joined
•The end of a dream for Camelot?
•Versatile venison recipes from Daylesford Organic
•Sick as a parrot: Disease hits Hampshire pet stores
7. What can we always say about headlines (before we’ve even
read the article)?
1.
2.
3.
Government bans
calculators from
primary maths tests
NHS Direct to close most call centres,
cutting hundreds of jobs, says union
Britain to stop aid to India
Most UK ash trees will be
diseased within 10 years,
ministers told
Anger over ‘harsh’ GCSE
English grades
Don't like the licence fee?
Simple. Don't pay it
8. What can we always say about pictures?
1.
2.
3.
9. Link to article at The Guardian Online
Waste crime: Britain's war on illegal dumping
There are more than 1,000 illegal waste sites in Britain, causing
huge pollution and ruining people's lives. Are the authorities
doing enough about the problem?
Pun / play
on words.
‘Hate
crime’ is a
serious
crime
based on
prejudice.
Referring /
alluding to
this makes
waste
dumping
seem more
serious.
Colon adds
impact to
what
comes
after it
Powerful words such as ‘war’, ‘huge’ and
‘ruining’ emphasise / exaggerate the
seriousness of the issue
Statistic puts
story into
perspective
and, again,
emphasises
seriousness
Rhetorical
question leads into
the article; it
makes the reader
curious
Analysing the effectiveness of presentational features…
Image is bright,
colourful and
vivid, giving a
clear illustration
of the issueThe image depicts
illegal dumping; this
picture is
unpleasant and
messy and, again,
gives the reader a
clearer picture of
the issue
10. Link to article on BBC Online News
Analysing the effectiveness of presentational features. Your turn…
The Philippines: The world's budget
English teacher
Elizaveta is a Russian student taking courses taught in English
in the Philippines - she says fees are a quarter of courses in
Australia or Canada
11. Link to article at The Guardian Online
Analysing the effectiveness of presentational features. Your turn…
Starbucks wakes up and smells the stench of tax
avoidance controversy
Cafe chain executive to face questions from MPs, while protesters plan to turn
branches into creches and refuges
Police protect a Starbucks branch during an anti-cuts march
last month after the company's low tax bill was revealed
12. 1. •Highlight the key words in the question. This question asks you to
do to two things, and is always very similar:
•It asks you to analyse the presentational features, noticing how
they are effective.
•It asks you to link the presentational features to the content of
the text.
Explain how the headline and picture are effective,
and how they link to the text.
Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture
are effective, and how they link to the text.
Explain how the headline, picture and caption are
effective, and how they link to the text.
13. 2.
•Actively read the text: First, look at / read the things you’ve
been asked to analyse (in this case, the headline and picture).
•Next, go through the text, highlighting the short quotes
that most strongly link to the presentational features.
•Then, knowing what’s in the article, go back to the presentational
features and highlight / annotate them in terms of their
effectiveness.
Pick a Question 2 task from the booklet: Explain how the
headline and picture are effective, and how they link to
the text.
14. 3.
IN GROUPS
•Now you’re ready to write up your ideas, you
need a clear introductory sentence introducing your response (see next
slide for a reminder).
•You then need to talk about each feature in turn. You’ll
need to say more than one thing about each feature (making about 4-5
points about presentational features overall).
•Pepper your points with short quotes, linking the
presentational features to the text with perceptive comments.
Writing up ideas
15. 3.
WHAT TO WRITE
Remember! Keep it simple!
Why are these good openings?
Purpose and Audience
Text 2 aims to inform ‘Guardian’ readers about the serious tax avoidance
allegations made against the coffee shop chain Starbucks.
This article makes readers of ‘The Guardian’ aware of the widespread
problem of illegal waste sites in Britain. Its headline, sub-headline and
image help convey how serious this issue is.
Text 2 explains to ‘BBC Online News’ readers that growing numbers of
people are visiting The Philippines to learn English at a cut-price rate.
16. Connective The headline / image
etc…
How they link to
the text…
The reader…
(or ‘we’…)
Firstly
Secondly
Thirdly
As well as this
Furthermore
Moreover
Finally
Lastly
Likewise
Similarly
Amuses
Attracts
Connotes
Delights
Describes
Depicts
Emphasises
Fascinates
Highlights
Informs
Interests
Intrigues
Raises
Refers to
Reflects
Reveals
Signifies
Suggests
Summarises
Shocks
Shows
Tells
Alludes to
Demonstrates
Echoes
Illustrates
Links
Portrays
Reinforces
Reiterates
Reflects
Is made
aware
Is informed
Is told
Learns
Discovers
Realises
3.
USEFUL WORDS & PHRASES
17. Text 20: Explain how the headline
and pictures are effective, and how
they link to the text.
IN PAIRS
Remind students that the tools they need are, simply, a pen and a highlighter. As well as their brains and hard work!
Ask students what they recall about this question.Remind them of the details on the slide.
Match-up starter or settling activity. When taking feedback, students should explain orally how the images link to the headlines.
Match-up starter or settling activity (more challenging than the previous). When taking feedback, students should explain orally how the images link to the headlines.
Recap (especially with higher ability groups): Puns, double meanings, idioms (or sayings), and cultural references (often to songs, books, movies etc.)Lower ability groups (C/D borderlines, for instance) could be given one or two of these headlines in pairs to think about.
‘Kills’ is metaphorical.This is a play on ‘wake up and smell the coffee’. ‘Smells the stench’ is alliterative.Two examples of alliteration here.This uses a reference to ‘Superman’ (‘Up, up and away’) which has become a fairly common saying. This saying also employs the rule of three. The latter part of the headline is alliterative. This uses personification.‘Declare war’ is metaphorical shorthand for something else. What?‘On the back foot’ is a metaphorical idiom meaning to be at a disadvantage. Again, this uses figurative language, making use of the metaphorical ‘dream’. It is also a rhetorical question.Alliteration! Idiom / cliché. ‘Hits’ is metaphorical.
Headlines are big, bold and prominent; they attract the reader typographically (A / A* groups may even take down a definition of this word and try to use it). The content (language) of headlines will try to amuse / attract / shock / fascinate / interest / intrigue the reader. Headlines summarise the article; they link to it.
They are usually given prominent positions. Why is this? They support headlines in that they try to amuse / attract / shock / fascinate / interest / intrigue the reader. They illustrate the article. They depict the story being told (or part of it, at least). Remind students that they should notice colour in the images and possibly say something about it. Higher ability students should think about symbols (or ‘codes’ even) in the picture or pictures.
Show this model to students. Discuss / explain each annotation. You may simplify for lower ability groups.
Students can work through this in pairs / groups.In the headline, students may notice that the proper noun ‘The Philippines’ comes first, immediately alerting readers to what the article is about. The colon after ‘The Philippines’ gives impact / emphasis to the next bit of information.The country has been personified as ‘The world’s budget English teacher’. The headline is slightly cryptic. It’s difficult to fully understand without reading the article, so the audience will be compelled to read on!The image gives a clear message that the article is about learning / study; the student and the books represent this.The information in the caption explains why The Philippines is known as the ‘world’s budget English teacher’ – it offers English language courses at a quarter of the price of those offered in other countries.
More challenging… Students can work through this in pairs / groups.In the headline, students may notice that the beginning of the headline is a play on words or pun, using the idiom ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ and is suited to the text as Starbucks sells coffee. Very bright sparks may link this typically American idiom to the fact that Starbucks is an American company! ‘Smells the stench’ is alliterative and the noun ‘stench’ (here contrasting with the nice aroma of coffee!) is unpleasant, echoing the nature of the story. Readers are attracted to words such as ‘controversy’ – they like to read about injustices and corruption.Sub-headline gives more information and summarises the story. The image highlights that Starbucks is embroiled in controversy, and is the subject of protests. The caption stresses that this is not the first time.
Remind students of Step 1 – reading the question and highlighting the key words.Stress to students that the phrasing of (effectively two part) question is always the same (details above), and that the only thing that may differ is the kind of presentational devices they may have to write about.
Step 2 is actively reading. Tell students to follow the steps above. For this question, students can briefly annotate as well as highlight the presentational features they are going to write about.
Step 3 is writing the response. On the next slide are good examples of opening sentences. Remind students that they should talk about each feature in turn. Remind them to not miss the obvious (i.e. what can always be said about headlines and images).You will need to model how students do the second part of the question, i.e. how they link headlines / images etc. to the content of the text using short quotes from the article itself. For this purpose, you may use the bank of useful words and phrases on Slide 16.
Show students these examples. Think, pair, share. The third example adds another sentence to do with purpose / reader response. Students may do this if they feel secure.
Students should ONLY use words / phrases they’re comfortable with. There’s no time to experiment!Column 1: Useful connectives to organise a response (and ensure enough distinct points are being made). Column 2: Active verbs that may be used to explain / analyse the presentational features and their effect.Column 3: Useful verbs for explaining how presentational features link to the article. Column 4: Passive, and then active, sentence constructions that may be used when referring to the reader or audience.
Sit students in suitable pairs according to your judgement. They should now be given 5 minutes to read, annotate and highlight the article in these pairs. Each student in the pair needs to write their own response; pairs may not discuss and collaborate while writing up ideas.Teacher to support students who need help.
Students can swap their attempt with someone else in the class for them to peer assess against the mark scheme. Please make students aware that this is only a sample mark scheme; each mark scheme is slightly tailored to those presentational devices being focused on.
