The Sun

30 Setembro 2015, 12:00 • David Alan Prescott

Class on the style, presentation, linguistic characteristics and readership of The Sun newspaper. Demonstration of how people may be characterised by the newspapers they read and of how newspapers tailor their articles and language to their supposed readership.

The front page of British newspapers continued.

29 Setembro 2015, 10:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Deducing the language features of the front page of British newspapers continued. Summing up the main features of the front page of tabloids and quality papers.

UK Media Regions

28 Setembro 2015, 12:00 • David Alan Prescott

Explanation of the UK media regions and how they correspond to different social, political and even religious groupings. How advertising, sports reporting and even news items are presented differently in the written press and the over-the-air media in accordance with the same regions.

The front page of British newspapers.

24 Setembro 2015, 10:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Deducing the language features of the front page of British newspapers: comparing and contrasting the front pages of a tabloid and a quality paper – a hands-on approach.

Explanation of style and formats to be used in writing an essay at this level

23 Setembro 2015, 12:00 • David Alan Prescott

INTRODUCTION TO ESSAY WRITING: THERE ARE MANY APPROACHES, AMONG WHCH ARE:

 

A THE CLASSIC

 

1. KEEP TO THE POINT

 A common mistake made by students is that of simply writing. Anything.

 

2. ADEQUATE REGISTER AND STYLE

An essay is a formal piece of work, so expressions like "I guess", "I dunno", "the guy", "maybe" and others, or styles like the following: "What's a story, anyway?", "That's all for now, teacher.", or "I better finish now because it's nearly four o'clock", are unacceptable. Although there isn't anything particularly wrong with them as pieces of English, they simply do not fall into the category of English for essay writing. Do not use contractions.

 

Also, please do not write essays in the form of conversation, interrogations, prose poems, stories about what happened to you on the bus the other day, etc.

 

3. STRUCTURE

There are many ways of structuring an essay. The one here suggested is perhaps that which allows the presentation of a very clear argument and conclusion -- and this is half the battle won.

 

   a) INTRO -- announce what you intend to state

   b) Points AGAINST what you will defend

   c) Points IN FAVOUR of what you wish to defend

   d) SUMMING up of the points, leading to a

   e) CONCLUSION based on what you have written.

 

B. ADMINISTRATIVE CRITIQUE/ ANALYSIS

 

1.    QUOTE from reliable sources, such as:

 “Aristotle, when asked what he thought about onions, stated …” OR

“Onions,” stated Aristotle, speaking in Palermo after a dinner party, “should be…”

 

2.    BE OBJECTIVE about the same issue:

“It is not up to this author to present weighty arguments for or against eating onions, but there must be no doubt that the onion, as food, has always been…”

 

3.    THE LINK

“This quality of having many skins brings me to mention the fact that --- NOW WE INTRODUCE OUR OPINION ON THE SUBJECT.

 

 

C. AFFIRMATIVE-ISH ESSAY

 

a.              Totally opinionated at first

b.             Then tempered by consideration

c.              Ending in doubt

 

Example:

The Last Rocky Horror Show, as a failed work, shows that when no one understands a film then no one can enjoy it. So no one will go to see it. That is, of course because we like things that…

But should it be that way? Is that ‘the way of the world’? Is it not rather true that…

Perhaps not, and after all, what this work presents us with is – NOW OUR DOUBTS AND OPINIONS

 

 

D. EDITORIAL STYLE

 

Perhaps the simplest of the more journalistic formats. The structure is basically as follows:

 

a.    Brief analysis of the question being posed. “Is Islam the future for humanity” – here you present that Islam has every right to be the future, comparing it to Christianity, Judaism etc.

b.    Historical perspective on the issue, usually involving a quotation from someone important to the subject.

 

(a and b are sometimes reversible)

 

c.    The editorial style ends in strong personal opinion.