Commentary: Both literary and non-literary pieces address the issue of bullying. Text A (Outside) features many inter-textual links: James Joyces Ulysses and Chuck Palahniuks Fight Club

Comparative Commentary Both literary and non-literary pieces address the issue of bullying. Text A (Outside) features many inter-textual links: James Joyce’s ’Ulysses’ and Chuck Palahniuk’s ’Fight Club’, both novels serving a vital part in the development of ideas and the structure of syntax and lexis. The purpose of Text A is to develop character and mystery through means of magic realism yet in doing so allow the contrasting themes of isolation and despair to become apparent. Text B (Bullying- an inescapable part of human life?) serves as a thought provoking argument that incorporates the various methods of bullying and its place in society. Comparatively, both texts are targeted at mature teenagers however throughout Text B there is a need to highlight the importance of bullying in the work environment to emphasise the extensive spread of abuse within our society. Text B makes use of numerous graphological techniques (such as coloured text boxes), this keeps the reader entertained through ease of reading. The use of bold text to highlight important statistical information, for instance the cardinal determiner: ’20,000’ is used in conjunction with this to provide strength to the argument as well as vary the aesthetics of the text. Straplines are also used frequently to foreground the various themes around bullying, for example: ’Bullying in a digital

  • Word count: 1262
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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My Swaziland Gap Year- informative writing

Swaziland Gap Year Totally landlocked, lying in the northwest corner of south Africa, Swaziland is often overlooked as A gap year destination due to its miniscule size of only 200 kilometres across compared to its much larger neighbouring countries, South Africa and Mozambique. But after my experiences there I would definitely recommend it to anybody interested in doing a gap year themselves. The first language is the Bantu language of SiSwati but English is also widely spoken throughout the country so there was no need to struggle trying to translate too much. The project is located in the Ezulwini valley of central Swaziland. This is the cultural heart of Swaziland and is where most of the tourist activities are based. Being such a small country meant anything I wanted to see was in a viable traveling distance. The project I decided to go on was helping to teach English and Maths to orphaned children. There is an estimated 200,000 orphans in the kingdom so it is something they desperately need. Other than just teaching, English and maths in schools, I was also spending time with the children out of school hours just hanging out, playing football and giving them a sense of a role model and somebody they could look up to. It was one of the most satisfying things I have ever had the pleasure of doing; you can definitely tell you are making a considerable difference in

  • Word count: 523
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Looks Could Kill. Barbie is definitely too skinny to be a good role model for anyone.

Looks Could Kill Barbie is definitely too skinny to be a good role model for anyone. Many may think that Barbie, six feet tall, 100 pounds and measurements 39-19-33 is a beautiful and perfect model of how every woman should be. Since Barbie was first invented in 1959, there are many reasons as to why she is not the perfect role model. Barbie may have a perfect figure, perfect family, perfect group of friends, perfect boyfriend, perfect house, perfect hair, perfect clothes and perfect everything, however Barbie is not a healthy and proportional being. In addition, she is a bad influence on society. Lastly, she causes many individuals to develop unrealistic and unachievable goals. The more time spent playing with this doll, the more impact it has on the child. Yes, Barbie has pursued many good role model moments but the thing that has not changed is her unachievable but influencing looks and lifestyle. Therefore Barbie is a poor influence and should not be anyone’s role model. Barbie’s body is not proportional or a reasonable size for anyone to try to achieve. The pressure on girls and how they have to look, act and dress is currently increasing throughout the years. Girls have the urge to try to fit in and the only way they can fit in is by looking and acting a certain way. Since Barbie is perceived to be popular, happy and perfect, every girl tries to be just like

  • Word count: 1064
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Good and Bad of Modern Technology

Chester Liao Ong R-26 En 11 Centuries ago, if a woman had visited a town hall and announced that kept in the convenience of her pocket is a contraption that could store thousands of songs, send messages to the most distant of people, and gain access to information at any given time, this woman would have most likely been burned on a stake for having been accused of being a witch. Today, things have changed. Humanity over the centuries has been able to develop and modernize technology, or in other words, develop devices derived from scientific knowledge which are able to enhance and simplify the process of meeting our needs. Basic physiological needs such as food, water, and sleep are aided by efficient and effective machinery such as trucks that transport our food or water filters that keep water clean and safe. As we progress to more advanced needs, we see that communication falls under one of these as man is a social creature. Global communication networks address these, thus a world where it is incredibly easy to be in contact with someone of great distance only in a matter of seconds through e-mail, text, instant messaging, or phone call is created. However, a problem emerges in such a society. It has come to the point where technology does not only change the efficiency of how people do things, but it also changes who they

  • Word count: 1054
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Composition - Positive gender discrimination should be encouraged in British recruitment

Positive gender discrimination should be encouraged in British recruitment Women’s rights has for a long time been topical issue. Throughout history women are portrayed as the inferior counterpart of men. Many women including those today are shown to disprove this idea .They have completed varying levels of education. They have worked for the environment for peace and leaders of important businesses. Yet still in today’s modern society women still live with this prejudice. As children we are corrupted by old stereotypes of women’s duties being brought up encourage by motherhood with dolls and toys unlike the man. As we age we witness more inequality between both males and females such as men having higher paid jobs and are seen more suitable to significant roles in the workplace Encouraged through the belief that men are genetically more aggressive as opposed to females who believed to be nurturers. This divide in duties can even be seen in the Bible where Eve’s role is to have children whilst Adams works the fields.[1] Only shortly have women been able to move away from the being the man’s ‘possession’. Women have now got the ability to vote. Women were prohibited from voting in the United Kingdom. By 1918[2], the Representation of the Peoples Act allowed women over 30 the right to vote. However it was a further ten years to abolish the age qualification

  • Word count: 991
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Eyes ablaze with a raging fire, he stares at the woman he thought he once knew.

2014 Eyes ablaze with a raging fire, he stares at the woman he thought he once knew. Engulfed by his own anger that has been fostering inside him for the past three hours, he feels struck with the inability to speak. Not that he needs to state the accusation; she knows the exact reason for his emotions. Hands quivering with fear, like the legs of a deer noticed by their predator, she attempts to gently lay them on his strong hands, to ease the fury displayed in his clenched fists. He snatches them back. As if the mere touch of her skin would poison anyone who dares to go near. “This relationship is a lie, Helen. Or should I call you, Sofia,” he finally says, with an air of pure disgust, malice dripping from the use of her real name. “Even your bloody name was a lie!” His face contorts into a snarl as he speaks. After lingering his gaze upon her a moment longer, as though searching for some sign, he steps away, staring out of the window, eyes continuously alert. I’ve done this to him, she thinks, while he chews repetitively on his short nails that had finally begun to grow back. She sniggers to herself as she considers how it had been her to help him stop that old stress habit, only to be the cause of problems far worse. How did I let myself believe the illusion that I could honestly care for someone without eventually wounding them? How did I believe I could hide

  • Word count: 1251
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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ALL ABOUT THAT BASS, SOME TROUBLE Why recent body positive songs arent as empowering as you think

ALL ABOUT THAT BASS, SOME TROUBLE Why recent ‘body positive’ songs aren’t as empowering as you think Even if you have little interest in popular culture, you can’t have failed to notice the recent trend of pop music involving body image- More specifically, songs with references to those of a larger size. Some the music is good; going far enough to deem 2014 “The year of the booty”. Others disagree. Take Nicki Minaj for example, with her summer hit Anaconda. Currently the music video has 300 million views on YouTube, and counting. Clearly, her audience is vast, and deeply impressionable. To an extent (If you disregard the blatant sexualisation of women in the video), the hit could be viewed as a good thing- Some would argue that instead of objectifying women, the song empowers them, especially women of larger sizes. However, listen to the end of the track, and you’ll encounter a frightening double standard. The final verse of the song, instead of empowering women, demeans many of them, saying “F*** you if you’re skinny”, and referring to thinner women as “B******”. People often seem to forget that insecurities aren’t just felt by larger individuals- Everyone has the potential to experience anxiety and low self esteem due to body image. Eating disorders stand testament to this. People of all sizes are affected, and lyrics such as these are

  • Word count: 1165
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Pearl by John Steinbeck

The Pearl (John Steinbeck) Chapter1 . What kind of people do you think Kino and his wife are? First of all, Kino and his family seem to be poor people because we can see in the text that they have a quite bad standard of living: they live in a brush house, the baby sleeps in a hanging box, there ants in the house, they are not protected from wild and dangerous animal as the scorpion which stung Coyotito, they do not have enough money to get a treatment for the baby... We can also notice that Kino and his family are Indians. Indeed the doctor call them like this and the author himself speak about the Kino's "race" but without saying which one it is. It seems to be different races where Kino lives. Another indication which makes us think that they are from another culture is when Juana is summoning magic when the baby is stung. 2. What ideas do you get about them living in a "brush house" near a "tuna clump"? Once again, it gives us the impression that they live in a poor place. Indeed the brush house suggests that they might have built their house themselves. It says in the first page: "he looked first at the lightening square which was the door". This shows us that there is no door in Kino's house or that that the light can pass through it. 3. What can we conclude from what we've learnt so far? Basically, we learnt that Kino and his family seem to be quite poor living

  • Word count: 1103
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Text Transformation.

Text Transformation Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Nothingness. The ill fitting flowered curtains, thin and frayed, danced sadly in the wind as the old man slipped in and out of his vacant dreams. His wrinkled, grey expression remained inert and morose. Time goes by and his sizeable feet land on the ground and pace the carpeted floor without excitement or purpose. His toes guided him towards the stiff, upright chair similar to its electric variety. From where he sat he could see a narrow strip of the tussocky land outside. Legs running in and out of view. A dog. A child's bicycle. Litter blowing aimlessly over coarse grass. This at least distracted him from the thin floral curtains. His limbs bent and ached into a sitting position. Slow fingers gripped ordinary shoes. Shoes that didn't attract attention. Layer upon layer of starchy cotton engulfed his sagging skin like a body bag. Ringless fingers that declared to an uninterested world that he was alone, dropped onto the brass door handle, which took him into a happy, mocking world. "Why Mr Bleaney, on time as usual! Why do I ask! What can I get ya lovey? The usual? Okay porridge no sugar, tea no sugar? Ya don't need it, you're sweet enough aint ya! Attempted conversation was Mrs Valentine's speciality. Her over made face and pink and green frock glared at the old man. "Please" he repeated monotonously. He stared at the

  • Word count: 1975
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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of mice and men

Of mice and men essay In 'Of mice and Men' several characters dream of a different and better life. Why is it not a surprise that the dreams never come true? 'Of Mice and Men is a novel written by john Steinbeck that features the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people living very simple lives. It features very strong characters each with their own dreams of a different and better life. But of course such dreams only remain dreams because they never do come true. The title 'of mice and men' is taken from a poem by a famous Scottish poet Robert Burns that quotes. The beat laid schemes o' mice and men Gang aft agley (often go wrong) And leave us nought but grief and pain For promised joy! This basically means that it doesn't matter how much you plan and dream, things very rarely go according to plan, which leaves us longing for promised dreams. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. This may have been the reason he decided to set the novel 'Of mice and men' in the Salinas valleys. It was hard to live in good conditions around the time the book was set (1930-1940) because of the Wall Street crash and the great Depression that followed. It was extremely hard to get a job and if you did get a job, it would be for minimal pay. During the 1930's there was very bad unemployment, which meant thousands of people never had a job in the USA, so agencies (like

  • Word count: 1015
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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