Written piece (article) and commentary
Share A Secret "I waste office supplies because I hate my boss" "I wear a mohawk and I love the way children look at me" "Sometimes I put coins in other peoples' parking meters" "I know the truth to the lie my parents tell..." "I was not raped" Kathryn Shaw investigates the internet phenomenon of PostSecret. I was sitting in a vegan café with my friend Angie a little over a year ago the first time I heard about PostSecret. I don't know why; I'm not a vegan, or a vegetarian, or anything. I think I was trying to be supportive. Angie casually passed the book across the table, a little smile on his face that I knew meant he was quite pleased with himself: "PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives" by Frank Warren, a compilation of postcards bearing the secrets of ordinary people - some dark, some humorous, some heartwarming, spanning everything from declarations of love to bad habits and all the way to confessions of criminal activity. PostSecret, Angie told me, is a website set up in January 2005 by Frank Warren in response to a group art project in which he had given blank postcards to 3,000 strangers and invited them to write their secret on the front. The website is similar: people are invited to send in their secrets anonymously on a decorated homemade postcard, with between twenty and forty new secrets being posted every Sunday. The only rules are
Barbados travel writing
Barbados, jewel of the West Indies. Most people visiting Barbados only get to see one of the many faces of the Bajan culture. The glamorous hotels, the hot sandy beaches, the rife restaurants and the bountiful beach bars. I however, was lucky enough to see two aspects of the culture, the tourism and the island's fascination with sport, in particular with cricket. While accompanying my school's cricket tour I saw the eagerness of the young Bajan sportsmen even-though they lacked the facilities and funds which are present in England and so many other sporting countries. We approached the small green dot in the ocean of blue on a Boeing 777, the massive engines roaring. It seemed that at that distance, that there was not enough space on the island for a landing strip. It was an overnight flight and had been thoroughly unpleasant. I had not slept because of the children and a baby at the front of the cabin who didn't stop crying for something to eat. Although I could understand this child's distress, as the food on aeroplanes is tasteless at the best of times, I really wished it would sit there and moan quietly like the rest of us and fill out a complaints form. The headrest was also just too high for me so I had to spend the whole flight with my head bent forward looking at my feet. I occasionally caught a glimpse of blue out of the window but most of the time the back of a
Commentary for English Language AS. The article I chose to write was based on the influences of the media on peoples body images in the world today and how it affects many young teenagers in trying to fulfil this ideal image of a size zero.
COMMENTARY The article I chose to write was based on the influences of the media on people's body images in the world today and how it affects many young teenagers in trying to fulfil this "ideal image" of a size zero. My piece challenges a highly held view on the influential exploitation of consistent sickening body images and false fabrication to how people should look, leading to outstanding statistics in the account of teenagers being diagnosed with anorexia. My article is straight away hit with 3 different rhetorical questions which are used to help the audience think about what they are about to read, it increases persuasion and message processing, creating a relatively strong, resistant attitude in the reader to obtain a greater importance into the article they are about to overlook. Starting off my first paragraph is the use of a declarative sentence which just generally states the facts that the urges people have to feel good about themselves is highly disintegrating to virtually nothing. The declarative sentence is used to state a fact which allows the reader to feel like we know what we are talking about; making them feel that what they are reading is worth while and helpful in ways to carry on reading. Leading off my 2nd paragraph is again another rhetorical question, again to include the reader and make them feel more involved in the text. Within this
Learning foreign languages is becoming more and more popular and necessary nowadays. The aim of the report is to examine this area.
To: Ministry of Education From: Robert Majchrzak Subject: Learning foreign languages among teenagers Date: 05 February, 2004. Purpose of the report. Learning foreign languages is becoming more and more popular and necessary nowadays. The aim of the report is to examine this area. I wanted to find out if people consider learning foreign languages easy or difficult and, which skills are problems for them. I was also interested in the reason why they want to study foreign languages, how they want to use them, which foreign languages they learn and for how long. Finally, I wanted to find out what the respondents think about the idea of creating one universal language for all the people in the world. My survey was carried out among 28 young people aged 17 - 18 years old. The respondents were both girls and boys (17 girls and 11 boys). All of them are secondary school students and they come from different social background. They live in villages or small town. Methodology used In today's fast - moving world the knowledge of foreign language is necessary. People, especially the young ones, should particularly interested in it. I wanted to find out what their understanding of this problem was, how they perceive it, what problem concerning learning foreign languages they have. The data included in this report was obtained by means of a questionnaire. Constructing the
Example English Language B Coursework (running leaflet)
Getting started There are many reasons to get started with running to get fit, to get into shape, to lose weight, or simply to become a faster runner, whatever the reason, with the right ingredients, running will become attached to you and could well change your life. To get started, first of all you will need a pair of running shoes, for a beginner I would recommend a comfortable pair that have plenty of support as you will be easy susceptible to injuries, especially in your legs. Another must for beginner runners is some decent running clothing, poor running clothing will leave you sweating like a pig in a sauna, try buying some clothes that are breathable and allow you to sweat, but like the shoes, they must feel comfortable. "I can't be arsed" The most common phrase for beginner runners. Like anything, it's something you have to work past, the more you run the more it becomes a part of you and it will soon be an addiction, before you know it your problem may well be "why can't I run?" "It's too cold outside!" There isn't such a thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. You can never be too cold once you start running in the right clothing, no matter what the weather, it is just a lame excuse beginners use to avoid running in the first place. Like I've said before, the more you continue to run, the more you realise that you're actually enjoying it. "I just haven't got
Is it true that typical speech and typical writing have many different qualities with respect to medium, function and form?
"Is it true that typical speech and typical writing have many different qualities with respect to medium, function and form? However, is it equally true that, in out our communicative experiences, the two modes nearly always are richly working together or are creatively haunting each other? They are helpful friends not opposing foes!" Discuss this statement. In writing this essay, I am only using one mode. Using the full sentences, I can explain and identify that this essay will use the written mode although I am writing about typical speech and typical writing. The statement above is written in typical writing mode, although it contains speech marks which indicate that it is a comment which is typical speech, is true. Both typical speech and typical writing have positive and negative aspects to them. Both, typical speech and typical writing have many qualities - many different to one another and some are similar- with respect to the medium of each mode. The word 'medium', which of course is an example of typical writing as it is typed on this paper, basically means 'the functionally distinct dimension in which a message is transmitted'. Typical speech is made up of disturbances in the air whilst typical writing is made up of marks on a surface - such as this full stop at the end of this sentence. Many body parts such as the lungs, mouth, tongue, and vocal organs produce
Compare the 'Old soldier' in A Terribly Strange Bed with the Landlady in Dahl's story - What are the similarities and differences between them?
Wider reading Compare the 'Old soldier' in A Terribly Strange Bed with the Landlady in Dahl's story. What are the similarities and differences between them? In this assignment I hope to tell you about the Landlady and the Old soldier. Their similarities and differences, and descriptions (both physically and mentally) which may have lead us to suspect them. Both the Old soldier and Landlady deceived their victims before attempting to kill them. The Landlady deceives her victim (Billy Weaver) by attracting him to the Bed and Breakfast, with the wonderful pussy willows, a bright burning fire to make the place look cosy, and a pretty little daschund which is dead, but stuffed so people think it is real, " I stuff all my pets myself when they pass away." Said the Landlady. The Bed and Breakfast was filled with pleasant furniture, and animals, which made Billy, think it was a good sign and a decent place to stay in. The Old soldier deceives the English man by acting as though he is his friend and encouraging him to keep playing, " Go on, sir-sacre milk bombs! Go on boldly, and break the bank!" Said the Old soldier. This is strong evidence showing the Old soldier encourage the English man to keep playing, but not for the English mans benefit, but for the Old soldiers benefit. Another similarity between both of them is that they're experienced in what they do, and have
COMPARATIVE COMMENTARY -Malcolm Cowleys essay The View and When I grow old by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
COMPARATIVE COMMENTARY The first passage, "when I grow old", is a poem written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in 1929. It describes how she will be living when she becomes an old woman, letting the reader know that she lived a "hurried life" and had many "busy days", and tries to compensate those years by living in "wisdom" and "peace". This poetic passage shows the reader that being an old person can be a good thing and that we shouldn't be afraid of it. On the other hand, the second passage, which is an adaptation from Malcolm Cowley's essay "The View" from 80, written in 1976, shows a different panorama. This prose extract narrates the bad things about being an old person, such as, among others, health problems. It shows the reader how to know to realise if he is getting old and how his behaviour will be. Both texts share a general audience as they are directed both to children, adults, and old aged people. They show different realities that people can pass through, a good one, were you will live happy, and a bad one, were you will live with "aching bones". The purpose of the first passage is to transmit feelings and experiences in a positive way, were people ages in a peaceful environment; while the purpose of the second text is to advice and inform the reader how he would feel when he becomes old, expressing the harsh reality he will be facing. On one hand, the first
Centre Stage
Centre Stage Emotion. Raw emotion raced through her veins. This was it, the big moment finally here. Time for her to step up and take her place at centre stage. All eyes would be on her and she knew it. She thrived off it, that passion, the only thing kept her feeling alive. She took one last slow glance at all the actors, dancers, set, props, costumes and scenery around her. She marvelled at how all of these elements portrayed a seemingly true reality to their audience. She had seen it a hundred times or more; the audience captured and convinced. Only the actors and stagehands knew how false it actually was. A perfected smile pulled itself across her face. She knew this moment was real. That's all that mattered. The royal velvet curtains with trimmings of gold and filled by deep rouge swung open in what seemed like slow motion. All eyes to the stage. Isobelle was seventeen years old, although one would never have thought so to look at her or converse with her. She was wise beyond her years and a favourite with the locals of the town. She was reknowned for her sweet warm nature and brave spirit. Ever since her mother had embarked upon a new romance with a young sailor named Joe, Isobelle was forced to take on the key responsibilities of looking after her sickly father, twelve year old brother, Stephen and three year old baby sister, Mary. At one time her father was very
How does the use of non-standard English in poetry contribute to the construction of its reader's responses?
How does the use of non-standard English in poetry contribute to the construction of its reader's responses? ??? ??? The use of non-standard English in poetry can be used for several effects. I shall be looking at it in conjunction with performance poetry to see how it contributes to the construction of its reader's responses. In particular, I will be looking at Afro-Caribbean-born poets and their work namely John Agard's 'Listen Mr Oxford Don', Grace Nichol's 'Thoughts drifting through the fat black woman's head while having a full bubble bath' and Jean Binta Breeze's 'Arising: for the youth of Azania'. All these poets use non-standard English in their poetry and also incorporate performance into their readings and therefore add a new dimension into the construction. Firstly, I shall talk a little of the traditions of African oral literature. It was transported from the early 17th through to the 19th century from Africa to America and the Caribbean in the form of 'story telling, proverbs, rituals and poems' via the African slaves. Their history is underlined by the loss of their native cultures and languages whereby they then were forced to adopt the English language by their slavers. 'Hence, English was, and continues to be, the language of education, law, government and economics' (Nestor, 2003). Through the years, those who grew up in the Caribbean in particular,
