Menu A has a very distinctive difference to Menu B when it comes to the use of grammar, lexis and graphology. Firstly, menu A's language is an informal register, aimed towards local visitors from the area that the care is set in. This is apparent due to the use of colloquial language, 'bacon barm'. This is a significant feature of the menu as even I didn't know what a 'bacon barn' is, meaning that I cannot understand the language that must be used in the area that the cafe is set. The use of slang and accommodation also demonstrates the informality of this menu. The menu includes words such as 'hot-pot', where the preposition has been taken out to make the menu seem more friendly and punchy to the reader.
Menu B is however a very different style of menu, as the menu is clearly for an expensive dinner menu. The interesting use of grammar in menu B conveys the more formal register as opposed to text A, 'masked in a pink peppercorn sauce...'. The use of adjectives to describe the cuisine is put into complex sentences to appeal to the audience and to tempt them. The language techniques such as alliteration, 'peeled prawns' to enhance the purpose of the menu- to persuade.
Monday 20 October 2014
Wednesday 8 October 2014
Top Tips on How to Start a Narrative
Have you ever just stared at a blank page, biting your nails and rolling your eyes impatiently, waiting for ideas to come to you when trying to start a narrative? Me too. Instead of staring at my computer screen, achieving nothing productive, instead, I searched online some tips on how to start a narrative to try and provoke some ideas for my own narrative. I managed to successfully write my narrative with a continuous flow of ideas, so here some of my top tips to getting started!
Make sure you have created a full profile about your character- You can't write a narrative without knowing your characters inside out; their name, age, personality, likes, dislikes, their reactions and mannerisms etc. You will find knowing these tiny intricate details about your character will help build the narrative when describing scenes, whether it's in first person, second person or third person.
Decide and plan the basic frame of your narrative- Decide whether you're writing your narrative from a first, second or third person perspective, as well as what tense you want the story to be in. This is very important as it could determine where you start your story- that something has already happened and the reader is in the middle of it, then flashing back to the past to finally get to the present of the situation you are in now? Or a story of past events?
Think ahead- You don't need to know the exact details of your story, just the basic frame of it, and make up the finer details on the way. Keep a notebook next to your computer, so that when you are writing, if any ideas or description quotes spring to your mind, make sure you write them down so you can later on refer to them- trust me, this helped me a lot!
Set yourself in the scene- To help write your narrative, perhaps write about something you do often or you can relate to. For example, my character in my story was sat on a bus, and I get the bus regularly. By knowing what the character feels like and what situation they are in, it enabled me to be able to describe the intricate details that people are familiar with, but don't necessarily notice until you point it out.
Don't rush- If you are frustrated about not knowing where to go with your narrative, don't get too annoyed. Try and think of some ideas, but don't force ideas and panic- it's okay, writer's block is common, so don't fret too much! Just keep a notebook next to you at all times, even just in your bag in the house, or even on your bedside table, so that if you ever you experience something or think of an idea you could use, jot it down in your notebook- of you don't you probably will forget it, or forget the fine details about it at least. A lot of writers use their dreams or inspirations from their dreams to write a novel, so keep a notebook handy.
Don't rely on dialogue too much to start off your narrative- While starting a narrative with dialogue is a strong start, don't rely on it too much- it is so common, you don't want to fall into the trap of copying everyone else. Try to find a more original start to your story, you can do this by deciding depending on what your story will be about. Don't be afraid to try something new or daring.
Make sure you have created a full profile about your character- You can't write a narrative without knowing your characters inside out; their name, age, personality, likes, dislikes, their reactions and mannerisms etc. You will find knowing these tiny intricate details about your character will help build the narrative when describing scenes, whether it's in first person, second person or third person.
Decide and plan the basic frame of your narrative- Decide whether you're writing your narrative from a first, second or third person perspective, as well as what tense you want the story to be in. This is very important as it could determine where you start your story- that something has already happened and the reader is in the middle of it, then flashing back to the past to finally get to the present of the situation you are in now? Or a story of past events?
Think ahead- You don't need to know the exact details of your story, just the basic frame of it, and make up the finer details on the way. Keep a notebook next to your computer, so that when you are writing, if any ideas or description quotes spring to your mind, make sure you write them down so you can later on refer to them- trust me, this helped me a lot!
Set yourself in the scene- To help write your narrative, perhaps write about something you do often or you can relate to. For example, my character in my story was sat on a bus, and I get the bus regularly. By knowing what the character feels like and what situation they are in, it enabled me to be able to describe the intricate details that people are familiar with, but don't necessarily notice until you point it out.
Don't rush- If you are frustrated about not knowing where to go with your narrative, don't get too annoyed. Try and think of some ideas, but don't force ideas and panic- it's okay, writer's block is common, so don't fret too much! Just keep a notebook next to you at all times, even just in your bag in the house, or even on your bedside table, so that if you ever you experience something or think of an idea you could use, jot it down in your notebook- of you don't you probably will forget it, or forget the fine details about it at least. A lot of writers use their dreams or inspirations from their dreams to write a novel, so keep a notebook handy.
Don't rely on dialogue too much to start off your narrative- While starting a narrative with dialogue is a strong start, don't rely on it too much- it is so common, you don't want to fall into the trap of copying everyone else. Try to find a more original start to your story, you can do this by deciding depending on what your story will be about. Don't be afraid to try something new or daring.
I hope that a few of my tips help, good luck and enjoy writing!
Monday 6 October 2014
Child Language Acquisition
Looking at the transcript between Sophie at the age of 2 years and 4 months, and the transcript where she is at 3 years and 5 months, it is clear that the first transcript of her at a younger age is at the telegraphic stage. This is evident by the use of incorrect possessive pronouns that she uses, "me want that", as well as the use of contextual language, missing out the language that joins the sentence together. There is also a use of accommodation as well as colloquial slang, "bissy", which could cause some confusion if you are not aware of the context. Similarly to this, Sophie seems to be in the two word stage, "read that", meaning that actions or context is also needed. This links with theorist Basil Bernstein's view on language, that children acquire the restricted code, meaning that they use the basic language that further means that you need to be aware of the context to fully understand what they are talking about, whereas elaborated code possibly develops later on, where the listener does not need to know the context of the subject that is being spoken about, as the use of full sentences gives the full meaning.
However looking at the transcript where Sophie is a year and 1 month older, there are some clear developments and changes, moving her into the post-telegraphic stage, such as the use of inversions, "is it dark outside". This proposes a question and she understands the use of the term. She proves that she is confident with the use of inversions again, "can I borrow your corder", with the additional use of an auxiliary in "can", and colloquial language/slang, "corder", that is not entirely clear about the context still, but the reader can still assume that perhaps she meant a recorder, however will never be entirely sure. There are uses of concrete nouns, "piano", "shoes", as well as abstract nouns, "colour", "ring up", "tomorrow", which is clear that she understands the concepts of concrete and abstract nouns, unlike the telegraphic stage where children tend to get confused with concrete and abstract nouns.
However looking at the transcript where Sophie is a year and 1 month older, there are some clear developments and changes, moving her into the post-telegraphic stage, such as the use of inversions, "is it dark outside". This proposes a question and she understands the use of the term. She proves that she is confident with the use of inversions again, "can I borrow your corder", with the additional use of an auxiliary in "can", and colloquial language/slang, "corder", that is not entirely clear about the context still, but the reader can still assume that perhaps she meant a recorder, however will never be entirely sure. There are uses of concrete nouns, "piano", "shoes", as well as abstract nouns, "colour", "ring up", "tomorrow", which is clear that she understands the concepts of concrete and abstract nouns, unlike the telegraphic stage where children tend to get confused with concrete and abstract nouns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)