Clarification and Help on this English Question
Hello,
I have just started a new English Course as I wish to obtain some fundamental skills that seem to be eluding me even though I am a native speaker. This course is designed to help you achieve (at least) the UK's GCSE standard in English grade C and above. Embarrassingly, I am stumped on the very first question.
I have two questions that I would like advise with if that is suitable for this forum. I have linked to the two small texts the question refers to.
Firstly, here are the texts:
Text A:
Launching yourself off a sea cliff into the water below is the latest craze among bored teenagers looking for summertime kicks. But how long will it be before ‘tombstoning’ claims its first victim?
The question asks "Read Text A: 'A Leap into Danger'. How has the writer crafted the opening paragraph to attract the reader?"
"Tip: You may want to consider:
The style of writing
The vocabulary
The use of any literary devices."
My questions are,
- How would you begin to answer this/What do I need to look for? Regrettably, I'm beginning to realise that this study course is literally a pretend exam with little or no teaching or explaining, so in essence, I am still missing that thing needed to answer these types of questions. I am aware of English grammar, subtleties, tonality, etc, but for whatever reason I am unable to think of a way for detecting and explaining the usage of language to accurately answer the question. My mind is completely blank...which is frightening.
I can see the writer uses a rhetorical question at the end. There are a couple of interesting choices of vocabulary, for example ‘launching’ which gives the image of a long and powered jump. There are polar opposites of vocabulary such as bored/craze and kicks/victim (positive/exciting against negative).
Am I on the right track here? Obviously, I want to explain the reason behind these and why they are working.
Does anyone have any guidance? This is only question 1 of many and is a practice test, so I am not looking to cheat. I am however, looking for instructions or something to help my brain go "ah ha!" that's what I'm not doing, so I can at least start asking myself the right questions in order to start working correctly come exam time. I think my biggest issue is overthinking and a lack of confidence in answering something that is somewhat opinionated (even if the answers are factual).
Thank you all.
Top answer
You are on the right track. Look for the words, phrases, or sentences that hit you emotionally. Don't think but pay attention to your feelings.
- You are on the right track.
- Look for the words, phrases, or sentences that hit you emotionally.
- Don't think but pay attention to your feelings.
- Read the passage several times and "feel" it.
- The words that seem most powerful carry the "nonverbal" message the writer is trying to convey.
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You are on the right track.
Look for the words, phrases, or sentences that hit you emotionally. Don't think but pay attention to your feelings. Read the passage several times and "feel" it. The words that seem most powerful carry the "nonverbal" message the writer is trying to convey.
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