1 was a tricky passage as it required students to think harder than usual.

I predict this is the new path ofCommunication Studies, no longer are students going tojust read the extract once and see the languagetechniques and strategies jumping out at them but nowthey will have to read and read again. Fear not students, as usual a writer always usesstrategies and language techniques/devices to achievethe purpose or to make the main point...always. A writercannotwrite without these three things re.Strategies/techniques, a specific purpose and a mainpoint! Back to 2009 Module 1, many students were caughtlooking only for language devices and techniques andwhen they did not uncover any they became desperateand wrote the first things that came to their mind. Theywere right in believing that there must be some tool inthe extract but they were wrong in believing that this toolwas only language techniques. In this case there weremainly strategies hardly any of the former. Rule No. 1 when there are none or few language orliterary devices or techniques look for strategies as it was in this essay. Rule No 2. A writer always uses the techniques andstrategies to make and emphasise the main point andsecondly a writer always use techniques and strategies toachieve the purpose. Identify the purpose and main pointcorrectly and more than ever
you will be able to identifythe techniques and strategies used to help achieve thepurpose. Your main idea should mention that the only way womencan break away from the vicious cycle of illiteracy,poverty, repeated childbearing is by becoming educated.The important thing here is to realize that there is astrong correlation between education and illiteracy. Remember that the main idea and the writer s purposeare connected; so if the main idea is that education is thekey to breaking the stranglehold of that illiteracy,poverty, lack of a political voice and a voice on the holdthen the purpose of this piece is to make readers aware/to sensitize them/ to persuade them of the main idea. Soanything that says something like the purpose of thispiece is to sensitize readers to the fact that education isthe only means for women to escape/break away fromtheclutches of poverty,illiteracy, repeated childbearing/unplanned pregnancy etc. So CAPE always asks for you to discuss strategies andlanguage techniques and most times the languagetechniques are easy to find but in CAPE 2009 you lookedand looked and some of you only saw ...repetition of education and illiteracy and if you looked really hardyou would have seencontrast of the effects of illiteracyand then you saw nothing else...and you were stuck. Listen in a case like this CAPE is not mad...they won t askyou for something if it wasn t there but you need to besmart...go back to the question. If you look you will seewhat are always there...strategies and languagetechniques...never language techniques alone! So ifthere are no more language techniques then you need to identify and discuss strategies...it s as simple as that! And so in this particular question students needed toidentify and discuss strategies such as the way theinformation was laid out. It was done as a list providingthe benefits of education; there were examples ofthe effects of illiteracy from around the world,statisticalinformation/data,use ofnonemotive/academic language, the use of a reputableinstitution as UNESCO, and the presentation offactual information.

Another BIG CLUE can be as it was in this case... if thereis a lot of statistical data from a serious institution suchas UNESCO believe this it most likely will not containsuch things as hyperbole (if the organization is asreputable as this one is then the organization will notexaggerate the information!), it hardly will have emotiveword (the language is academic..can you imagine thosestaid, serious statisticians writing in emotive words?),hardly likely to have all those easy devices as simile,personification and metaphor. Seriously though don t panic in the first essay, to panicin module one essay is most likely going to set off anegative reaction in the next two essays. So keep yourcool, use your head and think!

CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIESGUIDELINES FOR WRITING MODULE ONE ESSAYNB: Every year the CXC report continues to lament the fact that students do badlyon this essay. This happens because studentseither write insufficientinformation on the effectivenessof the devicesor they are confused between thewriters main point and the writers purpose.Tips on distinguishing the Main Point/Main Idea and the WritersPurpose/Intention/Intent: Remember that the main point/Idea is what the writer iswriting about, theidea that is coming out from what you are reading; if youwere asked what the piece was about, whatever you respond that should be themain idea. TheMain Idea/Point is NEVER a VERBso it can never be stated likethis...The main point/idea of this passage is to inform... If you have done thisthen your answer will be incorrect. Always remember the main point/idea is never to do something rather it is stated like this... The main point/idea of the piece isthat students have problems answering

the Module One essay....On the other handthe writers purpose/intent is ALWAYS STATED AS AVERB! It is what the writer wants happen as a result of your reading the piece.So the writer wants to inform the reader of..., to entertain the reader..., tocriticise ... To argue that..., To convince readers that.... Remember that allwriters write with a purpose/intent in mind which is mainly to shift the readersfrom point A to point B!If you understand and can identify these two different concept s you are on your way to satisfying one- third of the essay requirements. The next two thirds arecorrectly identifyingthe language strategies /techniques/devices that the writer employed to help her achieve the Main Point/ Idea and the Purpose/Intent. Toneis the attitude of the author towards the topic that he/she is writing about.One easy way of understanding tone is to ask what attitude did I get from readingthe authors words? Always use Adjectives to describe Tone! Examples:humorous, mysterious, creepy, straight-forward etc. Some of the techniques that the writer employs areSimile, Metaphor, Personification, Alliteration, Imagery, RhetoricalQuestion, Conversationaltone, Anecdote, Historical data, Statistical data, Repetition, and Humor. Once you have identified a technique you need to write it out (do not give linealone) and then you must write aboutthe effectiveness of the device, in otherwords what is this device adding to the piece, how does it appeal to the sensesand therefore to your understanding and most importantly how is it aidingthe author to achieve her purpose and expand her main point?Effectivenesscan also be measured in terms of Do the strategies chosen by theauthor match his/her purpose?For example when a writer uses the strategy ofhistorical data its effectiveness isto add/lend credibility to what she is saying as a reader can easily check therecords. Conversational tone(found inanecdoteand use of Personal Pronouns)on the other hand allows for the reader to be drawn into the piece as one feels thatthe writer is striving to make us comfortable with the piece.The challenge isNOT TO DEFINEthe devices but rather toidentifyappropriateexamples (use quotation marks) from the passage to support and thensay how they add or why you believe that the writer used them and how in rarecases they took away from the piece.As with every essay one must haveproper organisation. There must be anopening, a body for the content and a conclusion where no new ideas must beintroduced. The correct use of transitionalwords will enhance your essay. Refrainfrom making your essay read like a list of devices. For example do not say the first,the second etc.) Do not analyse the piece by its paragraphs but by thestrategies/techniques found. Depending on the length of the example one woulddo,keeping in mind the word limit of the essay and keeping within it.More examples of strategies/techniques: Use of anecdotal responses/examples

Rhetorical questions Report of factual data from websites Use of expert/specialist adviceuse of step by step process approach Information from creditable source/s Changes in writers tone Moving from specific to general Addressing the audience directly Use of Creole and Standard Use of contrast/comparison Use of humour Analogy to emphasise the idea of for difference In-depth/intensive reporting of characters thoughts for better understanding Examples of effects Examples of benefits Language techniques Noticeable use of things like contractions in dialogue Use of exclamations gosh, hey, whoa Repetitions Use of simple/short sentences Use of dispassionate academic language Use of emotive language Finally, the best way to overcome this challenge is to practice writing this typeof essay! ACTIVITY1. Identify other intentions for writing. (writers intention/purpose for writing)2. What are other Adjectives that can be used to describe a writers Tone?

Look at the questions and make a comment that connects all or as many of the questions as possible. When answering each question specifically the tip is that you want to make a GENERAL statement thats acts as the Intro to the paragraphto frame this Intro you ask yourself what do I know generally about what the questions is asking for. Using Module 2 from 2004 from Paper 2 There are many factors that influence a writers language choice; some of these are the context, the audience and the message content. In Alicia McKenzies Pinkie this is certainly the case as we see as the choice of language is Creole in the Basilect variation. a. The relation between language choice (Creole) and context/setting/situation (the beauty parlour) : context influence language choice. The context in Communication refers to the place (a hairdressing salon) and the grouping of people (interpersonal conversation). The term language choice implies that there are other languages that could have been used but this was specifically chosen. In this excerpt the language choice was creole in the Basilect and Mesolect variation. Because the context is casual the language is casual. The persons in the conversation are friends/acquaintances and as such they are comfortable to speak to each other in their mother tongue. Creole is appropriate as Pinkie and Ms Daisy obviously are West Indians and as such when the Creole is spoken by either of them it is understood. Examples are:

b. As with question (a) there are factors such as audience, content and nationality which when taken into consideration lend to the appropriateness of a narrators choice of language. In this case the narrator uses the Basilect variation as seen in I start to tell her bout a whole heap of strikes in England .... Who are the people whod read this? Most likely it will be West Indians. Pinkie was complaining about her birth country in creole and so one expects the narrator to respond likewise in creole. Also there is a perception that creole will get the true meaning and feelings across. For example in the opening sentence Pinkie says that is why this country willnevah get ahead, nevah get ahead. A reader immediately knows that she is angry and in a complaining mode. So it is appropriate because of these main reasons: they are West Indians friends, the topic lends itself to complaint, and they are in a casual/informal setting. c. Is Pinkies language linguistically or non-linguistically motivated? How do we identify linguistic motivation? When we are asked for linguistic factors you should write about such factors as Phonetics how the speaker articulates their speech sounds e.g. Guyanese roll their r And Trinidadians do not Phonology - how the speaker systematically uses sounds in language / the sounds of words Morphology how words are structured or formed e.g. dog, yes, swing or un-happi-ness Syntax how the speaker constructs sentences or how words are organized e.g. phrases, clauses, sentences Semantics how the speaker makes meaning of the words in the sentence e.g In the US most people refer to death as passed whereas in Trinidad we say died or in the US they say pop for soda and in Trinidad we say soft drink or sweet drink and sometimes you may even hear seet drink Non linguistic factors can persons believing: that Americans and British speak the same way that learning to speak in a foreign language by just listening to the television or being in that country for a short holiday or from being around foreigners regularly e.g. a Hotel worker, tour guide that an accent is all that is needed to learn a language d. A video presentation of any piece will enhance it especially in the area of clearing up fuzziness of words, phrases and situation. (give examples from the excerpt here)

COMMUNICATION MODULE 3 ANSWER

SAMPLE FOR MODULE 3 (SPEAKING and WRITING) CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIES SCENARIO: A group of farmers from a rural village in your country has invited you to give the Opening Address at their workshop titled The Effects of Harmful Chemicals. In an essay, discuss how you will develop your presentation looking specifically at: I)The communication challenges that you most likely will encounter as you address the members of this rural farming community II)The language variety, register and vocabulary that you will take into consideration III)Such factors as your organizational strategies, visual/audio visual aids and any other resources that you may use in your presentation. ANSWER oMain challenges can be in the form of some farmers being unwilling to make a paradigm shift as they prefer to stay doing and using the same old chemicals. Another way this can be said is that among the farmers have an unwillingness to embrace/adopt change oThere is a likelihood that some farmers may harbour mistrust for outsiders coming into their village oLack of interest /an air of complacency which can lead to boredom with your presentation oThe challenge of how do you get the message of the need for change from harmful chemicals that they have been using for so long to newer and safer/more effective chemicals/ even eco-friendly chemicals oThe challenge of not coming across to the farmers as either too educated and complex or on the other hand making your message too simplistic/ finding the right balance is the key oThe register can be moved between casual and formal oThe content of your presentation must be relevant and clearly defined oPresentation must not be too long as to bore and confused oFind out before hand if there were other issues dealing with harmful effects of the chemicals oTry to fit in with the audience, pay attention to dress code do not over dress etc ...be as natural as possible oWhen speaking make eye contact with the audience oProvide a question answer session so as to give the farmers time to have their say oAsk them to work with you sensitive to their needs and concerns oRemember that your visual aids are just that aids do not make them your focus! oYour presentation must have a clear introduction, body and Conclusion