CAPE 2009 Communication Studies Paper 2 Module

CAPE 2009 Communication Studies Paper 2 Module

1 was a tricky passage as it required students to think
harder than usual. I predict this is the new path of
Communication Studies, no longer are students going to
just read the extract once and see the language
techniques and strategies jumping out at them but now
they will have to read and read again.
Fear not students, as usual a writer always uses
strategies and language techniques/devices to achieve
the purpose or to make the main point...always. A writer
cannot write without these three things re.
Strategies/techniques, a specific purpose and a main
point!
Back to 2009 Module 1, many students were caught
looking only for language devices and techniques and
when they did not uncover any they became desperate
and wrote the first things that came to their mind. They
were right in believing that there must be some tool in
the extract but they were wrong in believing that this tool
was only language techniques. In this case there were
mainly strategies hardly any of the former.
Rule No. 1 when there are none or few language or
literary devices or techniques look for strategies as it was
in this essay.
Rule No 2. A writer always uses the techniques and
strategies to make and emphasise the main point and
secondly a writer always use techniques and strategies to
achieve the purpose. Identify the purpose and main point
correctly and more than ever you will be able to identify
the techniques and strategies used to help achieve the
purpose.
Your main idea should mention that the only way women
can 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 a
strong correlation between education and illiteracy.
Remember that the main idea and the writer’s purpose
are connected; so if the main idea is that education is the
key to breaking the stranglehold of that illiteracy,
poverty, lack of a political voice and a voice on the hold
then the purpose of this piece is to make readers aware/
to sensitize them/ to persuade them of the main idea. So
anything that says something like the purpose of this
piece is to sensitize readers to the fact that education is
the only means for women to escape/break away from
the clutches of poverty, illiteracy, repeated
childbearing/unplanned pregnancy etc.
So CAPE always asks for you to discuss strategies and
language techniques and most times the language
techniques are easy to find but in CAPE 2009 you looked
and looked and some of you only saw ...repetition of
“education” and “illiteracy” and if you looked really hard
you would have seen contrast of the effects of illiteracy
and then you saw nothing else...and you were stuck.
Listen in a case like this CAPE is not mad...they won’t ask
you for something if it wasn’t there but you need to be
smart...go back to the question. If you look you will see
what are always there...strategies and language
techniques...never language techniques alone! So if
there 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 to
identify and discuss strategies such as the way the
information was laid out. It was done as a list providing
the benefits of education; there were examples of
the effects of illiteracy from around the world,
statistical information/data, use of non
emotive/academic language, the use of a reputable
institution as UNESCO, and the presentation of
factual information.
Another BIG CLUE can be as it was in this case... if there
is a lot of statistical data from a serious institution such
as UNESCO believe this it most likely will not contain
such things as hyperbole (if the organization is as
reputable as this one is then the organization will not
exaggerate the information!), it hardly will have emotive
word (the language is academic..can you imagine those
staid, 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 panic
in module one essay is most likely going to set off a
negative reaction in the next two essays. So keep your
cool, use your head and think!