APPLIED ENGLISH STUDIES:

Further Explorations
Further Explorations

TUTORIAL LETTER 501 FOR ENG2601

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 CONTENTS
APPLIED ENGLISH STUDIES:

Further Explorations
Further Explorations

TUTORIAL LETTER 501 FOR ENG2601

WELCOMEv
Study unit 1: COHERENCE AND COHESION 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION1
1.2 TEXTUAL COHESION 2
1.3 REPETITION COHESION 2
1.4 SYNONYMY COHESION 3
1.5 ANTONYMY COHESION 4
1.6 COLLOCATION COHESION 5
1.7 GRAMMATICAL COHESION 6
1.8 COHERENCE10
1.9 INTERTEXTUALITY12
1.10 SUMMARY13
1.11 REFERENCES14
Study unit 2: LANGUAGE AND MEANING 15
2.1 INTRODUCTION15
2.2 INTENTION AND MEANING 16
2.3 CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD 17
2.4 CONCEPTUAL AND ASSOCIATIVE MEANING 17
2.5 CONNOTATIONS: A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 18
2.6 CONTEXT19
2.7 LINGUISTIC CONTEXT AND PHYSICAL CONTEXT 19
2.8 AMBIGUITY21
2.9 GENRE22
2.10 REGISTER24
2.11 CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS 26
2.12 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT 31
2.13 REFERENCES:31
Study unit 3: LANGUAGE SYSTEMS 32
3.1 INTRODUCTION32
3.2 TEXTS AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS 32
3.3 GENRE33
3.4 NARRATIVES AND NARRATION 33
3.5 TYPES OF NARRATIVE 34
3.6 STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVES 34
3.7 COMMON FEATURES OF NARRATIVE TEXTS 34

ENG2601/501/0/2021(iii)
 3.8 NARRATIVE TEXT ORGANISATION AND
STRUCTURE35
3.9 NARRATIVE THERAPY 36
3.10 A DIFFERENT SENSE OF THE WORD “NARRATIVE”37
3.11 ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS 38
3.12 PERSUASIVE/ARGUMENTATION TECHNIQUES 39
3.13 LINKING WORDS/CONNECTORS/DISCOURSE
MARKERS40
3.14 KINDS OF LINKING WORDS 40
3.15 FACTUAL VS EMOTIVE CONTENT 42
3.16 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT 43
Study unit 4: ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND
VARIATION 44
4.1 INTRODUCTION44
4.2 ENGLISH AND ITS GLOBAL VARIETIES 45
4.3 THE AMERICAN VARIETY OF ENGLISH 45
4.4 THE PRAGMATIC VALUE OF ENGLISH 46
4.5 THE STANDARD VARIETY OF ENGLISH 47
4.6 THE SOUTH AFRICAN VARIETY OF ENGLISH 47
4.7 SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH DIALECTS 48
4.8 LANGUAGE VARIETY AND SOCIAL CONTEXT 49
4.9 INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGE VARIETIES: IDIOLECTS 50
4.10 SPECIALIST VARIETIES OF ENGLISH 50
4.11 SPOKEN VS WRITTEN VARIETIES OF ENGLISH 52
4.12 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT 53
4.13 REFERENCES53
Study unit 5: ACADEMIC ENGLISH 54
5.1 INTRODUCTION54
5.2 ACADEMIC WRITING 54
5.3 SUGGESTED ANSWER 55
5.4 ERRORS OF PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR 56
5.5 ERRORS/SHORTCOMINGS IN REFERENCING 57
5.6 ESSAY WRITING 58
5.7 CRITERIA USED TO ASSESS YOUR ESSAYS 58
5.8 PARAGRAPHS59
5.9 HOW TO APPROACH THE WRITING OF AN
ACADEMIC ESSAY 60
5.10 PLAGIARISM62
5.11 REFERENCING STYLES 62
5.12 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT 65
5.13 REFERENCES65
5.14 CONCLUSION TO THIS MODULE: ENG2601 65

FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITIES AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS 66

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR ESSAY WRITING 85

 1 WELCOME

This UNISA language course has been designed to develop your ability to read,
interpret and analyse texts, as well as to respond to them effectively. By providing
theoretical guidance on language fundamentals such as how to produce grammatically
cohesive sentences, to more advanced skills such as structured textual analysis, we
hope this study guide is a helpful go-to reference as you begin to delve deeper into
academic English studies.

Please fulfil your requirements by doing the prescribed reading and completing
the activities in this study guide. These self-study sections have been structured to
provide a way to test your learning after each new content unit has been covered, so
make use of them as a way to check your understanding as you progress. You will
find suggested answers, where applicable, in the final section of this study guide.

This study guide is structured as follows:

• UNIT 1: COHERENCE AND COHESION

– Lexical cohesion
– Grammatical cohesion
– Coherence
– Intertextuality

• UNIT 2: LANGUAGE AND MEANING

– Intention and meaning

– Connotations and denotations
– Context
– Genre and analysis

• UNIT 3: LANGUAGE SYSTEMS

– Discourse analysis
– Discourse markers
– Narrative texts
– Persuasive texts and argumentative texts

• UNIT 4: LANGUAGE USE AND VARIATION

– British vs American English

– South African English
– Standard vs non-standard English
– Specialised uses of English and idiolects

• UNIT 5: ACADEMIC ENGLISH

– Academic conventions
– Building arguments
– Using research and evidence
– Academic essay writing

ENG2601/501(v)
WELCOME

• FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITIES AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS

– Important note: attempt the activities on your own before consulting

this section. It contains thorough answers that are designed to function as
supplementary study notes as you progress through this course.

As you can see from the above breakdown, we shall begin at the “micro” level of
sentence cohesion and progress to providing guidance on the “macro” skills of
using academic English authoritatively and writing fluid literature essays that make
distinctive arguments about the text(s) they are discussing.

We hope that you find this course both enjoyable and enriching.

(vi)
 1 UNIT 1
1 COHERENCE AND COHESION

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this study unit, you should be able to:

• define the following key concepts: cohesion; cohesive elements; grammatical

cohesion; reference cohesion; substitution cohesion; ellipsis cohesion and
lexical coherence
• explain the relationship between cohesion and coherence
• apply your knowledge of these concepts, including the use of linking words
to build coherence
• describe the role of grammatical and lexical cohesion in texts, and how these
elements shape the meaning and unity of a text
• understand the concept of intertextuality, and be able to use intertextual
references to enrich your analysis of comparative texts

PRESCRIBED READING
The parts from your prescribed texts which are relevant to this unit are:

• Mullany, L & Stockwell, P. Introducing English language, pp. 20–22, 66.

• Jones, R. H. Discourse analysis, pp. 42–49; 98–103.

NB: If you use different editions from the ones prescribed, then the page
numbers would differ from those listed.

These sections should be read in conjunction with the study material that follows.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In this study unit, we are going to explore the concept of cohesion in texts. Cohesion
is vital to any text in order for it to be understood by the reader; cohesion is the
“glue” that binds words and phrases together and enables the text to make sense.

We will discuss grammatical cohesion and look at the four types of grammatical
cohesion. We will also discuss lexical cohesion. In addition, we will look at the
subtle differences between cohesion and coherence – and then we will progress our
discussion to the level of analysing how texts may “talk” to each other by focusing
on intertextuality.

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1.2 TEXTUAL COHESION

There are two main types of textual cohesion: grammatical cohesion and lexical
cohesion.

We are going to look at each one to see how cohesion is achieved in a text. Let us
begin by discussing lexical cohesion.

The word lexical relates to words and the choice of vocabulary in a text as opposed
to the grammatical aspects of the text. Remember earlier we said that cohesion is the
“glue” that brings sentences together? Thus, lexical cohesion is the way words (and
the choice of vocabulary) are used to create a cohesion in a text. Let us first look at
the different types of lexical cohesion.

1.3 REPETITION COHESION

This involves the repetition of key words (or related words) to help create cohesion
in a text. Consider the following text:

In many countries, including South Africa, taking part in the process of democracy is a
fundamental human right. To be a democratic citizen, you need access to facts, and you need
to be able to rely on these facts to influence your decision-making. This is why fake news is
such a threat to democracy: it deliberately obscures facts and thereby takes away the tools
that citizens require in order to take part in the democratic process.

• Can you see how the writer has repeated certain words in the text?
• What effect do you think the repetition of words in the above text has?
• How has the writer’s argument been strengthened through the use of repetition?

ACTIVITY 1
Identify all the occurrences of repetition cohesion in the text below by underlining
them. Write down the lexical items. Do you regard this text as lexically cohesive?

Text

Children do not require any explicit teaching, but simply seem to pick up language
quickly and effortlessly from hearing it spoken around them and participating in
conversational interaction with others. First words emerge when children are about
one year old, although this differs slightly from child to child. Children seem to
be better equipped for picking up languages than adults, as you will know if you
have experienced the hard work, slow progress and frustrations of learning a new
language in later life. But adults have an advantage over children in that they have
more advanced abilities and better concentrations spans.

Source: Study Guide for LIN2035 (2001:35)

The examples of lexical repetition in the text are:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Comment about the effect of this repetition cohesion:

2
 ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

1.4 SYNONYMY COHESION

A second type of lexical cohesion is synonymy, where words are used that have the
same or similar meaning. Examples of synonyms are:

• beautiful: attractive, lovely, pretty

• unhappy: miserable, depressed, sad
• sofa: couch
• murder: kill

As you can see, some synonyms may not have the exact same meaning. If we take
our example of murder and kill, to murder someone involves intention, while you can
kill someone by accident. While murder and kill are slightly different in meaning, they
are still similar enough for us to recognise that they mean more or less the same
thing (i.e. someone ends up dead).

Often, the slight distinctions between the meaning(s) of the words used can reveal
a deeper insight into the topic. Let’s look at an example of synonymy cohesion more
closely.

The prevalence of HIV and AIDS remains one of South Africa’s key health challenges.
At the end of 2018, approximately 13.1% of the country’s population were living with the
disease; this translates to 7.52 million people being affected by the virus across the country
in the calendar year. As elsewhere in the world, the people most impacted by the pandemic
are adults aged between 15 and 49 years.

• Identify the instances of synonymy in the text.

• How do they serve to provide variation in the extract?
• How does our understanding of the topic broaden or deepen because of the use
of synonymy?

ACTIVITY 2
Identify the cohesive elements in the text below by first underlining and then writing
them down in the space provided.

I am an African.

I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the
rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing
seasons that define the face of our native land.

My body has frozen in our frosts and in our latter-day snows. It has thawed
in the warmth of our sunshine and melted in the heat of the midday sun. The

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crack and the rumble of the summer thunders, lashed by startling lightning,
have been a cause both of trembling and of hope.

Source: Statement of Deputy President TM Mbeki, on behalf of the ANC, on the occasion
of the adoption by the Constitutional Assembly of The Republic of South Africa Constitution
Bill 1996, 8 May 1996

Examples of synonymy in this text are:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Comment on the effect of this synonymy cohesion:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

1.5 ANTONYMY COHESION

A similar example of textual cohesion is antonymy cohesion. Antonyms are words
that have opposite meanings. Some basic examples of antonyms are:

• slow – fast
• large – small
• interior – exterior
• bride – groom

Antonyms often belong to the same semantic field: for example, bride and groom
share a meaning in the sense that both are involved in a wedding ceremony. Thus,
although the meanings are “opposite” in a sense (bride = female, groom = male),
by sharing semantic features, they create cohesion in a text.

Let’s look at how the antonyms in the passage below create cohesion. Notice how
they reinforce the semantic field and strengthen the point that the writer is making:

Some of the events will take place at night. However, most of them will be held during the day
when it is safest for everyone to attend. An effort has been made to create inclusive teams. The
team members will be black, white, old, young, male, female, abled and disabled. A truly
rainbow nation team will represent South Africa. Plans have been made to integrate both
deaf and hearing players into this team by teaching the hearing players basic sign language.

• Identify the instances of antonymy cohesion in the text.

• How do these examples develop the semantic field of the extract?
• How does this help to reinforce the point that the writer is making?

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 ACTIVITY 3
Identify the cohesive elements in the text below by first underlining and then writing
them down in the space provided.

Maybe the first clue was a disturbing detail; a crack that ran through an
otherwise pristine wall, or a set of broken windows in an office you passed.
Or the fact that the fountain was dry and full of sand at the bottom. And
you slowed down, looking around you with vague anxiety and suddenly it all
came into clear focus. The weeds in the joints of the pavements and bricks,
the grass growing at places in the street, the fused lamps and the empty
shops behind their blank glass fronts and mildew and damp and blistered
paint and the marks of rain on every surface and the slow tumbling down of
solid structures, sometimes grain by grain, sometimes in pieces. And you
were not sure any more of where you were.

Source: The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut, 2003

Examples of antonymy in this text are:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Comment on the effect of this antonymy cohesion:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

1.6 COLLOCATION COHESION

The final type of lexical cohesion that we will concern ourselves with is collocation
cohesion. Collocation is a term to describe words which tend to occur together in
certain contexts: for example, the words education, classroom, lesson and teacher would
most probably occur in a text about teaching. Note that noun-verb pairs may also
form collocations, for example, to prepare a lesson or to write an assignment.

Note that we will return to this concept in greater detail in the following module,
where we focus on language and meaning. Suffice it to note, for now, that collocation
cohesion involves using words that – although distinct in meaning – belong to the
same semantic field. The purpose is to situate the reader in a clear, identifiable context.

It is generally considered that technolog y is a key driver of economic development and a

crucial factor to the Experience Economy. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is unfolding,
and countries need to expand their infrastructure to keep pace with the latest trends in 5G
technologies, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) enhancements, as well as
AV over IP platform delivery.

ENG2601/5015


• Identify the instances of collocation cohesion in the text.

• How do these examples give a clear sense of context to the reader?
• How does this help to reinforce the point that the writer is making?

ACTIVITY 4
Identify the cohesive elements in the text below by first underlining and then writing
them down in the space provided.

At this stage of the liberation process we have become very sensitive to

the role played by the World’s big powers in affecting the direction of that
process. In a sense America – your country has played a shameful role in
her relations with our country.

Given the clear analysis of our problems, the choice is very simple for
America in shaping her policy towards present day South Africa. The interests
of black and white politically have been diametrically opposed to each
other. America’s choice is narrowed down to either entrenching the existing
minority white regime or alternatively assisting in a very definite way, the
attainment of the aspirations of millions of the black population as well as
those of whites of goodwill.

Source: I Write What I Like by Steve Biko, 1978

Examples of collocation in this text are:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Comment on the effect of this collocation cohesion:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

1.7 GRAMMATICAL COHESION

Another important type of textual cohesion is known as grammatical cohesion.
This simply means the use of grammatical elements to create cohesiveness in a text.

Grammatical cohesion refers to the use of grammatical elements to tie a text

together. There are four sub-categories of grammatical cohesion: reference cohesion,
substitution cohesion, ellipsis cohesion and conjunctive cohesion.

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 UNIT 1: Coherence and cohesion

Explanations of each sub-category of grammatical cohesion follows.

1. REFERENCE COHESION

Consider the following sentence:

You can’t see Theo now. He is in a meeting.

In the above sentence, you can see that there is a connection between Theo and he.
Clearly, he refers to Theo – and when you read the sentence, you understand who he
is by referring back to Theo. So, we see that both words (he and Theo) refer to the
same thing – and this is therefore an example of reference cohesion.

Let us look at another example:

Professor Buthulezi went to London for a conference. The weather was freezing there, and
she had to buy a new winter coat.

Can you see that the word there must refer to London (the place), and the pronoun she
must refer to Professor Buthulezi?

There are particular words that are often used for reference purposes. Some common
personal pronouns used include:

I; you (singular); he; she; one; we; you (plural); they; me; him; her; us; there; it.

ACTIVITY 5
Identify and underline the elements of reference cohesion in the text below:

Most South Africans claim they would like to live in a more environmentally
sustainable society, but they are unsure of how to achieve it. The statistics
from 2019 show that they are recycling more, but they are also consuming
more water and have used more fossil fuels over the course of the year.
Managing these resources is crucial for an environmentally sustainable
future for our country, and we must respond to the challenge.

2. SUBSTITUTION COHESION

Substitution cohesion refers to situations where one word (or phrase) is substituted
for another word (or phrase) to avoid direct repetition. Let us look at some examples.

I want to buy a new handbag and I have my eye on that gorgeous green leather one.

In this sentence, you can see how we have substituted the words new handbag with
the word one. We could have written the sentence as follows:

I want to buy a new handbag and I have my eye on that gorgeous green leather new handbag.

Can you see how the first sentence seems to “hang together” better than the second?
The first is less cluttered and avoids unnecessary repetition. Thus, it is easier to
read – showing the important link between the coherence and readability of a text.

ENG2601/501 7


I don’t have a driver’s license, but I am in the process of sorting it out.

In this sentence, we have substituted it for the cumbersome and repetitive driver’s
license. This makes our sentence clearer, easier to read and more coherent.

ACTIVITY 6
Identify and underline the elements of substitution cohesion in the text below:

Most South Africans claim they would like to live in a more environmentally
sustainable society, but they are unsure of how to achieve such a thing. The
statistics from 2019 show that they are recycling more, but they are also
consuming more water and have used more fossil fuels over the course
of the year. Managing these resources is crucial for an environmentally
sustainable future for our country, and we must respond to the challenge.

Note: have you noticed the difference in the occurrence of substitution compared to
reference cohesion? Substitution involves exchangeable terms and not necessarily
a direct grammatical reference to the same object.

3. ELLIPSIS COHESION

Ellipsis cohesion is very similar to substitution; however, whereas with substitution

we swap elements in a sentence that have the same meaning, with ellipsis, we omit
elements altogether. You can think of ellipsis as a kind of “zero substitution”, where
elements are omitted to avoid redundancy.

Consider the following sentence:

There are our two cats. We used to have three....

The word “cats” is omitted because it can be easily understood that the three refers
to cats. If the writer did not use ellipsis, the sentence would read as follows: These
are our two cats. We used to have three cats. Can you see that the second sentence seems
repetitive?

Note that the above sentence makes use of the signature punctuation mark of ellipsis
(…), but that these “three dots” don’t have always to be present:

Mother: Thabo have you been playing in the mud again?

Thabo: Yes, I have.

Thabo’s answer contains an omission. The phrase “been playing in the mud” has been
left out. Ellipsis cohesion is typical in conversation, when yes-no questions are used.

Note: Pay attention and you will notice that ellipsis, like substitution, is less common
in writing, but occurs frequently in conversation.

4. CONJUNCTION COHESION

The term conjunction means joining. Thus, conjunctive cohesion refers to the use
of linking words not only to join sentences together, but also to demonstrate how

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 UNIT 1: Coherence and cohesion

the individual elements of sentences should be linked together. Let us look at some
examples:

Firstly, we should send out the invitations because we are running out of time.

In this sentence, we have used joining words such as firstly and because. We do this to
indicate that a) the first thing we need to do is to send out the invitations, while (b)
the implication is that there are other duties to do, this one is just the priority. The
use of because also c) provides a reason for the action.

Here is the sentence without the conjunctions:

We should send out the invitations. We are running out of time.

Without the conjunctions, our sentences sound fragmented and disjointed. The two
sentences are not joined cohesively together and appear to have nothing to do with
each other.

Here is another example:

I was frustrated that I missed my flight to Cape Town, but at least I was able to catch the
next flight out and that allowed me to be on time for the meeting.

What function do our linking words perform?

• That – gives a reason for the writer being upset

• But – shows the reversal of fortune in the sentence
• And – provides crucial additional information so we can understand the full context

Note: we will return to conjunction – and the crucial role that linking words and
phrases play in language systems – in unit 3. For now, it is enough to recognise these
joining words and how they may aid in creating conjunction cohesion.

ACTIVITY 7
Identify examples of conjunctive cohesion below by underlining them:

Although in many parts of the world smart phones have led to the
democratisation of opportunity, in some developing countries the effect has
been just the opposite. In these countries, access to the internet remains
unequal because of high data costs, and so just because someone has a
smart phone doesn’t mean they can participate in the global ‘always-on’
economy in the same way.

We have seen that grammatical cohesion consists of four subcategories – namely

reference cohesion, substitution cohesion, ellipsis cohesion and conjunctive
cohesion.

Texts that contain more cohesive elements are easier to read and understand
than texts that contain fewer cohesive elements. Research has shown that the
ability to recognise reference cohesion is important for reading comprehension.
Students who could correctly identify the reference elements in their textbooks
had higher pass rates than students who could not. Thus, it is important for a text
to be cohesive because it helps the reader make sense of the text. On the other

ENG2601/501 9


hand, skilled readers are able to correctly identify the cohesive elements and,
therefore, the meaning of a text while they read.

ACTIVITY 8
Identify the types of grammatical cohesion in the sentences below. Write down
the type of grammatical cohesion in the space provided.

(1) Nthuthuzelo has a car, but I don’t have one.

____________________________________________________

(2) The publishers asked who would like to write for the magazine and I told
them that Thuli wants to.

____________________________________________________

(3) I heard the news last night when I was at home, but couldn’t leave in the dark.

____________________________________________________

(4) Sandra and Andiswe went to the Kruger Park for their honeymoon because
she had never seen it.

____________________________________________________

(5) Shoprite has over 450 stores, thus making it the largest in Africa.

____________________________________________________

1.8 COHERENCE
We have seen that textual cohesion can be thought of as how all the grammatical
and lexical elements link one part of a text to another. Coherence is a measure of
how the sentences, and the meanings of the different ideas in the text, relate to each
other logically.

What do we mean when we say a text is coherent? Coherence simply means that you,
the reader or listener, can understand the text. Does the text make sense?

Consider the following text:

Johan woke up. The phone keeps ringing incessantly and she continued to ignore it. “Thank
you for the chocolates, they were delicious!” he told the dog. So that is why they never got
married in Jamaica.

In this example, each sentence on its own is a correct and acceptable English sentence.
However, when we string the sentences together, it no longer makes sense. Thus,
coherence relates to the way in which sentences relate to each other.

• For a text to be considered coherent, each sentence should follow on in a logical

manner.

10
 UNIT 1: Coherence and cohesion

• In longer texts, a clear sense of introduction, body and conclusion should be given.
• Pronouns should clearly refer to people or things that have been introduced
elsewhere in the text.
• The tense of verbs should remain consistent.

Note: we will return to the topic of coherence when we take a closer look at how
to build arguments and construct academic essays in units 3 and 4. For now, it is
enough to:

• recognise the importance of writing logically coherent sentences, and

• identify how elements of lexical and grammatical cohesion can assist in making
writing more coherent.

ACTIVITY 9
Read the following text:

The following is an explanation of how the Khoisan lived many years ago.

The Khoisan were hunters who moved from place to place in search of food.
They were adept at tracking wild animals, which they killed with spears or
arrows. The arrows were tipped with sharp stone or bone, and these weapons
were deadly in the skilled hands of the master hunters.

The Khoisan used to disguise themselves as bushes, buck or ostriches in

order to get close to the herd. During the rainy season, in particular, they
supplemented their diet with food from the veld. This included wild roots,
berries, locusts and fish.

Although not much was recorded about the Khoisan in formal history books,
they have left behind a rich legacy of paintings and other cultural artefacts,
such as musical instruments.

(1) Identify the elements of lexical cohesion that help to make the text coherent.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

(2) Identify the elements of grammatical cohesion that help to make the text
coherent.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

(3) What other features – in terms of its structure, perhaps? – help to make this
text read coherently?

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

ENG2601/50111


____________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 10
• Read pages 20 to 22 of Mullany and Stockwell’s Introducing English language,
as well as pages 42 to 49 of Discourse analysis of Rodney Jones, to recap
what we have learnt so far in this module.
• Complete the activity in Discourse analysis, pages 98 to 101, for a thorough
test of your understanding of these concepts.

1.9 INTERTEXTUALITY
So far in this study unit, we have focused on how texts achieve internal coherence
and cohesion. However, it is also important to remember that texts have the ability to
“talk” to one another and to society at large – and we call this ability intertextuality.

The term intertextual comes from a Latin word meaning “to intermingle while weaving”
and was popularised by 20th-century thinkers such as Julia Kristeva and Roland
Barthes. Unlike other terms you will encounter during this course, intertextuality
is not necessarily a technique used by writers, but rather a fact about texts – namely,
that they are all ultimately interconnected.

In essence, intertextuality refers to the way that all texts stand in relation to one
another – and the culture in which they are read – to produce meaning. Therefore,
the reader’s own previous life experiences, as well as their position within cultural
structures, also form part of the process of intertextual analysis.

This is an important characteristic of texts. As you will see throughout this course,
it is this feature that allows us to compare and contrast different texts based on
intertextual features such as:

• Theme: how the texts differ in their treatment of the same theme of love/
bravery/faith/etc.?
• Topic: how do the texts respond differently to the same historical incident?
• Cultural relevance: how can two texts, even those written in different eras
and different places from one another, be considered relevant to contemporary
cultural issues?

Note, finally, that intertextuality comes in two forms:

• Intentional: also known as allusion, this is when the writer is clearly or explicitly
referring to another text to add meaning to their own. Sometimes this can involve
quoting words or phrases from another text, but it can also be as common as
using idioms such as Achilles’ heel (which references the ancient Greek myth).
• Unintentional: this is when two texts were not necessarily written with the
intention of being compared or contrasted in any way, yet something about their
content, structure or cultural reception makes a comparison possible.

12
 UNIT 1: Coherence and cohesion

ACTIVITY 11
We will progress to more serious forms of intertextual analysis in study unit 2,
but – for now – study the following Nandos advert:

• Firstly, notice how the cultural relevance – to residents of South Africa – of

both Nando’s and the SABC makes this advert immediately intelligible on a
basic level.
• However, notice how one’s understanding of the intertextual references
deepens after reading this news article: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/
entertainment/2012-06-14-fire-strikes-isidingo-set/
• Now we see that “fire starters” refers to both the way Nando’s cooks its chicken
and a specific incident that occurred on the set of an SABC show, Isidingo.
• And notice how it deepens even more after reading this article: https://www.channel24.
co.za/News/Local/SABC-refuses-to-show-new-Nandos-ad-20120604
• Now we see another aspect of the word “fire starters” – the meaning of
provocateurs. We discover, finally, that this Nando’s advert was a cheeky
response to the SABC refusing to broadcast another advert from the fast
food company.

Note: although playful, this example shows an important aspect of intertextual

analysis: the more you read “around” a text – the more you research its origins and
influences – the more enriched your understanding of it will be. Always conduct
research into the texts you are asked to respond to during this course.

1.10 SUMMARY
In this study unit, we have looked at the phenomenon of textual cohesion. We
studied grammatical cohesion and its four sub-categories, and you should now
be able to recognise grammatical cohesion in texts, as well as become more aware
of grammatical cohesion in your own writing. In addition, we discussed lexical

ENG2601/50113


cohesion and the way it can be used to create cohesion in a text. We looked at
coherence and we discussed how the effective use of cohesive elements can lead
to greater textual coherence. Finally, we examined intertextuality and how texts
can be said to “talk” to one another, either intentionally or unintentionally. We will
build on these concepts in the following study unit, where we focus on language
and meaning.

1.11 REFERENCES
Biko, S. 2004. I write what I like. Johannesburg: Picador Africa.
Galgut, D. 2010. The good doctor. Johannesburg: Penguin.
Jones, RH. 2019. Discourse analysis: a resource book for students. New York: Routledge.
Mbeki, T. Statement of Deputy President TM Mbeki, on behalf of the ANC, on the
occasion of the adoption by the Constitutional Assembly of The Republic of
South Africa Constitution Bill 1996, 8 May 1996.
Mullany, L & Stockwell, P. 2010. Introducing language: a resource book for students. London:
Routledge.

14
 2 UNIT 2
2 LANGUAGE AND MEANING

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the module, you should be able to:

• differentiate between meaning and intention

• explain the key role that diction plays in expressing intention
• use analysis to identify context, meaning and intention
• identify and explain the causes of ambiguity in language use
• explain the differences among genres in different texts
• identify some of the features of a text that constitute a particular genre
• identify particular examples of lexis in a text that help constitute a particular
genre
• identify and understand register categories
• perform a thorough textual analysis, building on the concepts covered in
module 1

KEY CONCEPTS
• intention and meaning
• connotations and denotations
• context
• genre and analysis

PRESCRIBED READING
The parts from your prescribed texts that are relevant to this unit are:

• Mullany & Stockwell. 2010. Introducing English Language, pp. 10–14; 141;
172; 175.
• Jones. 2019. Discourse analysis, units A2–A&, C3 and C5, pp. 5–27;
104–107; 110–118.

NB: If you use editions other than the ones prescribed, the page numbers
may differ.

These sections should be read in conjunction with the study material that
follows.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
This module looks more closely at the relationship between aspects of the English
language and meaning. Meaning and language are interdependent. When human

ENG2601/50115


beings communicate, they inevitably use language to express ideas, thoughts and to
convey certain messages. Hence, meaning cannot be separated from language, and it
is not an abstract entity with an independent existence outside language. Similarly, we
cannot speak of meaning as an abstract and impenetrable concept without examining
the meaning of individual words and how they are used in sentences.

The main aim is to introduce you to some of the units of English grammar, such as
words, sentences and phrases, and how they function to convey meaning. Meaning
exists in both smaller (e.g. individual words) and larger (e.g. sentences, phrases) units
of language. Knowing about these grammatical units and understanding how they
function will enable you to see how and what meanings are created. Furthermore,
such knowledge is an important basis for interpreting both spoken and written texts.

Grammar is an essential component for creating and communicating meaning,

hence it is important to understand how it systematically works in speech and texts.
As discussed in unit A of the prescribed textbook Discourse analysis, the relationship
between words and meanings is complex. This implies that meaning is not fixed
or straightforward. The meaning of the same word, sentence or phrase can shift
according to its use, the speaker’s or writer’s intended message and purpose, and
the specific context of use.

2.2 INTENTION AND MEANING

Look at the following examples and see how the same word (bank) changes meaning
according to the how it is used in these sentences. In all four sentences, the meanings
are different owing to the writer’s intention to communicate a particular message
that she or he has in mind.

In order to be able to interpret the content of the message that the speaker or writer
aims to convey, it is important to understand the function of the word bank as it
used in each sentence – either by understanding its range of different meanings,
or else understanding how it may be used as a different part of speech (adjective,
noun, verb, etc.) in different contexts. Throughout this section of the unit, we will
emphasise the interrelationship between words, sentences or phrases and the purpose
and context of communication.

(1) My brother works at the bank.

This sentence refers to a type of building [noun].

(2) I will bank my bonus this year instead of spending it.

This is a (slightly informal) way of saying that that the writer will save their
money instead of spending it [verb].

(3) The snooker player won the tournament with an amazing bank shot.

This refers to a specific type of shot played in snooker and pool [adjective].

(4) We parked the car on the bank of the river.

This is another meaning of the noun, referring to the edge of the river [noun].

16
 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

ACTIVITY 1
Construct four sentences that show a similar possible range of meanings for the
word cool.

(1) _____________________________________________________

(2) _____________________________________________________

(3) _____________________________________________________

(4) _____________________________________________________

2.3 CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD

The preceding exercise was designed to demonstrate how the meaning of a word is
not always fixed, but can be determined by the intention of the writer or speaker.

However, there is a deeper level at which this dynamic plays out – and it concerns the
choice of words (the diction) of the writer or speaker. That is to say, of the 171,476
words available to them in the English language, why have they chosen to use the
ones they have – and not others?

In order to understand the full impact of diction on the meaning of any text, it is
important to first understand the distinction between conceptual and associative
meaning.

2.4 CONCEPTUAL AND ASSOCIATIVE MEANING

Conceptual meaning covers those “basic, essential components of meaning
that are conveyed by the literal use of a word” (Yule 1996, p. 62). Conceptual
meanings are definitions that we often find in dictionaries. For example, some of
the basic components of the word needle would be “thin, sharp, steel instrument” and
the word banana might include “long yellow edible fruit”. These basic components
that we have described would form part of the conceptual meaning of both words
(needle and banana).

A more commonly used term for the conceptual meaning of any word is its denotation.

Denotation has to do with the explicit or literal meaning of linguistic expres-

sions. This is the “dictionary definition” of the word or phrase.

Associative meaning, on the other hand, relates to the fact that different people
might have different associations, ideas, feelings or connotations attached to the
two words. In the case of the word needle, for example, they might associate it with
“drugs, thread, piercing, stitching or knitting”. The word “banana” might include
associations such as “healthy, tasty, tropical or nourishing”. These emotional and
psychological associations are part of the associative meaning of that particular word.

Connotation refers to the subjective cultural or emotional association that a

specific word, phrase, or sign carries. This the “feeling” that the word evokes.

ENG2601/501 17


Connotations or associative meanings may be personal and differ from one person
to the next. For example, a person who loves tattoos may attach connotations such as
“ink, freedom, identity, creativity” to the word “needle”; the word “banana”, for those
with an allergy to the fruit, might be associated with “itching, discomfort, nausea”.

2.5 CONNOTATIONS: A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

To further illustrate the importance of unpacking the connotations of individual
words when analysing any text, consider the following “word spectrum”. Grab your
dictionary or consult an online resource to get the most out of this exercise:

Sylphlike–slender–lean–thin–skinny–underweight–underfed

Consult your dictionary and you will see that the above are all adjectives that mean
more or less the same thing as the word “thin” – a neutral term for describing body
shape.

However, can you notice the difference between these two descriptions?

(1) The lean lion walked around its enclosure.

Here, the word “lean” gives connotations of fitness and athleticism. You could
imagine replacing the neutral verb “walked” with the more vivid description
of “stalked” or “prowled”.

(2) The skinny lion walked around its enclosure.

Here, the word “skinny” gives a pathetic connotation. You could imagine
replacing the neutral verb “walked” with the more low-energy description of
“moped” or “slunk”.

Here is another “word spectrum” constructed around the word “walk”. Can you
make use of connotations to match words from the first spectrum to appropriate
words in the other?

Stumble–shuffle–walk–saunter–glide

Sylphlike–slender–lean–thin–skinny–underweight–underfed

ACTIVITY 2
Explore the difference between denotations and connotations by listing for each
of the following words, (a) what they conceptually mean and (b) what associative
feelings/emotions that evoke for you:

• Nurse

(a) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

(b) _____________________________________________________

• Snow

(a) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

18
 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

(b) _____________________________________________________

• Snake

(a) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

(b) _____________________________________________________

• Blue

(a) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

(b) _____________________________________________________

2.6 CONTEXT
In the following section, we shall pay particular attention to the relationship between
meaning and context. Please also consult unit C7 of your textbook, Discourse analysis
(pp. 104–107), for a more thorough preparatory discussion.

We will focus specifically on the different kinds of context relevant to any text;
the relationship between linguistic meaning and speaker meaning; and the role of
implicature in ultimately making “total sense” of what is being meant by the text.

2.7 LINGUISTIC CONTEXT AND PHYSICAL CONTEXT

There are two types of contexts that need to be considered when analysing any text:
linguistic context and physical context.

Linguistic context has to do with the meaning of individual words in relation to

other words within a sentence.

Physical context refers to the circumstances under which words are spoken or
written. In other words, it is necessary to know who is speaking, to whom, as well
as the situation in which that particular communication takes place.

Related to these terms, the concepts of linguistic meaning and speaker’s meaning
are important characteristics of communication because they distinguish between
what is said (i.e. sentence meaning or explicit meaning) and what is meant (i.e. what
is implied, or the implicit/proposed meaning). The difference between the two
concepts is that the former refers to the literal linguistic meaning of words, sentences
or phrases and the latter has to do with the speaker’s intended meaning.

Linguistic meaning can be understood as a context-independent phenomenon

as meaning is often conventional, predictable and obvious. In other words, there is
a direct link between a word, sentence, or phrase and its denotation or dictionary
meaning.

Speaker’s meaning, on the other hand, is context-dependent because in order

to comprehend what the speaker means and intends to convey the listener would
need to know about the purpose and context in which something is said. This process
is called implicature, a technical term coined by HP Grice.

ENG2601/501 19


What is suggested in an utterance may be different from the actual or the exact
meaning depending on the context, as the interpretation of what people say or write
is based on more than just the words themselves.

Read the following excerpt from a speech given by IFP president emeritus and
traditional prime minister to the Zulu nation, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who met with
the community to quell tensions in light of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals
on September 8, 2019. The full speech can be accessed by scanning the following
QR code:

I come here today not as a politician, but as an elder. There is a terrible quarrel in our
nation with foreign nationals who are living amongst us. Lives have been lost and property
damaged. There has been looting and burning and violence. While all this is happening, the
world is watching, and we are being judged.

I must speak very bluntly to my fellow South Africans, not to take sides, but to quell the
tensions with the voice of truth.

What we have seen in the past few days is unacceptable. The attacks on foreign nationals and
their businesses are purely xenophobic. It is a violation of human rights and a violation of
our Constitution. Our Constitution enshrines the right to freedom from all forms of violence.
That right applies to everyone in South Africa, whether citizens or not.

We cannot allow this to move in cycles. It is not the first spate of attacks; but it must be the last.

I understand the tensions, the complaints and the anger. I understand that there is validity
to the complaints, on both sides. I also understand that wrongs have been committed by both
sides. This has not come out of nowhere.

But there is a saying in Zulu that you cannot slaughter all the sheep because one sheep has
transgressed. In a situation of conflict, it is dangerous to tar everyone with the same brush.
Even where there are valid complaints against an individual, we cannot take the law into our
own hands. Looting and destruction of property is a crime, full stop. Assault is always wrong.

ACTIVITY 3
On a separate piece of paper, jot down brief notes in answer to the following
questions (use the prompts to guide your responses):

(1) How does the speaker establish the linguistic context?

Pay attention to how the topic is introduced. What words are used to signify
the extent of the problem? How are connotations operating here?

20
 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

(2) How does the physical context of the speech affect our understanding?

What do we need to know about the speaker and the physical context of
the speech to help us make sense of what he is saying? Can we use the
physical context to account for his use of certain words/phrases?

(3) What do we understand by virtue of implicature?

Identify moments in the speech where we understand is being meant, without

it explicitly being stated. When he says, “While all this is happening, the
world is watching, and we are being judged” – what is he implying about
the world’s attitude towards South Africa?

2.8 AMBIGUITY
It is important to realise that when two people communicate, where one is a writer
or speaker and the other is a reader or listener, there may not be a direct correlation
between what is said (i.e. actual words, sentences or utterances) by the speaker and
what is understood (i.e. via implicature) by the listener. In other words, a speaker may
say something with a particular message in mind, but that same information can be
understood and interpreted differently by the listener. These differences – generally
referred to as instances of ambiguity – can create misunderstanding.

Let us look at the sentence: Tom has been to prison. This sentence is vague and the
meaning is ambiguous. As a result, it can be interpreted in different ways. When
we read it, we are unclear whether the writer is referring to a specific place, time
of activity, a meeting, someone’s behaviour or the information that the person has
access to. There are several possible meanings:

Tom has been to prison.

(1) He had visited the prison or went there for some business, meeting or a gath-
ering of some sort.
(2) Tom may have a tendency toward criminal behaviour hence he was locked
up or detained before.
(3) Tom went to prison in the morning (perhaps for work) and now he is back.
(4) Tom is familiar with prison life, having even visited a detention facility while
researching his new book.

The four interpretations of the same sentence that we have provided above illustrate
that importance of knowing something about the context. Without such knowledge,
we are unsure whether what is suggested in the sentence is the actual meaning of
what the speaker or writer intended to convey. This is so because the information
that can be drawn from the utterances used is not always sufficient to determine the
content and exact meaning.

That is to say, sentence or linguistic meaning (i.e. what is said or written) alone is
often ambiguous and can sometimes convey information or ideas that contradict the
speaker or writer’s intended meaning. At times, this can result in miscommunication
or even communication breakdown. Thus, contextual information is necessary in
order to determine the intended meaning.

ENG2601/50121


Also note that there can be other reasons for ambiguity in communication – such
as vague or unspecified references – but these will be covered in greater detail in
the next learning module, which focuses on cohesion.

For an extended discussion of implicature and ambiguity, read study unit C5 (pp.110–
116) of your textbook, Discourse analysis.

ACTIVITY 4
For each of the following ambiguous newspaper headlines, identify the word or
phrase that is used in an ambiguous manner – and then suggest a suitable way
to correct it. The first one has been done for you to serve as an example.

(1) Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim

Here, the word “helps” creates the ambiguity. Did the squad help the dog to
bite the victim? It would be clearer if it said “Squad Aids Dog Bite Victim”.

(2) Report Shows Need For Paper Cuts

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

(3) Teacher Strikes Slow Matric Learners

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

(4) Zille Wins On Budget, But More Lies Ahead

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

(5) Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

2.9 GENRE
Texts fall into recognisable categories. For example, a science research report will
differ from a business letter or an academic essay. Each text type has its own particular
purpose together with its distinct linguistic or textual properties, including the layout
or structure. This is known as genre.

Genre can be thought of as the bridge between the writer’s intention (what they want
to achieve) and the style or format of the text (how it structured and what language
is used).

22
 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

Genre can be defined as a category of texts marked by a distinctive style, form or

context. For example, classical poetry and rap lyrics belong to different genres.
Moreover, as pointed out by Rodney Jones in Discourse analysis, “analysing genres as
much attention to social context as it does to texts” (p. 104).

Some examples of genres and sub-genres are given below. Note that texts within
these categories will share recognisable textual properties, features or conventions,
but that boundaries between different genres can be fluid:

• Fiction
– Novel
» Horror
◊ Vampire story
• Fiction
– Poem
» Lyric
◊ Love poem
• Non-fiction
– Advertisement
» Social responsibility initiative
◊ Campaign for UNICEF
• Non-fiction
– Magazine article
» Opinion piece
◊ Essay on culture
• Non-fiction
– Speech
» Political
◊ Call for end to xenophobic violence
• Non-fiction
– Social media post
» Tweet
◊ Joke about Donald Trump

ACTIVITY 5
Complete the following table, using research if required:

Name of text Type of text Broad genre Sub-genre(s)

Romeo and Juliet Fiction Play
Non-fiction Speech
Long walk to freedom Non-fiction
Fiction Novel
Newspaper
article

ENG2601/50123


2.10 REGISTER
Register refers to features of either a spoken or written text that identify it as
belonging to a particular type of linguistic activity or a particular field or discourse,
for example, science, law, religion; formal or informal; fiction or non-fiction. This is
largely determined by lexis (the words or vocabulary of which the text is composed).

If genre is the broad classification we make to group together texts belonging to

different fields (based on their textual intention), register concerns vocabulary and the
style of language used to express this intention appropriately. Situations are different
and will determine the type of language used. For example, when you discuss your
research topic with your friend over a cup of coffee, when you speak to your lecturer
about that research topic in his office, or when you ultimately present the findings
of your topic at a conference – you will use language differently. This is because the
formality or informality of a piece of language cannot be looked at outside of the
context in which it occurs.

The lexis (set of words) we use varies according to the type of situation – that is,
according to the social context of language use and this is sometimes what is called
“language appropriateness”. Sometimes this “appropriateness” is determined by the
register being either formal or informal. Registers include the varieties of language
associated with people’s professions. For example, a qualified lawyer does not use the
same register to address everyone he or she speaks to. A lawyer may use an informal
register at home with family and friends, while at work he or she may use a more
formal register with clients. Many professionals such as nurses and agriculturalists
have a jargon (specific vocabulary) of their own. This is the lexis (vocabulary or
lexical items) commonly used in their profession.

ACTIVITY 6
Complete the following table:

Profession A: Lawyer Profession B: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Words associated with the profession: Words associated with the profession:
1. …………………………...........……….. 1. Plaque………..............………………..
2. …………………………..........………… 2.Crown…………...........………………..
3. …………………………...........………… 3. Enamel.………...........………………..
4. ……………………….........…………… 4. ………….......…………………………..
5. ………………………..........…………… 5. …………….........………………………...

Language use may vary according to the addressor, addressee, the speaker’s social
class, ethnic group, age and gender. A speech community is a group of people
who share a set of norms and expectations with reference to the use of language.
For example, university students form a speech community and are expected to use
formal, academic language, while a group of sports fans will discuss the game using
jargon and colloquialisms.

Register therefore involves attitude and the level of formality associated with the
variety of language chosen. There is a relationship between the following two

24
 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

variables: the writer’s attitude and the language variety he or she chooses. Attitude
is most clearly reflected in face-to-face conversations; in the written mode, it is often
subtly communicated.

There are different registers for different contexts. For example, we can have frozen,
formal, consultative, causal and intimate registers.

Frozen: This refers to language that rarely changes, for example, the words of a
song or prayer.

Formal: This refers to deliberate one-way communication, for example, through a

presentation, a lecture, or an essay.

Consultative: This refers to two-way communication, for example, between a

doctor and patient.

Casual: This refers to communication with a friend, for example, a conversation

or personal e-mail.

Intimate: This refers to language shared between close couples, for example, the
partner sometimes finishes the other one’s sentences. This type of language is
sometimes full of code words (words known only by those involved).

ACTIVITY 7
Match the genres (identified in the left hand column) to the expected register (degree
of formality) and some examples of specific diction (lexis) you might expect to find
in the text. The first one has been completed for you.

Type Expected formality; Examples of expected lexis

of communication features
Academic paper Formal; academic Demonstrate, elucidate, posit, ar-
language gue, inference, conclusion, etc.

Newspaper report

Social media post

“How-To” blog post

Love poem

By now, it should be clear that there is a connection between the register and genre
of a text. We have shown that certain registers tend to be found in certain genres.
We hope you now understand that register is one of the ways we can recognise that
a particular text belongs to a particular genre, and that the context of any text can
often be inferred through the register it has employed.

ENG2601/50125


ACTIVITY 8
Read the following text, then answer the question below.

According to a recent released report by Love-Life, an advocacy body

involved in HIV/Aids awareness, “around 60% of all adults who acquire
HIV become infected before they turn 25”. Thus, all indicators point to the
fact that the young and economically productive are the most likely to be
felled by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Experts say this is as a result of this age
group’s unprotected sexual activity, and by extension, sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs). But an area on which research is scant is the indirect
relationship between substance abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Since
substance abuse affects behavioural patterns, the effects of alcohol or
experimentation with drugs promote or increase “the high risk” behaviour,
particularly unprotected sex. Consequently, young men and women who
would normally, in a sober state, use protection like condoms, would, under
the influence of alcohol or drugs be less inclined to do so.

Source: A
 dapted from Khadjia Magardine, ‘Substance abuse aids Aids’ in Mail & Guardian,
15–22 June, 2000, from Study Guide LIN3705.

• What genre does this text belong to?

• Which features of the language contributed to your answer?

2.11 CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS

To recap this important discussion of the relationship between genre, register, context
and meaning – and to solidify the concepts already covered in module 1 – we will
now do a step-by-step textual analysis.

Before we begin, let us remind ourselves that genres are distinguished by textual
properties that are specific to them. These textual properties include a certain
type of register, and a particular medium of production (e.g. written as opposed to
spoken language). There are features of a text which help us identify it as belonging
to a particular genre. Text classification will often involve (but is not limited to) the
following aspects:

• ‌ hat a text is about, i.e. what its topic is;

w
• ‌the speaker’s or writer’s intention (the reason why the text was produced);
• ‌the medium of its production and reception, i.e. spoken or written, or written
but meant to be spoken in performance, etc;
• ‌the type of the register that constitutes the text; and
• ‌the relationship between writer or speaker and the recipient or audience, for
example, a lecturer and a student, a lawyer and a client, a student and her friend.

Read the following two texts: an extract from Bleak House by Charles Dickens (A)
and “City Johannesburg” by Mongane Serote (B).

Text A: extract from Bleak House by Charles Dickens

London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in
Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets
as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would
not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like
an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill. Smoke lowering down from chimney-

26
 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown
snow-flakes – gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the
sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their
very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general
infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens
of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since
the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon
crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and ac-
cumulating at compound interest.

Text B: “City Johannesburg” by Mongane Serote

This way I salute you:

My hand pulses to my back trousers pocket
Or into my inner jacket pocket
For my pass, my life,
Jo’burg City.
My hand like a starved snake rears my pockets
For my thin, ever lean wallet,
While my stomach growls a friendly smile to hunger,
Jo’burg City.
My stomach also devours coppers and papers
Don’t you know?
Jo’burg City, I salute you;
When I run out, or roar in a bus to you,
I leave behind me, my love,
My comic houses and people, my dongas and my ever whirling dust,
My death
That’s so related to me as a wink to the eye.
Jo’burg City
I travel on your black and white and roboted roads
Through your thick iron breath that you inhale
At six in the morning and exhale from five noon.
Jo’burg City
That is the time when I come to you,
When your neon flowers flaunt from your electrical wind,
That is the time when I leave you,
When your neon flowers flaunt their way through the falling darkness
On your cement trees.
And as I go back, to my love,
My dongas, my dust, my people, my death,
Where death lurks in the dark like a blade in the flesh,
I can feel your roots, anchoring your might, my feebleness
In my flesh, in my mind, in my blood,
And everything about you says it,
That, that is all you need of me.
Jo’burg City, Johannesburg,
Listen when I tell you,
There is no fun, nothing, in it,
When you leave the women and men with such frozen expressions,
Expressions that have tears like furrows of soil erosion,
Jo’burg City, you are dry like death,
Jo’burg City, Johannesburg, Jo’burg City.

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Here is a useful step-by-step process to follow when conducting a textual analysis:

(1) Begin at the level of topic – what are the texts about?

• Both texts are about cities: text A describes London; text B describes Johannesburg.
• More specifically: both texts express negative perspectives on cities, portraying
them as chaotic and dangerous places.

(2) What can you infer about the context from the register?

• Study both texts for vocabulary and sentence structure. Before researching to
confirm your intuition, which do you think is more modern? Which individual
words communicate the “age” of the text to you?
• Always conduct research to learn more about context. A quick search will show
that text A was written in 1853, while text B was written in in the early 2000s.
A more in-depth study will reveal that Dickens was a member of the English
middle-class during the Victorian period, and that Serote is a renowned South
African protest poet who spent years in exile during apartheid, before returning
to South Africa in 1990.
(3) Do the texts belong to different genres? Is there any overlap?

• Firstly, are these texts trying to provide a factual account of the two cities
in question? They are not; they are both works of fiction and are providing
an imaginative view of the cities (that is nevertheless based in personal
experience).
• Text A is clearly a work of prose, and text B is clearly a poem. The overlap
between the two is found in the subject-matter.

(4) What can you infer about intentions from the register?

• Thinking back to our discussion about connotations, what words have the
writers used that clearly seem to show their attitudes to the two cities in
question?
• Try to be specific and define the attitude or emotion behind the words as
clearly as possible. Both texts are critical of the cities – but is text B angrier,
for example, than text A? Is text A more satirical?
(5) What specific language features contribute to the successful expression of
the writers’ intentions?

• Focus on use of figurative language. What does the dinosaur simile in text
A connote? How does text B use repetition and alliteration to convey its
emotion?
• How is the language of each text expressing the attitude of the speaker?
(6) What are the essential similarities between the texts?

• For example: in both texts, personification is used when describing pollution

in the city (“flakes of soot … gone into mourning, one might imagine, for
the death of the sun”; “Through your thick iron breath that you inhale/At
six in the morning and exhale from five noon”).
• What effect does this achieve for each poem? Can you make a link between
the effect of this image and the possible intentions of the writer?

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 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

(7) In what key respects do the texts differ from one another?

• Read the texts aloud to yourself. Can you notice tonal differences between
the two? Is the language of text B more desperate than text A, for example?
Which specific words communicate this to you?
• Always remember to try and account for these differences by referring to
the intentions of the writer.

ACTIVITY 9
Now try to perform your own textual analysis – modelled on the one above – on
the following two poems: “Woman” by South African performance poet Koleka
Putuma; and “They Shut Me Up in Prose – (445)” by Emily Dickinson.

“Woman” by Koleka Putuma

This is her narrative,
Sketching comparative analysis
That cannot be defined by the architect of her hips or backside
These words a microscope into her body smile and mind
Aligned with the testament of time
That by breath, dust and rib- from Adam
A masterpiece unfathomable was fashioned and formed
Beyond conventional norms of society’s
Stating-
All they were destined to be
Are
Child bearers,
Victims,
Punching bags,
Secretaries,
All things derogatory,
Burden carriers,
Wives
And a mere shadows of the xy chromosome.
I said a lineage of greatness is born
Women who have stood on the front lines of battlefields
Yielded their present for the future of others,
Mothers of inspiration, civil rights movements,
Preachers, prophetesses, goddesses, and nothing less
Than bravery,
Affectionate and gifted hands
Unafraid to be transparent in lifting up their vulnerability
To be seen, to be heard,
To be living monuments in historical chapters
As their resilience and virtue
Combine to project a relentless spirit and boldness
Confined in the stride of her walk

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Her talk oozes proverbs

The universe is but a herd
Flocking to her breasts
To suckle the milk that strengthens
Young ones
Ones,
Become two,
To become mass pedigrees of masterpieces unsold
More precious than Gold
Woman-
You ought to be told that you are indescribable and ridiculously exquisite
This pen visits the passages and corridors
Of your silent pain and wars
To find you
Undefeated
Unscarred
And
Victorious
Let your notorious cellulite map out the geography to a sight called
Flawless
Your fat will be the pillow of consolation
That more women may embrace their imperfections that are but perfections
In the eyes of “loving yourself regardless’
Your bones are the rock where men will be grounded
Your dreams founded and accomplished
And your skeleton relished
In the undisputable truth that YOU
WOMAN
Are Phenomenal

“They Shut Me Up In Prose – (445)” by Emily Dickinson

They shut me up in Prose–
As when a little Girl
They put me in the Closet–
Because they liked me “still”–

Still! Could themself have peeped–

And seen my Brain–go round–
They might as wise have lodged a Bird
For Treason–in the Pound–

Himself has but to will

And easy as a Star
Look down upon Captivity–
And laugh–No more have I–

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 UNIT 2: Language and meaning

2.12 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT

In this study unit, you were introduced to the relationship between language and
meaning. Language and meaning are mutually constitutive and cannot be looked at as
independent of each other. Speakers always have a meaning or message in mind that
they would like to convey to listeners. However, as we have illustrated, meanings are
not always straight-forward and listeners may misinterpret what the speaker intended
to say. This misinterpretation may be as a result of ambiguous utterances or lack
of sufficient contextual information. Contextual information, whether linguistic or
non-linguistic, is important if we are to learn more about a particular communication
exchange. Knowledge of things like the body language of the speaker, the situation
under which something took place or the place where an activity was carried out,
help in clarifying the purpose and meaning.

In this unit, we have also discussed genre and register and we have explored how
they are connected. With regard to the two concepts, the texts you have read in your
prescribed textbooks gave you further examples of how an author, speaker or a writer
tunes his or her speaking or writing to serve different purposes for different audiences.
In general, what we have discussed is that we have different ways of using language
depending on context. We hope this unit will further help your understanding of
other aspects of discourse analysis.

2.13 REFERENCES:
Buthelezi, M. Speech to the community in light of recent xenophobic attacks on
foreign nationals on September 8, 2019. Published online: https://www.
timeslive.co.za/politics/2019-09-08-in-full-mangosuthu-buthelezis-message-
against-xenophobia/.
Dickens, C. 1853. Bleak House. London: Everyman’s Library.
Dickinson, E. 1890. The Complete Poems. Eastbourne, UK: Gardners Books.
Heinemann, G. 2009. Investigating English. Pretoria: UNISA.
Jones, Rodney, H. 2019. Discourse analysis: a resource book for students. New York: Routledge.
Mullany, L & Stockwell, P. 2010. Introducing English Language. London and New York:
Routledge.
Putuma, K. “Woman”. Published online: https://badilishapoetry.com/coco-putuma/.
Serote, W. “City Johannesburg”. Published online: http://www.poetryforlife.co.za/.
index.php/anthology/south-african-poems/99-city-johannesburg.

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3 UNIT 3
3 LANGUAGE SYSTEMS

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• distinguish between different types of texts (narrative, argumentative and

persuasive)
• identify the speaker/writer, context, purpose and audience of given texts
• analyse and explain the different language features and/or visual elements
used in the texts
• write narrative, argumentative and persuasive texts of your own

PRESCRIBED READING AND E-RESERVES

The parts from your prescribed texts which are relevant to this unit are:

• The suitcase by Es’kia Mphahlela

• Jones, Rodney H. 2019. Discourse analysis, sections A1–A5 (pp. 2–20)

NB: If you use different editions from the ones prescribed, then the page
numbers would differ from those listed.

These sections should be read in conjunction with the study material that follows.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit will demonstrate how English language systems work in specific social
contexts and for particular purposes. We will focus on language in action to show
how features of language are adapted to context, audience and purpose as well as
for specific genre types. We take an approach known as discourse analysis, which
examines how language is used in the world to narrate, persuade and argue, and how
and why writers choose certain language features in their writing to achieve their
purposes. We will be examining examples of narrative, argumentative and persuasive
texts to demonstrate the use of different linguistic features for different purposes.

3.2 TEXTS AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Texts should never be seen in isolation: they are always related to their context; who
produces them; their audience; and their purpose. They are always situated in the
world.

‘Discourse analysis’ refers to the study of the ways in which words, sentences,
utterances and images are put together to make texts, and how the language used

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 UNIT 3: Language systems

is adapted to their context, audience and purpose. It may investigate the social and
ideological forces that underlie texts and which reflect and shape the power structures
in society.

3.3 GENRE
Genre, when used in the context of literature, refers to different kinds or categories
of writing. Poetry, drama and fiction are examples of literary genres. In this unit, we
will return to our discussion from unit 2 and take a closer look at a few important
genres; namely texts which narrate, texts which argue, and texts which aim to persuade
readers to accept a certain point of view.

In Discourse analysis (on e-reserves), Jones (2019:8–11) discusses the notion of genre,
describing genres as “communicative events” with different communicative purposes.
He explains that genres are associated with certain groups of people with common
goals and common ways of reaching them. These are called “discourse communities”.

As a student of UNISA, you belong to a particular discourse community. This

means that you are linked with other members of this community with whom you
need to communicate appropriately, observing certain conventions and constraints.
This entails mastering academic English – another genre which you will learn more
about in unit 5.

3.4 NARRATIVES AND NARRATION

This section of the unit deals with a specific genre of text: narratives.

What do you understand by the terms narrative and narration?

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines “narrative” as “a description of

events”, while “narration” is defined as “the act or process of telling a story”.

Storytelling is an ancient practice. Long before people could read and write, they told
stories which were passed down through the generations, forming what is known as
the oral tradition. Stories help people make sense of the world.

From the time we were young children, we can recall hearing and telling stories.
Some of us were told stories by our grandparents and other family members, or
our parents may have read to us from books. As we grew and mastered speech, we
also took part in storytelling, by being involved in conversations. Sometimes we
responded to prompts like: “How was your day?”, “What happened at school?”,
“Tell me about the soccer match?” and “What did your teacher do today?” In this
way, we created our own narratives.

ACTIVITY 1
(1) Can you remember some stories you were told as a child? Think about the
effects these had on you. Were these experiences enjoyable? When did you
begin to read books on your own? What was your relationship to books?
Can you remember why you were motivated to read?

ENG2601/50133


(2) As an adult, what do you read in your leisure time? What kind of texts?
Fiction or non-fiction? Why do you read? Does reading add value to your
life? If so, how?
(3) Is there a marked difference between the texts you read as a child and the
ones you are reading as an adult? Why? Why not?

Narratives may be true, based on actual events, or fictional, as found in stories

and novels. The usual purpose of a narrative is to provide interest and enjoyment.
However, narratives also teach and inform, expanding our knowledge and horizons
through vicarious (indirect) experience. This applies to both fictional and non-
fictional texts. Narratives can present fascinating themes and lessons. This is
why they are believed to be so important in the early lives and development of
children. We will be looking at the way language is used in the telling and writing
of narratives.

3.5 TYPES OF NARRATIVE

There are many sub-genres of narratives, both imaginary and factual. They include
fairy tales, mysteries, science fiction, Choose Your Own Adventure stories, romances,
horror stories, adventure stories, parables, fables and moral tales, myths and legends,
personal accounts, biographies and autobiographies and historical narratives.

3.6 STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVES

Common to all narratives is a sequence of events or actions. In fictional texts, we call
this chain of events the “plot”. This sequence may be presented chronologically, that
is, follow a linear structure; or the order of events may be manipulated, for example,
when a narrative includes “flashbacks”, and moves between present and past.

3.7 COMMON FEATURES OF NARRATIVE TEXTS

The following features commonly occur in narratives:

• The main participants in narrative texts are humans or sometimes animals with
human characteristics.
• Narratives can be written in the first person (I, we) or third person (he, she, they).
This determines the point of view from which the story is told.
• Normally, narratives are told or written in the past tense.
• The events may be narrated chronologically, in the order in which they
happened (linear narrative), but the events may be twisted or jumbled
(non-linear narrative).
• Narratives typically use connectors and discourse markers that signal time and
the order of events (e.g. “early that morning”, “later on”, “once”).

ACTIVITY 2
Read the text below, and then answer the questions which follow. Remember to
consult the “Suggested answers” section (the final section of this study guide) if
you require any assistance.

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 UNIT 3: Language systems

When I was 11 in 1986, doing Standard 4 [Grade 6], I got more involved in
what was happening outside. You can say I became political. I got it from
my granny who was an ANC member. She was the treasurer for the Katkop
branch of the ANC, but it was the time they were banned and what she did
was very dangerous. She would go to underground meetings and conferences
in Durban and Jo’burg and Umtata, and leave us alone for days telling us
not to open the door for anyone.

Just knowing my Gogo and the people wandering around our house −
the comrades, the people leaving the country to fight apartheid from outside,
and coming back to fight from inside − this was the main thing that also made
me political. All of this got me fighting for what I believed in.

In 1981, when I was 6 at crèche, I think we were eighteen kids in the creche.
I must have been influenced by my grandmother’s activities, because one
morning we didn’t want to eat. The teacher said, ‘Why are you not eating?’
We said, ‘We’re on strike because we heard that Mandela is not free, and
we want Mandela. That’s why we are rioting.’ She shook her head. Then
she grabbed an old man who was passing by in the street. She brought
him in and said, ‘This is Mandela,’ and we all cheered and ate. Only when
I was 9 did I know that Mandela was still in jail and I was very cross that
teacher had tricked us.

Source: Morgan, Jonathan and the Bambanani Women’s group. 2003. Long Life: positive
HIV stories. Cape Town: ABC Press. pp. 167–8.

• What kind of narrative is the above text?

• Are events recounted in a linear fashion?
• What effect does the child-narrator’s perspective create?

ACTIVITY 3
Write a narrative about an incident you remember from your childhood.

Describe it from your point of view as a child, and then reflect on it now, from an
adult point of view. Consider how your perspective has changed.

3.8 NARRATIVE TEXT ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURE

William Labov, a sociolinguist, argued that the stories we tell tend to have
predictable components that are presented in a foreseeable order. In its simplest
form, the structure of a narrative text usually consists of an abstract, an orientation,
a complication, a resolution and a coda.

In the abstract, we usually begin our stories with a short summary of what we are
going to say; then in the orientation, we set the scene by introducing the reader to
the setting and the main characters. The orientation also gives an indication of the
actions or events that are forthcoming in the story. Usually, the details that are given
are those which will enhance the later development of the story (e.g. the personality of
the main characters, the type of situation and the relationship with other characters).

ENG2601/50135


The story is then developed with a series of events or actions, at which point some
sort of complication or problem arises. This builds some tension or conflict for the
main character(s). In most narratives, there is a resolution of the complication, which
leaves us with a sense of satisfaction, although there are narratives that end with
unresolved issues. Finally, the narrative ends with a statement about what the story
meant or what the reader is supposed to learn from it, which Labov called a coda.

ACTIVITY 4
Read the short story The suitcase by Es’kia Mphahlela (on e-reserves).

(1) What kind of narrative is this? Is it told from a first- or third-person point of
view? How does the narrative point of view influence the telling of this story?
(2) Try to trace Labov’s structural features in the story. To what extent does his
outline of the usual characteristics of a story apply to The suitcase?

Remember to consult the “Suggested answers” section (the final section of this
study guide) if you require any assistance.

3.9 NARRATIVE THERAPY

Narrating one’s experiences may be used as a form of psychotherapy in individuals
who are emotionally disturbed. This practice originated in the nineteenth century
when the father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud, used what was known as
“the talking cure”. Patients were encouraged to narrate their experiences in order
to help them understand and overcome whatever was causing their distress. By this
method, suffering is given a form through its expression or articulation. The narrative
transforms symptoms and events into a meaningful whole, which is easier to deal
with than raw, chaotic experience. Order is created by the causal and temporal linking
of events, satisfying the deep human need to derive meaning from experience and
understand these events in a coherent way.

Have you experienced the need to describe in words an experience which you have
found distressing? Have you found narrating such an experience helpful? Has “getting
things off your chest” brought a sense of relief? If so, you have experienced the
therapeutic value of narrative.

ACTIVITY 5
Read the following text, the opening paragraph of the autobiography Witness to
AIDS by Edwin Cameron, then answer the questions that follow.

I knew that I had AIDS when I could no longer climb the stairs from the
judges’ common room in the High Court to my chambers two floors above.
For nearly three years, every morning after tea, I made a point of walking.
Two flights, four landings, forty stairs. But on that day in late October 1997
I couldn’t. Each step seemed an insuperable effort. My energy seemed
to have drained from my legs. I was perspiring grey exhaustion. My lungs
felt waterlogged. My mouth rough and dry. No pain. Just overwhelming
weariness.

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 UNIT 3: Language systems

And fear.

After twenty steps I paused on the midway landing to lean my forehead

against the wall. The stairwell was quiet. I could hear myself panting. I
grimaced. The thought – that thought – could no longer be postponed. I
would have to see my doctor. This afternoon.

But already I knew what he would say. It was what somehow I had been
waiting for – fearing, dreading, denying, as it encircled me, closing in, for
twelve years. My mouth and lungs told me what I didn’t want to know, didn’t
need to be told. I had AIDS.

Source: Cameron, Edwin. 2005. Witness to AIDS. p. 9

This narrative describes a moment of deep personal crisis in the narrator’s life.
How does he convey the drama of the realisation he comes to in this incident,
and its importance in his life?

• Look closely at his use of language. Consider his description of his walk upstairs
in the first paragraph.
• Look at sentence and paragraph lengths throughout the passage. Are they more
or less uniform in length, or do they vary? What is the effect of the sentence
structures he chooses?
• Look for the use of imagery in the text. Find and identify a metaphor he uses,
and comment on how this image contributes to the narrative’s effect.

Remember to consult the “Suggested answers” section (the final section of this
study guide) if you require any assistance.

ACTIVITY 6
Write a short narrative of your own in which you describe an intensely emotional
− but not necessarily bad − moment in your life.

Using the Cameron text as a model, adapt your language in a way that communicates
how you felt. Choose your words carefully, make use of detail, vary your sentence
structures and use at least one image (metaphor or simile) to convey your emotions.

3.10 A DIFFERENT SENSE OF THE WORD “NARRATIVE”

Nowadays, it is common to hear the word “narrative” used in a rather different way
from the way we have considered it thus far.

Consider the following examples:

(1) Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE), which is to become part of the Life
Orientation curriculum, is being opposed by conservative “pro-family” ad-
vocacy groups who support the narrative that sex education is dangerous to
children and encourages promiscuity.

ENG2601/501 37


Here “narrative” does not mean “a story”: it refers to a general belief, based on
values linked to a particular ideology. This sense of the word “narrative” could
be replaced by the word “discourse”. It indicates a certain cultural, moral and/or
political perspective.

(2) Drinking too much and coercing girls into sex is excused by the narrative
that “boys will be boys”.

The underlying ideology here is a patriarchal one which sees aggressive masculine
behaviour as natural and normal and therefore acceptable.

(3) Cutting down the Amazon forests is defended by the narrative of progress
and development.

People who ignore environmental concerns justify their actions by invoking the
discourse of progress, which holds that destroying nature in this way is a positive
act that will ultimately benefit humankind.

3.11 ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS

We now move on to consider a different genre of texts: arguments.

What is an argument? What comes to your mind when you hear the word argument?

Does the word “persuasion” trigger the same thoughts? How is persuasion different
from argument?

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines “argument” as:

“a conversation or discussion in which two or more people disagree, often

angrily”

OR

“a reason or set of reasons that somebody uses to show that something is

true or correct”.

It is the second of the above definitions that concerns us in this unit. For example:
“There are strong arguments for and against euthanasia”.

An argumentative piece of writing can be defined as a reasoned, logical way of

positioning your view, opinion or belief as valid. An argument acknowledges that
there are other points of view on a particular subject and may discuss these, while
making a stronger case for one side, in order to win others to the writer’s viewpoint.

A persuasive piece of writing is different from an argumentative one in that the

position taken is developed without much consideration of opposing views. It is also
generally based more on opinion than fact and appeals to emotion rather than reason.

The line dividing the two can be very thin. Both types of writing require the writer
or speaker to take a position and substantiate the position with reasons. The ultimate
aim is to persuade the reader or listener to agree with the position taken.

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 UNIT 3: Language systems

3.12 PERSUASIVE/ARGUMENTATION TECHNIQUES

There are many language features available to a writer who wishes to argue or
persuade. Some of these techniques are listed below.

Emotive language Choosing emotive words with strong connotations that

express and arouse emotions and influence attitudes, for
example, love, adore, hate, care and hope
Repetition Repeating words, phrases and sentences for emphasis
Rhetorical questions Asking questions to which no answer is required, so as to
tease readers to think
Generalisation Making sweeping statements; oversimplifying; using words
such as “all”; “only”, “many” to influence perceptions
Quoting experts Lending authority to arguments
Specialist vocabulary Using difficult technical language or jargon to impress
Case study Referring to research to support a viewpoint
Anecdote Using a personal experience to support a point
Hyperbole Using exaggeration to strengthen and dramatise a situation
Euphemism Downplaying and understating: making important things
seem unimportant, or harmful things innocuous

Argumentative and persuasive texts are not confined to academic writing; they are
used in many different social contexts. In fact, persuasion is an everyday activity
which could take the form of an advertisement on a bus; a newspaper editorial; a
television commercial; a letter to the editor; a political speech; a poster; or an e-mail
from a family member requesting a financial loan. Remember that discourse is always
situated in the world. Texts are never just words on their own: we must also have an
understanding of the situation or context in which the words occur.

ACTIVITY 7
Read the following text. Where would you expect to come across it? What is its
purpose? What linguistic techniques does it use to achieve its purpose?

Whose fault is it when trash, especially plastic, ends up in our oceans?

Who should be held responsible? Government? Manufacturers? Should
we not take responsibility ourselves for how we dispose of our rubbish? As
intelligent human beings, shouldn’t we know what is good and what is bad
for our environment?

Before we totally destroy our planet with our disgusting carelessness, let
us stop and think about the future of our children, and their children, if they
have any. At the rate we are going, the Earth won’t last that long.

Remember to consult the “Suggested answers” section (the final section of this
study guide) if you require any assistance.

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3.13 LINKING WORDS/CONNECTORS/DISCOURSE MARKERS

Any text, whether it be a story, an essay, an argument or in fact any piece of continuous
prose, has to be cohesive. Linking words, also called “connectors”, are used to
connect the parts of the text, link events and guide the narrative or argument. This
gives the text cohesion and coherence – as discussed in unit 1 of this study guide.

The most commonly used linking word is the conjunction and, but many other
conjunctions and conjunctive phrases are used. The following list shows some types
of conjunctions and their functions.

3.14 KINDS OF LINKING WORDS

Addition These connectors link additional facts or points (‘and’, ‘as
well’, ‘moreover’, ‘furthermore’, ‘in addition’, ‘furthermore’,
‘firstly’, ‘secondly’, ‘thirdly’, ‘finally’, ‘equally important’).

Cause These show that one point is a cause of another (‘because’,

‘since’, ‘seeing that’).

Result These connect a cause with a result or effect (‘therefore’,

‘so’, ‘thus’, ‘hence’, ‘consequently’, ‘as a result’).

Contrast These show an opposition to the main idea of the sentence

(‘nevertheless’, ‘on the other hand’, ‘but’, ‘yet’, ‘in spite of’,
‘although’, ‘however’).

Time/Order Connectors signalling the sequence of events or points

(‘to begin with’, ‘in the first place’, ‘secondly’, ‘finally’,
‘meanwhile’, ‘later’, ‘subsequently’).

Comparison These connectors cite similar situations or cases (‘likewise’,

‘similarly’, ‘in comparison’, ‘in the same way’).

Illustration These introduce supporting examples (‘for example’, ‘that

is’, ‘for instance’, ‘to illustrate’, ‘in other words’).

Conclusion These signal that the end of the text is approaching (‘to
sum up’, ‘in summary’, ‘in conclusion’, ‘on the whole’, ‘in
short’, ‘thus we see that’).

ACTIVITY 8
Read the following text and answer the questions which follow.

Why homework should be abolished

Many primary schools give their students homework at least two nights a
week. Homework is supposed to help students with their learning but does
it? There are some good arguments why primary schools should not give
their students homework.

Firstly, homework takes away from family time. Students already spend
thousands of hours in school and they need to be able to do things with their

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 UNIT 3: Language systems

families such as meal preparation. Also they may have responsibilities to

other members of the family such as looking after younger siblings.

Secondly, homework time stops students being involved in sporting activities

or other interests like music. Children need time to practise these interests
and build their teamwork skills.

Furthermore, homework does not help students with social skills. Children
need time outside of school to meet with their friends either face to face or
through networking sites. Here they can have rich experiences, learn to be
part of social groups and better prepare themselves for society.

Finally, there is no convincing evidence that homework improves learning.

Experts agree that real learning occurs in an interactive classroom where
students are engaged happily and work together.

It is clear that homework does not result in further learning and imposes
on students’ personal and family lives. Time would be better spent building
other skills and knowledge outside of schoolwork, and socialising more.

(1) Who could the writer of this text be?

(2) Where would you expect to find this text?
(3) Would you say this is an argumentative or persuasive text?
(4) How does the writer try to achieve his or her persuasive purpose?
(5) Look at the structure of the essay.
(6) How many arguments are presented?
(7) What connectors or discourse markers are used to signal the different
stages of the argument?
(8) What language techniques are used to persuade the reader to the writer’s
point of view?

Remember to consult the “Suggested answers” section (the final section of this
study guide) if you require any assistance.

ACTIVITY 9
Writing your own persuasive text

Below we have listed a number of points on the topic of the immigration of foreign
nationals from other parts of Africa into South Africa. The issue being contested
is whether South Africans should accept these foreigners and integrate them into
our society; or whether we should debar them from entering our country and expel
those who have already arrived here.

Below is a list of statements on this issue, expressing different opinions. Some of

the statements argue in favour of allowing the immigrants to remain in South Africa;
while others argue against accepting them. Sort out and organise the points into
two columns: one headed For; the other Against.

(a) All South Africans are descendants of people who were originally immigrants;
migration is a natural process which has taken place throughout history.
(b) Immigrants take away jobs of the locals.
(c) Foreigners bring crime into our country.

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(d) Immigrants are forced to flee their countries in order to survive, and it is
inhumane to deny them refuge.
(e) South Africa has enough problems of its own and we don’t need any more
problems.
(f) Refugees offer South Africans an opportunity to show solidarity with their
African brothers and sisters.
(g) Immigration stirs up xenophobia and this creates an unnecessary additional
cause of conflict in South Africa.
(h) Refugees bring with them useful skills and could make a positive contribu-
tion to South African society.

Once you have sorted out the ‘For’ and ‘Against’ arguments (four in each column),
choose one side of the issue – those you have listed in one column. Then plan
and write an essay in which you use these points to try to persuade your reader
to agree with your point of view.

Using the essay on the topic of abolishing homework as a model, develop each of
the four points into a paragraph introduced by an appropriate discourse marker.
Then write an introductory paragraph and a concluding one. This will give your
essay its basic structure.

Include at least three of the language techniques listed under “Persuasive/

Argumentation Techniques” above (e.g. rhetorical questions, emotive language),
to make your essay more effective as a persuasive text.

3.15 FACTUAL VS EMOTIVE CONTENT

Texts can appeal to a person’s emotions, their reason, or both. Texts with a high
factual content appeal more to the reader’s intellect, while texts which rely on emotive
language appeal to their more irrational, emotional side. Most persuasive texts use a
mixture of both emotive and factual material to achieve their purpose.

If we were to write a persuasive text about gender-based violence, for example, we

could choose to quote statistics to demonstrate how common it is and allow the
facts to speak for themselves. As we know, South Africa has an exceptionally high
incidence of gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). Or
we could take a more personal approach and discuss one or more actual incidents in
which we describe what happened and the kind of injuries inflicted on the victim,
going into detail about the individual crime scenes and describing the emotions of
the victims’ families, all the while using a great deal of emotive language. Clearly,
the first option would be less emotive than the second.

You will find that usually there is a combination of factual and emotive material in
persuasive and argumentative texts: usually, but not always.

Look at the following text.

Soar with the eagles at Majestic Mountains!

Treat yourself to a glorious breakaway at Majestic Mountains. Situated high up in the

magnificent Drakensberg range, this resort offers breath-taking views while you enjoy the
supreme comforts of our luxurious accommodation and indulge in our first-class cuisine.

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 UNIT 3: Language systems

Don’t delay: book today! You deserve it!

ACTIVITY 10
(1) What kind of a text is the above? What is its purpose?
(2) How much factual information does it contain?
(3) What audience does it target?
(4) Does it appeal to the reader’s emotions, reason, or both?
(5) Comment on how it uses language to achieve its purpose.

Remember to consult the “Suggested answers” section (the final section of this
study guide) if you require any assistance.

3.16 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT

In this unit, we have demonstrated how to analyse texts of different types; specifically
narrative, argumentative and persuasive texts. We have stressed that texts and
discourse must always be seen in relation to the social circumstances in which they
occur. Texts not only reflect their contexts, writers and audiences, but also construct
the world in ways that indicate and reinforce embedded ideologies.

We have pointed out and explained the different strategies − linguistic and visual
− that writers employ to achieve their different purposes. We urge you to practise
recognising and understanding these strategies in the discourse you encounter in
everyday life. We also encourage you to use some of the techniques we have considered
in this unit to make your own writing more effective.

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4 UNIT 4
4 ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND VARIATION

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this study unit, you should be able to:

• distinguish between the different varieties of English that occur in different

parts of the world and in South Africa
• distinguish between standard and non-standard English
• apply your knowledge of the different English varieties in accordance with the
particular social context and purpose
• identify the features of personal varieties or idiolects
• identify the particular disciplines to which specialist varieties of English are linked
• identify the features that distinguish spoken from the written variety of English
• use the standard variety of English when it is appropriate to do so

PRESCRIBED READING (E-RESERVES)

• Jones, Rodney H. 2019. Discourse analysis: a resource book for students.
pp. 17–20.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The name “English” may seem to denote a single concept – a particular modern
language – but English is by no means a homogenous language. Numerous varieties
of English exist and different kinds of English are used all over the world every
day, which actually makes “English” a pluralised, heterogenous phenomenon.
Some important factors which give rise to different kinds of English are regional
(geographical location) and situational (the particular social context). Language
also serves as an identity marker for particular groups and individuals; so, personal
factors (who is producing the language) also come into play, influencing the kind of
English that is used. Specialist varieties of language, related to particular disciplines
and discourses, also exist. All these variations in a single language highlight a key
characteristic of language: its dynamism. Language is constantly changing and
evolving to meet the needs of its speakers.

In this study unit, we consider the different varieties of English that have come into
being as a result of multiple factors. We explore the features of indigenised varieties
of English; its standard and non-standard varieties; individual varieties; specialist
varieties and the differences between the spoken and written varieties of English.

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 UNIT 4: English language use and variation

4.2 ENGLISH AND ITS GLOBAL VARIETIES

English originated in England about 1 500 years ago. Today, it is a global language
and is used as a lingua franca – a language used to enable communication between
people with different mother tongues. How and why has this phenomenon occurred?
How could a language coming from one country – a tiny island – become a world
language?

The spread of English worldwide is largely the legacy of colonialism which imposed
English usage on the peoples it dominated in various parts of the world. This reflected
the power of the British Empire, which was at its height in the 19th century. English
then developed in different ways in different geographical regions, absorbing elements
of indigenous languages. As a consequence, over time, different varieties of English
evolved across different regions of the world. National varieties of English such as
American, British, Australian, South African and Indian English are recognised as
distinct from one another. In the inside front cover of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary there is a list of 15 varieties of English worldwide. In the dictionary itself,
abbreviations such as ‘IndE’, ‘NAmE’ or ‘SAfrE’ are written next to certain words
to indicate that the word is Indian, North American or South African in origin or
spelling. For this reason, some people believe that we should talk of “Englishes”
rather than “English”.

The terms “monomodal” and “polymodal” are sometimes used to describe different
views on the issue of different English varieties (Mullany & Stockwell 2010: 256).
Some scholars uphold the monomodel approach, contending that standard English
should be the British-based, educated, native-speaker variety. Non-British varieties
of English, which include language features that are specific to other parts of the
world, are considered “non-standard”, and unique linguistic features are regarded
as “deviations” from the norm. Supporters of the polymodel approach, however,
argue in favour of the acceptance of second-language varieties of English, which
include words and grammatical features derived from other contexts and influenced
by local languages. Such features are seen in positive terms as signs of enrichment
and innovation rather than undesirable “deviations”.

There are two main standard forms of English: British and American. “A totally
uniform, regionally neutral … variety of Standard English does not yet exist
worldwide” (Crystal 1994: 113).

4.3 THE AMERICAN VARIETY OF ENGLISH

After the colonial era, English continued to spread and grow in other parts of the
world because of its use in technology, commerce and science. But a major driver of the
globalisation of English has been the power of America, particularly American media
and popular culture, disseminated worldwide through television and film. American
English uses vocabulary and spelling which differ from British English. South Africa
follows the British standard, but we often encounter American usage in the English
we read and hear. The global spread of American culture and influence is sometimes
humorously referred to as “Coca-colonialism” or the “Macdonaldization” of the world
(Horne & Heinemann 2006: 7). These two words reflect the tremendous commercial
power of the United States, which has contributed in no small way to the worldwide
dominance of English.

ENG2601/50145


ACTIVITY 1
In your academic studies at Unisa, you are required to use British, not American,
conventions of language and spelling.

Insert South African/British equivalents for the following American words and
spellings in the spaces provided.

US English SA/British English

Vocabulary
Diaper ..........
Pacifier ..........
Sidewalk ..........
Elevator ..........
Automobile ..........
Gasoline ..........
Icebox ...........
Fries ..........
Spelling
Favorite ..........
Traveler ..........
Theater ..........
Color ..........
Tire ..........
Center ..........
Defense ………
Mold ………

4.4 THE PRAGMATIC VALUE OF ENGLISH

During the colonial era, English was imposed on colonised people; in other words,
they had no option but to learn to speak it. Now that the colonial era is over, why,
do you think, do more and more and more people choose to learn English? Why
are you studying it?

People all over the world choose to learn English for pragmatic reasons: it is
the chief language of international business and academic conferences, and the
leading language of international tourism. Most of the scientific, technological and
academic information in the world is expressed in English, and over 80 per cent of
all electronic information is stored in English. It is also the main language of satellite
broadcasting, home computers and videos (Crystal 1995: 106). Its spread is currently
being accelerated by its use as the global language of the internet.

Like most UNISA students, you are studying English because it is an essential part
of higher education and because it provides the key to employment and economic

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 UNIT 4: English language use and variation

opportunities. To succeed at university, you need to be proficient in standard and

academic English. (Academic English will be discussed in the next and final unit.)

4.5 THE STANDARD VARIETY OF ENGLISH

What exactly do we mean by the term “standard English”?

Standard English is the variety taught at school and used for official purposes. It
is the kind of English used in the newspaper and by newsreaders on the radio and
television. It is fairly formal and most common in the written form. Standard English
enjoys a higher status than other varieties of English and is associated with prestige.
There are definite social and educational benefits of being able to use standard English.

In linguistic terms, standard English is not “better” than other kinds of English
which may communicate very effectively. However, if non-standard English is used
in a formal context (such as a court of law, or a job interview) where this would not
be appropriate, the speaker could be stigmatised and this could count against him
or her. Unjust as it seems, this serves to highlight the fact that the standard variety
carries status and is generally seen as the mark of education and respectability. Such
impressions are based on prejudice rather than fact, but they reflect the reality that
language is a marker of social status and can entrench unequal power relations.

It needs to be pointed out that non-standard features of language may, over time,
become accepted as standard usage. Language is in a continual process of change,
and what is unacceptable usage today may become acceptable tomorrow.

4.6 THE SOUTH AFRICAN VARIETY OF ENGLISH

South Africa is a multilingual country with a complex language situation. It has
11 official languages which, in theory, enjoy equal status but, as English is used as
a lingua franca and is the language of government, higher learning and business,
the reality is that it dominates over the other ten languages. There is concern in
some quarters that the hegemonic (dominant) status of English poses a threat to
indigenous languages, cultures and ways of thinking. The dominance of English is
also perceived as a means of maintaining unequal power relations: those who are
proficient in English have undeniable advantages over those who are not.

It is not surprising that within this multilingual context, English has been influenced
by the indigenous languages. South African English (SAfrE) has its own distinctive
character. Words from other South African languages − such as trek, veld, koppie,
braai, biltong, dagga, gogga, bundu and indaba − have been absorbed and are now part
of the accepted lexicon. Some words are not unique to South Africa, but are used
in ways that are peculiar to our country. The word “shame”, for example, is a South
African response to the sight of a baby or cute puppy, or is used to express sympathy
for someone’s misfortune, whereas a British person would use “shame” to mean
“disgrace” (“his drunken condition was a source of shame to the team”) or “a great
pity” (“it was a shame that he did not live to see his daughter graduate”). South
Africans use the word “robot” to refer to traffic lights, whereas “robot” denotes
a mechanical man in other parts of the world. There are many examples of South
African English usage which would not make sense to English speakers from other
countries.

ENG2601/501 47


In spite of the general-sounding term “South African English”, not all South Africans
speak the same kind of English. If speakers are second (or additional) language
speakers of English, their primary language or mother tongue as well as other social
and economic factors will influence the way they speak English. This brings us to
the concept of dialects.

4.7 SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH DIALECTS

Apart from the national variety known as “South African English”, there are also
sub-varieties or dialects in use within South Africa.

What does the term “dialect” mean?

Dialect refers to a distinctive sub-variety of a language. Its features may be seen in

its non-standard lexis (vocabulary), syntax (grammar) and phonology (accent and
pronunciation). Familiarity with a particular dialect identifies a speaker’s regional
and social background.

In South Africa, new urban dialects such as Is’camtho have come into being, used by
certain speech communities in particular social networks. Is’camtho has distinctive
characteristics: it combines elements of English, Afrikaans and the Nguni group of
African languages. Such dialects give their users a sense of shared identity. Speaking
the dialect is a way of signalling membership of an “in-group” and showing social
solidarity with them.

Linguists recognise South African ethnic sub-varieties of English such as Indian

English (SAIE), characterised by expressions like “I had so much of housework”’,
instead of “I had so much housework”; Black South African English (BSAE); and
the dialect spoken by the Cape Coloured community which comprises a mixture of
English and Afrikaans.

As mentioned earlier, non-standard language features may, over time, become

accepted as standard usage. In South Africa, Black South African English (BSAE)
is increasingly used in government and other public domains, so some of its features
may eventually come to be regarded as standard. This demonstrates how issues of
power may affect the status of a language.

ACTIVITY 2
Below are some examples of Black South African English (BSAE). Identify the
non-standard features and rewrite each sentence in standard English below each
example.

Drugs they are dangerous.

________________________________________________________

The teacher gives too much homeworks.

________________________________________________________

Now that I have saved up enough money, I can be able to buy the car.

________________________________________________________

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 UNIT 4: English language use and variation

My mother is having a bad temper.

________________________________________________________

My father he works very hard.

________________________________________________________

He swear that he will pay the money back.

________________________________________________________

The wife told his husband to get out of the house.

________________________________________________________

She did not give him chance to explain.

________________________________________________________

She was very much suspicious.

________________________________________________________

This made him to become angry.

________________________________________________________

This misfortunes made them to divorce.

________________________________________________________

He no longer has a peace of mind.

________________________________________________________

4.8 LANGUAGE VARIETY AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

Do you always use the same kind of language wherever you are, and no matter whom
you are with? Or does it change according to the situation you are in? If English is
not your primary language, when do you use your mother tongue, and when do you
use English? Think about the way you use language as you move through a typical
day, from the time you wake up until you go to sleep at night. When you do use
English, is it always the same kind?

ACTIVITY 3
Write your name in the centre of a page, and branching out from this, write down the
different social contexts you are involved in. Think of your personal relationships,
the groups you belong to, and your work situation. Then add the language or
variety of language you use in each of these situations.

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ACTIVITY 4
Consider the following communication from a student to a lecturer, via e-mail.
Would you regard the language use as appropriate for the context, audience and
purpose? Give reasons for your answer.

Hey Doc, I’m still waiting 4 my books for this course. I haven’t got the bucks
to buy them right now. How can I be able to do my assignments if I haven’t
got the books? I’m stressing big time. It’d really be cool if you could give
me more time. Pleez!

thanx

Thandi

4.9 INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGE VARIETIES: IDIOLECTS

Language is an important part of identity, both group and individual. Just as we have
distinctive behavioural habits which reveal aspects of our personalities, the way we
use language discloses a great deal about who we are as individuals. We may not be
aware of it, but we tend to repeat certain features of language in the vocabulary and
sentence constructions we choose. How we sound to others will be determined by
our accents, pronunciation, the volume and speed with which we talk, and where
we place stress in words and sentences. All these factors combine to form what is
known as an “idiolect”: an individual’s personal dialect.

ACTIVITY 5
Listen to the way you yourself and others around you speak, and notice what words,
structures and expressions you tend to favour. Make notes on your observations.

Many different factors will have shaped these idiolects, including age, gender,
mother tongue (if this is not English), level of education and occupation. It could
be said that each of us has our own personal variety of English, which is as unique
as a fingerprint. Language expresses identity.

4.10 SPECIALIST VARIETIES OF ENGLISH

Texts from different disciplines and occupations use English which contains specialised
vocabulary (sometimes called “jargon”) and language structures. Texts from these
different fields are linked to larger systems of knowledge called “orders of discourse”
(Jones 2019: 17). Economic, scientific, legal and medical texts are examples of various
orders of discourse. People with little or no experience in the fields would find it
difficult to follow these texts: they are not intended for the uninitiated. The writers
assume that their audiences have the relevant background knowledge, vocabulary
and a certain kind of education to understand them.

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 UNIT 4: English language use and variation

ACTIVITY 6
Read the following four texts and identify to which orders of discourse they belong.
Try to pinpoint the specific language features which enabled you to do this.

TEXT 1

Low-pollution exhaust gas

The concentration of pollutants in the exhaust gas is directly related to the

air-fuel ratio. If the engine is to be operated with the least pollutant emission,
then a fuel-management system is necessary which is capable of maintaining
a given air-fuel ratio. The L-Jetronic works so precisely that the precise mixture
formation necessary for observing the present-day exhaust regulations is
guaranteed.

Higher power output per litre

The fact that there is no carburettor enables the intake passages to be

designed aerodynamically in order to achieve optimum air distribution and
cylinder charge and, thus, greater torque. Since the fuel is injected directly
onto the intake valves, the engine receives only air through the intake
manifold. This results in a higher power output per litre and a torque curve
appropriate to practice.

TEXT 2

The 2005 Amended Code of sexual harassment refers to “unwelcome conduct

of a sexual nature” that violates the rights of an employee and constitutes a
barrier to equity in the workplace, taking into account the following factors:

4.1 whether the harassment is on the prohibited grounds of sex and/or

gender and/or sexual orientation;
4.2 whether the sexual conduct was unwelcome;
4.3 the nature and extent of the sexual conduct; and
4.4 the impact of the sexual conduct on the employee’.

TEXT 3

South Africa’s economic growth prospects for 2019 took a knock yesterday
as the gross domestic product (GDP) print in the third quarter showed that
the expected bumper sales in the festive season may not be able to buck the
downward trend. Data from Statistics SA (StatsSA) showed that the economy
surprised on the downside, contracting 0.6 percent from the unexpected
3.2 percent growth in the second quarter.

TEXT 4

The high proportion of inpatient and outpatient costs as a result of infections

suggests that the treatment of infections is critical in secondary level care
for ART patients, especially for tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis and
bacterial pneumonia. Treatment of infections remains one of the most costly
and complex aspects of HIV care.

The mean CD4 count for outpatients was higher than for inpatients, and
there were also lower total and per-patient costs of care per outpatient than

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per inpatient. This finding illustrates the importance of earlier diagnosis and
initiation onto ART to avert these high inpatient costs.

4.11 SPOKEN VS WRITTEN VARIETIES OF ENGLISH

Spoken English, except in the case of formal speeches which are pre-written and then
read, usually differs in several respects from written English. It is more interactive than
written language, and chats between friends will most likely contain colloquialisms
(e.g. ‘kids’ rather than ‘children’); contractions (‘don’t’; ‘isn’t’); incomplete sentences;
‘tag questions’ (such as ‘have you’ in remarks like, “you haven’t told him, have you?”);
borrowings from other languages, such as Afrikaans or isiZulu, while speaking
English (“this apple is vrot inside”); and various other markers of informal speech.
Non-fluency features like the fillers ‘er’ and ‘umm’ will occur as speakers hesitate or
struggle to find the right word. We also make use of expressions like ‘as I said’, or ‘you
know’, as well as repetition to fill gaps in the flow of speech. These are all perfectly
acceptable qualities of spoken language, which is, by its very nature, unplanned and
spontaneous. (Refer to your prescribed text (Jones, pp. 17–19) for a discussion on
the characteristics of spoken language.)

Formal speeches, news reports and academic writing, by contrast, are characterised by
full sentences, absence of slang and standard English vocabulary. Generally, written
English contains more words that are long and polysyllabic than spoken English
which makes greater use of shorter, more common words. Written texts tend to use
longer sentences and more complex clauses.

ACTIVITY 7
Consider the two texts which follow. Both of them deal with the same topic: power
cuts, or what South Africans call ‘load shedding’.

Which text was written and which was spoken? Find examples and make notes on
the linguistic features that enabled you to answer this question. Consider vocabulary
(colloquial vs. formal; short vs. polysyllabic words), length and construction of
sentences and any other features you find significant.

TEXT 1

I’m sick and tired of the blackouts we keep having. This morning I couldn’t
even make a cup of tea before going to work, never mind put on the washing
machine. And you know there’s no warning. The lights go off and we don’t
know for how long. It’s about time the municipality jacked up its services.
This is not good enough.

TEXT 2

As a ratepayer who regularly pays my bills, I wish to lodge a complaint

about the frequent power cuts we are experiencing. This causes serious
inconvenience and interferes with normal daily routines. We are not warned in
advance that the power will be interrupted for indefinite periods, so are unable
to prepare ourselves. The service you provide is entirely unsatisfactory and I

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 UNIT 4: English language use and variation

would like the assurance that you are investigating the problems and devising
ways of solving them. The present situation is completely unacceptable.

4.12 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT

In this unit, we have discussed variations in English usage as a result of where and
why it occurs. Whether the variety used is appropriate for the audience and purpose
is context-dependent. Non-standard varieties are acceptable in informal situations,
but not appropriate in more formal ones. There are definite social and educational
advantages of gaining proficiency in the standard variety of English, which certain
situations call for. We hope this unit has helped you to understand and develop
your awareness of variation in English, and sensitivity to which variety of English
is appropriate in particular contexts.

4.13 REFERENCES
Crystal, David. 1994. ‘Which English, or English which?’ in Mike Hayhoe and Stephen
Parker, Who owns English? Buckingham: Open University Press.
Crystal, David. 1995. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Horne FJ & G. Heinemann. 2006. English in Perspective. Cape Town: Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
Mullany L & P. Stockwell. 2010. Introducing Language: A Resource Book for Students.
London: Routledge.

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5 UNIT 5
5 ACADEMIC ENGLISH

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this study unit, you should:

• explain what academic English is

• develop your own academic writing skills
• be able to write an academic essay
• apply accurate referencing techniques

PRESCRIBED READING
The parts from your prescribed texts which are relevant to this unit are:

• ‌ he suitcase by Es’kia Mphahlela

T
• ‌Jones, Rodney H. 2019. Discourse analysis, sections A1–A5 (pp. 2–20)

NB: If you use different editions from the ones prescribed, then the page
numbers would differ from those listed.

These sections should be read in conjunction with the study material that follows.

5.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit, we made the point that many varieties of English exist and
are used to communicate in different situations for a range of purposes. Every
variety is effective if used in the right circumstances, but non-standard varieties are
inappropriate in certain contexts. Higher education is one context where non-standard
English usage is unacceptable and where proficiency in a formal style of Standard
English − known as academic English − is prescribed. You will have encountered
this variety in your university studies thus far, since it is the accepted medium of
discourse at tertiary level. In this final unit of the module, we focus on academic
English as a discipline in its own right. You need to understand and follow the
conventions of academic writing in order to succeed at university. We will demonstrate
the proper usage of this variety and show you what kind of language you should
avoid using in a university context. We also offer guidelines on how to approach the
task of writing an academic essay, and how to use referencing techniques properly.

5.2 ACADEMIC WRITING

Academic writing is a formal type of writing used at university and other institutions
of higher learning. Students are expected to acquire this type of writing and use it

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 UNIT 5: Academic english

in their assignments and examinations. The academic world is a prescriptive context

that has clear rules about the style, structure and language of written prose. Academic
English should be grammatically correct, free of colloquialisms, contractions,
subjective opinions and emotive language. Academic essays should be logically
structured and their arguments well supported. Quotations should be integrated into
sentences grammatically and sources properly acknowledged and referenced. Faulty
grammar, errors of spelling and punctuation and a text that is carelessly put together
are heavily penalised in an academic context as it gives a negative impression of the
writer’s linguistic competence.

ACTIVITY 1
Read the following text and identify and underline the features that would not
be appropriate if used in an assignment or examination. Suggest changes or
corrections that need to be made for it to become an acceptable in an academic
context.

Macbeth was this seriously brave dude in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth who
made a name for himself as a soldier. He killed a large amount of opponents
in battle. The king was a good guy called Duncan who recognised Macbeth’s
bravery and rewarded him with a promotion. But that was not enough for
Macbeth. He was ambitious and when he met 3 witches who said he was
going to be king one day, he decided to take a shortcut and kill Duncan
so he could be the king straight away. The minute he did this, everything
started to go wrong in Scotland. The weather went wild and for some reason
horses even started to eat each other. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, had put
pressure on him bigtime to commit the murder. She was afraid her husband
was too full of the milk of human kindness to murder the king so she mocked
him for being a softie when he was like ‘we will proceed no further with this
business’. She was a hectic character who said she wouldn’t hesitate to kill
her own kids if she had to. In the end, everything backfired on them. Lady
Macbeth went off her head and committed suicide, while Macbeth was killed
by a guy called Macduff. ‘This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.’ It just
shows you that crime does not pay and what goes around comes around.
I thought the story was great!

5.3 SUGGESTED ANSWER

Various reasons for the unsuitability of the underlined features in the above text
are listed below.

Colloquialisms: There are numerous examples of informal expression that is too

casual and/or modern for this context. Suggested replacements follow each example.

seriously brave dude: extremely brave soldier

made a name for himself: distinguished himself, became famous for

a good guy: a good man

The number 3 should be written out in full as three.

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take a shortcut: hasten the process

the minute he did this: as soon as he did this

put pressure on him bigtime: Lady Macbeth put strong pressure on him.

a softie: too gentle/unmanly

when he was like: ‘…’. when he said: ‘…’.

hectic: intense and determined

wouldn’t (contraction): would not

kids: babies, children

everything backfired on them: everything went wrong for / turned against them

went off her head: Lady Macbeth became mentally disturbed.

what goes around comes around: evil deeds rebound on their perpetrators

great: excellent, powerful

great! Avoid exclamation marks: they create an excitable tone which is not suitable
in an academic text.

5.4 ERRORS OF PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR

The whole answer is written in the past tense: ‘Macbeth was …’. When discussing
works of literature, we use the present tense. ‘Macbeth is …’ and comment on events
as though they are happening now.

‘Shakespeares play’: missing apostrophe to show possession: Shakespeare’s play.

‘Shakespeare’s play Macbeth’: titles of literary texts should be underlined or written

in italics: ‘Shakespeare’s play Macbeth/Macbeth’.

‘a large amount of opponents’: a large number of opponents. ‘Opponents’ is a

countable noun: ‘amount’ is used in relation to uncountable nouns.

‘scotland’: capital/uppercase initial letters should be used for proper nouns: ‘Scotland’
(in this case, a place name)

Other problems:

‘for some reason horses even started to eat each other’: ‘for some reason’ is vague,
indecisive and careless in tone. The play Macbeth demonstrates very clearly why
unnatural events occurred in the wake of King Duncan’s murder. According to the
Elizabethan world view, such a social violation would disrupt the natural order and
reverberate throughout the cosmos.

‘It just shows you that crime does not pay and what goes around comes around’.
Apart from the fact that this expression is too colloquial and relies on stale clichés,
it is also an example of moralising. Avoid imposing general moral judgements on

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characters and events in works of literature, and do not try to extract simplistic moral
‘lessons’ or ‘messages’ from the complex situations they describe.

‘I thought the story was great!’ This is a highly subjective, personal remark which is
unsubstantiated and therefore has no value as an academic response. ‘Great’ in this
colloquial sense is meaningless. Unless you are prepared to support your opinion, it
is advisable to refrain from assigning merit to a literary work.

5.5 ERRORS/SHORTCOMINGS IN REFERENCING

Referencing in-text:

‘She was afraid her husband was too full of the milk of human kindness to murder
the king’: This sentence incorporates direct quotation from the play, so the quoted
words should be enclosed in quotation marks and followed by the reference. ‘She
was afraid her husband was “too full of the milk of human kindness” (I. 5. 13) to
murder the king’.

Act number, scene number and line number(s) must be provided in the case of a play.
(In the case of a prose work, page number(s) must be given; if the text is a poem,
the line number(s) must be supplied.)

‘He said “We will proceed no further in this business”.’ Another example of a direct
quotation which is indicated by quotation marks but which lacks a reference. It should
read: ‘He said: “We will proceed no further in this business” (I. 7. 31).’

‘This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.’ This quotation is not incorporated
syntactically, nor is the reference (5. 9. 35) provided. Quotations should form part
of grammatical sentences, be linked to a comment and be referenced. Do not expect
detached quotations to speak for themselves. Replace with: ‘By the end of the play
the couple are described as “this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen” (5. 9. 35),
which illustrates how debased and hated they have become.’

Referencing post-text:

Two sources are cited: the primary source of Macbeth, and the secondary source of
the Unisa Study Guide. Details are lacking in both these references. Full details of
authorship, dates of publication and names and places of the publishers need to be
included. (Later in this unit we demonstrate correct referencing techniques.)

Notice that the student shows knowledge of the plot of the play and insight into
the main characters’ motives. However, an answer like this would fail because of
inappropriate use of English. This should demonstrate that content knowledge is
not enough to ensure a pass. Correct expression is just as important.

Here now is a revised version of the text written in appropriate, academic English.
Notice that all verbs have been changed to the present tense in keeping with the
literary convention that events in a work of literature are discussed as though they
are occurring now, and that full bibliographical details have been supplied.

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character Macbeth is a brave fighter

who distinguishes himself as a soldier. He kills a large number of opponents
in battle. The king is a good man called Duncan who recognises Macbeth’s
bravery and rewards him with a promotion. But that is not enough for Mac-

ENG2601/501 57


beth. He is ambitious and when he meets three witches who prophesy that
he will be king one day, he decides to hasten the process and kill Duncan so
he can be the king straight away. As soon as he does this, everything starts
to go wrong in Scotland. The weather becomes wild and horses even start
to eat each other, showing that the natural order has been violated and the
cosmos is in turmoil. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, puts strong pressure on
him to commit the murder. She is afraid her husband is ‘too full of the milk
of human kindness’ (I. 5. 13) to murder the king so she mocks him for being
unmanly when he states: ‘We will proceed no further in this business (I. 7.
31)’. She is an intense, determined character who says she would not hesitate
to kill her own babies if she had to. As the play proceeds, events turn against
them. Lady Macbeth becomes mentally disturbed and commits suicide, while
Macbeth is killed by a man called Macduff. By the end of the play the couple
are described as ‘this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen’ (5. 9. 35), which
illustrates how debased and hated they have become. The play is a powerful
dramatisation of the tragic consequences of unbridled ambition, both for
individuals and the country.

References

• Shakespeare, William. 2001. Macbeth. Stratford Series. Ed. F.C.H. Rumboll. Cape
Town: Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Ltd.
• Graham-Smith, G., Donaldson, E., Van Niekerk, M. & Williams M. 2014.
Shakespeare’s Dramatic Art. Pretoria: University of South Africa.

5.6 ESSAY WRITING

The textual example in the above activity aimed to demonstrate acceptable versus
unacceptable English usage in an academic context, but, as you will have noticed,
the sample text we used was a single paragraph, not an essay, whereas most of the
responses expected of you at this level will be in essay form. We now go on to
consider the requirements of a good academic essay, and what we look for when we
mark your assignment and examination essays.

5.7 CRITERIA USED TO ASSESS YOUR ESSAYS

• Structure: essays should have an Introduction (a single paragraph), a Body (several
paragraphs) and a Conclusion (a single paragraph). However, you should not
write out the headings (Introduction, Body and Conclusion) within the
body of your essay.
• Register and tone: an academic essay should make use of a formal register and
tone and should be free of colloquial language (such as those used in Activity
X above).
• Cohesion, coherence and grammatical expression: language should be
clear and correct. Sentences and paragraphs should be logically linked, using
connectors and discourse markers (see section on cohesion for examples)
where appropriate, so that the argument is easy to follow, and the discussion has
a smooth and continuous flow.
• Content: essays should show that enough research has been done to ensure that
there is enough substance, and that you understand the given topic. All points
should be adequately substantiated with references (examples) from the
given text.

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• Referencing: all sources used in the assignment need to be referenced and

acknowledged, both in-text and in the References/Bibliography at the end. The
Unisa English Department requires the Harvard method of referencing. We will
explain this method later.

5.8 PARAGRAPHS
Paragraphs form the substance of essays. But what exactly do we mean by the term
‘paragraph’?

A paragraph is NOT:

• just a collection of sentences

• a set number of sentences
• always half a page long
• a collection of many different ideas
• a way of segmenting a page so that the layout looks good

A paragraph is a group of sentences that form a unit. It should have one central idea
which is well developed. There should be unity and coherence of ideas among the
sentences in a paragraph. Every sentence and paragraph in an essay should relate to
the topic and contribute to the meaning of the whole.

The introductory paragraph

An introduction is the first paragraph of your essay. It aims to introduce readers to

the topic as well as highlight issues that will be discussed in the rest of the essay.
From reading your introduction, your reader should have an overview of what your
essay will be all about. It can be compared to a road map that prepares the reader
before undertaking the reading journey. As first impressions are important, the
introduction should be presented in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading.
Normally, an introduction gives some context or background on the topic concerned,
and explains or defines the topic to the reader. The introductory paragraph should
include a thesis statement which indicates your standpoint on the topic concerned.
This means that it should at a glance show the reader your stance on the topic.

The body of the essay

The body of an essay consists of an unspecified number of paragraphs and carries the
main argument and discussion of the topic, each paragraph deals with a particular
aspect. Linking words and phrases (discourse markers) which guide the argument
and the reader are very important in the body of the essay, as they create cohesion
and coherence in the text.

The concluding paragraph

A conclusion summarises points covered in the body of the essay. It should not bring
in any new ideas. A conclusion should stress the importance of the thesis statement,
give the essay a sense of completeness and leave a final impression on the reader.

ENG2601/501 59


5.9 HOW TO APPROACH THE WRITING OF AN ACADEMIC

ESSAY
The writing processes

An academic text takes a great deal of care and time to produce. You cannot write
an assignment in one day; it is a process that involves many rough drafts and careful
self-editing. Proficiency in academic writing is not achieved overnight but is something
that is developed over time.

The process of writing should begin with thinking (brainstorming), which

subsequently leads to research, material gathering, planning, drafting, revising,
editing, proofreading and writing the final version.

Thinking (brainstorming) is the process of generating ideas. Start any writing

project by engaging in the process of brainstorming on a specific topic. This involves
jotting down any ideas that occur to you as you consider the topic. These could be
single words followed by a question mark, because at this stage you probably know
very little or nothing about the topic. Forming rough questions in your mind is an
excellent starting point for researching a topic, because it makes you receptive to the
information you will be looking for. Brainstorming may also take place in pairs or
groups, where participants throw ideas around to get the thought processes going.
It is helpful to engage other people in this activity if possible.

Research: writing tasks at undergraduate level require you to do research. By ‘research’

we mean you will need to visit the library to look for sources of information like
books and articles and go onto the internet to access electronic reserves. Your ideas
need to be expanded and supported by the body of knowledge or existing literature
on the topic you are exploring. You cannot just give your own ideas and make claims
that are not corroborated by research. However, that does not mean that your writing
should be exclusively about other authors’ ideas. Rather, you should be able to say
‘so-and-so says this on the topic but this is my view’. Your voice should be audible
and your point of view clear on the subject you are writing about. Many students
simply accept what is written in a book at face value without offering any critique
at all, assuming that all written and published work is authoritative and must be the
absolute truth. At university level, we want to develop students who are independent,
critical thinkers and who are able to challenge popular ideas through reasoning.
However, the ENG2601 module usually expects you to focus on the text at
hand for reference. Unless stated otherwise, you must not bring in new ideas
to substantiate your arguments. Use the text provided and develop your own
ideas in conjunction with the study guide and textbooks. These sources must
be cited in the body of your assignment and in the bibliography.

The research stage involves collecting material for your essay. Write down information
you find that is relevant to the topic, a process that involves selecting what is
pertinent, and discarding what is unnecessary. Remember to note down sources as
you go along. You will have to acknowledge these when you write the final version,
so make sure you keep details so you can reference them accurately. Carelessness
at this stage can cost you dearly later, when you must waste time hunting for where
you found certain points or quotations.

Planning: the second stage in the process of writing is planning, which involves
arranging the material you have gathered. This means you have to decide how, and in

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 UNIT 5: Academic english

what order, you will present the material. Logic should guide this process. An essay
with well-organised material makes comprehension easier and is a pleasure to read.

One useful strategy in the planning stage is using mind maps (also known as ‘spray’
or ‘spider’ diagrams). Place your topic in the middle of a blank page and draw a circle
around it. Then, from the circle, draw lines radiating outwards, like the spokes of a
wheel. Put down different points at the end of these lines, and, branching out from
these, add further points where necessary. These help you to see the different aspects
of the topic you have discovered and will make it easier for you to decide where in
your essay you will place them. Each of the points or ’spokes’ could form the basis
of a paragraph in your final essay.

Drafting: the next stage is drafting. This entails writing down your points in sentence
and paragraph form. Over-long, convoluted sentence constructions should be avoided.
Consecutive sentences and paragraphs should follow each other meaningfully.

As indicated earlier, students are prone to submitting the first written draft as the
final one which they submit. You should have several drafts before you even think
of submitting the work for evaluation. If possible, ask one or two friends or family
members to read your drafts critically and give comments. Even if they are not
familiar with the subject matter, they will be able to tell you if something is unclear
or needs further explanation, or if there are gaps which need to be filled. Ensure
that you have used discourse markers to ‘signpost’ your discussion clearly. Also make
sure that your introductory paragraph prepares the reader for what is contained in
the body of the essay, and that your conclusion sums up the content and does not
bring in any new points.

Editing and proofreading: this is a vitally important process before you submit
your written assignment. You need to spend a lot of time checking and improving
drafts you have previously written. Any writing that is full of grammar errors, poor
sentence construction and lacks coherence demonstrates that the work has not been
edited and proofread carefully enough. In English courses, these kinds of mistakes
will be heavily penalised. We urge you not to lose marks unnecessarily on careless
language and expression.

Writing of the final version: this is the last part of the process. After following all
the steps above, your work is now ready for submission. You need to ensure that it
is clean, neatly presented and that all grammar mistakes have been corrected. Your
final version should be work you are proud of.

Students who spend the time following all these stages in their writing are likely to
perform well in their written assignments.

Remember that you should not use subheadings or point-form in an essay. All your
points should be expressed as full sentences, and the effective use of linking words
and discourse markers make subheadings unnecessary.

ACTIVITY 2
Reflect on your writing habits in the past. What do you usually do before submitting
your written work for evaluation? Please be honest with yourself. Look at assignments

ENG2601/50161


which have been marked and returned to you. What problems were identified?
Can you see how they could have been avoided or improved?

5.10 PLAGIARISM
It is very important to cite your sources when you have used ideas other than your own
in a text. Failure to do so may lead you to commit an offence known as plagiarism.
Plagiarism is using someone’s ideas without acknowledgement. It is also known as
academic theft, and you may be suspended from your studies for up to a period
of five years if found guilty of this transgression. You may also fail the course as a
result of plagiarism.

Since the arrival of the internet, it has become very easy to access and copy material
and, as a result, plagiarism has become a widespread problem in education. There is
a mistaken belief that all material available on websites is in the public domain and
may be used without acknowledgement. Lecturers who mark students’ assignments
are very aware of the practice of cutting and pasting internet material straight into
essays without acknowledgement, and are on the lookout for changes in writing styles
within a single text. Inconsistencies in the kind of language used make it obvious
which parts of the assignment are not the student’s own work. Also, plagiarism-
detection software exists, which helps markers to trace and prove that material has
been copied verbatim from an internet source, in which case students are given no
marks for their work, and risk worse consequences.

To avoid plagiarism, you should use in-text referencing (as demonstrated in the
Macbeth text above and discussed in the section on referencing which follows), and
cite all sources you have referred to in your list of references at the end.

Another way of avoiding plagiarism is by paraphrasing. Paraphrasing involves writing

an extended version of the original thought but using your own words. You still need
to give credit to the source of the information, however. Paraphrasing is one of the
most important skills that university students should acquire.

5.11 REFERENCING STYLES

It is very important as a student to be acquainted with the referencing styles preferred
by the different departments responsible for the subjects you are studying. There are
several referencing styles, including Harvard, the American Psychological Association
(APA) and the Modern Languages Association (MLA). The Harvard method is the
house-style preferred by the English Department at Unisa. We have therefore chosen
to explain and demonstrate this style in the following section. You will need to find
out what styles are favoured by the other subjects you are studying and follow those
when submitting work for other departments.

Referencing accurately is an important skill you need to learn. Many students fail to
provide lists of references used in their assignments, or, if they do, details are missing,
and entries are carelessly put together. You need to cite references comprehensively
and give meticulous attention to the correct punctuation. Use the following examples
as models when you write your assignments.

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 UNIT 5: Academic english

Harvard referencing style

Books: Single author

The Harvard referencing system follows the format set out below, and in the following
order: author’s surname, initials, year of publication, book title (in italics), edition
(if applicable), editor (if applicable), place of publication and publisher. Punctuation
must be used exactly as in the examples below. Only the initial word and proper
nouns in the title are put in upper case (capitals).

Jones, Rodney H. 2019. Discourse analysis: a resource book for students. London:
Routledge.

Palmer, A. 1998. Principles of services marketing. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Shakespeare, William. 2001. Macbeth. Stratford Series. Ed. F.C.H. Rumboll.

Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Ltd.

Shakespeare, William. 2003. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Philip Edwards.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shober, D. 2008. Writing English with style. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Order of entries

References should be ordered alphabetically, according to the surnames of authors

(see entries above).

Notice also the order of the two Shakespeare texts above. The Macbeth entry has been
placed before the Hamlet one, because its date of publication is earlier.

Books: Multiple authors

Goatly, A. and Hiradhar, P. 2016. Critical reading and writing in the digital age.
London: Routledge.

Note the use of the word ‘and’ between the names of the first and second authors.
If there are only two authors, the word ‘and’ is used, not the ampersand (&).

If there are three authors, the ampersand is used between the second and third authors:

Cooper, P., Codd, J. & Smith, L. 1998. Research methods for management. London:
ABC Publications.

Van der Poel, K., Carstens, W. & Linnegar, J. 2012. Text editing: A handbook for
students and practitioners. Antwerp: UPA University Press.

If there are more than three authors, the ampersand is placed between the second-
last and last authors’ names:

Graham-Smith, G., Donaldson, E., Van Niekerk, M. & Williams, M. 2014.

Shakespeare’s Dramatic Art. Pretoria: University of South Africa.

ENG2601/50163


The above examples show how your references should be listed under References/
Bibliography at the end of your assignment. If you wish to make in-text references,
this is the method to follow:

‘According to Shober (2008), writers need to check ….’

If you are quoting directly from the source, indicate the page number(s):

‘Shober (2008:43) states that “…”.’

If, in the body of your text, you want to refer to a text written by multiple authors, the
first time you do so, you must mention all the authors’ names. In subsequent references,
you may use only the name of the first author, followed by the abbreviation ‘et al’:

‘Some theorists (Cooper et al.:1998) observe that “…”.’

However, all authors’ names must appear in entries in the list of References/
Bibliography at the end of your assignment.

Article in a journal

Author’s/Authors’ Surname(s), Initial(s). Year of publication. ‘Title of article’, Name

of journal (in italics) followed by a comma, volume number (part no.): page numbers.

Note that the title of the article is in inverted commas.

Czerniewicz, L. and Brown, C. 2005. ‘Access to ICT for teaching and learning:
From single artefact to inter-related resources’, International Journal of Education
and Development using Information and Communication Technolog y (IJEDICT), Vol.1
Issue 2: pp. 42–56.

Article in a newspaper

Molefi, M. 2013. “Mediocrity in South African soccer.” Sowetan. 20 March, p.10.

Dissertation

Chokwe, J. 2011. Academic writing in English Second Language contexts: perceptions

and experiences of first-year university students. Unpublished Masters Dissertation.
Pretoria: University of South Africa.

Government publications

South Africa. Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. 1999.

White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage. Pretoria: Government Printers.

Online sources

Christie, W. 2012. ‘“An act hath three branches”: Being and Acting in Hamlet’.
Sydney Studies in English 38:1–18. Available at:

http://openjournals.l ibrar y.usyd.edu.au/index.php/SSE/art icle/

view/6682/7339 (accessed on 20 March 2016).

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Remember, it is essential to be absolutely consistent in your referencing techniques.

You cannot chop and change layout and punctuation at will.

5.12 SUMMARY OF THIS UNIT

This unit has developed your understanding of academic English, the formal genre
or variety of English required in higher education. You have been shown what kind
of language to use and what to avoid when writing your assignments and answering
examination questions. You have also been given guidelines on planning and writing
an essay, ensuring that it is clearly and logically structured in paragraph form with
clear divisions into introduction, body and conclusion. Proper referencing conventions
have also been demonstrated. It is crucial for you to master this style of writing and
observe these academic conventions strictly as this is expected from you at university
level. We hope that what you have learned in this unit will be useful, particularly for
those of you who intend to pursue postgraduate studies.

5.13 REFERENCES
Shakespeare, William. 2001. Macbeth. Stratford Series, Ed. F.C.H. Rumboll. Cape
Town: Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Ltd.
Van der Poel, K., Carstens, W. & Linnegar, J. 2012. Text editing: A handbook for students
and practitioners. Antwerp: UPA University Press.

5.14 CONCLUSION TO THIS MODULE: ENG2601

We hope that this module has increased your understanding of how the English
language works and how context, social situation and purpose affect the kind of
language used. We hope that it has taught you to read more closely and become more
sensitive to the nuances of usage. Most importantly, we hope that it has helped you
to be more discerning in your own use of English, particularly the academic variety
you need to use for your studies.

ENG2601/50165


FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITIES AND

SUGGESTED ANSWERS

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please remember to attempt the activities on your own before consulting these
suggested answers. Where appropriate, we have provided extremely thorough
responses to serve as supplementary study notes as you work your way through
the course.

UNIT 1: COHERENCE AND COHESION

Activity 1

Feedback

Children do not require any explicit teaching, but simply seem to pick up language
quickly and effortlessly from hearing it spoken around them and participating in
conversational interaction with others. First words emerge when children are about
one year old, although this differs slightly from child to child. Children seem to
be better equipped for picking up languages than adults, as you will know if you
have experienced the hard work, slow progress and frustrations of learning a new
language in later life. But adults have an advantage over children in that they have
more advanced abilities and better concentrations spans.

• ‌ he effect of the repetition is to provide clarity about the subject under discussion.
T
Note that, since an extended comparison is used (“children” vs “adults”), repetition
of these individual terms helps to create clarity – rather than the more ambiguous
“they” or “them”.

Activity 2

Feedback

I am an African.

I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the
rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons
that define the face of our native land.

My body has frozen in our frosts and in our latter-day snows. It has thawed in
the warmth of our sunshine and melted in the heat of the midday sun. The crack
and the rumble of the summer thunders, lashed by startling lightning, have been
a cause both of trembling and of hope.

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 Feedback to activities and suggested answers

• I‌ n this speech, the extensive use of ‘natural images’ creates synonymy cohesion.
Although none of these words means quite the same thing, the effect is to show –
unambiguously – that the speaker identifies himself with the landscape of Africa.

Activity 3

Feedback

Maybe the first clue was a disturbing detail; a crack that ran through an otherwise
pristine wall, or a set of broken windows in an office you passed. Or the fact that
the fountain was dry and full of sand at the bottom. And you slowed down, looking
around you with vague anxiety and suddenly it all came into clear focus. The weeds
in the joints of the pavements and bricks, the grass growing at places in the street,
the fused lamps and the empty shops behind their blank glass fronts and mildew
and damp and blistered paint and the marks of rain on every surface and the slow
tumbling down of solid structures, sometimes grain by grain, sometimes in pieces.
And you were not sure any more of where you were.

• I‌ n this extract, the use of opposites creates antonymy cohesion – with the
effect of emphasising the “disturbing details” and reinforcing the sense of
dislocation communicated by the text.

Activity 4

Feedback

At this stage of the liberation process, we have become very sensitive to the role
played by the World’s big powers in affecting the direction of that process. In a sense
America – your country has played a shameful role in her relations with our country.

Given the clear analysis of our problems, the choice is very simple for America in
shaping her policy towards present day South Africa. The interests of black and
white politically have been diametrically opposed to each other. America’s choice
is narrowed down to either entrenching the existing minority white regime or
alternatively assisting in a very definite way, the attainment of the aspirations of
millions of the black population as well as those of whites of goodwill.

• I‌ n this extract, collocation cohesion is created through the use of words and
terms that belong to the same semantic field of political liberation. The effect is
to underline the urgency of the speaker’s message and to underscore the justice
of his claims.

Activity 5

Feedback

Most South Africans claim they would like to live in a more environmentally
sustainable society, but they are unsure of how to achieve it. The statistics from 2019
show that they are recycling more, but they are also consuming more water and
have used more fossil fuels over the course of the year. Managing these resources
is crucial for an environmentally sustainable future for our country, and we must
respond to the challenge.

ENG2601/501 67
FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITIES AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS

Activity 6

Feedback

Most South Africans claim they would like to live in a more environmentally
sustainable society, but they are unsure of how to achieve such a thing. The statistics
from 2019 show that they are recycling more, but they are also consuming more
water and have used more fossil fuels over the course of the year. Managing these
resources is crucial for an environmentally sustainable future for our country, and
we must respond to the challenge.

Activity 7

Feedback

Although in many parts of the world smart phones have led to the democratisation
of opportunity, in some developing countries the effect has been just the opposite. In
these countries, access to the internet remains unequal because of high data costs,
and so just because someone has a smart phone doesn’t mean they can participate
in the global ‘always-on’ economy in the same way.

Activity 8

Feedback

(1) Nthuthuzelo has a car, but (conjunction) I don’t have one (substitution).
(2) The publishers asked who would like to write for the magazine and (conjunc-
tion) I told them (reference) that Thuli wants to (substitution).
(3) I heard the news last night when I was at home, but (conjunction) I couldn’t
leave (ellipsis) in the dark.
(4) Sandra and Andiswe went to the Kruger Park for their honeymoon because
(conjunction) she (reference) had never seen it.
(5) Shoprite has over 450 stores, thus (conjunction) making it (reference) the
largest (ellipsis) in Africa.

Activity 9

Feedback

The following is an explanation of how the Khoisan lived many years ago.

The Khoisan (repetition) were hunters who moved from place to place in search of
food. They (reference) were adept at tracking wild animals, which (conjunction) they
(reference) killed with spears or arrows (collocation). The arrows (repetition) were
tipped with sharp stone or bone (collocation), and (conjunction) these weapons
(synonymy) were deadly in the skilled hands of the master hunters (collocation).

The Khoisan (repetition) used to disguise themselves (repetition) as bushes, buck

or ostriches (collocation) in order to get close to the herd (synonymy). During the
rainy season, in particular, they (reference) supplemented their diet (substitution) with
food from the veld. This included wild roots, berries, locusts and fish (collocation).

Although (conjunction) not much was recorded about the Khoisan in formal
history books, they (reference) have left behind a rich legacy of paintings and
other cultural artefacts, such as musical instruments (collocation).

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Activity 10

Please consult Discourse analysis (2019) by Rodney H. Jones for feedback on this activity.

Activity 11

Feedback for this activity is provided within the body of the study guide.

UNIT 2: LANGUAGE AND MEANING

Activity 1

Feedback

(Note that there many possible responses here.)

(1) A cool breeze came in through the open window. (ADJECTIVE)

(2) It’s probably wise to cool your expectations about that job interview. (VERB)
(3) She has a cool taste in music. (ADJECTIVE – INFORMAL)
(4) The coolness of the water is lovely. (NOUN – NOTE THE CHANGE IN
SUFFIX)

Activity 2

Feedback

(Note that there many possible responses here.)

• ‌Nurse

A person trained to care for the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital.

Kindness, comfort, trustworthiness, etc.

• ‌Snow

Atmospheric water vapour frozen into ice crystals and falling in light white flakes.

Holidays, mountains, skiing, Christmas movies, etc.

• ‌Snake

A long limbless reptile.

Danger, evil, treachery, seduction, etc.

• ‌Blue

A colour found between green and violet on the spectrum.

Coolness, calmness, sadness, depression, etc.

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Activity 3

Feedback

• ‌ he word “terrible” has a strong emotive quality. The use of the word “quarrel”
T
is also interesting – implying familiarity between the parties and perhaps also
downplaying the extent of the problem? The rhythm of the sentence “There has
been looting and burning and violence”, however, creates a sense of the size and
urgency of the issue. The connotations of “looting” and “burning”, especially,
imply lawless, unacceptable behaviour – as if the speaker is refusing to justify the
actions as a legitimate form of protest.
• ‌This speech took place during a spate of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
This accounts for the urgency of the language, as well as the extensive use of
the present tense. Note that my addressing himself as an “elder”, he identifies
with his audience, and the use of the idiom “But there is a saying in Zulu that
you cannot slaughter all the sheep because one sheep has transgressed” further
reinforces this connection to his audience.
• ‌By stating that the “world is watching, and we are being judged”, the speaker is
able to imply that South Africans ought to be ashamed of their actions without
directly saying so. This allows him to make the audience think critically of
themselves without being the one who is directly criticising them.

Activity 4

Feedback

(2) Here, the ambiguity is caused by the term “paper cuts”. The writer is trying
to indicate that a reduction in paper usage is required, but – unfortunately
– “paper cuts” is a term already associated with something else (i.e. a minor
injury caused by paper).
(3) Here, the ambiguity is caused by the term “strike”. The writer is trying to
indicate that teachers refusing to work (being on strike) is hampering the
learning of matric learners. There is further ambiguity in the word “slow”,
which can be a used as a synonym for “stupid”.
(4) Here, the ambiguity is caused by the word “lies”. The writer is trying to indicate
that the “story is not over”, but – in the context of South African politics – it
is impossible not to also register the double-meaning of “lies” (as in dishonest
statements, untruths, etc.).
(5) Here, the ambiguity is caused by the word “appeal”. The writer is trying to
indicate that sex workers have petitioned the Pope (“made an appeal” to
him), but the word “appeal” also has a sexual connotation meaning “attract”
or “entice”.

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Activity 5

Feedback

(Note that there many possible responses here.)

Name of text Type of text Broad genre Sub-genre(s)

Romeo and Juliet Fiction Play Tragedy, romance,

etc.
“I Have a Dream” Non-fiction Speech Political, Civil Rights,
etc.
Long Walk to Non-fiction Autobiography Political, South Afri-
Freedom can, etc.
I, Robot Fiction Novel Science-fiction, dys-
topia, etc.
“Sho Madjozi Non-fiction Newspaper Entertainment, cul-
opens up about article ture, etc.
her desire to
start a music
academy in her
Village.”

Activity 6

Feedback

(Note that there are many possible responses here.)

Profession A: Lawyer

Words associated with the profession:

1. …Court………………………………..
2. …Proceedings………………………
3. …Affidavit……………………………
4. …Evidence……………………………
5. …Counsel……………………………

Profession B: Dentist

Words associated with the profession:

1. …Plaque………………………..
2. …Crown…………………………..
3. …Enamel.………………………..
4. …Root canal……………………..
5. …Anaesthetic…………………...

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Activity 7

Feedback

(Note that there are many possible responses here.)

Type of communication Expected formality; features Examples of expected

lexis

Academic paper Formal; academic language Demonstrate, elucidate,

posit, argue, inference,
conclusion

Newspaper report Formal Commented, according,

explained, described,
confirmed, released

Social media post Informal Check out, Boomer,

fam, YASSS!, [emojis]

‘How-To’ blog post Informal First, next, avoid, slowly,

carefully

Love poem Formal/ Smile, beauty, perfect,

Informal true, happiness

Activity 8

Feedback

• ‌ his is a newspaper article.

T
• ‌The intention of the text is to relay information. Words like “according” and
“released” further demonstrate the newspaper genre: the writer is presenting news
in a ‘trustworthy’, ‘authoritative’ manner. The use of quotations and statistics – in
order to present the verbatim findings of the report being discussed – is another
demonstration that this a non-fictional text intended to inform the audience
of the contents of the HIV/AIDS awareness report. Finally, the register of the
language is formal throughout (e.g. “less inclined to do so”) and generic terms like
“experts say” further reinforce the conventions of the newspaper article genre.

Activity 9

Feedback

• ‌ oth poems are feminist texts commenting on the status of women in society.
B
Both texts strongly suggest that women have been marginalised and forced to
play a certain expected role: Putuma’s poem says “this is her narrative”, as if the
story has already been decided, and Dickinson’s poem talk about being “shut up”
in prose – an image of imprisonment.
• ‌Given the diction of both poems, as well as their layout and structure, it seems
reasonable to suggest that text A is more modern than text B. The words “xy
chromosome” and the loose structure with a strong rhythm but no discernible
rhyme pattern point to this modernity, while text B – with its more structured

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rhythm and occasional rhyme scheme – belongs to more ‘traditional’ age of

poetry. As your research will indicate, although these poems are dealing with a
similar topic, they were written nearly 100 years apart!
• ‌W hile the poems share many similarities, they express significantly different
attitudes. While Dickinson’s approach is witty and wry, yet ends on a depressing
note (“And laugh–No more have I–“), Putuma’s poem is far more passionate
and seeks to affirm the value and intrinsic dignity of women at the same time
as drawing attention to their social plight. The lines “Undefeated/Unscarred/
And/Victorious/Let your notorious cellulite map out the geography to a sight
called/Flawless” are both playful and self-affirming, encouraging women to
celebrate both their resilience and their sensuality. The use of capital letters in
the climax of the poem – “In the undisputable truth that YOU/WOMAN/Are
Phenomenal” – underscores this point, and also includes an intertextual reference
to Maya Angelou (look this up!).
• ‌The overall effect is that, while Dickinson’s poem functions as a sad and wistful
criticism of patriarchy, Putuma’s is a rallying-cry for recovering a sense of pride
and resisting the ‘narratives’ that society attempts to write for women.

UNIT 3: LANGUAGE SYSTEMS

Activity 1

Personal response.

Activity 2

Feedback

This non-fictional narrative text is obviously a personal account, seen in the use of
the first-person singular pronoun ‘I’. It narrates a sequence of events in the narrator’s
life. The narrator and the main character are one and the same.

The order of events is not strictly chronological. The narrator starts the narrative
in 1986 when she was 11, then goes back to 1981 when she was 6, and then jumps
to when she was 9, which must have been in 1984. In other words, it is a non-linear
narrative.

The childish point of view in this narrative creates a humorous effect. The little girl’s
desire to imitate her grandmother’s political activism when she was clearly too young
to understand what was going on is touching and amusing. Her description of the
children’s ‘protest action’ as ‘rioting’ is completely inaccurate when one considers the
true nature of rioting, and the age of the children involved in the actual situation. The
way the children accepted the teacher’s hasty but effective solution to the problem
of the ‘hunger strike’ – pretending a total stranger was Mandela – is also amusing,
and highlights how naïve the children really were.

This example demonstrates how the perspective − the point of view of the narrator
− influences and colours the nature of the narrative.

Activity 3

Personal response.

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Activity 4

Feedback

The suitcase is a third-person narrative. The narrator is separate from the protagonists
in the story and describes events ‘from the outside’, as it were. Yet, he has access to
the characters’ thoughts and feelings and knows everything that is significant about
the people and events in the situation which he places before us. This is why such a
narrator is described as ‘omniscient’ (all-knowing).

The omniscient writer may know everything about the situation but she or he can
choose what to reveal or conceal. In this case, Mphahlela chooses to withhold a vital
piece of information from the reader: the contents of the suitcase. The effect of this
is that we experience the same shock that the main protagonist, Timi, does when
the suitcase is opened at the end of the story.

Many of Labov’s features of narrative are recognisable in this short story. Mphahlela
sets the scene with gritty realism, providing telling details of the hostile socio-political
setting and Timi’s place within it. He chooses details which make us feel sympathetic
towards Timi who is clearly facing serious challenges in his life. These details also
serve as a foundation for the events which later unfold. The complication in the plot
occurs when Timi encounters the suitcase on the bus, immediately triggering tension
and internal conflict. The complication is resolved in the tail of the story when the
awful truth comes out, but the resolution is not a happy one, and leaves the reader
with a feeling of deep regret, rather than satisfaction. The unstated coda is that life
isn’t fair: Timi does not deserve what Fate metes out to him.

Activity 5

Feedback

The writer makes effective use of detail in his description of the stairs; counting
them in a very specific way (‘Two flights, four landings, forty stairs’) to share his
sense of the huge challenge they present to his weakened body and depleted energy
levels. The physical details seen in ‘I was perspiring grey exhaustion. My lungs felt
waterlogged. My mouth rough and dry’ graphically convey the sensory experience of
excessive sweating, difficulty in breathing and a dry mouth in a way that a broader,
more general description could not do.

The writer starts his narrative by using fairly long complex sentences: ‘I knew that I
had AIDS when I could no longer climb the stairs from the judges’ common room
in the High Court to my chambers two floors above.’ Then the sentences become
shorter, and in fact become sentence fragments, not sentences at all, because they
have no verbs: ‘My mouth rough and dry. No pain. Just overwhelming weariness.
And fear.’ These short sentence structures create a jerky, staccato effect indicating his
growing panic as he becomes fully aware of what these symptoms signify. The phrase
‘And fear’ stands on its own, not part of a full paragraph. This gives it emphasis,
drawing our attention to the emotional shock which dominates his consciousness.

He continues using short, choppy sentence structures in the next paragraph: ‘The
stairwell was quiet. I could hear myself panting. I grimaced.’ Again, these heighten
the drama of what is going through his mind, the stillness of the stairwell providing
an ironic contrast to his inner turmoil.

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In the final paragraph, he uses the image of a predator: ‘as it encircled me, closing
in’ to describe his sense of being threatened by a creature like a hyena or a shark
intent on hunting and killing him. In this way, he gives AIDS agency, constructing
it as a malicious living entity which has been stalking him for 12 years. This image
vividly conveys his fear.

The fact that the writer chooses to start his autobiographical account with this
experience (this is the opening paragraph of his book) illustrates its overwhelming
importance in his life. Instead of beginning with his birth and early childhood and
proceeding chronologically from there, he chooses a non-linear approach, and makes
this experience, which occurs in middle age, the defining one of his life.

Activity 6

Personal response.

Activity 7

Feedback

This text could be a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Its purpose is to raise awareness
of the problem of pollution and waste, and to warn people of the devastating effects
this is having on the environment. It aims to change attitudes and behaviour.

The most striking technique it employs is the use of rhetorical questions. The whole
of the first paragraph consists of a series of these. The intention of asking questions
rather than making statements is to challenge readers to think for themselves.

The writer also makes effective use of emotive language. ‘Disgusting carelessness’
is strongly disapproving. Referring to children and grandchildren is another way
of evoking an emotional response. The final sentence aims to shock readers out of
their complacency and warn them that the Earth’s days could be numbered if we
continue with our irresponsible behaviour.

Activity 8

Feedback

The writer of this text is obviously involved in some way with education at primary
school level. She or he could be a parent of school-going children, or possibly a
teacher. The person has experience of homework activities and has observed that it
is not helpful in the learning process and even has some harmful effects. She or he
has therefore formed the opinion that homework should be abolished.

The source of this text could be an article in the newspaper, a letter to the editor,
or a letter circulated to other parents or teachers at a school, while the broader
physical context is probably a middle-class community of families with children of
school-going age. The audience is the public in general, or, more specifically,
parents and teachers of primary-school learners. The purpose of the text is to
persuade educators to scrap the practice of giving homework to children at primary
school. The tone is serious and concerned.

The essay makes good use of argument, but it is evident that the writer does not give
any consideration to the possibility that there are benefits to homework. She or he
does not balance her or his viewpoint with opposing arguments. All the arguments

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support only one side of the question: that homework should be abolished. This,
therefore, makes it a persuasive rather than an argumentative text.

The essay tries to achieve its persuasive purpose by putting forward a number of
points (four in all) which argue against the usefulness of homework. These form the
body of the essay. To this is added an introductory paragraph and a concluding one.

The structure of this text is very clear and logical. The introductory paragraph
indicates what the topic is: homework at primary school. The thesis statement (the
sentence(s) in which you give the reader the main idea of your piece of writing) is
given. The position of the writer is made clear: ‘Homework is supposed to help
students with their learning but does it?’ The rhetorical question tag: ‘but does it?’
is used to involve the reader and to introduce an element of doubt as to whether
homework has a useful function.

The four different arguments presented are signalled by the discourse markers
‘Firstly’, ‘Secondly’, ‘Furthermore’ and ‘Finally’. The conclusion is marked by the
discourse marker ‘It is clear that…’ which reinforces and sums up the argument.

Some emotive language is used to persuade the reader to the writer’s point of view:
‘thousands of hours’ is an example of hyperbole (exaggeration for effect) while ‘rich
experiences’, ‘real learning’; ‘engaged happily’ are examples of emotive language
with positive connotations. The writer appeals to an outside authority when she or
he states: ‘Experts agree…’. These ‘experts’ are not named and remain vague and
unspecified. The statement ‘Time would be better spent building other skills and
knowledge outside of schoolwork’ is an opinion: no evidence supports this view.

Activity 9

Own response.

Activity 10

Feedback

This text is clearly an advertisement which aims to persuade the reader to book a
holiday at a particular resort. It contains hardly any factual information beyond the
name of the resort and the fact that it is situated in the Drakensberg.

This text could come from a magazine, newspaper or an internet website. The
audience it targets would have to be in the habit of going away on holiday and wealthy
enough to be able to afford a luxury resort. This excludes the majority of the South
African population.

The advertisement appeals chiefly to the reader’s emotions, as seen in its extensive
use of emotive language: ‘glorious’; ‘magnificent’; ‘breath-taking’ and so on. The
final line aims to create a sense of urgency: ‘Don’t delay: book today!’ with the use of
rhyme for further effect. The statement ‘You deserve it!’ is a form of manipulation,
flattering readers into feeling good about themselves. It implies that a holiday is a
reward for ‘good’ behaviour. In fact, this text makes a number of assumptions about
practices it presents as ‘normal’ but which are actually elitist and not normal at all.

If you refer back to the explanation of ‘discourse analysis’ given at the beginning
of this unit, we state that it may investigate the ‘social and ideological forces that

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underlie discourse and which reflect and shape the power structures in society’. This
is an example of a text with underlying ideological assumptions.

In Discourse analysis (on e-reserves), Jones (2019: 11–12) discusses the way that
discourse and ideology are related, explaining that an ideology is a specific set of
beliefs and assumptions about what is good and bad, right and wrong, and normal
and abnormal. These ideologies, embedded in texts, tend to involve systems of
inclusion and exclusion. The discourse community targeted by the advertisement
above includes affluent people who are in the habit of going on luxury holidays and
excludes people who do not fit into this view of what constitutes a ‘normal’ way of
life. The text thus promotes a particular cultural model.

UNIT 4: LANGUAGE USE AND VARIATION

Activity 1:

Suggested answers

US English SA/British English

Vocabulary
Diaper napkin/nappy
Pacifier dummy
Sidewalk pavement
Elevator lift
Automobile car
Gasoline/gas petrol
Icebox refrigerator / fridge
fries chips

Spelling
Favorite favourite
Traveler traveller
Theater theatre
Color colour
Tire tyre
Center centre
Defense defence
Mold mould
Organize organise

Activity 2

Suggested Answers

Drugs they are dangerous. (unnecessary use of pronoun ‘they’.)

The teacher gives too much homeworks. (‘Homework’ cannot be used as a plural
noun in standard English.)

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Now that I have saved up enough money, I can be able to buy the car. (‘can be able’
is a non-standard construction; standard usage would be ‘I can buy the car’ or ‘I am
able to buy the car’) (This particular example of BSAE is now so commonly used it
could soon become standard usage.)

My mother is having a bad temper. (incorrect use of present continuous tense: ‘my
mother has a bad temper’)

My father he works very hard. (unnecessary use of pronoun ‘he’)

He swear that he will pay the money back. (concord error: singular subject ‘he’ must
take the singular verb ‘swears’)

The wife told his husband to get out of the house. (confusion of masculine/feminine
pronoun: the pronoun co-reference for ‘wife’ is ‘her’)

She did not give him chance to explain. (missing article/determiner: ‘a chance’)

She was very much suspicious. (unnecessary adverb ‘much’)

This made him to become angry. (unnecessary infinitive)

This misfortunes made them to divorce. (confusion of singular pronoun ‘this’ with
plural noun ‘misfortunes’: should be ‘These misfortunes’. ‘to divorce’; unnecessary
infinitive)

He no longer has a peace of mind. (insertion of unnecessary article/determiner)

Activity 3

Personal response.

Feedback

We hope this activity will have raised your awareness of the fact that we vary our use
and style of language depending on the situation we are in, and who our audience is.
Languages contain varying styles and levels of formality according to the situation
and purpose of the speaker or writer. These are called ‘registers’ or ‘social languages’
(Jones 2019: 17). Whether we are speaking or writing will also have an influence on
the kind of English we use. It is important that we know when it is acceptable to
use casual, non-standard English, and when it is necessary to use the standard form.

Activity 4

Suggested answer

It is very obvious that the tone and language usage is inappropriate for the
audience and purpose of this text. While this kind of language would be perfectly
acceptable if the recipient was a friend, the tone is too familiar (friendly and casual)
for a student/lecturer relationship. The salutation (‘Hey Doc’) borders on being
disrespectful. The language is also far too informal and colloquial. SMS language
(‘4’ instead of ‘for’) and slang (‘bucks’, ‘cool’) replace standard English vocabulary,
and irregular spellings (‘pleez’ and ‘thanx’) are used instead of ‘please’ and ‘thanks’.
Although this is a written text (sent as an e-mail), the language has many features
of spoken English (discussed below).

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If you were to rewrite the request in appropriate, standard English, it would read
something like this:

Dear Dr. X

I am still waiting for my prescribed texts for the module ENG1502. I cannot
afford to buy them at the moment. Without these texts I cannot complete my
assignments and this is causing me great anxiety. I would be very grateful if
you could grant me an extension of two weeks.

Thank you and kind regards

Ms T. Mazibuko (St. No. 3276690)

Notice that this version has a suitably formal, courteous tone, uses correct sentence
structure, standard vocabulary and spelling, and is clear and accurate.

Activity 5

Personal response.

Activity 6

Suggested answers.

TEXT 1: This example of technical writing comes from the discourse of engineering,
and more particularly, automotive engineering. The readers of this text would need
to be mechanical engineers or have experience working with car engines to follow
its meaning properly. The text uses specialist terminology which is not in everyone’s
vocabulary, for example: ‘air-fuel ratio’; ‘fuel-management system’; ‘cylinder charge’;
‘torque’; ‘intake manifold’. Certain points are not explained; for example, it is assumed
that readers will know what ‘present-day exhaust regulations’ entail, and what
‘the torque curve appropriate to practice’ involves. Sentence structures are long
and complex: ‘The fact that there is no carburettor enables the intake passages to be
designed aerodynamically in order to achieve optimum air distribution and cylinder
charge and, thus, greater torque’. This is high-level standard English.

TEXT 2: This extract belongs to legal discourse. Like the previous text, it is standard
English of a high level. The sentence stating that sexual harassment is ‘unwelcome
conduct of a sexual nature that violates the rights of an employee and constitutes a
barrier to equity in the workplace’ is not simple in vocabulary or sentence structure
and would require a fairly sophisticated readership to be fully understood. The legal
character of the text is also seen in the precise definition of sexual harassment, which
is elaborated on in the points which follow the initial definition. This is so that, if
a disciplinary hearing or court case were held, there would be no doubt as to what
constitutes sexual harassment and its consequences. Such precision is a professional
necessity and characteristic of legal discourse.

TEXT 3: You probably did not find it difficult to recognise that this text is a sample
of economic discourse. The statistical data and percentages cited quantify economic
growth (or lack of it) in precise terms. While sentences are long and so not easy to
read (look at the first sentence), the style of language is more relaxed than the two
previous texts, seen in the use of colloquialisms: ‘took a knock’; ‘bumper sales’; ‘buck
the downward trend’; and ‘the economy surprised on the downside’. These colloquial

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expressions make the text more reader friendly and the readership more inclusive,
but it still assumes considerable background knowledge on the part of the audience.

TEXT 4: This text is an example of medical discourse. More specifically, it deals

with the treatment of people living with HIV. It assumes its readership is acquainted
with terms like ‘secondary level care for ART patients’, so it does not regard it as
necessary to explain what ‘secondary level care’ entails, or what the letters ‘ART’
and ‘CD4’ stand for. The terms ‘inpatient’ and ‘outpatient’ are not defined for the
uninitiated, and diseases like ‘cryptococcal meningitis’ and ‘bacterial pneumonia’
are named with no concessions made to help the layperson understand exactly what
these terms refer to. Sentences are long and complex (again, look at the first sentence).
All these factors make it quite challenging for the average person not familiar with
this field of discourse to understand the full meaning of this text.

Texts dealing with sport, entertainment, politics and many other fields also have
their own particular kinds of jargon which relate to larger systems of knowledge or
orders of discourse. When you read newspapers, magazines and electronic items,
look out for the discursive characteristics of different kinds of texts.

Activity 7

Suggested answer

You probably had no difficulty in working out that the first text is spoken while
the second one is written – most likely as part of a formal letter of complaint to the
municipality. Some examples of the contrasting linguistic features are shown in the
table below.

TEXT 1: Spoken text TEXT 2: Written text

Vocabulary
Informal usage and colloquialisms: Formal usage: ‘lodge a complaint’;
‘sick and tired’; ‘you know’; ‘about ‘entirely unsatisfactory’; ‘unacceptable’
time’; ‘jacked up’; ‘fed up’
Polysyllabic words: ‘indefinite pe-
Short simple words: ‘how long’; riods’; ‘frequent power cuts we are
‘blackouts we keep having’ experiencing’
Contractions: I’m; couldn’t; there’s; No contractions
don’t; it’s
Syntax
Longer, more complex sentences:
Short sentences: ‘We are not warned in advance that
the power will be interrupted for indefi-
‘The lights go off and we don’t know
nite periods, so are unable to prepare
for how long.’
ourselves.’
‘It’s about time the municipality jacked
‘The service you provide is entirely
up its services.’
unsatisfactory and I would like the as-
‘I’m fed up.’ surance that you are investigating the
problems and devising ways of solving
them.’
‘The present situation is completely
unacceptable.’

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Note that the same person produced both texts in the above activity. As individuals,
we are capable of using more than one variety of a language because we adapt our
usage according to the situation, whom we are speaking to or writing for, and for
what purpose.

UNIT 5: ACADEMIC ENGLISH

Activity 1

Suggested answer

This text is riddled with non-standard language unacceptable for academic purposes.
Unacceptable expressions are underlined in the text below.

Macbeth was this seriously brave dude in Shakespeares play Macbeth who
made a name for himself as a soldier. He killed a large amount of opponents
in battle. The king was a good guy called Duncan who recognised Macbeth’s
bravery and rewarded him with a promotion. But that was not enough for
Macbeth. He was ambitious and when he met 3 witches who said he was go-
ing to be king one day, he decided to take a shortcut and kill Duncan so he
could be the king straight away. The minute he did this, everything started
to go wrong in scotland. The weather went wild and for some reason horses
even started to eat each other. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, had put pres-
sure on him bigtime to commit the murder. She was afraid her husband was
too full of the milk of human kindness to murder the king so she mocked
him for being a softie when he was like ‘we will proceed no further with this
business’. She was a hectic character who said she wouldn’t hesitate to kill
he own kids if she had to. In the end, everything backfired on them. Lady
Macbeth went off her head and committed suicide, while Macbeth was killed
by a guy called Macduff. ‘This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.’ It just
shows you that crime does not pay and what goes around comes around. I
thought the story was great!

References

Macbeth by Shakespeare

Unisa Study Guide

Features in the above text that are unacceptable for different reasons are listed below.

Colloquialisms

There are numerous examples of informal expression that is too casual and/or modern
for this context. Suggested replacements follow each example.

seriously brave dude: extremely brave soldier

made a name for himself: distinguished himself, became famous for

a good guy: a good man

3: three

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take a shortcut: hasten the process

the minute he did this: as soon as he did this

put pressure on him bigtime: Lady Macbeth put strong pressure on him

a softie: too gentle/ unmanly

when he was like: ‘…’. when he said: ‘…’.

hectic: intense and determined

wouldn’t (contraction): would not

kids: babies, children

everything backfired on them: everything went wrong for / turned against them

went off her head: Lady Macbeth became mentally disturbed

what goes around comes around: evil deeds rebound on their perpetrators

great: excellent, powerful

great! Avoid exclamation marks: they create an excitable tone which is not suitable
in an academic text.

Errors of punctuation and grammar

The whole answer is written in the past tense: ‘Macbeth was …’. When discussing
works of literature, we use the present tense. ‘Macbeth is …’ and comment on events
as though they are happening now.

‘Shakespeares play’: missing apostrophe to show possession: Shakespeare’s play.

‘Shakespeare’s play Macbeth’: titles of literary texts should be underlined or written

in italics: ‘Shakespeare’s play Macbeth/Macbeth’.

‘a large amount of opponents’: a large number of opponents. ‘Opponents’ is a countable

noun: ‘amount’ is used in relation to uncountable nouns.

‘scotland’: capital /uppercase initial letters should be used for proper nouns: Scotland
(in this case, a place name).

Other problems

‘for some reason horses even started to eat each other’: ‘for some reason’ is vague,
indecisive and careless in tone. The play Macbeth demonstrates very clearly why
unnatural events occurred in the wake of King Duncan’s murder. According to the
Elizabethan world view, such a social violation would disrupt the natural order and
reverberate throughout the cosmos.

‘It just shows you that crime does not pay and what goes around comes around’.
Apart from the fact that this expression is too colloquial and relies on stale clichés,
it is also an example of moralising. Avoid imposing general moral judgements on

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characters and events in works of literature, and do not try to extract simplistic moral
‘lessons’ or ‘messages’ from the complex situations they describe.

‘I thought the story was great!’ This is a highly subjective, personal remark which is
unsubstantiated and therefore has no value as an academic response. ‘Great’ in this
colloquial sense is meaningless. Unless you are prepared to support your opinion, it
is advisable to refrain from assigning merit to a literary work.

Errors/shortcomings in referencing

Referencing in-text

‘She was afraid her husband was too full of the milk of human kindness to murder
the king’: This sentence incorporates a direct quotation from the play, so the quoted
words should be enclosed in quotation marks and followed by the reference. ‘She
was afraid her husband was “too full of the milk of human kindness” (I. 5. 13) to
murder the king’.

Act number, scene number and line number(s) must be provided in the case of a play.
(In the case of a prose work, page number(s) must be given; if the text is a poem,
the line number(s) must be supplied.)

‘He said “We will proceed no further in this business”.’ Another example of a direct
quotation which is indicated by quotation marks but which lacks a reference. It should
read: ‘He said: “We will proceed no further in this business” (I. 7. 31).’

‘This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.’ This quotation is not incorporated
syntactically, nor is the reference (5. 9. 35) provided. Quotations should form part
of grammatical sentences, be linked to a comment and be referenced. Do not expect
detached quotations to speak for themselves. Replace with: ‘By the end of the play,
the couple are described as “this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen” (5. 9. 35),
which illustrates how debased and hated they have become.’

Referencing post-text

Two sources are cited: the primary source of Macbeth, and the secondary source of
the Unisa Study Guide. Details are lacking in both these references. Full details of
authorship, dates of publication and names and places of the publishers need to be
included. (Later in this unit, we demonstrate correct referencing techniques.)

Notice that the student shows knowledge of the plot of the play and insight into
the main characters’ motives. However, an answer like this would fail because of
inappropriate use of English. This should demonstrate that content knowledge is
not enough to ensure a pass. Correct expression is just as important.

Here now is a revised version of the text written in appropriate, academic English.
Notice that all verbs have been changed to the present tense in keeping with the
literary convention that events in a work of literature are discussed as though they
are occurring now, and that full bibliographical details have been supplied.

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character Macbeth is a brave fighter

who distinguishes himself as a soldier. He kills a large number of opponents
in battle. The king is a good man called Duncan who recognises Macbeth’s
bravery and rewards him with a promotion. But that is not enough for Mac-
beth. He is ambitious and when he meets three witches who prophesy that

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he will be king one day, he decides to hasten the process and kill Duncan so
he can be the king straight away. As soon as he does this, everything starts
to go wrong in Scotland. The weather becomes wild and horses even start
to eat each other, showing that the natural order has been violated and the
cosmos is in turmoil. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, puts strong pressure on
him to commit the murder. She is afraid her husband is ‘too full of the milk
of human kindness’ (I. 5. 13) to murder the king, so she mocks him for being
unmanly when he states: ‘We will proceed no further in this business (I. 7.
31)’. She is an intense, determined character who says she would not hesitate
to kill her own babies if she had to. As the play proceeds, events turn against
them. Lady Macbeth becomes mentally disturbed and commits suicide, while
Macbeth is killed by a man called Macduff. By the end of the play, the couple
are described as ‘this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen’ (5. 9. 35), which
illustrates how debased and hated they have become. The play is a powerful
dramatisation of the tragic consequences of unbridled ambition, both for
individuals and a country as a whole.

Activity 2

Personal response.

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WRITING

A sample essay has been written in response to a speech given by Kofi Annan. Read
the question and the sample essay and then reflect on the questions added after the
sample essay.

Remarks given at the Opening of the Forty-Ninth Session of the Commission on

the Status of Women (28 February 2005)

Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General

Thank you very much, Madame President,

I am delighted to be with you as you open this milestone session of the Com-
mission on the Status of Women – a session at which you mark the
10-year review of the Beijing Conference and Platform for Action.
Sixty years have passed since the founders of the United Nations inscribed, on the first page
of our Charter, the equal rights of men and women.
Since then, study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more effective
than the empowerment of women.
No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, or to reduce infant and maternal
mortality.
No other policy is as sure to improve nutrition and promote health – including the preven-
tion of HIV/AIDS.
No other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances of education for the next generation.
And I would also venture that no policy is more important in preventing conflict, or in
achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended.
But whatever the very real benefits of investing in women, the most important fact remains:
women themselves have the right to live in dignity, in freedom from want and from fear.
When the world’s leaders gather here in September to review progress in implementing the
Millennium Declaration, I hope they will be able to take urgent action accordingly.
And I hope that all of you will keep up the good fight, and steer them in the right direction.
I thank every one of you for your commitment, and I wish you a most productive session.
Thank you very much.

Full text freely available at:

https://www.un.org/press/en/2005/sgsm9738.doc.htm

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Personal response

QUESTION

Write a well-structured essay of approximately 600 to 800 words in which

you comment on the writer’s use of style, structure and linguistic features to
convey the context, feeling and purpose of the above text.

RESPONSE:

This essay will evaluate the context, feeling and purpose of the speech delivered
by Kofi Annan, by analysing his use of style, structure and linguistic features. In
this speech, Annan declares that “studies have shown that there is no tool for
development more effective than the empowerment of women,” and continues to
provide rhetorical support for this assertion (Annan 2005:2).

First of all, we are told that this speech was given by Annan in his role as the
UN Secretary General at the Opening of the Forty-Ninth Session of the Commission
on the Status of Women. Therefore, we know that Annan is addressing the crowd in
an official capacity, and that his speech will foreground the contemporary situation
of women in society. This seems to place Annan’s speech in the ideological context
of feminism – which advocates for women’s rights on the grounds of gender equality
(National Geographic 2019:201).

The polite salutation (“Thank you, Madame President”) indicates the formality
of both the context and register of the speech, and the speaker wastes no time in
introducing his central topic: “the equal rights of men and women” (Annan 2005:2).
The importance of this declaration of equality is highlighted by the speaker drawing
attention to the fact that it appears on the “first page” of the United Nations Charter
(Annan 2005:2).

The speaker makes extensive use of cohesion techniques to aid the flow and clarity
of his argument. He uses repetition, most notably in the phrase “no other policy”, in
order to emphasise the fact that prioritising the empowerment of women can lead to a
wide range of positive developments within society. Collocation cohesion is also used
to underscore this point – with words such as “productivity”, “health”, “nutrition”
and “reconciliation” all belonging to the same semantic field of ‘social benefits’.
Repetition is also used in the phrase “study after study” – to show that these findings
are beyond reproach, inarguable – while synonymy is cleverly employed in the range
of modals Annan has used, as this women-orientated policy grows in potency, from
being “likely” to succeed, to “sure” and then “powerful” and “important” without
any qualification of its chances of success (Annan 2005:2).

Furthermore, the speaker has structured his thoughts in a logical and easy-to-
follow manner. His argument builds through a process of addition, as more and
more compelling facts are presented to influence the listener to take his side. By listing
the number of positive benefits that derive from the empowerment of women – from
“reducing infant mortality” to “preventing conflict” – Annan implies that to not
pursue this goal would be both immoral and potentially dangerous (Annan 2005:2).

Similarly, Annan’s use of emotive language is another important rhetorical tool. The
line “women themselves have the right to live in dignity, in freedom from want and
from fear” is a rousing rallying-cry that should activate the audience’s deep-seated
sense of social justice by juxtaposing the key emotional concepts of “dignity” and

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“fear”. Likewise, Annan is able to show solidarity with like-minded listeners when
he commends them, directly, for “keep[ing] up the good fight” (Annan 2005:2).

Finally, Annan is able to align the purpose and content of the speech with a clear,
concise challenge: “When the world’s leaders gather here in September… I hope they
will be able to take urgent action accordingly” (Annan 2005:2). The connotations
of the term “urgent action” suggest that these leaders will not be abdicating their
collective responsibility, should action not be taken to “right the continuing ills of
patriarchy” (National Geographic 2019:217). This reveals a pressing, impassioned
tone from the speaker, who seems clearly committed to the global empowerment
of women.

In conclusion, this essay has revealed the context, feeling and purpose of Kofi Annan’s
speech by focusing on the style, structure and linguistic features he has employed.
As I have discussed, this speech calls for the expansion of women’s rights – and does
so by means of a clear argument bolstered by emotive language.

Activity 3

Personal response

• Does the essay have an introduction, body and conclusion?

• Does the essay respond to the question in terms of its discussion of themes and
ideas within the text?
• Does the essay respond to the question in terms of specific language features?
• Does the essay demonstrate coherence and cohesion?
• Is the essay thoroughly referenced?
• Does the introduction give the reader a clear indication of the content of the
essay to come?
• Does the body develop the ideas contained in the introduction?
• Does the conclusion sum up what was in the essay, without bringing in new
points?
• Is the writing clear and free of grammatical errors?
• Is the tone of the essay appropriate? Has the writer avoided contractions,
colloquialisms and slang expressions?
• Is the register befitting an academic essay?
• How does the lexis (vocabulary) of the text reflect its topic and determine its
register?
• Are sentences complete and well-structured?
• Have bullet points and subheadings been avoided?
• Is each paragraph well-constructed with one main idea, and does each relate
to the topic?
• Is there a logical progression of ideas? Does each paragraph follow smoothly
from the previous one?
• Are discourse markers/connectors/linking words/cohesive elements effectively
used to create textual cohesion? Do these guide the discussion by providing a
time frame and a logical structure?
• Have examples been quoted to illustrate and support certain points?
• How are discourse markers and cohesive elements used to give the text
cohesion?
• What is the writer’s position in relation to the topic? Is their stance clear?

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Assessment-related support: Exam questions

(1) Understanding the question

Unfortunately, many students disadvantage themselves by not making sure that they
understand what the question means before they begin writing their assignments.
This leads to answers that are off-topic and that do not respond to the specificity of
the question. To avoid this, you should:

• Establish the format of the answer to the question

Does the question consist of several shorter sections that each requires responses
of a single paragraph, a few paragraphs or does the question require that you write
a single coherent essay in response?

Does the question involve interrogating one text or several that you are required
to respond to or incorporate in your answer? If so, why do you think the lecturers
have chosen these texts for the question?

• Read through the question several times and use a pen or a highlighter to identify
the key words.

If the question mentions particular texts these are the texts on which your response
should focus. While you might be permitted to refer to other sources in your answer,
remember that you should only do so in order to substantiate the main argument you
will be making and cite them in text or include these references in your reference list.

• Identify the themes the question requires you to explore

While questions may be based on any number of themes, you should ensure that
you clearly establish which particular theme or position the question wants you
to address. Remember it is often not enough simply to reproduce what you know
about a theme in a text. You may be required to link a theme to particular features
or elements of the text specifically.

Look out for instruction words. These could include:

• Account for: Requires you to give reasons for a particular event, perspective or
position
• Analyse: Examine it in more detail and to identify key features of a specific idea
• Argue: This is the most common instruction word. When you see this word, your
essay should present substantiation for or against particular position
• Assess: To determine how important, useful, valid or effective something is
• Compare: One thing needs to be compared to another in order to show how the
things are similar
• Contrast: Show how one thing differs from something else
• Discuss: Explain or present both sides of an argument
• Evaluate: Show both its strengths and its weaknesses

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• Examine: Consider something in detail

• Explain: Give reasons as to why something is the way it is
• Explore: Investigate a number of factors or reasons surrounding a
particular topic or issue, usually done in order to argue a specific point
• Illustrate: To give reasons for something
• Investigate: See ‘Explore’ above
• Outline: To give the main points of an argument or an idea

Exam support

The following questions and feedback are extracted from various exam
papers. They should help guide you to obtaining and understanding of what
is expected of you in your responses.

Question 1

Read text A below and answer the question set.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not
sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of
problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs,
they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
“I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me
– and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our
southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
“When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry
about it. Just don’t worry about it. They’re tough. We have to be tough.
it’s time we’re gonna be a little tough, folks. We’re taken advantage of
by every nation in the world, virtually. It’s not gonna happen anymore.”

Source: https://daily.jstor.org/the-language-wars/

Question 1: Persuasion, language and meaning

Analyse the snippet from Trump’s inaugural speech and write a response of about
two paragraphs (250 words) that reflects your understanding of the suitability of his
use of language and persuasive features in order to convey his message.

Feedback

The question has three crucial features that must be addressed in your response
(answer).

You should ask try to figure out in your own words what the question is asking and
write down your thought processes.

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EXAMPLE

Student Bernice Badal thought process

Bernice thinks:

Here goes …

He wants to build a wall.

Here is the proof below:

“I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and
I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern
border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”

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Bernice thinks:

Bernice plans:

Analysing his speech for use of language:

Use of language

• As a speech, Trump’s use of language should have been more formal and
grammatically flawless. Instead, it is informal, evident in the use of contractions:
it’s; they’re, as well as slang, e.g. gonna.

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• His sentence structure is loosely constructed with the careless use of dashes for
parenthesis e.g. I will build a great wall – and nobody builds…; believe me – and
I’ll build them; does not pay much attention to formal language conventions.
• He uses colloquial language, e.g. mark my words.
• The speech contains emotional elements; for example: “They’re not sending you”,
which implies people who are othered from the American people and “a great
wall” where he assumes superiority.

Persuasive techniques

• He uses a great deal of repetition to get the message across. This

repetition involves words such as “Mexico”, repeated by “its people” and
their best”, and repeated use of “they’re” to refer to Mexicans to isolate them as
an object or separate them from the Americans.
• He tries to practise inclusivity and exclusivity using the words us and them, in
order to make the American public feel a sense of superiority and to identify the
‘otherness’ in others.
• He taps into people’s fear by promising an end to crime and drugs, and makes
exaggerated claims as to the countries source of drugs and crime.
• He identifies Mexicans as the source of all crime and lawlessness and makes
claims to build a wall to curb the threat. He chooses only to demonise Mexicans
in order to get the people to support his actions against them.
• His words contain bland contradictions, polarising generalisations and statements
almost inconsistent with reality.
• He also creates an impression that America is a lawless state with ‘Mexican’
criminals running rampant in order to show how he, as America’s saviour, will
resolve this.
• He intimates that his work his hard and onerous the tough phone calls, but he is
prepared to take this for the sake of America.
• He tailors his talk to the ‘common man’ and uses basic words and does not even
attempt to be overly pompous or learned. He draws the American people in using
words such as folks.
• He uses illogical arguments: “inexpensively … make Mexico pay for it”.
• He also comes across as a bully and self-important, in the words “make Mexico
pay” indicating to the citizens that he is all powerful.
• He uses the words “taken advantage of” to rouse anti-Mexican feelings, because
nobody likes being taken advantage of – America is seen as a victim of unscrupulous
criminals.

His persuasive tactics are very effective because he presents himself as the new
saviour of the masses. He refers to people’s insecurity and emotions in order to
present solutions that will resonate with their misgivings. He stirs up fear in order
to drive his immigration policies.

Each extract is from a different position; the first is they, identifying the enemy,
the second is I, positioning himself as the saviour of America and the third is we,
resonating with the American people as a cohesive unit.

He relies on the fact that people hear what they want to hear and so will take different
aspects from his speeches. He uses meandering, casual conversational cues that are
ripe for interpretation by all kinds of cultural groups. It is more not only about what
he is saying but how he is saying it.

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Now that these steps have been completed I need to write the two paragraphs with
the three critical features in mind.

The following question is from the same text:

Question 2: Cohesion

While question 1 required a response of about two paragraphs, question 2 requires

an essay. Go back to unit 4 and revise the content on essay writing, which has a
specific structure. I would like to remind you that while the essay needs a clear
structure that includes an introduction, body and conclusion, one must not write
them out as headings. The reader should be able to gauge that the first paragraph
is the introduction, the last is the conclusion and the ones in between relate to the
body of the text.

 iscuss the cohesiveness of text A by referring to at least four types of cohesion used.
2.1 D
Your response must reflect a critical understanding of how the use of cohesiveness enhances
meaning.

The three critical features are highlighted for you. A good response should incorporate
these elements in a fluid and coherent essay.

Unit 1 in the study guide provides an easy guide to understanding cohesion, and
how it works to enhance meaning.

Basic explanation:

Cohesion creates a flow between sentences and paragraphs by linking one idea/
argument/information with others that are similar or different. This helps to
understand the central argument better. So, we can say it allows the reader to create
their own meaning.

Let’s look at the text again and, this time, highlight the cohesive devices:

When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not
sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of
problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs,
they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
“I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me
– and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our
southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
“When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it. Just
don’t worry about it. They’re tough. We have to be tough. it’s time we’re gonna be
a little tough, folks. We’re taken advantage of by every nation in the world, virtu-
ally. It’s not gonna happen anymore.” https://daily.jstor.org/the-language-wars/

Notice how Mexico is replaced in the second sentence by They’re which is reference
cohesion.

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Bernice Badal thinks:

Bernice’s argument:

Bernice Badal’s thought processes are mere examples. It shows you HOW you
take apart the words and look at HOW each word is used to reveal its features and
functions.

Below you will find more examples that you could add in the essay:

Lexical cohesion

Collocation cohesion

Sending and bringing – these words confirm that it is not something the Ameri-
cans want; otherwise, he could have used “giving”.

Drugs, crime, rapists – these words also are from the same semantic fields and
creates cohesion by avoiding repetition of the same word.

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Repetition cohesion

Build/building – repetition of build/building emphasises the need to tighten

security and cohesively instigates the need for security in the country and the
desire to actively construct exclusion.

Walls – The idea of exclusion through a wall is repeated.

Don’t worry about it – These words tie in with his intention to create the image
that he will be the saviour; he is being reassuring having already stirred up
the fear.

Antonymy cohesion

Sending and bringing – This indicates divisions and is reflective of his divisive
strategy.

Grammatical cohesion

Reference cohesion

Mexico is referred to as its and they’re in the first sentence.

Phone calls are referred to as they’re in the next sentence.

Advantage is referred to as it’s in the next sentence.

Conjunctive cohesion – while it is used for cohesive unity in the paragraph, it often
drops the formality when it is used as emphasis.

Now that you have been shown how to proceed with deconstructing the question and
provided with the identified features, structure the essay and write it out. Studying
unit 4 and the feedback to the activities should have prepared you well to take the
plunge.

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