Exam Language

Here’s some language you’ll need to understand for your exam:

Exam Language	What it means…
‘social relationships’	Relationships between different groups of people or different individuals
‘visual language’	Viewing conventions
‘dominant ways of thinking’	The way most people in society think about a topic/issue
‘views on an issue’	Opinions on an issue
‘generic conventions’	The usual conventions of a text. For the reading section that will mean either narrative conventions or persuasive language/expository conventions. For the viewing section this means documentary or film conventions.
‘reader positioning’ or ‘positioned you’	Refers to how the text encourages you to respond to the text in a particular way.
‘In a form of your choice’	Means you select a writing form that best suits the question. That form could be: letter to editor, personal letter, email, blog post, persuasive essay, speech. Make sure you’ve chosen the writing form that best suits the question and your purpose.
‘bring about change/social action’	How did the text prompt people in society to take some sort of action or change their behaviour? Specifically state which elements in the text prompt the change. Also specifically state the change/action e.g. to speak out against abuse, to stop buying animal products.
‘Construct an argument’	Develop an opinion. Choose whether you are FOR or AGAINST the topic. Provide evidence and reasoning that supports your opinion.
‘Your context’	Your values and attitudes and how that affected the way you responded to a text.
‘the time and place of a text’	Is the context of the text. E.g. the time period the text is set in.
‘the background of a text’	See above
Genre	The text type: documentary, film, short story…could even refer to sub genres e.g. horror, drama, tragedy…
‘Language techniques’	If it is a narrative text, refer to: imagery, description, language choice (colloquial/formal/particular words), dialogue, tone. If it is an expository text discuss: imagery, rhetorical questions, facts/stats, tone, emotive language, inclusive language etc.
‘Perception’	A way of looking at a topic/issue/text. E.g. you could have the perception that asylum seekers are genuine refugees or that they are threatening terrorists.