Taking it further: paragraph practice, Ms Crsossway, p. 32 (Build a paragraph)
Useful metalanguage: The author condemns / decries/ discredits the use of the device; Contrastingly; She advocates / promotes /encouraging: independence; values such as resilience; metaphoric language: hovering/helicopter; high minded tone; judgemental; accusatory; she shames/ marginalises/ isolates them: by making them seem ridiculous/absurd
- Critical to her argument is a comparison between parents who “swoop” and those who enable freedom and independence.
- Her comparison between parenting styles leaves parents in no doubt that over protective parents are undermining children’s social development.
Paragraph Plan
(View/tone) In a practical tone, and from her disinterested perspective as Parents’ Watch chief executive, Ms Crossways believes that parents’ unhealthy obsession with security is counter-productive to sound parenting.
(language choices/ technique and position) Using generalisations and an appeal to responsibility, she shames parents into recognising that an obsession with security is absurd and is curbing children’s growth opportunities. Simultaneously, she exhorts parents to see the practical consequences of their obsessive behaviour.
(Link between language choice and impact/purpose) Ms Crossway’s rhetorical question – “Has the world gone so mad? — hyperbolically suggests that parents are acting likely “security guards”, which challenges parents to see the folly of their excessive control; the question implies that they are absurdly anxious. This claim is reinforced by the metaphor of “panic-stricken helicopter parents” that carries negative connotations and once again impugns their parenting style which has a tendency to “swoop and hover” to the detriment of their child’s development. She reinforces her claims with evidence from the manufacturer, Bluelinea, and its reluctance to use Tags to show that she is not biased. This reference implies that if the manufacturers have reservations, so too should parents.
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