English Works

How to Write an Analytical Commentary

$35.00

Early Bird Deal for Members of our English Language Program: hot off the press! ($20)

Excellent for exam practice. Follows the criteria for English Language Units 1 – 4

This workbook provides a smart and efficient structure that enables you to cover the key criteria (discourse and stylistic features, social purpose, contextual factors and register) while gaining maximum analytical depth in your commentaries.

  •  *  a model three-paragraph structure that helps you analyse the key features of a commentary
  • *  12 commentaries based on a range of formal and informal text types (based on VCAA exams)
  • *  learning tips with each commentary to help you write your own
  • *  10 detailed plans (based on VCAA exams)
  • *  model sentences to help you confidently use metalanguage and
  • *  a glossary of terms.
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Description

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the metalinguistic terminology connected with the features of a commentary: contextual factors, social purpose, register and stylistic and discourse features. (See pp. 3-4 and the Glossary on pp. 77-83.)

While using these features to guide your analysis, you must also demonstrate an ability to use “relevant descriptive and metalanguistic tools” — relating to at least two subsystems.  Given that the linguistic features must be connected to, and guided by, the meaning and the mode of the text, the most prevalent subsystems will be lexicology, syntax, semantics and discourse.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the metalinguistic terminology connected with the features of a commentary: contextual factors, social purpose, register and stylistic and discourse features.

Chapter 2 outlines a model (“rule of thumb”) structure, which can be adapted to a range of  written and spoken texts — in both formal and informal registers.

Chapters 3 and 4 provide extensive plans (9) and commentaries (12) on a range of text types for written and spoken communication modes — both formal and informal.  The transcripts are drawn from “past examinations” for English Language set by the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA) and can be accessed via their website.

Each commentary establishes a connection with Unit 3: “Language variation and social purpose” and Unit 4: “Language variation and identity”.

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