1. Making the most of the Individual Investigation Year 13 English Language Miss Prescott ( email titles by Thursday 24 th October and drafts by Monday 4 th November)

2. Aiming for Band 4 Section A in the LG3 synoptic unit provides those candidates, who are really engaged with the focus of their investigation, the opportunity to produce a linguistically strong study with a clear hypothesis and thoughtful conclusions. This PowerPoint offers guidance on how to achieve the very best results in this section.

3. LG3 Section A: Language Investigation (40 marks) Three assessment objectives apply to this section, with the following weighting: AO1(10 marks) AO2 (20 marks) AO3 (10 marks) AO1 Candidates can be assessed on their ability to communicate clearly knowledge relevant to their chosen study of language, to select and apply appropriate linguistic methods, to use appropriate terminology, and to use coherent accurate written expression in their responses. AO2 The chosen area of language study will inevitably involve concepts and issues that are relevant to the area. Candidates are required to offer analysis in their study. This objective will assess their critical understanding of a range of relevant concepts and issues, and candidates will also be assessed on their knowledge of linguistic approaches in their analysis. AO3 Language in context will be a vital aspect of the language investigation in this section, whether of spoken English, written English, or a combination of the two. This objective will assess candidates' ability to analyse and evaluate the influence of context, and will also assess candidates' knowledge of the key constituents and frameworks of language. For this section, AO2 has double the weighting.

4. The Title of the Investigation The candidate should choose a ‘working title’ for their study. This should clearly indicate its focus and can easily be adapted or changed at a later stage. It is probably useful to phrase the title as a question even if this is changed later. Check that the title suggests the range and scope required for a synoptic study. Is it unrealistically broad? Is it ambiguous? Does it need to be refined before essential data is collected?

5. Starting the investigation process Candidates must first consider the area (s) of language study that they would be interested in investigating. These MUST come from the prescribed list. The study may indeed fall into more than one area. In this case, choose the area that the hypothesis and conclusions would most sensibly fall into.

6. Prescribed areas Language Acquisition; Accent and Dialect; Attitudes to an Area of Language; Language and Gender; Language from the Past- Language Change Language and Political Power; Black English and Ebonics; Language and Political Power; The Language of Parliamentary Debate; Political Correctness in Language; Spelling Reform; Other ‘Englishes’; American and British English.

7. A common mistake to avoid Some candidates make the mistake of thinking the focus of their study is their chosen area of language study. The latter must come from the prescribed list i.e. the following areas of study are not on the prescribed list: The Language of the Media; The Language of Journalism; The Language of Sport; The Language of Advertising. The focus must be outlined in the title of the investigation.

8. To what extent have rap lyrics changed over time? The language of rap lyrics Other ‘Englishes’ Language and Gender Black English and Ebonics American and British English Title Focus Possible (?) prescribed areas of language study that would be relevant to this study.

9. Initial Planning Once the area of language study has been decided upon, it is important that the candidate thinks about data i.e. transcripts, texts, resources. Are these easily obtainable? Is the candidate using their own personally collected data? Is the data of sufficient depth and breadth to be used for a synoptic unit? It is useful to keep detailed notes of resources e.g. websites for use in the bibliography.

10. Setting out the investigation The investigation has to be structured. The candidate must clearly define the aims and intentions of their study, present their findings and outline their conclusions. Some centres like to use the following headings: Hypothesis Methodology Analysis Conclusions This is absolutely fine (although not expected by the WJEC) but candidates must ensure that the first 2 sections are concise and succinct and do not use up an unnecessary amount of words.

11. The content of the investigation (1) Candidates must outline a clearly defined focus. It is useful if they briefly indicate what data/resources they intend to use and also to set out briefly how they intend to organise their study. It is useful to include references to linguistic theory but candidates must not impose theory on their findings. Theory should be used to inform the study not to direct it. References must be included in a bibliography.

12. The content of the investigation (2) Candidates must show their knowledge of the language frameworks. The study must be analytical not descriptive and have a strong linguistic basis. Coherent and sensible conclusions are an important element of any investigation, so it is important that candidates are able to analyse their data/findings in order to show what their study has revealed. In order to keep within the word limit it is possible to present data/findings in the form of appendices.

13. Effective opening paragraphs Is there a clearly defined focus? Is there appropriate scope for a synoptic study? Are relevant concepts and issues outlined? Is there a clear sense of purpose to the study? Do the resources and data suggest a good basis for an analytical linguistic study?

14. Opening paragraph : Example A How does a two year old, a four year old and a six year old use language differently whilst speaking spontaneously? During my study of child acquisition I found it interesting to learn about each stage of development and about different linguist’s theories. For my language investigation I decided to investigate differences in the use of language between boys of three different ages from the same family. To ensure the children spoke spontaneously, I recorded them all in an informal setting to provide the appropriate atmosphere. The three boys were unaware they were being recorded, so their speech was not in any way influenced by an unfamiliar context.

15. Opening paragraph: Example B Language change over time: An investigation into fashion journalism My investigation focuses on fashion journalism. Text A is a 1900’s magazine article on fashion in London and Paris. Its purpose is to inform about the latest fashions and its target audience is middle aged women who like to look elegant. Text B is much more modern taken from Vogue magazine. Its purpose is to describe celebrities’ choice of clothing to its target audience of sixteen plus women. Text C is a modern text from a men’s magazine giving advice on what to wear. Whilst all texts have a focus on giving advice about fashion, they all differ in their use of language due to difference in age of text and gender.

16. Opening paragraph: Example C Language change: Comparison of FA Cup Final reports. The language used in texts such as football reviews differs from the language used several years ago. Today’s language is a lot easier to understand and is more formal than what it used to be. In my investigation, I have decided to look at two reviews of FA Cup Finals. One is taken from 1914 (Text A) when Burnley beat Liverpool 1-0 and one is taken from a more recent FA Cup Final from 2008 when Pompey (Portsmouth) beat Cardiff by a goal to win.

17. Final Thoughts Do proof read the final draft; Do keep within the word limit i.e. 1500 words (1650 absolute maximum tolerance); Do include the required cumulative word count on the bottom of each page; Do fill in the cover sheet with the required information; Do add a bibliography if references are required; If including appendices and/or resource material place it after the investigation itself.