1. Language and Communication
Core Course Knowledge
Language and Communication
From: Cambridge International AS Level English General Paper Coursebook by Jill Pavich

2. Key Points to Remember:
You are expected to use a style of writing that matches your audience and purpose
Awareness of common writing errors can help you communicate more clearly
A clear understanding of the task will help you write a more focused response
The tone and structure of your writing will vary depending on the task
You can become a better writer by observing the way others write (i.e. by critical reading)

3. Audience hi where ru? 3pm still ok? lmk.
Hello, Charlotte. I’m writing to confirm our appointment today at 3PM. At your earliest convenience, please advise if this is still acceptable.
Regards,
Sally
The way we communicate when writing is also different depending on your audience. The medium of the message might even change as well, depending on the audience. What kind of relationship does the message at the top suggest? Do you think this was an or a text? What about the message on the bottom? What does the language suggest about the relationship between the Charlotte and Sally?
For this course, and later, for the exam, your audience are the Cambridge examiners. Therefore your language should reflect this and academic language should be used at all times.

4. Considering audience, register and purpose
Key Terms:
Audience: The person/people who you are speaking to or writing for; for example, in a writing competition your audience would be the judges, while your audience in this class will be me and your classmates.
Register: Type of language used for a particular purpose or in a particular setting.
Purpose: Your reason for writing/speaking; in this class, your purpose may be to explain, to argue and/or to explore.
Think about the kind of language you use when communicating at lunch with a group of friends, during a presentation in front of your peers, in an essay I assigned, or in a text message to a parent, friend, or family member.

5. Defining Purpose Key Terms:
Expository Writing: when your purpose is to explain something to the reader by presenting it clearly and sharing details and facts, to educate and inform your audience.
Argumentative Writing: when your purpose is to argue something by developing a line of reasoning in order to arrive at a logical conclusion; the aim is to convince your audience either to accept your position or even to take action.
Discursive Writing: when your purpose is to explore an issue by considering objectively various points of view before arriving at an evidence-based conclusion.
Think about the kind of language you use when communicating at lunch with a group of friends, during a presentation in front of your peers, in an essay I assigned, or in a text message to a parent, friend, or family member.

6. Defining Purpose Key Terms:
Tone: the attitude of the writer towards their subject or audience.
Biased: having a tendency to believe one aspect of an argument more than others as a result of one's personal opinions and/or prejudice.
Objective: not influenced by personal feelings or opinions when presenting an argument
Think about the kind of language you use when communicating at lunch with a group of friends, during a presentation in front of your peers, in an essay I assigned, or in a text message to a parent, friend, or family member.

7. Choosing Your Approach
For this course you will be writing an argument. How you structure in will depend on the question itself and how much you know about the topic. The two approaches you will choose from are:
Argumentative
Discursive

8. Argumentative
Depending on the essay topic you choose, you may have a clear point of view, or perspective, on the issue right away. If this is the case, you might want to take a more traditional approach to writing your argument in which you would:
Make your position clear at the beginning of the essay
Use a tone that indicates you have a bias towards the issue
Develop a fair and logical line of reasoning to support your position
Show an awareness of views which are different from your own

9. Discursive (Investigative)
If you do not have a clear position at the start of the essay you will develop your position differently. In using a discursive approach, you would:
Begin your essay by considering the many points of view that surround the issue, without showing bias toward one
Carefully analyze each point of view
Wait until the end of the essay to offer your position on the matter, after all the information has been examined

10. Command Words
Command words indicate how you are expected to respond to a reading comprehension or essay question. Think about how your response might change as you read through the following tasks:
Identify the importance of grammatical accuracy in today’s society.
Evaluate the importance of grammatical accuracy in today’s society.
Consider the importance of grammatical accuracy in today’s society.
ASK: What words change the nature of the question in each.
Look for qualifiers: a word or phrase used to limit the meaning of a
Word; it maximizes or minimizes the value of a word.

11. Command Words….
Analyze: examine in detail to show meaning, and to identify elements and the relationship between them.
Assess: make an informed judgement
Compare: identify/comment on similarities and/or differences
Consider: review and respond to given information
Contrast: identify/comment on differences
Demonstrate: show how or given an example
Describe: state the points of a topic/give characteristics and main features
Develop: take forward to a more advanced stage or build upon given information

12. Command Words….
Evaluate: judge or calculate the quality, importance, amount or value of something
Examine: investigate closely, in detail
Explain: set out purposes or reason / make relationships between thigs evident /provide why and/or how and support with relevant evidence
Give: produce an answer from a given source or recall/memory
Identify: name/select/recognize
Justify: support a case with evidence/argument
State: express in clear terms
Suggest: apply knowledge and understanding to situations where there is a range of valid responses in order to make proposals
Summarize: select and present the main points, without detail

13. Which Approach to Choose?
Putting an essay question in your own words can help you understand the task and therefore make decisions about how you will approach the essay. Read the following prompt and then look at the “train of thought” of two students who are deciding how to respond to this question:
Assess the benefits of video conferencing against more traditional ways of conducting business.
We’ll get to the command word later

14. Student A
“It looks like I need to compare the benefits of one form of communication over the other in order to decide which one is better.”
“Hmm… I like the idea of video conferencing because it’s so convenient these days but meeting face-to-face the traditional way is really important, too.”
“I can think of several, reasonable situations that support both modes of communication, so it’s hard to say…”
“If I’m going to give a strong answer to this question, I’ll need to sort through the evidence for both sides before I make a decision on this.”
It’s settled...I’ll need to evenly investigate this topic before I pass judgement.”
What kind of approach is this? Discursive

15. Student B
“It looks like I need to compare the benefits of one form of communication over the other in order to decide which one is better.”
“Well, I definitely think traditional methods for conducting business, like meeting in person, are better than meeting online.”
“So if I’m going to give a strong answer to this question, I think I’ll share my perspective on traditional ways of conducting business because I have a lot to say about it. I just need to make sure I acknowledge those who might disagree with me.”
“I can do that! I have a few thoughts on why video conferencing can be better, or at least why people think it is.”
“I’m going to take a position on this topic!”
What kind of approach is this? Argumentative.

16. Think Aloud Activity
A “think aloud” is a helpful mental strategy where learners say their train of thought aloud as it comes to them. This is also a useful way to organize your ideas. Complete the following think aloud activity with a small group of no more than four people.
For each of the essay prompts 1-6:
Put the task in your own words
Think about what you know about the topic and how you feel about it
Decide which approach you would use if you were asked to respond to this question
Think aloud with your group and justify your decisions (I would choose this approach because…”
In your binder, for each prompt, write which approach you would choose and why in a few sentences. Each person should have their OWN responses.

17. Think Aloud Prompts
Can breaking the law ever be justified? Does immigration bring positive or negative ramifications to your country? Are the high salaries paid to athletes and actors justified? Should students be required to study a foreign language in high school? Should there be stricter gun regulations nationwide? Are video games beneficial or detrimental to teenagers?
Note, these are NOT worded in the same way as the essays that will be on the exam. These are the prompt questions from the summer assignment which students are rewriting for their final exam grade this quarter. On the exam, certain prompts will be written in such a way that the students will not have a choice which approach to take. Certain keywords will indicate that the examiners are asking for a specific style, most often discursive.
Give students the rest of the class time to finish their assignment and share results.

19. Language and Communication
Core Course Knowledge
Language and Communication
From: Cambridge International AS Level English General Paper Coursebook by Jill Pavich