English Assessment Notification T2.1

Page 1

Notice of

Common Task

Year 8

English – Term 2 Task 1: Comparative newspaper analysis

Subject

English

Task date

Week 4A – first scheduled

lesson this week

Nature of the task

Hand-in written task

Duration or length

800 words with a 10% leeway

Syllabus outcomes/content:

1: responds to and composes

texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative

expression and pleasure

3: uses and describes language

forms, features and structures of texts appropriate to a range of purposes,

audiences and contexts

6: identifies and explains

connections between and among texts

Achievement criteria

You will be assessed on how

well you:

·

compare

and contrast the articles in their representations of the news

·

analyse

language forms and features of newspaper articles and the way these shape

meaning

·

use structure

and language appropriately to express an informed point of view arising from

interpretation and analysis

Description of the task

Choose a news story which has

been reported in both a tabloid newspaper (such as The Daily Mail UK or

Australia) and a broadsheet newspaper such as The Guardian UK or Australia.

You will write a series of

paragraphs in answer to the questions below:

1.

In 100

words, write a brief summary of the incident/topic both articles are

reporting on.

2.

In 500

words, comment on the similarities and differences between the two articles

in terms of the following headings. Support your answer with quotations and

analysis of language forms and features:

a)

The

headlines: what language choices have been made in the composition of the

headlines? How effective are they in grabbing the attention of the reader?

b)

Content and

detail: what extra details does one article offer over the other? What

details have been missed out?

c)

Tone, vocabulary

and use of language: what is the tone of each article? How complex is the

language of each article? Is there any technical jargon? Have any language

techniques been used to enhance the meaning of the article?

d)

Attitude/stance/bias

of the writer: Does the writer of either article have an agenda or

preference? How can you tell?

e)

Accompanying

photo(s), illustrations, graphics, graphs, etc.: what graphics are included

with each article? How does the choice of accompanying images reflect the

articles’ similarities and differences? Does the choice of photo/illustration

influence the way the story is being presented?

3.

In 200

words, explain which article you prefer and why. You may make your decision

based on any criteria you choose (e.g. how

entertaining/clear/informative/stylish the article was) as long as you make

it clear what criteria you have judged the articles on. Support any statement

you make with quotations from the article.

Additional Information

·

Please

provide a copy of the articles you have used in your submission – attach them

to the front of your written analysis

·

You will

receive ONE allocated lesson to work on this task during class time

·

Use at

least 11 size font and leave at least 2cm margins.

Feedback

Year 8

English – Term 2 Task 1: Comparative newspaper analysis

Name

Task date

Week 4A – first scheduled

lesson this week

Nature of the task

Hand-in written task

Duration or length

800 words with a 10% leeway

A

student in this range:

grade

·

Skilfully compares and contrasts the articles in their representations

of the news

·

Skilfully analyses language forms and features of newspaper articles

and the way these shape meaning

·

Composes a thoughtful comparative analysis response using language

appropriate to audience, purpose and form

A+

A

A-

·

Effectively compares and contrasts the articles in their

representations of the news

·

Effectively analyses language forms and features of newspaper articles

and the way these shape meaning

·

Composes an effective comparative analysis response using language

appropriate to audience, purpose and form

B+

B

B-

·

Compares and contrasts the articles in their representations of the

news

·

Analyses some language forms and features of newspaper articles and the

way these shape meaning

·

Composes a sound comparative analysis response using language

appropriate to audience, purpose and form

C+

C

C-

·

Makes some attempt to compare and contrast the articles in their

representations of the news

·

Makes some attempt to analyse language forms and features of newspaper

articles and the way these shape meaning

·

Composes a limited comparative analysis response using language

appropriate to audience, purpose and form

D+

D

D-

Comment:

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