Homework, March 16th, 2017

Read the extract from the Malala Yousefzai speech and answer the questions that follow. If you want to watch the whole speech, you can find it here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rNhZu3ttIU


When answering the questions, you might want to refer to some of the literary techniques mentioned in the table below:

Example	Technique	What or how?	Why writers sometimes use it
His speech was a million times more effective.	Hyperbole	How	To ram home a point by making something seem more dramatic, powerful or important than it is.
Grizzly intruder loses its bearings	Wordplay/humour	How	To make the reader laugh, which makes reading the text more enjoyable.
Last year, 3.5 million people signed up to Facebook.	Fact/statistic	What	Statistics are used to prove certain points, which gives them more credibility so the reader takes them more seriously.
He was gigantic, with frenetic hair and a magnetic smile.	Powerful, lively adjectives	How	Adjectives are often used to make the writing livelier and more engaging for the reader.
No, no, no!	Repetition	How	You will find this a lot in speeches; the effect on the reader is to make the repeated word or phrase stick in the mind.
John Campbell, 37 from Worcester, has always loved cheese.	Case study of a specific person	What	When you read details about a specific person, you form a connection with that person, and this makes the writing more engaging.
The long, sinewy fingers of the trees reached out towards me.	Personification	How	This is a type of metaphor. The effect on the reader is to make objects easier for the reader to visualise by giving them human qualities.
The fuzzy fiend foraged among the foliage.	Alliteration and wordplay	How	By using several words with the same first letter in the same sentence, the sentence is more likely to stick in the reader’s mind. It also helps to break up the rhythm of the text.
The last race took place in 2013 and drew a huge crowd.	Example of a specific event	What	Like statistics, details of specific events are sometimes used to back up a point that is being made and make it more credible.
First Miliband, then Cameron, and now Farage.	List	What/how	Like alliterations, lists have their own rhythm, and this makes them more likely to stick in the reader’s mind.
Has the time not come to end this madness?	Rhetorical question	How	By posing a question, the writer is attempting to engage the reader by getting him/her to think of the answer.
Surprise, surprise, James Bond is driving an Aston Martin.	Sarcasm/humour	How	Sarcasm is a way of making a negative comment about something in a way that engages the reader. In this case, the point is that James Bond always drives an Aston Martin, which is a bit boring.
He had a burning coldness about him.	Oxymoron	How	By placing two opposing ideas next to each other in a sentence, that sentence is more interesting to the reader, because he/she has to think about it.
You should really be exercising at least three times a week.	Advice and direct address.	What/how	This is a way of connecting directly with the reader by making him/her think about something he/she should perhaps be doing.
Watching this movie is like being slapped in the face with a fish.	Simile/hyperbole	How	Like all types of metaphor, similes make a description of something more interesting and therefore more engaging for the reader.
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ said Mr Campbell.	Quote	What/how	Quotes are probably most common in articles, and are a great way of getting the reader to form a connection with the people in the story.
Fernando was a lion among zebras.	Metaphor	How	In this example, the writer wants to think of Fernando as being fierce and possibly quite dangerous. Calling him lion gets this point across to the reader in a more interesting and engaging way.
I just don’t think people really enjoy it.	Personal opinion	What	Although facts give a point credibility, people may sometimes be interested in your personal opinion. This is most common in speeches.

The following is an extract from a speech by the human rights activist Malala Yousafzai delivered to the youth version of the United Nations on July 12^th, 2013.

…

I don't know where to begin my speech. I don't know what people would be expecting me to say. But first of all, thank you to God for whom we all are equal and thank you to every person who has prayed for my fast recovery and a new life. I cannot believe how much love people have shown me. I have received thousands of good wish cards and gifts from all over the world. Thank you to all of them. Thank you to the children whose innocent words encouraged me. Thank you to my elders whose prayers strengthened me.

…

There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.

So here I stand: one girl among many. I speak, not for myself, but for all girls and boys. I raise up my voice, not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights: their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated.

…

Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

The wise saying, “The pen is mightier than sword” was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA. That is why they are blasting schools every day.  Because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of the equality that we will bring into our society.

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, “Why are the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, “A Talib doesn't know what is written inside this book.” They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being who would send girls to the hell just because of going to school. The terrorists are misusing the name of Islam and Pashtun society for their own personal benefits. Pakistan is peace-loving democratic country. Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons. And Islam is a religion of peace, humanity and brotherhood. Islam says that it is not only each child's right to get education, rather it is their duty and responsibility.

Read the Malala Yousafzai speech extract and answer the following questions:

1. Who does Malala thank first in the extract?

2. Why do you think she does this?

3. How, in the first paragraph, does she try to make it seem like everyone listening is part of the same group?

4. Why do you think she does this?

5. Complete the sentence: ‘Thousands of people have been ___________ by the terrorists and millions have been ________________.’

6. For whom does Malala speak, according to the speech?

7. What two literary devices are used in the last two lines of the third paragraph?

8. Complete the sentence: ‘Dear brothers and sisters, we realise the importance of ___________ when we see ____________________.’

9. What literary technique is this an example of?

10. What ‘wise saying’ does Malala refer to in the fifth paragraph?

11. This saying is an example of which technique?

12. Why, according to the fifth paragraph, have so many females been killed by extremists?

13. There is a case study of a specific person in the final paragraph of the extract. Who is this person?

14. Why do you think Malala has mentioned him?

15. Now have a go at the following 10 mark exam-style question:

How does Malala Yousafzai try to convince us that we should stand up to extremists? Focus on what is said and how it is said. 

Homework, 9th March, 2017

This homework is due on Monday, March 13th. 

This is an extract from a speech delivered by the black civil rights leader Malcolm X in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 3, 1964. Read it and answer the questions that follow. 

Mr. Moderator, Brother Lomax, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies: I just can't believe everyone in here is a friend, and I don't want to leave anybody out. The question tonight, as I understand it, is "The Negro Revolt, and Where Do We Go From Here?" or What Next?" In my little humble way of understanding it, it points toward either the ballot or the bullet.

Before we try and explain what is meant by the ballot or the bullet, I would like to clarify something concerning myself. I'm still a Muslim; my religion is still Islam. That's my personal belief. Just as Adam Clayton Powell is a Christian minister who heads the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, but at the same time takes part in the political struggles to try and bring about rights to the black people in this country; and Dr. Martin Luther King is a Christian minister down in Atlanta, Georgia, who heads another organization fighting for the civil rights of black people in this country; and Reverend Galamison, I guess you've heard of him, is another Christian minister in New York who has been deeply involved in the school boycotts to eliminate segregated education; well, I myself am a minister, not a Christian minister, but a Muslim minister; and I believe in action on all fronts by whatever means necessary.

Although I'm still a Muslim, I'm not here tonight to discuss my religion. I'm not here to try and change your religion. I'm not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it's time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will make you catch hell whether you're a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalist. Whether you're educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you're going to catch hell just like I am. We're all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same man. He just happens to be a white man. All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.

Now in speaking like this, it doesn't mean that we're anti-white, but it does mean we're anti-exploitation, we're anti-degradation, we're anti-oppression. And if the white man doesn't want us to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us. Whether we are Christians or Muslims or nationalists or agnostics or atheists, we must first learn to forget our differences. If we have differences, let us differ in the closet; when we come out in front, let us not have anything to argue about until we get finished arguing with the man. If the late President Kennedy could get together with Khrushchev and exchange some wheat, we certainly have more in common with each other than Kennedy and Khrushchev had with each other.

If we don't do something real soon, I think you'll have to agree that we're going to be forced either to use the ballot or the bullet. It's one or the other in 1964. It isn't that time is running out -- time has run out!

Questions:

1. What does Malcolm X say in the first paragraph that makes it sound like he and the people in the audience are all members of the same family?

2. Why do you think he does this?

3. Complete the sentence: ‘In my little humble way of ______________ it, it points toward either the ballot or the _______________.’

4. What literary device is the phrase ‘the ballot or the bullet’ an example of?

5. What religion is Malcolm X?

6. Which three people does Malcolm X mention in the second paragraph?

7. What is the effect on the reader/listener of him mentioning specific people?

8. Look at the third paragraph. Copy out one sentence in which Malcolm X tries to make it seem like he and the members of the audience are all in the same situation.

9. What technique doe Malcolm X use in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph?

10. Now have a go at the exam-style question below. It is worth 10 marks, so you will have to write around 200 words. You will need to include some quotes from the speech.

          How does Malcolm X try to persuade us that something needs to               be done about the problem of racism? Think about:

·        What he says

·        How he says it

Homework, 3rd February, 2016

This week you need to read the two speeches on the photocopied sheets in your homework folder and decide, using the checklist, which one should be given a C grade and which one should be given an A. 

You then need to find and copy out any examples you can find of the following:

* Direct address
* Rhetorical questions
* Imagery
* Facts and statistics

Unfortunately, due to copyright restrictions, I cannot publish the speeches here. 

This is due on Monday, 6th March. 

Homework, 2nd March, 2017

This week you need to read the two speeches on the photocopied sheets in your homework folder and decide, using the checklist, which one should be given a C grade and which one should be given an A. 

You then need to find and copy out any examples you can find of the following:

* Direct address
* Rhetorical questions
* Imagery
* Facts and statistics

Unfortunately, due to copyright restrictions, I cannot publish the speeches here. 

This is due on Monday, 6th March. 

Homework, 23rd February, 2017

Read the speech below and then, next to each literary technique in the table, write down an example of it from the speech.

There’s a catch though: one of the techniques has not been included in the speech. See if you can work out which one, then write an example of your own. 

This is due on Monday, 27th February. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start today by putting an image in your mind: an image of a child who can’t yet walk, trying to run. This is what it is like trying to understand the world without knowing about religion. Some people will tell you that religion should be removed from the curriculum in British schools as it is a private matter and should only be taught at home, but, since it is impossible to understand the world without understanding religion, is it really fair to shelter children from it? So I say to you, teach children about religion, and you teach them about the world.

Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Most of the world’s population falls into one of these categories, and there are many other religions besides, so refusing to teach children about them whilst expecting them to have an understanding of the world is, in my view, simply unacceptable. In fact, around 70% of the people in the world claim that they have an affiliation with a religious organisation of some kind, so I say to you, teach children about religion, and you teach them about the world.

From London to Lahore, from New York to Nairobi, from Timor to Timbuktu, people are religious and this affects how they behave. Wars have been waged over religion, people have given their lives and had their lives taken from them in the name of it, and yet, unbelievably, there are still those among us who would have it removed from the British school curriculum altogether. Imagine that, and you are imagining a Britain where people live in ignorance. It is an absolutely insane idea! So I say to you, teach children about religion, and you teach them about the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to leave you today with the image of the child trying to run before it can walk and say to you one last time: teach children about religion, and you teach them about the world. 

Direct address
Imagery
Metaphor
Rhetorical question
List
Opinion
Fact/Statistic
Alliteration
Hyperbole
Repeated catchphrase

Homework, Thursday, February 2nd, 2017

Read the following article from the Independent and answer the questions that follow. This is due on Monday.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/emmanuel-macron-marine-le-pen-french-elections-donald-tump-a7540591.html

1. What impression do you get of Emmanuel Macron from the picture of him that is included with the article?

2. What literary technique is used in the first sentence of the subheading?

3. What does the writer tell the reader to do in the first line of the first paragraph?

4. Where does Macron currently stand in the polls?

5. Why do you think the writer has given us some percentages in the first paragraph?

6. What is the main difference between Trump and Macron, according to the second paragraph?

7. What is one key similarity they have, according to the first line of the third paragraph?

8. What do the numbers 15,000, 4,000 and 2,000 refer to?

9. What message does the use of these numbers send to the reader about Macron’s popularity?

10. Which party does Macron represent?

11. According to the fourth paragraph, in what regard is Donald Trump not very different?

12. According to the fifth paragraph, what kind of candidate does Macron present himself as?

13. ‘He resembles a duke criticising the aristocracy.’ This is an example of what literary technique?

14. How, in the sixth paragraph, does the writer try to convince us that Macron is not, in fact, an anti-establishment figure?

15. In the sixth paragraph, a key difference between Macron and Trump is mentioned, but is then presented as a similarity. Explain what this difference/similarity is.

16. Complete the sentence from the ninth paragraph: ‘Macron’s policies are largely directed to _______________   ______________.’

17. How is this different from what Trump said in his inauguration speech?

18. Copy out and complete the following table based on the similarities between Macron and Trump:

Similarities	Differences

19. Now answer the following exam-style question:

            According to the article, to what extent is Emmanuel Macron the French Donald                          Trump? (10 marks)

Divide your answer into two paragraphs, using the following starter sentences:

            ‘To some extent, he is the French Donald Trump because …’

          ‘However, it could be argued that he is actually quite different because …’