English Language AQA ENGB3 11th June 2012 exam

I dont understand how to like Change theorists in to the essay?

If a text is from 1700s, you could bein in the prescriptivism stuff as it's relevant, an maybe talk about some key prescriptivists, and talk about where you can see evidence of conforming to 'rules' in the text. Maybe bring in Samuel Johnson's dictionary stuff as well?

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Reply 181

thompsonic7

16

Just a reminder: I've been reading a few examiner's reports on these exams and they continue to stress the importance of analysing the available language, rather than simply recounting how language has changed and including unrelevant theorists/trying to make a text fit with some information you want to include. Theorists and contextual stuff should support your AO1 points, not define them.

Reply 182

sarahbee1

Original post by Tom Hardy

If anyone want's another pretty useful theorist for change then there is Jonathan Swift of the 18th Century, a prescriptivist who believed that contracting words was a sign of language decay and would make language hard to understand in the future. Contractions went out of fashion during the late 18th-19th century and have gradually regained their popularity. A grammar comment which can easily be expanded on, pretty easy to remember too!

You seem to have it all worked out! You're lucky haha. Any other nice tips you'd like to share on language change or acquisition? :smile:

Reply 183

HolyFuzazzle

10

Original post by thompsonic7

Just a reminder: I've been reading a few examiner's reports on these exams and they continue to stress the importance of analysing the available language, rather than simply recounting how language has changed and including unrelevant theorists/trying to make a text fit with some information you want to include. Theorists and contextual stuff should support your AO1 points, not define them.

This exactly. Lots of people seem to be stressed about including theorists but relevance is key. I only make sure to get in relevant ones or acquisition and for change it's more being aware of issues, my point is I've never mentioned loads and I've done okay without them. They have to support your points, exactly : D

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Reply 184

imagineit

Original post by Tom Hardy

It would just be our luck for there to be reading and writing ;(. Social Interaction is so easy, theorists such as Bruner and Vygotsky can be integrated into the argument to boost AO2 and AO3(linked to context).

Haha I know! Id actually cry if we got that!

Reply 185

siarlie

Original post by Tom Hardy

How did you all do in the January paper marks and grades wise. I got 20/48 for change and 29/48 for acquisition (Overall 74/120 = C). I got the highest in the class somehow. Anyhow I am on 313/400 with everything put together over the course and I need another 7 ums on top of what I got for my poor January paper to get my A. I really do hope I can get this ;(

WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING? i'm on 289 including january....and i need AAB for uni. :'(

Reply 186

thompsonic7

16

Original post by HolyFuzazzle

This exactly. Lots of people seem to be stressed about including theorists but relevance is key. I only make sure to get in relevant ones or acquisition and for change it's more being aware of issues, my point is I've never mentioned loads and I've done okay without them. They have to support your points, exactly : D

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Exactly, I'm very wary of falling into the trap of 'these are the theorists I am going to use' and then looking for a way to make them relevant... In some ways, you have to think of it as similar to the categorising texts task, where it is (as my teacher loves to put it) 'just you and the text'- you analyse it based on what you see in front of you, not what you've been expecting to see.

Reply 187

Xenite

2

Original post by canthardlywait

Could someone give me a rough estimate on how many UMS points I'm on:

In AS I've got a mid B in exam, and low A in Coursework. In A2 coursework I have a high A.
I know it's not much to go off but thats all I have, no matter how many times I asked, my teacher wouldn't go through our UMS with us.

Mid B in the exam is (I believe) going to be roughly 80 UMS. low A in coursework is mid-60s, high A will be mid-70s.

Going from that, I'd imagine you've got about 220 UMS, or just below a C.

Reply 188

HolyFuzazzle

10

Original post by thompsonic7

Exactly, I'm very wary of falling into the trap of 'these are the theorists I am going to use' and then looking for a way to make them relevant... In some ways, you have to think of it as similar to the categorising texts task, where it is (as my teacher loves to put it) 'just you and the text'- you analyse it based on what you see in front of you, not what you've been expecting to see.

Exactly! A lot of people are stressed about revising the entire story of how language has developed, but it might not apply to the whole text. The text on the exam is the thing to focus on the most :smile:

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Reply 189

sarahbee1

Could someone please summarise David Crystal and what he believed please?

Reply 190

imagineit

Original post by mardy_buum

The language change section was horrible in January!

However, it didn't help the fact my paper got marked really harshly. According to my teachers I should have had 6 marks more :frown:

hope this doesn't happen again and stops me from getting into uni. Argh!

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All out papera in my class were marked so harsh! We all got remarks and eveyrone went up atelast 2-3 grades! Still done awful overall though ¬¬

Reply 191

Hooby

10

I know this may sound silly but how do I incorportate the perscriptivist/descriptivist view into an essay? Something like...Perscriptivists would argue that this text illustrates the extent to which lang has decayed?

Reply 192

HolyFuzazzle

10

Original post by sarahbee1

Could someone please summarise David Crystal and what he believed please?

Believed? He's alive. He's a language expert who knows about everything, but in terms of change, he takes a very descriptivist approach. He's written loads of books on language change and acquisition... And he's said some stufff about the globalization of English and how languages decay as well.

I don't have actual quotes from him right now though.

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 193

Hooby

10

Am I one of the only ones who didn't do the exam in January?

Reply 194

Tom Hardy

Original post by sarahbee1

You seem to have it all worked out! You're lucky haha. Any other nice tips you'd like to share on language change or acquisition? :smile:

In terms of theorists, the likes of Skinner (imitation, reinforcement), Chomsky (LAD, innateness), Piaget (Cognitive), Bruner (LASS) and Vygotsky (Social I) should all be easy enough to relevantly integrate them into your answer and to add weight to your answer.

For change, descriptivists include: Jean Aitchison, David Crystal.
And for prescriptivists include: Caxton (1476), Johnson (1755), Jonathan Swift (18th Century), Cameron (1995).

Also, to expand on your grammar, introduce Robert Lowth and his short introduction to Grammar book, with standardization occurring with regards to how grammar should be utilised correctly. His book was introduced in 1762, so any grammatical changes between the texts could be down to this guy :wink:

Hope this helps!

Reply 195

Mr.mAddd

2

Original post by Hooby

Am I one of the only ones who didn't do the exam in January?

i didnt

Reply 196

siarlie

Original post by Xenite

Mid B in the exam is (I believe) going to be roughly 80 UMS. low A in coursework is mid-60s, high A will be mid-70s.

Going from that, I'd imagine you've got about 220 UMS, or just below a C.

so how many UMS does that mean if I have 227 UMS not including the exam tomorrow?

Reply 197

canthardlywait

Original post by Xenite

Mid B in the exam is (I believe) going to be roughly 80 UMS. low A in coursework is mid-60s, high A will be mid-70s.

Going from that, I'd imagine you've got about 220 UMS, or just below a C.

Thanks, how much would I need for a B overall

Reply 198

HolyFuzazzle

10

Original post by Hooby

I know this may sound silly but how do I incorportate the perscriptivist/descriptivist view into an essay? Something like...Perscriptivists would argue that this text illustrates the extent to which lang has decayed?

One year there was a text from Jonathan Swift, arguing for there to be an English Academy, in order to preserve the language, so you could just talk about prescriptivist attitudes and how it rose in importance, with grammar books and stuff. In a text you might just say 'the influence of standardisation/prescriptivism is clear due to...'

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Reply 199

siarlie

Original post by Xenite

Mid B in the exam is (I believe) going to be roughly 80 UMS. low A in coursework is mid-60s, high A will be mid-70s.

Going from that, I'd imagine you've got about 220 UMS, or just below a C.

so how many UMS does that mean i need if I have 227 UMS not including the exam tomorrow?

English Language AQA ENGB3 11th June 2012 exam

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