Content Based Questions: Rephrase Content from the Passage Identifiers: - "Use your own words as far as possible to... = “According to paragraph X the author ...” - ‘What are the reasons / Why...” = {Look at the mark allocation: higher mark allocation might reveal number of points required] Paraphrasing: - Explanation: ~ Cats are nocturnal ~ cats are active at night OR cats are non-diural animals (be careful when using antonyms with negation markers, eg, tall =/= not short) - Concretizing: - The frontal lobes of teenagers are not fully developed... they have a likelihood of being impressionable ~ teenagers’ brains are still growing, thus they tend to be easily influenced - Some are more right brained while others more more left brained ~ certain people are more creative, others logical - Superordination: Grouping words under a superset (eg. scarlet, vermilion, etc. + red) - There were homo habilis, homo erectus, Neanderthals, homo sapiens... ~ there were men and their predecessors = Changing voice (active to passive or passive to active) - People have overthrown tyrannical rulers <--> despotic rulers have been forced from poweriforced to abdicate ingibreaking sentences: self-explanatory - Com Examples of paraphrasing: - The majority believe in Science - Alarge proportion of the population trusts/embraces Science - The masses are supporters /advocates of Science Keywords (need paraphrasing) VS generic words (can be lifted): - Words that carry the main pointinew information are keywords, while generic words aren't the focus of the sentence People have overthrown tyrannical regimes ~ People have toppled authoritarian regimes (focus is on overthrowing and tyrannical) - Keywords can be lifted if itis the topic of the passage (eg. if the topic is “censorshi you don't have to keep rephrasing it) Inference Questions: Intention/Purpose Common intentions: - To frame something as a problemiissue’- When society may not recognize something as a problem, and the author explains it as such - Torecdirect or re-frame a problem/issue - When the author counters a commonly understood problemvissue by pointing out that these are not the main causes/problems, and states the main problems - The highlight the severity of an issue - To call for action - To rrebut opposing arguments / discredit one’s opponents - To evoke certain feelings in the reader (state what emotion exactly) - Tolament something - Todisclaim - Usually done to balance the writing and accept the validity of other sides of the arguments - To express shockidisbeliet/disgust - To mockicriticize/censure/wam/instructinformladvise - To show a certain point (only use it as a last resort, when we can't identify any other intention) - The author states... to prove that ... Inference: Attitude and Toi Tone: How the writer sounds Attitude: How the writer feels Attitude words: supportive/approving, conciliatory, sympathetic, optimistic, disapproving, critical, condemning, doubtful, skeptical, cynical, condescending, demeaning, derogatory, patronising, mocking, scornful, derisive, contemptuous, pessimistic, ambivalent, indifferent/apathetic, disgusted, fearless, fearful, anxious Tone words: accusatory, angry/aggressive/contemptuous/antagonistic, cycnical, skeptical, condescending/demeaningiderogatory/patronising, sarcastic, pessimistic/disappointed, frustrated, defiant, defensive, concerned, serious, respecttul, reverent, appreciative, sincere, sympathetic, enthusiastic, encouraging, optimistic, humorous, indifferent/apathetic, moralistic, formaliinformal, bluntfrank/straightforward, matter-of-fact Irony & Paradox Irony: = Situational: When what is happening is contrary to what is expected - Verbal: When what is said is contrary to what is meant = Socratic: When one feigns ignorance, despite knowing - Dramatic: When the audience knows more than the actual participants How To Answer:1. There is a contradiction between what the author said and what the author meant; he meant the opposite of (what he said) because of (the situation) yet he said that (what he said) - hence, the irony. 2. There is a contradiction between what is expected and what is actually happening: although one would expect (what is expected)... yet (what is happening) - this contradiction proves the irony Paradox: A statement that is self-contradictory but expresses truth and makes sense. How To Answer: Explain the contradiction + Explain how it still makes sense 1. The statement is paradoxical as (explain contradiction). Yet, it could hold true as (explain how it makes sense) Inference: Vocabulary Question types: = Identify the words or phrases that have the same meaning as __ ~ Just pick out the words/phrases - What does this word imply about __? - Explain the meaning of the word + make the inference - Why does the author use the words ___in lines __? What is the intention/purpose of the author in using the word __in lines - Explain the meaning of the word + explain intention/purpose Inference: Punctuation Question types: - Why does the author use (insert punctuation) in line _? Quotation Marks: - Toindicate the opposite meanings of words (includes an element of sarcasm/disagreement) - Eg. The “hardworking” man didn’t do shit that day. + Indicates that the man was not actually hardworking = Toindicate metaphorical use - Eg, The company is ‘bleeding’ thousands of dollars per month ~ Indicates that the word is being used metaphorically; the company is not literally losing blood, rather is making significant losses that justify winding the business up. - Tomake comparisons - Eg. XYZ is the ‘Harvard! of Asia ~ The author is drawing a parallel between the prestigious Harvard University and XYZ school; he does not literally mean XYZ is Harvard University, but rather that XYZ is of a standard comparable to Harvard, except that it is situated in Asia - Toquote- Eg. Philosophy... is food for our souls and is “the highest music’ (Plato) one can ever listen to > The author references Plato's opinion on philosophy and his comparison to music = Todenote a name - Eg. Earth Hour’ Ellipses: - Toindicate a repetitive cycle - Toindicate a continuing list of items - To create suspense Parentheses: To contain supplementary/additional information that is optional (ie omission of that information would stil convey the same meaning) Semicolon: connect related information Colon: Explain preceding part of the sentence Repetition: To emphasize something or to create a compounding effect (usually to evoke a certain emotion) Direct Paraphrasing Just paraphrase whatever the question asks you to. Metaphorical/Figurative Expressions Explain the literal meaning of the metaphor + explain the similarity between the literal meaning and the actual situation. Eg. Explain “we have won the war against SARS” ‘The author means that society has been cleared of the SARS virus which is no longer a threat, similar to how winning a war against one’s enemies clears them from society and have them no longer posing a threat.