xNotes

ACTSS
A=audience and purpose
C=context and content (theme and message)
T=tone
S=structure
S=stylistic features
Context:
 Where
 When
 Why (intent)?
Topic/concept

happiness

theme: concise, universal statement about the topic

the pursuit of happiness

Message: text specific statement about the theme

One must always in the pursuit of happiness
 Paper 1 Lang and Lit
WHERE TO BEGIN
1. Author
2. Title
3. Year of publication
4. Text type
 Textual conventions
 language
 register (level of formality)
 style
 structure
5. Audience
6. Context
 Where?
 When?
 Who?
7. Purpose
8. Message
9. Theme

Context of Production text Context of

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WHEN ANNOTATING THE TEXT(S)

 Discuss
- Concentrate on: quotes (if
 Tone any)
 Stylistic devices
 Structural elements

- Consider effect:
 Effect on the audience/mood
 Relevance to message and purpose
TONE
 Pay close attention to and be specific about whose tone you are addressing in
the text
 Depends on the type of text.
 Trace the speaker’s tone throughout the text, using specific textual
evidence/direct quotations.
 Look at tone shift and discuss the effect in relation to other elements in the text.

Some Stylistic Devices

RHETORICAL DEVICES

 allusion
 anaphora  last resort
 anecdote  litote
 antithesis  name-calling
 aphorism  paradox
 bandwagon  parallelism
 correction of erroneous  repetition
views  rhetorical question
 corrective measures  sarcasm
 hypophora  statistics