English notes

Message, Intention, Purpose

• Message: The core idea or theme being communicated.

• Intention: Why the text was written (to inform, entertain, persuade, etc.).

• Purpose: The effect the creator wants the text to have on the reader/viewer.

✍ Style and Register

• Style: How the writer expresses ideas (e.g., descriptive, persuasive, narrative).

• Register: Level of formality:

  • Formal: Academic or professional.

  • Neutral: Everyday, standard English.

  • Informal: Conversational, may include slang.

🎭 Tone and Diction

• Tone: The writer’s attitude (e.g., sarcastic, hopeful, serious).

• Diction: Word choice that influences tone (e.g., emotional, complex, simple).

❗ Punctuation

• Comma (,): Separates elements.

• Full Stop (.): Ends a sentence.

• Question Mark (?): Asks a question.

• Exclamation Mark (!): Shows emotion or command.

• Ellipsis (…): Suggests hesitation or unfinished thought.

🔤 Parts of Speech

• Noun: Person/place/thing.

• Pronoun: Replaces a noun.

• Verb: Action or being.

• Adjective: Describes a noun.

• Adverb: Describes how, when, where.

• Conjunction: Joins words (and, but).

• Preposition: Shows direction/location (under, beside).

• Interjection: Emotion (Wow! Ouch!).

🧱 Sentence Structure

• Simple: One main clause.

• Compound: Two independent clauses joined by a conjunction.

• Complex: Independent + dependent clause.

• Fragment: Incomplete sentence.

📘 Grammar Rules

• Subject-verb agreement.

• Consistent tense.

• Correct punctuation and capitalisation.

• Pronoun use must match noun.

• Use of articles (a, an, the).

✨ Literary Devices

• Simile, Metaphor, Personification: Imagery.

• Alliteration, Assonance, Onomatopoeia: Sound.

• Irony, Hyperbole, Symbolism: Effect.

• Enjambment, Caesura: Poetic structure.

• Theme, Motif, Tone: Underlying meaning.

📚 Answering Techniques

• Follow mark allocation.

• Restate the question in your answer.

• Use evidence/quotes to support answers.

• Use full sentences and correct grammar.

• Avoid vague responses ("Because it is cool").

📝 Poetry

Key Concepts

• Stanza: Group of lines.

• Rhyme Scheme: Pattern of end rhymes (e.g., ABAB).

• Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence beyond a line.

• Tone: Emotion of the speaker.

• Imagery: Sensory details.

• Symbolism: Objects representing deeper meaning.

Seen Poems

🌩 African Thunderstorm

• Theme: Nature’s power; change.

• Tone: Tense, ominous.

• Techniques: Personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration.

💪 Still I Rise

• Theme: Resilience, pride, defiance.

• Tone: Confident, bold.

• Structure: Repetition, quatrains, rhetorical questions.

🍄 Mushrooms

• Theme: Feminine strength, subtle rebellion.

• Tone: Soft yet powerful.

• Techniques: Repetition, symbolism, personification.

🚶 Walking Away

• Theme: Letting go, growth.

• Tone: Reflective, emotional.

• Devices: Metaphor, simile, imagery.

🖼 Visual Literacy

📢 Advertising

• Purpose: Persuade (buy, support, vote).

• Techniques: Rhetorical questions, testimonials, slogans, colour psychology.

• Target Audience: Who it's aimed at.

🧠 Propaganda

• Goal: Manipulate beliefs/behavior.

• Devices:

  • Bandwagon

  • Name-calling

  • Testimonial

  • Fear appeal

  • Glittering generalities

  • Plain folks

🎭 Cartoons

• Satire: Criticising through humour and irony.

• Humour: Lightens serious topics.

• Clues:

  • Visual: Facial expressions, labels, exaggeration.

  • Verbal: Puns, captions, irony.