Linguistic and Stylistic Analysis of Texts - Academic Writing

Thesis Statement

• Think of the thesis statement as the title sentence, as in the 1st sentence to the entire passage, that tells the reader what the passage is about. 
• Example - Holden in The Catcher in the Rye is caught between continuing to be part of the innocent world of childhood and trying to become a part of the complex adult world. 

Coherence

• A passage is considered coherent if the reader finds it easy to understand.

Cohesive Devices

• Organising ideas - are they structured well, do the ideas flow coherently, or do the ideas go back and forth
• Paragraphing - does each paragraph contain a separate idea
• Idea Substantiation 
• Explanation / Elaboration
• Comparison and Contrast
• Exemplification
• Analysis - Causal Relation
• Sentence Structures - are the sentence long indicating complexity or short making the ideas easy to follow, is the grammar correctly used? 
• Linking Words 
• Additive - And, Furthermore, Moreover, Similarly
• Compare and Contrast - Although, Despite, However, In comparison
• Cause and Effect - Because, Since, Therefore, Thus
• Sequential - First, Then, Subsequently, Lastly, 
• Introductory - 
• Concluding - 
• Vocabulary level - are the words difficult to comprehend or easy to understand?

List the main ideas in the given passage. 

• Think of making a powerpoint slide for the entire passage. Bullet the main points para by para. 

List the Sub-ideas

• All the points given under idea substantiation are examples of sub-ideas. Identify and present these. 

Linguistic and Stylistic Analysis of Texts - Sample Answer Key

MA English – Paper II – Linguistic and Stylistic Analysis of Texts – Old course – April 2013

Q1) A and C - part answers 
(You need write only the consonants or vowels when transcribing the lines as per the question)

‘The Swing’

How do you like to go up in a swing,        
hau du:  ju: laɪk  tu gəu   ʌp   ɪn   eɪ/ə swɪŋ

Up in the air so blue?                                    
ʌp   ɪn   ðə/ðɪ   eə(r)   səu   blu:

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing     
əu   aɪ   du:   θɪnk   ðə/ðɪ plez(e)ntest   θɪŋ

Ever a child can do!                                         
evə(r)   eɪ/ə   ʧaɪld   kæn   du:

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,      
tɪl  aɪ  luk  daun ɒn/ɔn  ðə/ðɪ ga:(r)den gri:n

Down on the roof so brown--                     
daun    ɒn/ɔn   ðə/ðɪ   ru:f   səu   braun

Up in the air I go flying again,                      
ʌp    ɪn    ðə/ðɪ   eə(r) aɪ   gəu   flaɪŋ   ageɪn

Up in the air and down!                                
ʌp    ɪn   ðə/ðɪ   eə(r) ænd  daun

-      Robert Louis Stevenson

Q 1) a – Any FIVE of the following could be given by the students:

	Place	Manner	Type of Articulation
ʧ	Post alveolar	Affricate	Voiceless
w	Bilabial	Approximant / Semi - Vowel	Voiced
r (not preferred)	Alveolar	Approximant / Semi - Vowel	Voiced
j	Palatal	Approximant / Semi - Vowel	Voiced
s	Alveolar	Fricative	Voiceless
ð	Dental	Fricative	Voiced
θ	Dental	Fricative	Voiceless
h	Glottal	Fricative	Voiced
v	Labio dental	Fricative	Voiced
l	Alveolar	Lateral	Voiced
n	Alveolar	Nasal	Voiced
ŋ	Velar	Nasal	Voiced
d	Alveolar	Plosive	Voiced
t	Alveolar	Plosive	Voiceless
p	Bilabial	Plosive	Voiceless
b	Bilabial	Plosive	Voiced
k	Velar	Plosive	Voiceless
g	Velar	Plosive	Voiced

Q1) B) Consonants – Effect

Predominant –  θ ŋ p g n s f w

(pleasantest, up, Swing, flying, thing, garden, green, again, brown)

The preponderance of voiceless fricatives (s) and plosives (p) add to the lyricism. The focus is on vowels.

Nasals and approximants – too empahsise effect of vowels and add to the mellifluousness of the poem. Also the shrill, breathless excitement of a child is evidenced through the use of the nasals.

Q1) C) Vowels / Diphthongs- Labels  (Any 5)

• /i:/ - long             close                   front       unrounded / spread       vowel
• /ɪ/ - short            half-close             front       unrounded /spread        vowel
• /e/ - short           half-open              front       unrounded / spread       vowel
• /æ/ - short          open                     front       unrounded / spread       vowel

• /ə/ - short           half-open              central     Unrounded/ Neutral vowel
• /ʌ/ - short           open                     central    unrounded/ Neutral vowel

• /u:/ - long            close                    back       rounded vowel
• / u/ - short          half-close              back       rounded vowel (also shown by / ʊ /)
• /ɒ/-  short           open                     back       rounded vowel (also shown by / ɔ /
• /ɑ:/ - long            open                     back       rounded vowel

Diphthongs

/aɪ/ - Back oriented diphthong

/au/ - Back oriented diphthong

/əu/ - Centre oriented diphthong

/eɪ/ - Front oriented diphthong

/eə/ - Front oriented diphthong

Q1) D) Vowels Effect

Predominant–  aɪ, au, u:

Cyclical nature – just as the swing moves up and down shares joy with the world as  opposed to inward looking front vowels.

Poem balanced by the presence of a few front and centre vowels and diphthongs as in /eə/ in air or

/ɪ/ in swing or /i:/ in trees or green that highlight a reflective mood. 

Q1) E) Short Note (Any 1) 

Imagery

Visual

Colours – blue, brown, green – as in the upward and downward path of the swing

Sights – cattle, river, trees, garden, roof -- countryside – near a house. Top view mostly emphasised. Few details of the ground view given. 

Punctuation

-      Begins with a (?) – conversational tone – good hook – typical of a child’s method for

initiating conversation

-      (!) – joy expressed – repeated – children generally speak of in exclamatory sentences – plus the swing’s movement would make the child breathless as well adding to the exclamation

-      (-) – indicates more – seems to put in parentheses the view while the swing comes down.

Almost as additional info.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Q2) A) 

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Fir Tree    MCL   Types of SCLs

(S1) Se { < _MCl [ The Tree beheld all the beauty of the flowers, and the freshness in the garden ] ; _MCl [ he beheld himself ] , and _MCl [ wished _NCl [ he had remained in his dark corner in the loft ] ] >} .

(S2) _MCl [ He thought of his first youth in the wood, of the merry Christmas-eve, and of the little Mice _RCl [ who had listened with so much pleasure to the story of Humpy-Dumpy ] ].

(S3) "_MCl [ < _NCl [ 'Tis over] – _NCl ['tis past] > !" said the poor Tree ].

(S4) "_MCl [ Had I but rejoiced _ACl [ when I had reason _NCli [ to do so ] ] ]!

(S5) Se { < _MCl [ The gardener's boy chopped the Tree into small pieces ]; _MCl [ there was a whole heap _RCling [ lying there ] ] > } .

(S6) _MCl [ The wood flamed up splendidly under the large brewing copper ] .

(S7) _MCl [ It sighed so deeply ] !

(S8) _MCl [ Each sigh was like a shot ] .

(S9) Se { < _MCl [ All was over now ] : _MCl [ the Tree gone ] , _MCl [ the story at an end ] > }.

(S10) _MCl [ Every tale must end at last ].

_____________________________________________________

Q2) b)

MCl -15

SCl – 06

          NCl – 03

          RCl – 01

          RCling – 01

          NCli – 01

         ACl – 01

MCl – predominant - thus, easy to understand, simple passage / apt  for children

SCl – NCL and RCl predominant – ideas and their description dominate – the thought of the tree expressed – little action in the passage so ACls not as prevalent.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Q3) Narratology 

 Narratology [Haircut by Ring Lardner (1885-1933)]
          I got another barber that comes over from Carterville and helps me out Saturdays, but the rest of the time I can get along all right alone. You can see for yourself that this ain't no New York: City and besides that, the most of the boys works all day and don't have no leisure to drop in here and get themselves prettied up.
          You're a newcomer, ain't you? I thought I hadn't seen you round before. I hope you like it good enough to stay. As I say, we ain't no New York City or Chicago, but we have pretty good times. Not as good, though, since Jim Kendall got killed. When he was alive, him and Hod Meyers used to keep this town in an uproar. I bet they was more laughin' done here than any town its size in America.
          Since Jim's gone, Hod tries to hold his end up just the same as ever, but it's tough goin' when you ain't got nobody to kind of work with.

a)      Who is the narrator? Is S/he different from the author? What linguistic factors help you to decide?

b)      Does the passage use direct or indirect discourse? Justify.

c)       What is the setting of the passage?

d)      What insights do you get about the characters in the passage? What is the method of charaterisation used?

a)      It is not possible to identify who the author is and if the author is present in the passage.

The given extract is a one way conversation that the owner of a barber shop in a small town has with a customer of his. The narrator/author are one and the same as there is no reference to any character who could act as the narrator in the passage. In fact, the author/narrator might well be the protagonist, the unnamed barber. But he could also be the customer or an observer in the shop. The presence of the author/narrator in the passage is not evident, even thought the pronoun ‘I’ and ‘you’ have been used in the conversation, as these pronouns could merely be a recounting of the conversation that the barber had with his customer. However, the author/narrator of this extract has a very objective point of view presented as only the conversation has been presented verbatim and no opinions or unexpressed feelings or thoughts have been offered as an aside.

b)      The author has used direct discourse here as the passage is basically a conversation that the barber has with his unnamed, unknown customer, who likely is a newcomer to the place as illustrated by the dialogue “You're a newcomer, ain't you? I thought I hadn't seen you round before.” Furthermore, the author/narrator of this extract has a very objective point of view presented as only the conversation has been presented verbatim and no opinions or unexpressed feelings or thoughts have been offered as an aside.

c)      The setting of the passage is a barber shop in a small, unknown town or village located in America close to Carterville. This conclusion is based on first paragraph of dialogue: “I got another barber that comes over from Carterville and helps me out Saturdays, but the rest of the time I can get along all right alone.” This line indicates that the shop is one-man shop run by the protagonist and not a busy one. Furthermore, he says : “You can see for yourself that this ain't no New York City and besides that, the most of the boys works all day and don't have no leisure to drop in here and get themselves prettied up.” The repeated reference to ‘this ain’t no New York City” and to Chicago, both US cities as seen in the second paragraph as well emphasises the fact that the shop must be located in a sleepy little place in the States. Moreover, the protagonist also compares the town to another of an equivalent size in the USA“I bet they was more laughin' done here than any town its size in America.”

d)      The protagonist is a small time barber who owns a shop and has someone from Carterville to help him out on Saturdays which must be the busiest period for him. He is a garrulous man, who loves to talk as is evident by the fact that the entire three paragraphs are almost a monologue as he gets no verbal response from his customer. He is also a gossip as he observes that his customer must be a new comer as he asks “You're a newcomer, ain't you?” and answers the question himself as well “I thought I hadn't seen you round before”. His speech is colloquial and peppered with Americanisms “ain’t”, “prettied up” and “laughin”. The dropping of the “g” is indicative of speech patterns found in the Southern states of the USA. He also is not very educated as he uses double negatives in his sentences such as “we ain't no New York City or Chicago” “don't have no leisure.” Despite the lack of education and lack of sophistication as he constantly refers to the fact the town is unlike the big cities, he is tolerant of others and has sympathy for his fellow residents as he excuses the lack of customers in his shop by being understanding of the fact that his clientele were hardworking men who had other concerns than being “prettied up” and his ability to look beyond Hod’s shortcomings in trying to entertain the town by perceiving  that “it's tough goin' when you ain't got nobody to kind of work with.”

 He also recounts for a perfect stranger what used to happen in the unnamed town and talks of two other characters Jim Kendall and Hod Meyers who perhaps provided comic relief to the residents of the place and how Jim was the more entertaining of the two, but that he was now dead, in fact “killed”. Hod now tried to liven up the place, but failed because he lacked company. So the reader gets a picture of two other characters who had time enough on their hands to provide the town with some amusement with their antics and comments. The protagonist seems to have liked them well enough, which makes the reader disposed to liking them as well. Perhaps Jim Kendall was killed in reaction to something he did or he was an unfortunate victim of a crime. The protagonist’s commentary does not reveal anything, though the reader is tantalised as one would suppose the customer is as well.  Thus, the barber is also a good raconteur.

The customer is unheard and unseen in the passage and is even more mysterious. All we know is what we can read between the lines of the non-stop chatter of the barber. The only response he might have made is perhaps confirming nonverbally the assumption that the barber makes about the customer being a stranger to the town as the next comment the barber makes is “I thought I hadn't seen you round before.” and perhaps a pleasant man as the barber says “I hope you like it good enough to stay”.

The method of characterization refers to the modes by which information about individual characters is conveyed.  

In this extract the method used is indirect presentation for the protagonist, and the customer, the only two agents in the passage. The characters’ personalities are conveyed through:

·         Actions (omission) – The customer does not speak as explained above

·         Characteristics of Speech – Protagonist – as explained above

Jim Kendall and Hod Meyers, like the barber from Carterville and the townfolk, are not agents in the passage. They are presented through a direct definition of character by the protagonist as he comments on them as he introduces them to the unnamed customer.

Q4) b) Teaching Questions [Expect Nothing]

Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise. become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.

-      Alice Walker

Additional - Just for explanation: 
{ Alice Walker’s poem, “Expect Nothing”, is a poem about truly expecting nothing. She’s trying to tell her readers to just live life without a plan and to have fun with it and that life should be a

surprise.  You never know what life is going to bring next and I think that Alice wants her readers to

notice how true that is.  She always has you notice how much you have compared to what others don’t and to wish for smaller and more humble things than what you already have.  If you don’t expect a lot from life you can’t be disappointed. } 

Questions could follow these suggested guidelines:

1)   Use of imperatives – “take” “Wish” leading to Q2

2)   Tone of the poem/poet – didactic / Sermonising

3)   What type of poem might this be? – A homily.

4)   Who might the audience be, based on the answers to the above questions?

5)   The use of ‘OR’ – indicates choices.

6)   What are these choices? Questions could be based on each stanza.

7)   Are these choices real possibilities?

8)   Diction used – over all simple to help reader better understand the message

9)   Can ask meanings of words such as “frugally”, Caress, parka, midget

10) Metaphor – “heart” for small size and “star” for large size

11) Tautology – “tiny human midget” – repeat idea emphasizes what?

12) Paradox – “Expect nothing”, “caress unmoved and cold”

13) Repetition – “Expect nothing. Live frugally/ On surprise.” Why? Cyclical – emphasize what?

14) Other content questions could be framed such as:

a)   Take enough of what? (1st stanza) – How do you think this is possible?

b)   How can a parka be made of disappointment? How can the soul be protected by disappointment?

c)    Who is the “tiny human midget” that the poet refers to – an individual or all mankind? d)   Why does the poet describe the midget as scared and unwise? Is it given in the poem? e)   Is it possible to become wise? Is there a solution that poet suggests?

15) Message of poem / Suggest a title for the poem. Justify. 

16) What is the mood of the poem? (What mood does it invoke in the reader?)