2B - So what do we do?

Really, this is a component which should NOT have you panicking.

You will be given a small set of data from the genre of 21st century English.

This could be from:

SMS
Twitter
Facebook
Snapchat
Instagram
Email

All the questions will ask you to do will be something like 'analyse how the context of this data affects language use in the 21st century'.

You already know ALL of this! You really do. All you have to do is imagine you are explaining EVERYTHING to a 95 year old, and you can't go far wrong (ie, just be prepared to explain what the heck is going on as if you are talking to someone who has never seen a text message or abbreviation in their life.)

Got it?

Key terms:

If you see any of these, you'll need to point them out and explain why and how they are being used. Don't just assume that you only need to mention them once. You might make a point about how a smiley face to a friend shows informality or flirting, whereas you might later make another point about how inappropriate a sad face is when used in a formal situation.

*Abbreviations
*Acronyms
*Initialisms
*Emojis/Emoticons
*Sociolect
*Elliptical expression
*Elision
*Logograms (when a symbol is used to carry meaning, like '+' or '@'
*Hyperlinks
*Hashtags
*Retweets
*Tagged friends
*Mentions
*Like/Dislikes

Again, none of this should scare you. This is the sort of language you use EVERY DAY. You just need to switch your brains on, look at the contexts, and ensure that you are fully explaining WHY these things are happening.


Grouping and Planning


Answering this question really is EASY.

The Sample Assessment material showed 8 SMS messages and expects you to write about 4-5 paragraphs.

Whilst we don't know that YOUR data will feature SMS messages, we can assume it will be a similar length.

So, just try to GROUP the data into about 4-5 paragraphs. Don't just blindly work your way through it one text at a time This won't show off your skills. See if any of the texts/tweets/message have anything in common, and tackle these in the same paragraph.

For example, don't do this:

Paragraph one - discusses sms 1
Paragraph two - discusses sms 2
Paragraph three - discusses sms 3...

Because if you do that, you'll find that you eventualy start repeating yourself.

Instead, do it like this...
Paragraph one - discusses all messages which features arguments
Paragraph two - discusses all message which are sent in a more formal context
Paragraph three - discusses all messages which are sent mby older people
Paragraph four - discusses all texts which are SPAM messages or unwanted messages
Paragraph five - discusses all texts sent between close friends and family


Linking to Context


 Follow this formula and you won't go far wrong.

1. Point out a language feature
2. Show a clear example or examples of where we see this in the data
3. Explain why this happens in a general sense - 'Emojis like this are used to express emotion rather than putting things into words which means that word counts are cut down, and there is less chance of messages being misread on an emotional level
4. Explain why this happens in this particular context - 'Within this message, it is particularly important that this 'laughing' emoji has been used, as the recipient is an older individual who may be more inclined to misread the sarcastic tone of the text if the emoji was not used to clarify it.

It is that last point which will ensure you are always linking to context. So, within each message, consider and comment on the following factors:

*How old is the sender/recipient? Is this having any effect on the language used?
*Is there a language/culture barrier between sender and recipient? Any linguistic effect?
*How well do the sender and recipient know each other? Is this affecting anything?
*Is the message informal or formal? Why? How is this shown linguistically?
*How far apart are the sender and recipient? Any linguistic effect?
*Is the message wanted or unwanted? How does this affect the things the sender says?
*SPAM MESSAGES - Remember, SPAM companies will use abbreviations and hyperlinks to keep word counts and costs down. They will also use a whole host of tactics to trick people into following the messages. Point these out when they shows up, and explain what you know about spammers.
*Multimodality - Do any of the messages show signs of CONVERSATIONAL features? Why? Point these out.

 ETC ETC ETC.

Do you see the benefit of this??? Essentially, this will guarantee that each PG has a nice specific focus, you won't be repeating yourself, and you should ALWAYS be able to link VERY EASILY to the context of the messages, showing how it is affecting language use.