ENGLISH HL 11 March 2023

GRADE 12 LANGUAGE NOTES: Paper 1

Language Usage & Summary

LANGUAGE STRUCTURES- QUESTION 5

➢ THE HYPHEN (-)

• Form compound words from single words. EXAMPLE: air-tight container.
• Separate two vowels to prevent awkwardness.
• Show that a word is unfinished at the end of a written line.
• Connect prefixes to nouns. EXAMPLES:
Mother-in-law, well-crafted, co-operative, anti-violence

➢ COLON (:)
• Introduce a list that will follow.
EXAMPLE: The bookstore specializes in: art, architecture and graphic design.

➢ SEMI-COLON (;)
• Separate two main clauses in the place of a coordinating conjunction or a full stop.
EXAMPLE: Everybody knows; nobody is telling.

➢ ELLIPSES (…)
• Indicates an incomplete thought.
• Indicates a trail of thought.
• Indicates an interruption.
• Indicates hesitation. EXAMPLE: Oh, my word! I cannot believe that …

PARENTHESES / BRACKETS ( )
• Separate non-essential information from the rest of a sentence.
• Encloses an explanation of what a word means.
• Provides additional information. EXAMPLE: He won a lot of money (R 1 million)

➢ THE USE OF TWO DASHES IN A SENTENCE

• Dashes are interruptions within the sentence.
• They provide extra information.
• In many cases, the additional information may be necessary and valuable.
5.1 Provide the function of the two dashes in line 1. (1)
‘If you're reading this – at the risk of sounding like your breathing App – I
want you to take a deep breath.
• Spot the dashes.
• Identify the sentence / phrase found between the dashes.
• Read the sentence without the words between the dashes: ‘If you’re reading this I
want you to take a deep breath. ‘
• If the sentence is grammatically correct and makes sense, then the function of the
dashes would be to provide additional information
• The dashes could be replaced with a pair of commas.

➢ PREFIXES
• Prefixes are letters which we add to the beginning of a word to make a new word
with a different meaning.
• Prefixes can, for example, create a new word that is opposite in meaning to the
word the prefix is attached to.
• They can also make a word negative or express relation of time, place or manner.

Line 10
…job losses, not to mention systemic inter-racial conflict, both locally and
overseas…
5.5.2 Explain the meaning of the prefix, 'inter' in 'inter-racial' (line 10). (1)
How to answer this question:
• It is important to have a working knowledge of the types of prefixes and to identify
the prefix in the question.
• The prefix ‘inter’ means between.
SUGGESTED RESPONSE:
The prefix ‘inter’ in inter-racial means: conflict between the races.

➢ CONCORD
The agreement between the SUBJECT and the VERB of that sentence

• If the subject of the sentence is singular, the verb must be singular.

• If the subject of a sentence is plural, the verb must be plural.
The basic rule of CONCORD is simply:
• A singular subject takes a singular verb,
• A plural subject takes a plural verb.
EXAMPLES OF CONCORD
The pages (plural subject) is (singular verb) held together by a staple. X
The pages (plural subject) are (plural verb) held together by a staple. √

Look at these examples:

1. The message between the lines is that we need to finish before Monday.
2. The message between the lines are that we need to finish before Monday.
• The subject of the sentence is ‘message’ -- ‘message’, is singular. Therefore we
use the singular verb: ‘is‘
 PARAGRAPH 4.
All things considered, however, it's important to acknowledge the various different
aspects of trauma that has been inflicted by this crisis, and to understand its impact
on our society as a whole.

5.7 Correct the concord error in paragraph 4. (1)

How to answer this question:
1. Spot the SUBJECT and VERB in the sentence and check if singular or plural:
SUBJECT: ‘aspects (plural)
Plural -subject Plural Verb
VERB: ‘has’ (singular)
SUGGESTED RESPONSE: …things considered …aspects of trauma that have …

➢ REDUNDANCY
Redundancy / Tautology is the use of duplicative, unnecessary, contradictory or useless
wording / phrases which repeat a concept with different words.
EXAMPLE:
Incorrect: In my opinion, I think the Cardinals are the best team.
Correct Option 1: In my opinion, the Cardinals are the best team.
Correct Option 2: I think the Cardinals are the best team.
Opinion = I think
COMMON EXAMPLES OF REDUNDANT PHRASES
• “small in size” or “large in size”
• “true facts”
• “basic fundamentals”
• “past history”
• “repeat again”
• “reverse back”

EXERCISE: TAUTOLOGY / REDUNDANCY

Remove the redundancies / tautology from the following sentences.
1. Tyler’s alarm was set for 7 a.m. in the morning.
2. The burglar returned back to the scene of the crime.
3. At the end of the concert, the crowd rose to its feet and gave the musicians a standing
ovation.
4. We all need to cooperate together, or we will never make any progress.
4. 5. For most people, riding in a hot-air balloon is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

➢ AMBIGUITY
Ambiguity is created when a statement / situation has more than one possible meaning /
can be understood in more than one way.
EXAMPLES OF AMBIGUITY
1. Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
• Kids, when cooked well, can make nutritious snacks.
• Kids know how to prepare nutritious snacks.
EXERCISE: Spot the ambiguity in the following sentences.
1. Marcy got the bath ready for her daughter wearing a pink dress.
2. I saw someone on the hill with a telescope.
3. I shot an elephant in my pyjamas” (Groucho Marx).

➢ DANGLING [HANGING] PARTICIPLES

• An ambiguous grammatical construct could be misinterpreted as being associated
with a word other than the one intended.

EXAMPLE 1
"Walking through the kitchen, the smoke alarm was going off."
• This sentence literally means that the smoke alarm was taking a stroll.
EXAMPLE 2
"If found guilty, the lawsuit could cost billions."
• This sentence suggests that lawsuit itself will be found guilty.
To fix this, simply add the missing pronoun or noun, such as "the company,"
• A corrected sentence, then, might read, "If found guilty, the company could lose
billions."
• This sentence makes it clear that the company may be found guilty and be forced
to pay billions.

➢ THE SPLIT INFINITIVE

A split infinitive is a grammatical error when an adverb or adverbial phrase separates the
"to" and the verb (infinitive)"
EXAMPLES:
1. I was told to quietly eat.
ERROR: The adverb ‘quietly’ is placed between ‘to’ and ‘eat’
CORRECT FORM: I was told to eat quietly. [The adverb comes after the verb.]
NOTE: This question may be framed as: ‘correct the grammatical error in the sentence.'
HOW TO CORRECT A SPLIT INFINITIVE ERROR:
• Spot the ‘to’ and the verb in the sentence.
• Remove the adverb / adverbial phrase between ‘to’ and the verb
• Restructure the sentence ensuring that it is grammatically correct.

➢ COMMA SPLICE ERRORS

What a comma splice error is:

• Comma splice errors are created when two or more independent clauses are
joined with a comma.
HOW TO CORRECT COMMA SPLICE ERRORS
1. JOIN THE SENTENCES WITH A COORDINATING CONJUNCTION (and, but or
so)
EXAMPLE
I am not angry with you, I am not happy with you, either.
 I am not angry with you, but I am not happy with you, either.
2. REPLACE THE COMMA WITH A SEMI-COLON (;) EXAMPLE:
I am not angry with you; I am not happy with you, either.
3. SEPARATE THE TWO SENTENCES WITH A FULL STOP (.)
EXAMPLE
I am not angry with you. I am not happy with you, either.

INSTAGRAM: FRIEND OR FAUX?

1 Instagram show-offs are prompting a backlash against over-staged shots. Not an

Instagrammer? You're missing out on a social network that's stuffed and crammed
full of artily shot camera-phone photos: people’s bronzed limbs (aka hot-dog legs)
laid out on sunloungers; yoga poses in front of waterfalls; muscled gym-bunnies
demonstrating military-grade stomach crunches; superfruit smoothies. 5

2 Fed up with this digital display of perfect people having perfect lives on perfect
holidays, a new breed of Instagrammers is coming clean. One couple admitted
their gap year posts would have been more accurate with images of all the toilets
they cleaned and beds they made! A Thai photographer has created serial shots
of photographs in which Instagram posts are juxtaposed against a broader picture, 10
e.g. a stylish-looking dinner which does not reveal the chaos outside the frame.
He includes the background: a cat on the table and half-eaten instant noodles.

3 The psychology of both envy and FOMO (fear of missing out) are fanned by the
flames of Instagram. Teen Instagrammers have found a solution. They post real
Instagram ('Rinstagram') posts, targeted at parent’s and friends, while their 15
'Finstagram' (fake Instagram) accounts contain unflattering photos.

4 Perhaps it's time to get real or log off.

[Adapted from The Star]

QUESTIONS: TEXT G

5.1 'Faux' in the headline is a pun. Write down its homophone. (1)

5.2 'Instagram show-offs are prompting a backlash against over-staged shots.'

(Line 1)

Rewrite the sentence above in the passive voice. (1)

5.3 Remove the redundancy in paragraph 1. (1)

5.4 Write out 'aka' (line 4) in full. (1)

5.5 Using the root word, provide an alternative adjective for 'muscled' in line 5. (1)
5.6 “One couple admitted their gap year posts would have been more accurate with
images of all the toilets they cleaned and beds they made!' (Lines 8–10)

Correct the error of tense in the sentence above. (1)

5.7 What is the function of the hyphen in 'stylish-looking' (line 12)? (1)

5.8 Correct the concord error in paragraph 3. (1)

5.9 Correct the apostrophe error in paragraph 3. (1)

5.10 'Perhaps it's time to get real or log off.' (Line 19) (1)

Rewrite 'get real' in formal English. (1)

[10]
MARKING GUIDELINES (2021)
5.1 Foe (1)

5.2 A backlash against over-staged shots is being prompted by Instagram show-offs.

(1)

5.3 stuffed (and) OR (and) crammed (1)

5.4 also known as (1)

5.5 muscular/muscly/muscle-bound/musclebound (1)

5.6 would have been – would be

OR

cleaned – had cleaned; made – had made

(Award 1 mark for correction of BOTH verbs in the latter response.) (1)

5.7 The hyphen creates a compound adjective/word.

OR

Joins two (independent) words to create a new word. (1)

5.8 are – is (1)

5.9 Parents (1)

5.10 become (be) authentic/realistic/truthful (1)

[10]
SUMMARY – QUESTION 2
Summarising Skills

To perfect the summary, it takes PRACTISE! PRACTISE! PRACTISE!!!

Take note:

• A summary is a BRIEF statement or account of something.

• You are instructed to summarise in PARAGRAPH form only so you must be able
to construct a coherent, FLUENT SINGLE PARAGRAPH.
• Understand that summaries should be written in YOUR own words.
• Write in full sentences and try NOT to exceed 12 words per sentence.
• If you learn how to answer the summary correctly, you CAN score full marks.
• Avoid using quotations (as it appears in the original text).
• Use words like synonyms, pronoun replacements and try to write in simple
sentences. It works really well.
• Where possible, try to rewrite a sentence from the active voice into the passive
voice.
• Use your own words does NOT mean give your OPINION.
• Make sure to have a copy of the rubric when you are practising the summary and
become familiar with it.
• Label ‘Rough Work’.
• Label ‘Final Copy’.
2.2 HOW TO ANSWER THE SUMMARY QUESTION

RESOURCE: SCE/NSC EXAMINATIONS PAPER 1: 2021

CHECKLIST

NOTE:
1. Your summary should include SEVEN points and NOT exceed 90 words

2. You must write a fluent paragraph

3. You are NOT required to include a title for the summary.

4. Indicate your word count at the end of the summary.

The following TEXT discusses research done on the spread of fake news. Summarise, in
your own words, the research undertaken on fake news.
WHY FAKE NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TRAVELS FASTER THAN THE TRUTH
False news is more novel than true news, and that may be why we share the false much
faster and more widely. Prominent responses to false news include surprise, fear and
disgust. True news tends to be met with sadness, joy, anticipation and trust. Humans
are more likely than automated processes to be responsible for the spread of fake
news.

Researchers have studied what they term 'rumour cascades'. A cascade starts with a
Twitter user making an assertion about a topic – with words, images or links – and
continues in an unbroken chain of retweets. The researchers analysed cascades about
news stories that six fact-checking organisations agreed were true or agreed were
false. The study found that 'falsehood diffused significantly farther, faster, deeper and
more broadly than truth in all categories of information'. Of all categories of fake news,
false political news reached more people faster and went deeper into the networks than
any other category of false information.

The study compared the emotional content of replies to true and false rumours by using
about 32 000 Twitter hashtags and a lexicon of about 140 000 English words that are
associated with eight basic emotions: anger, fear, anticipation, trust, surprise, sadness,
joy and disgust. Were automated processes, or 'bots', the main culprits in spreading
falsity? No – the researchers found that humans were responsible for spreading false
news.

The researchers were more interested in identifying the factors that spread true and
false news; they included interviews with users, surveys, lab experiments and neuro-
imaging. The researchers' paper points to some obvious reasons to look deeper. False
news can drive misallocation of resources during terror attacks and natural disasters,
the misalignment of business investments, and misinformed elections.

More openness by the social media giants and greater collaboration by them with
suitably qualified partners in tackling the problem of fake news is essential. Traditional
journalists are potential partners too. Since they find, check and disseminate news, they
are well placed to assess the reliability of the reports that they receive. They also attract
masses of comments online and generate discussions on social media platforms – they
have a clear incentive to maintain trust in their own contributions to democratic life.
Marking Guidelines – 2021 -Summary

Researchers focused on the chain reaction caused by Twitter users. Subsequently,

organisations were appointed by the researchers to verify the stories' authenticity.
Research revealed that false news, particularly fabricated political news, spreads more
rapidly and pervasively than authentic news. Researchers analysed replies to rumours by
studying hashtags and emotionally-charged words. Various methodologies were used to
isolate the factors causing the spread of fake news: people, not robots, are responsible
for spreading fake news, which can lead to devastating financial and political
consequences for society./It is essential for social media giants to work together with all
concerned to deal with fake news. Journalists, too, have to ensure the authenticity of the news
that they receive and share.