ENG2612 Portfolio Semester 2 2026 - Distinction | Due 8 October 2026

ENG2612 Portfolio Semester 2 2026 - Distinction | Due 8 October 2026 UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS OCT/NOV EXAMINATION 2026 ENG2612 Applied English Language for Foundation and Intermediate Phase Home Language First examiner: Dr B Thoka Second examiner: Professor K Maphoto 100 Marks 48 Hours This paper consists of SIX pages. INSTRUCTIONS: THIS EXAMINATION CONSISTS OF ONE QUESTION. Download the Examination Template provided and use it as your answer sheet. Before submitting, remember to complete the Plagiarism Declaration and the AI self-disclosure section in the template. Submit your Examination Template as a pdf document. For this examination, you are required to write an essay of approximately 700-800 words on the essay topic in the examination paper. You are allowed to access your prescribed works and the study material. You are however not allowed to copy verbatim from your study material. You should write the answers in your own words. In the case of any cheating or plagiarism, no mark will be allocated. The exam paper can be downloaded on the 6 October 2026 at 08:00am and must be uploaded BEFORE 08:00 am on the 8 th October 2026. Please make sure that you upload your answer onto the ENG Module Site under Assessment 04. Your answer template must be uploaded as a PDF electronic document and not as a scanned image. No hand-written scripts will be marked. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. th [TURN OVER] Open Rubric CONFIDENTIAL ENG2612 OCT/NOV 2026 (100 MARKS) Read Text A and Text B and answer the question that follows. Text A is an extract from an article discussing how the Netflix series, The Polygamist, reflects on the historical and contemporary significance of polygamy in African societies. Text B is a fictional social-media post responding to debates surrounding the Netflix series entitled The Polygamist. TEXT A The Polygamist brilliantly highlights the hidden histories of polygamy. Like South Africa, many sub-Saharan African countries, from Senegal to Zimbabwe, have long, complex histories of polygamy. This value system was not about hetero patriarchy (men in charge of everything), but the protection and maintenance of African families. In precolonial African contexts, men took multiple wives for economic and political reasons, as well as the maintenance of values around caring for widows and orphans. From the 1800s, encounters with colonial European thinking eroded polygamy as a value system. In its place came Christian values, Dutch law and urbanisation. Europeans valued monogamy (a relationship with one partner) while polygamy was regarded as harmful and immoral, a system for heathens. The customary system was gradually polluted with secrecy, loss, misuse of power, displacement of children and violence against women. Even though polygamy is protected under South African law, it never really survived the onslaught of capitalism and coloniality. Extract adapted from: Ndlovu, S. (2026). Power, pleasure and patriarchy: Why The Polygamist on Netflix is captivating viewers. The Conversation. Available at: (Accessed: 2 July 2026). 2 CONFIDENTIAL ENG2612 OCT/NOV 2026 TEXT B So apparently polygamy is ‘African tradition’ now? ���������� But when there’s secrecy, cheating, broken families and women being hurt, are we really talking about tradition anymore? #ThePolygamist #CultureOrControl Note: Text B is a fictional social-media post created for assessment purposes. QUESTION In an essay of 700–800 words, critically analyse how Text A presents polygamy and its historical role in African society through language and stylistic features. In the final part of your essay, briefly analyse Text B. Identify one or two significant language, stylistic or visual features and explain how these features support, question or add to the ideas about polygamy presented in Text A. In your response, discuss how the writers’ use of language and stylistic features contribute to the representation of polygamy. You may consider features such as: • diction and word choice • emotive language • evaluative language • contrast • repetition • imagery • metaphor • sentence structure • punctuation • inclusive or exclusive language • connotations You do not need to discuss every feature listed above. Select the features that are most relevant to your argument and analyse how they contribute to the writers’ representations of polygamy. 3 CONFIDENTIAL ENG2612 OCT/NOV 2026 Your discussion should also consider the writers’: • tone • purpose and intention • representation of African society Support your analysis with specific examples from the two texts. Where appropriate, you may also draw on relevant external academic or scholarly sources to strengthen your argument. Any external sources used must be appropriately acknowledged in-text and included in a reference list. If you chose to use external sources, you may only use up to three relevant external academic sources to contextualise or strengthen your argument. Please note that you will not lose marks if you do not use external sources. Guidelines for structuring your essay  Create an appropriate and informative title for your essay.  Establish your position in the introduction and provide a clear, detailed thesis statement.  Structure your essay with an appropriate introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.  Begin each body paragraph with a clearly defined topic sentence that advances your argument.  Use appropriate cohesive devices and discourse markers to develop your argument logically.  If you use external sources, cite them appropriately and provide a reference list.  Maintain a formal academic register and tone throughout.  Ensure that your analysis focuses on how language creates meaning and representation, rather than merely identifying linguistic features. Edit and proofread your essay carefully before submission. Please keep the word count in mind as you write the essay. You may use the following as a guideline 700–800-word essay: Introduction: +/-100 words Body paragraph 1: +/-150 words Body paragraph 2: +/-150 words Body paragraph 3: +/-150 words 4 CONFIDENTIAL ENG2612 OCT/NOV 2026 Text B: +/-150 words Conclusion: +/-100 words Total marks (100) Your essay will be evaluated using the following rubric. ENG2612 ASSESSMENT GRID FOR THE OCT/NOV EXAMINATION LEVEL AND MARK CRITERIA CONTENT LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURE VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT (72 - 100) Focused on assigned topic; thoroughly developed argument; selective recognition of relevant subject matter; thorough understanding and application of content knowledge; critical analysis and evaluation using different approaches; ideas clearly stated, succinct, wellorganised, logically sequenced, cohesive, and well supported Sophisticated range of vocabulary; effective word/idiom choice; mastery of word choices to establish appropriate style and register; minor language errors (agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions); mostly accurate referencing; neat and clearly defined paragraphs AVERAGE TO GOOD Most ideas relevant to assigned topic; fairly sound demonstration of academic critical writing skills; lacks detail to develop argument; Satisfactory range of vocabulary; occasional issues of word choice, idiom, form, usage, but meaning not obscured; effective simple constructions of language; minor (60– 71) ideas loosely organised; logical but incomplete sequencing; inadequate signposting and cohesive devices problems in complex constructions; several language issues but meaning is seldom obscured; occasional problems in layout and structure; inaccurate or inadequate referencing SHAKY TO FAIR Insufficient substance or relevance; inadequate Limited vocabulary range; frequent issues of word/idiom, (40 – 59) supporting evidence/ ideas; ideas confused or choice, usage; major problems in simple/complex constructions; 5 CONFIDENTIAL ENG2612 OCT/NOV 2026 disconnected; not enough logical sequencing or development; little evidence signposting and cohesive devices frequent language issues (poor spelling and punctuation); meaning confused or obscured; frequent problems with layout; untidy handwriting/poor formatting; limited referencing CLEAR FAIL (0 – 39) Not pertinent or not enough content to assess; plagiarised information; fragmented ideas (incoherent) Poor/incorrect knowledge and understanding of English vocabulary; meaning flawed by frequent grammar and sentence construction errors; no evidence of understanding the conventions of critical academic writing; illegible handwriting/ poor formatting; no referencing END OF EXAMINATION PAPER © Unisa 2026 6