How does the writer use language and structure to convey his views about young
dyslexics?
You should support your answer with close reference to the passage,
including brief quotations (12 marks)
The writer starts off the article with an anecdote; “as a child,” as well as starting it off in a positive
tone: “but learned to turn dyslexia to my advantage.” The writer uses first person pronouns to make
the passage seem very personal and autobiographical, engaging the reader. The events in the
passage occurs in chronological order. He uses his ages to signal the time moving on. The repetition
of negative sentences and the word “no” emphasises the things he was lacking. "There was no
compassion, no understanding and no humanity." The writer uses the rule of three and repetition of
the word ‘no’ to emphasises how little care is given to those with dyslexia, especially when they are
young and at school. This also emphasises how the teachers in the past viewed those with dyslexia.
This also allows the reader to feel sympathy for the writer and all others with dyslexia. Another time
the writer uses repetition is when he collectively talks about everyone who has dyslexia: “we are the
architects, we are the designers.” This makes the text seem inclusive in a friendly manner. Repetitive
lists of things dyslexics are good at emphasises the talents of people with dyslexia, juxtaposing the
stereotypical view on dyslexic people and their lack of abilities. The repetition of ‘we are’ is
significant as it embraces and includes the readers who are dyslexic. The writer ends his second
paragraph with a metaphor iterating that the way of thinking was almost foreign: “the past is a
different kind of country.”
Direct speech is used by the writer to make the tone of the speech more aggressive and hurtful;
"Shut up stupid boy." It also makes the sentence feel like an automatic response towards people like
him (people with dyslexia or other disabilities), as they give them no support. The writer includes a
lot of anecdotes in his article to reveal how ignorant people were, especially the teachers, towards
people like him. The writer uses strong, powerful verbs to suggest that he has had a hard time and
making us feel more sympathy towards him: “savages”, “revenge”, “suffered.” The writer mentions a
few times how people were stereotyping him; “why don’t you go outside and play some football?”
This way of thinking was very closed minded and hurtful towards him. The writer includes language
of crime such as “fighting”, “stab”, “revenge”, and “stole” to reflect how bad the situation was and
what was going through the child’s mind. The events in the passage occurs in chronological order.
He uses his ages to signal the time moving on. One way in which the writer draws the reader’s
attention is by starting a sentence with a conjunction. “But I think staying out of prison,” is not a
grammatically correct way to open a sentence. The choice of writing the sentence like this draws the
reader’s attention to the sentence. It also subtly reinforces the idea that the writer made this choice
of language to make his text different. Also linking to the fact that people with dyslexia have trouble
reading and writing, so adding colloquialism and incorrect grammar reflects his dyslexia. The listing
used towards the end of this paragraph reminds us that he has overcome all the stereotypes.
A simple declarative sentence is used by the writer to show his inner self conviction: “I never
thought I was stupid. I didn’t have that struggle.” The writer uses colloquialism to make the article
feel accessible. The phrase “You’ve got it going on,” makes the article feel relatable and friendly as it
draws young readers in. The positive connotations of this phrase, suggests that young dyslexic
people have extraordinary talents, drawing in readers who are looking for a positive ‘take’ on
dyslexia. The writer also uses a humorous tone to try and make the situation more acceptable and
dyslexics?
You should support your answer with close reference to the passage,
including brief quotations (12 marks)
The writer starts off the article with an anecdote; “as a child,” as well as starting it off in a positive
tone: “but learned to turn dyslexia to my advantage.” The writer uses first person pronouns to make
the passage seem very personal and autobiographical, engaging the reader. The events in the
passage occurs in chronological order. He uses his ages to signal the time moving on. The repetition
of negative sentences and the word “no” emphasises the things he was lacking. "There was no
compassion, no understanding and no humanity." The writer uses the rule of three and repetition of
the word ‘no’ to emphasises how little care is given to those with dyslexia, especially when they are
young and at school. This also emphasises how the teachers in the past viewed those with dyslexia.
This also allows the reader to feel sympathy for the writer and all others with dyslexia. Another time
the writer uses repetition is when he collectively talks about everyone who has dyslexia: “we are the
architects, we are the designers.” This makes the text seem inclusive in a friendly manner. Repetitive
lists of things dyslexics are good at emphasises the talents of people with dyslexia, juxtaposing the
stereotypical view on dyslexic people and their lack of abilities. The repetition of ‘we are’ is
significant as it embraces and includes the readers who are dyslexic. The writer ends his second
paragraph with a metaphor iterating that the way of thinking was almost foreign: “the past is a
different kind of country.”
Direct speech is used by the writer to make the tone of the speech more aggressive and hurtful;
"Shut up stupid boy." It also makes the sentence feel like an automatic response towards people like
him (people with dyslexia or other disabilities), as they give them no support. The writer includes a
lot of anecdotes in his article to reveal how ignorant people were, especially the teachers, towards
people like him. The writer uses strong, powerful verbs to suggest that he has had a hard time and
making us feel more sympathy towards him: “savages”, “revenge”, “suffered.” The writer mentions a
few times how people were stereotyping him; “why don’t you go outside and play some football?”
This way of thinking was very closed minded and hurtful towards him. The writer includes language
of crime such as “fighting”, “stab”, “revenge”, and “stole” to reflect how bad the situation was and
what was going through the child’s mind. The events in the passage occurs in chronological order.
He uses his ages to signal the time moving on. One way in which the writer draws the reader’s
attention is by starting a sentence with a conjunction. “But I think staying out of prison,” is not a
grammatically correct way to open a sentence. The choice of writing the sentence like this draws the
reader’s attention to the sentence. It also subtly reinforces the idea that the writer made this choice
of language to make his text different. Also linking to the fact that people with dyslexia have trouble
reading and writing, so adding colloquialism and incorrect grammar reflects his dyslexia. The listing
used towards the end of this paragraph reminds us that he has overcome all the stereotypes.
A simple declarative sentence is used by the writer to show his inner self conviction: “I never
thought I was stupid. I didn’t have that struggle.” The writer uses colloquialism to make the article
feel accessible. The phrase “You’ve got it going on,” makes the article feel relatable and friendly as it
draws young readers in. The positive connotations of this phrase, suggests that young dyslexic
people have extraordinary talents, drawing in readers who are looking for a positive ‘take’ on
dyslexia. The writer also uses a humorous tone to try and make the situation more acceptable and
