ENG2611 Assignment 1 2023 (842930)

ENG2611 Assignment 1 2023 Answers, guidelines, workings and references........................................................ Question 1 1.1) In your own words, briefly explain why critical reading is referred to as an active process. (3) 1.2) Discuss your understanding of the relationship between literary texts and language. Use examples to clarify the relationship. (5) 1.3) Read Text A and answer the questions that follow: Text A Scanning, skimming, and summarising are some of the techniques that could be used to teach the poem to Foundation/Intermediate phase learners. Discuss how you would use each of the three techniques to teach this poem. In your discussion explain each technique and its purpose and thereafter demonstrate how you would use each technique to teach this poem. (15) Direction By Alonzo Lopez I was directed by my grandfather To the East, so I might have the power of the bear; To the South, so I might have the courage of an eagle; To the West, so I might have the wisdom of an owl; To the North, so I might have the craftiness of the fox; To the Earth, so I might receive her fruit; To the Sky, so I might lead a life of innocence. Page 3 of 4 Question 2 2.1) In a short paragraph consisting of no more than 5 sentences discuss why a book review can be a good activity to help learners link reading and writing. (5) 2.2) Read Text B and answer the questions that follow: Text B Michelle Obama makes decency great again in her memoir Becoming: EW review David Canfield Becoming is a straightforward, at times rather dry autobiography from a major public figure that stands in remarkably sharp contrast to the state of our discourse — starting with the man in the White House. Yet that contrast isn’t derived from Obama’s scathing commentary on Donald Trump but rather, from the rest of Becoming, which describes one woman’s growth from the South Side of Chicago to First Lady of the United States, through tales of empowerment and overcoming adversity. What sets Becoming apart is context: Michelle Obama is a black woman, unlike her predecessors, and her book is publishing at a time of unprecedented social division. Every sentence Obama writes makes a statement. This turns out to be especially true because of how little the author deviates from the formula. The book’s first third, “Becoming Me,” is dedicated to Obama’s upbringing in ‘60s Chicago and her educational development. It can drag, progressing like so many memoirs of its type. But Obama also constructs episodes from her childhood which vividly, subtly capture the experience of growing up black in America: learning of racism’s legacy as she hears her grandfather’s stories, being challenged by a peer for “talking like a white girl,” occupying spaces like piano recitals and, later, Princeton University, where her blackness — “that everyday drain of being in a deep minority” — clarifies itself. Obama’s strength in Becoming lies in hindsight, her ability to take a step back from a specific anecdote, and not only contextualize but ruminate on it, really consider its power. In these asides, that introspection Obama claims to have had as a kid comes into thrilling evidence — as prose. On one difficult teen experience, she writes, “I look back on the discomfort of that moment and recognize the more universal challenge of squaring who you are with where you come from and where you want to go.” I focus particularly on the book’s opening section because it’s most reflective of how Obama frames Becoming: as a story of where she came from, where she went, and how she carried herself along the way. “Becoming Us” — the book’s second and best section, is devoted to her romance with Barack Obama. Again, from a distance, it looks roughly like what we’ve seen from many a First Lady’s public account: the bumps in the road, the difficulty of the spotlight, the durability of their love. But Obama seems determined in Becoming to fully live in the pain, the disappointment, the regret, and the loss she’s felt at various times during their relationship. She interrogates it, picks at it, and reveals to readers what’s underneath. Just listen to the words she uses. Obama felt “resentment” toward her husband and his commitment to politics after she suffered a miscarriage and, on a doctor’s recommendation, proceeded with IVF treatments to start a family. Obama embraces passionate language periodically, lending Becoming bursts of authenticity. Becoming takes a peculiar turn in its final act, as Obama discusses her time in the White House. She ably conveys the confinement she felt and the toll it took on her family. But this extends to her writing. It’s choppy and guarded and, strangely, a bit defensive as she espouses the value of the causes she took up as First Lady. One senses there are layers yet to be peeled here — that the presidency remains relatively raw for Becoming’s author. She is direct, forceful, and condemnatory when speaking about Trump, but in a fashion that doesn’t sour or alter her own life story. Her honesty translates. More importantly, her intention translates. Page 4 of 4 a) Briefly discuss what information you expect to obtain when reading a book review. (3) b) In a paragraph of 250 words critically analyse the content of Text B and discuss if the text is an example of a good book review or not. Cite specific examples from the text to justify your answer. (14)