Self evaluation

In my essay we did in lesson a few days ago I was disappointed with my result. I was awarded half the marks for each A0 however it was evident where I went wrong. My main targets to improve are to embed more language levels into each paragraph and strengthen my argument and judgement.

I was weakest in A01 and even though I need to incorporate more language levels, I also need to communicate in a more advanced way to the examiner as to how these prove the hypothesis. I should be able to feel more comfortable maintaining a balance between my primary and secondary research and I also need to provide challenges for pending theories. This will help me get a much better mark.

Data Analysis - Primary Research

Data Analysis - Primary Research

Tracking words in the OED

Bachelor

The word bachelor was first known in 1297 and connoted the meaning "A young knight, not old enough or having too few vassals, to display his own banner, and who therefore followed the banner of another; a novice in arms". There are 23 different forms of the word bachelor in total which have evolved ever since the 13th century. some of which seem extremely dissimilar to the word we have now as "baculere" and "Bachylere" were to name a few. This proves that the pronunciation of the word has altered through time.

The most modern meaning of the word bachelor is an unmarried man. This contrasts previous meanings of the word connoting a man who has been knighted. Contextually this word is interesting as it derived from honourable and now it means a lonely man. This could show that the honour of the word has been eradicated.


This word emphasises masculinity as other word phrases have been created from it such as "Bachelors wife". This means the ideal wife of which a bachelor idealises over.


Witch

The word witch comes from 890 AD. A man who practises witchcraft or magic; a magician, sorcerer, wizard; this was deemed as a witch in 890 AD however the meaning adapted. By 1000 it meant a female magician, sorceress; in later use esp. a woman supposed to have dealings with the devil or evil spirits and to be able by their co-operation to perform supernatural acts. By this time the meaning stayed stable and is used up to the modern day. Contextually the word meant only a woman due to the lack of respect woman received up until the present day. An alternative form of the word has is 'Wicca' and was founded in 1959. "The practices and religious cult of modern witchcraft." this derivative shows that to the modern day the word 'Witch' still explores negative worship and sorcery. Many people have been known to connote the word to 'hell'


Wizard
The word Wizard comes from 890 AD from the word 'wizen' and meant 'A wise man'. In 1440 the word evolved into the term 'Wizard'. A wizard is the male connotation of a witch, primarily if you were to be called a wizard it would mean a prophet or a sage. Forms of this word include ME wys(e)ard, -sar, 15 -sarde, -zard, wyssarde, wissard, Sc. weser, 15–16 wisard, (16 wiseard, wizer). In the 16th century wisard came to mean A man who is skilled in occult arts; in later use, a man who practises witchcraft (the male counterpart of witch n.²): = wise man n. 3.

Derivatives of this word have come to create modern phrases like a 'financial wizard'. This means someone who is skilled with their contribution to their business, occupation or their finances.

The main comparison between wizard and witch is that the male counterpart is linked with power and skill and the female counterpart is linked with demonology and corruption.

Fairclough's advertisement theories

This advert was designed to persuade readers to join the navy. The discourse mode of this text is narrative as there is only one partaking in the advert. There is no structure to the discourse apart from the effect the graphological effect gives to the reader. “Be cool”, “And join”, “The Navy”. These phrases are on separate lines and affect the approach it gives on the reader because even though there is no punctuation used, the words are still read abruptly.

The pragmatic effect this advert gives is that if you don’t do what it asks of you, to join the Navy, you aren’t cool. I can immediately tell that the target audience for this advertisement are young adults because the word ‘cool’ relates to that specific age group due to social conformity. The graphological aspects also affect the pragmatic meaning because visually you can see four divers with guns, scouting the area in the sea surrounding a large submarine. This lifestyle seems adventurous and exciting and so without joining the Navy this advert states your life will be without excitement.

The use of grammar in this advert is very limited because the wording is. The sentence type is an imperative as there is a very demanding choice of wording. From my personal opinion I believe the register of the grammar to be low only because they chose to use the word ‘cool’ which is in its most basic form. The sentence is very dominant due to its length because it is short and to the point, the fragment of text doesn’t avoid the subject and just imperatively explains to the reader that they should join the army.

Semantically this advert implies that you should join the Navy. Contextually I know that to join the Navy you are helping your country and so it is a respectable job. This gives the advert a sense of influential power because it gives the reader a sense of morality if they agree to the statement. The most noticeable utterance type is command however underlying the surface of the words I can depict elements of humour as well because of the word ‘cool’. This word is childish which doesn’t represent the brutality of the Navy at all, this gives a sense of joke because the advert offers a false sense of security to the reader.

The lexis used is Germanic and monosyllabic. There is no occupational lexis or jargon present as the statement is very simple. The introductory word for the advert, “Be”, is a primary auxiliary. This is significant because an effect primary auxiliaries can give is a sense of inclusiveness and so even by reading the first word this advert can give you something to aspire to do. The main lexical styles of this format is adjectives and verbs. These are used in their simplest form to allow the reader to get straight to the point of the subject. This effectively makes the register low although this is effective because stereotypically the people who join the Navy are less so academic and more so physically able.