> GCE English Language and Literature (EMC) H474/01: Exploring non-fiction and spoken texts Advanced GCE Mark Scheme for Autumn 2021

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Question Response Marks Guidance 1 Text A from the anthology is Alistair Cooke’s obituary for Marilyn Monroe was published in The Guardian, 6 August 1962. The British-American broadcaster and jo... urnalist was most famous for his weekly radio essay, ‘Letter from America’. Text B is a transcript of an extract from an episode of the nightly American television chat show Larry King Live. This episode was created in June 2001 to celebrate what would have been the 75th birthday of Marilyn Monroe. Larry King was the host. Carefully read the two texts and compare the ways in which the writer in Text A and the speakers in Text B use language to convey meaning. In your answer you should analyse the impact that the different contexts have on language use, including for example, mode, purpose and audience. A higher level response (Levels 4 –6) will: AO4: Explore explicit comparisons between texts, aware of both similarities (e.g. both texts involving reporting and commemorating Monroe’s life for audiences) and differences (one is completely crafted, planned, whilst the other involves guests speaking spontaneously with a host who has pre-planned questions.) AO1: Use vocabulary and terminology appropriately, referring to a range of language levels including 32 The indicative content shows an integrated approach to the four assessment objectives. AO4, AO1, AO3 and AO2 Context e.g. • Both texts have a different context - one was written for the British broadsheet The Guardian at the time of Monroe’s death and one was produced for an American television chat show in 2001. There is a focus on engaging the audience within both with tales of this celebrity figure. • Purpose: Text A is a broadsheet obituary to report, inform and commemorate Monroe and provide details of her life and her impact on society. It attempts to elevate her and aggrandize her life as well as inform/entertain the readers. Text B follows the conventions of a televised entertainment chat show with a host asking guests questions. It has been created to mark the 75th birthday of Monroe. It shows elements of both scripted speech from the host and spontaneous speech from the guests (both in the studio and the guest in the New York bureau). The host tries build a relationship with the audience and guests. Mode e.g. • Text A features a wide range of linguistic features typical of a crafted, written article such as: cyclical structure that starts and ends with the death, figurative language (metaphors and similes), semantic fields (melodrama, Raymond Chandler, plot), extended themes (outsider). • Text B features both linguistic features typical of spontaneous speech including fronted conjunctions (And), contractions (we’ll), general extenders (or something), interruptions and unfinished utterances,H474/01 Mark Scheme October 2021 10 grammar and discourse e.g. interrogative, imperative, subordinate clauses, distribution of turns, terms of address etc. Express ideas fluently and coherently with a wide vocabulary. AO3: Understand the significance of a range of contextual factors, e.g. the British and American contexts, the impact of on-the-spot questions on a live talk show vs. retrospectively crafted obituary; collaborative, spoken text vs. written obituary; the crafted, scripted dialogue of the host Larry King and the spontaneous, unrehearsed speech of the other studio guests; the typical features and expectations of the broadsheet obituary and television talk-show genres; the focus on or the need to convey the dramatic parts of Monroe’s life to engage the audience and interest an audience who like celebrities/historical figures; the positioning of the writer of the obituary and the position/power of the host over the conversation. AO2: Explore the ways the speakers and writer use language to shape meaning, e.g. interaction between host and their studio panellists vs. more detached tone of article; the portrayal of Monroe as troubled and/or misrepresented; discussion of the objectification of Marilyn Monroe vs. sympathy for her personal experiences.. A lower level response (Levels 1 –3) will: A04: Make general comparisons between how ideas are conveyed e.g. expressing opinions or feelings vs. trying to entertain an audience. changes in pace, false starts, but it also contains elements of scripted dialogue in King’s opening speech. Lexis: e.g. • In both texts we see lexical choices that show enthusiasm and admiration towards Monroe (tremendous, wonderful, vitality, charming, shrewd), often emphasised through triadic structures or listing. • In both texts we also see a negative outlook on Monroe’s life through abstract nouns (depression), or verbs (cursed, prying). This helps to convey the idea that society was partly to blame for Monroe’s death. • Text A: adjectival choices show a juxtaposition (shrewd, pathetic) to covey the idea of how Monroe struggled with her own identity and the identity imposed on her by society. The rhetorical devices help to convey these oppositions with juxtaposing references to Chaplin’s Little Man against liquid-lipped goddess. Such juxtapositions show a more controlled and crafted text reflecting its written mode and broadsheet audience. • Text B: some speakers seem to use a more poetic choice of phrase when speaking about Monroe with some rhetorical devices (like a monologue on a page) that sometimes seem at odds with spoken mode and could suggest it has been rehearsed. Larry King’s opening speech conveys elements of scripted speech such as the use of pronouns to include the audience (tell us) which could address both a studio audience and television viewers. Other speakers reflect the spontaneity and informal nature of the conversation using colloquial, American nouns (gal), with a conversational style, (who I think, you know, any good performer)H474/01 Mark Scheme October 2021 11 A01: Use some appropriate terminology, mainly at level of word choice, e.g. colloquial language choices, use of adjectives, nouns etc. A03: Recognise and convey some understanding of the differences between the ways ideas and opinions are conveyed e.g. spontaneous speech vs. planned. A02: Recognise and convey an understanding of the way some features of language are used to create meaning, e.g. spontaneity and anger shown through repetition and interruptions vs. the crafted metaphors and similes of the obituary. Semantics Both texts are designed to convey the idea that Monroe was a troubled individual and society was partly responsible for this. • In Text A the writer tries to set himself apart from other journalists who have written about Monroe’s early life (to go into details now would be as tasteless as prying...). He suggests that she could not contend with the stereotypes or the exaggerated version of her that was created by the media (the liquid-lipped goddess). He wants to portray that she was a baffled girl, struggling with fame, and haunted by the stereotypes that society had created of her. • The host in Text B wants to present his audience with information about Monroe, yet also wants to explore the darker, perhaps more dramatic parts of her life (did you sense a sense of depression?) and show that she also struggled with fame. The speakers also want to cast blame on others for Monroe’s death (she felt betrayed). One of the speakers also blames society’s distorted perceptions of Monroe that continue even after her d [Show More]

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