CONNECTING

ENGLISH
A SKILLS WORKBOOK YEAR 9
SUE BITTNER | MEL DIXON | STEWART MCGOWAN
KATE MURPHY | BELINDA RENOUF
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CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................................. v
Icons used in the book ............................................................................................... vi
About the authors ...................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... vii

LANGUAGE
PARTS OF SPEECH
1 Nominalisation ............................................................................................................4

2 Expressing possibility ..................................................................................................8

3 Active and passive voice ...........................................................................................12

4 Negatives ..................................................................................................................16

PUNCTUATION
5 Colons and semicolons .............................................................................................20

6 Hyphens ....................................................................................................................24

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION
7 Embedded, projected and noun clauses ..................................................................28

8 Sentence variety ........................................................................................................32

SPELLING
9 Silent letters ...............................................................................................................36

10 Dictionary and thesaurus ...........................................................................................40

VOCABULARY
11 Greek and Latin roots ................................................................................................44

12 Neologisms ...............................................................................................................48

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 LITERACY
TEXT CONSTRUCTION
13 Subjective and objective language ...........................................................................54

14 Values, attitudes and beliefs ......................................................................................58

15 Cohesion ...................................................................................................................62

LITERARY DEVICES
16 Register .....................................................................................................................66

17 Euphemism, idiom, cliché and jargon .......................................................................70

GENRE
18 Narrative genres ........................................................................................................74

19 Descriptive writing .....................................................................................................78

20 Instructional writing ...................................................................................................82

21 Journalism .................................................................................................................86

22 Writing speeches .......................................................................................................90

23 Biography and autobiography ..................................................................................94

LITERARY ANALYSIS
24 Themes ......................................................................................................................98

25 Evaluating texts .......................................................................................................102

26 Referencing .............................................................................................................106

Glossary ................................................................................................................... 110

iv CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the third book in a series that is designed to take you from Year 7 to Year 10.
Learning any language is a difficult thing to do, but learning your first language
(especially if it’s English) is perhaps the most difficult task. That’s because you speak, read,
listen and write in it all the time, so you can clearly use it to communicate effectively;
however, as you encounter more and more texts across different subject areas, and become
more and more involved in different contexts, you may find that the English you use every
day is not enough.
Some units in this book revise familiar rules, and the activities may be easy and repetitive,
but other units will test your ability. That’s because we all need repetition to reinforce ideas,
and acknowledge the wide range of student backgrounds in Year 9. The book is designed
to take your writing to a new level: we want you to try things out and have fun with
language.
Working with language means working at a few different levels. You’ll see the pattern
below throughout the book:

word sentence paragraph whole text

Every word in a sentence depends on the other words: each has to be seen in context.
So, you may know what a noun is and what an adjective is. You may also know that a plural
noun ends in ‘-s’ and a verb form can be identified by ‘-ing’, but individual words have to
be used in a sentence in order to know their part of speech. An ‘apple’ may be a noun, but
when we talk of ‘an apple pie’, the word ‘apple’ becomes an adjective because it describes
the pie. We call this its ‘function’: you need to see the word in its context to understand
what part of speech it is.
Every unit is divided into Understanding and Applying. Once the rules are covered in
the Understanding section, you can move on to Applying, where you will find that there are
texts from many different subject areas. This is because language learning does not stop
in the English classroom. It needs to be transferred to other subjects. The Applying section
also contains Connecting in class, which takes you back to English and reminds you that the
language and literacy skills you are learning should not be isolated activities. It is when you
start to see the linguistic patterns in the texts you study that you start to really engage with
language, and see how it communicates knowledge and ideas. Each unit finishes with Just
for fun, which takes language to even more places.
Remember that language learning is the key not only to successful interaction, but to a
happier life. Enjoy the lessons while you build the skills that you need to survive and thrive
in the world.

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 ICONS USED IN THE BOOK
English The Arts

Mathematics Technologies

Science Health and PE

Humanities and
Social Sciences

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr Sue Bittner has taught Senior English in Queensland for 41 years and has been the
Head of English at a secondary school on the Gold Coast for 30 years. She was a member
of English Review Panel for 12 years, and chaired the first critical literacy-focused English
Syllabus Advisory Committee and the first English Extension (Literature) Syllabus Advisory
Committee for the Queensland Studies Authority. She completed her PhD in 2008.

Mel Dixon is the Publications and Education Officer for the English Teachers Association of
NSW with many years’ experience as a Head of English. Mel is an experienced HSC marker
who has presented on the HSC, led writing teams and written on HSC texts.

Stewart McGowan is the Head Teacher of English at a school of Performing Arts in NSW.
He is a former Literacy Consultant whose qualifications include a Master of Theatre Arts,
with an emphasis on the staging of Shakespeare and the semiotics of theatre spaces.
As well as being an active member of the English Teachers Association NSW, he is a
playwright, director and performer.

Belinda Renouf is an experienced English and EAL teacher who has taught English and
Humanities for 12 years at middle- and senior-secondary levels in Victoria. Belinda has
taught and held leadership positions at Eltham College and Billanook College, and is
passionate about developing engaging and accessible English education and resources for
students of differing abilities and backgrounds.
The authors and publisher would like to thank Kay Bishop for reviewing the book and
providing feedback.

vi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors and publisher wish to thank the following sources for permission to reproduce
material:

Cover: © Getty Images / Areasur

Images: © Mamamia, used by permission, p.87; ‘Up Goer Five’ Explain XKCD wiki page /
CC by SA 3.0, pp.72.

Text: ‘The People of Australia – Australia’s Multicultural Policy’, Australian Government

Department of Home Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship, 2011 / CC By 3.0 License, p.6;
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, p.10; Humanities and Social Sciences
for the Australian Curriculum Year 9 by Malcolm McInerney © Cambridge Univeristy
Press 2014, pp.14, 22–23, 30, 34; Food For You Book 2 (3rd Edition) by Chrissy Collins and Sally
Lasslett © Cambridge University Press 2017, p.18; ‘The fist and the thorn’ by Pablo Neruda
from Worlds End translated by William O’Daly, © Copper Canyon Press, 2009, p.19; Cambridge
Science for the Victorian Curriculum Year 9, by Kerrie Ardley, Emma Bone, Dr Eddy De Jong,
Christopher Humphreys © Cambridge University Press 2019, pp.40, 76, 89, 105; Cambridge
Dictionary online © Cambridge University Press 2020, pp.40–41, 46; ‘No, mobile phones still
won’t give you brain cancer’, by Clare Wilson 18 July 2018 © Copyright New Scientist Ltd, p.56;
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum Year 7, by Malcolm McInerney
© Cambridge University Press 2014, pp.59, 104; Adapted from Skills in Geography (2nd Edition),
by Grant Kleeman © Cambridge University Press 2017, p.60; The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn
© The University of Queensland 2020, p.62 (1.b); Skills in Geography (2nd Edition), by Grant
Kleeman © Cambridge University Press 2017, p.64; ‘Horror shark attack and fatality statistics
show how deadly Australia’s beaches can be’, by Shannon Molloy Nov. 20 2018 News.com.
au © News Ltd, p.68; 'Save our sharks' © Australian Marine Conservation Society https://www.
marineconservation.org.au, p.68; Adapted from ‘Up Goer Five’, Explain XKCD wiki page /
CC by SA 3.0, p.73; The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Paterson, (1890), p.75; The Ocean
at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman published by Headline © Hodder & Stoughton, p.79;
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins © Scholastic, p.79; The Invention of Hugo Cabret,
by Brian Selznick © Scholastic USA, p.80; 'How to Parkour' wikiHow website, Creative Commons
License, p.83; ‘HOW TO: Organise your bookshelf’, by Vicki McDonald, State Librarian and
CEO at State Library of Queensland in The Weekend Australian, 15 November 2019 © News
Corp, p.84; Konrad Marshall, ‘The Good Weekend’s Who Mattered 2019: Science’. First
published 30th Nov. 2019 © Fairfax Media (Nine), p.86; Greta Thunberg, UN climate change
summit, 4 December 2018, 'No One is Too Small to Make a Difference', by Greta Thunberg.
Reproduced by permission of Penguin Random House UK & JP/PoliGkens Hus, p.92; ‘About
May Gibbs’, maygibbs.org, p.95; Skellig, by David Almond © Hodder & Stoughton 2007, p.99;
‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1850, 6 October 1892, p.100; ‘The Road Not Taken’, by
Robert Frost, p.101.

Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright. The publisher apologises
for any accidental infringement and welcomes information that would redress this situation.

vii
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LA N G U A G E

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PARTS OF SPEECH
1 Nominalisation4 3 Active and passive voice 12

2 Expressing possibility 8 4 Negatives 16

PUNCTUATION
5 Colons and semicolons 20 6 Hyphens24

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION
7 Embedded, projected 8 Sentence variety 32
and noun clauses 28

SPELLING
9 Silent letters 36 10 Dictionary and thesaurus 40

VOCABULARY
11 Greek and Latin roots 44 12 Neologisms48

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 UNIT
NOMINALISATION 1
Understanding
PARTS OF SPEECH

Nominalisation means changing a word from a verb or adjective into a noun form,
usually creating a more formal academic style of writing.
Verb to noun: Adjective to noun:
Explore ➝ exploration Beautiful ➝ beauty

1. Give examples of three nouns for each of the following noun endings.

Ending Nouns
-ness
-tion
-ity
-ism

2. Complete the following tables, which show verb-to-noun and adjective-to-noun.

Verb Noun Adjective Noun

collection inferior
depict description
combine happiness
deprivation diffident
receive infectious

Nominalisation is often used in academic, political and business language as it creates

distance from the reader and appears more important.
Replacing the verb with a noun also forces you to extend the sentence and ideas:
The character represents the wilderness.
The representation of the character as the wilderness … (does what?)
The first sentence is just a statement, but the second sentence demands an evaluation.
This is one way you can improve your writing and thinking.

4 CONNECTING ENGLISH YEAR 9 LANGUAGE

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3. Nominalise these sentences by changing underlined verbs or adjectives to nouns and
rewriting. If the sentence needs more information, underline the extra information.
a. Alexander the Great invaded many countries.



b. The Red Cross assists people in times of war or great need.




c. She became a brilliant mathematician after years of study and dedication.



4. Change these nominalisations back into verbs or adjectives.

a. He is famous for the simplification of the scientific formula.



b. The dependence of the man on his sister was accompanied by his admiration of her.


Nominalisation can be very effective but it is sometimes not natural.

Nominalisation can take a clear statement such as:
If you have a lot of rats around, you need to check out your house.
and change it into a formal and often incomprehensible sentence like:
An infiltration of rodents can necessitate an investigation into your domestic
habitation.

5. Rewrite these passages without the nominalisation.

a. The inclusion of many characters into the plot can lead to confusion. Comparison of
the characters can, however, yield insights for the reader about the author’s meaning.


b. Your receipt of future publications via email is part of our commitment to efficient
service.



LANGUAGE UNIT 1 NOMINALISATION 5

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Citizenship
The following text is an extract from Australia’s Multicultural Policy of 2011.

Australia’s Multicultural Policy Principles

Principle 1: The Australian Government celebrates and values the benefits
of cultural diversity, within the broader aims of national unity, community
harmony and maintenance of our democratic values.
Principle 2: The Australian Government is committed to a just, inclusive and
socially cohesive society where everyone can participate in the opportunities
that Australia offers and where government services are responsive to the needs
of Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Principle 3: The Australian Government welcomes the economic trade and
investment benefits, which arise from our successful multicultural nation.
Principle 4: The Australian Government will act to promote understanding
and acceptance while responding to expressions of intolerance and
discrimination with strength and, where necessary, with the force of the law.
‘The People of Australia – Australia’s Multicultural Policy’,
Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Australian Government, 2011

1. In the extract we see the four principles of cultural diversity. You’ll notice that these
principles begin with the subject (‘The Australian Government’) followed by a verb.
For this activity you need to change the verbs into nouns and rewrite the beginning of
the principles list (no need to rewrite the whole principle) to follow the stem.

The principles of cultural diversity of the Australian government include:

a. c.

b. d.

2. List eight abstract nouns that you can find in the text.



3. What do you think was the main idea in writing these principles?

6 CONNECTING ENGLISH YEAR 9 LANGUAGE

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4. Which principle is different from the others and why?


The following is an example of two ways a text can be written: one is more direct while
the other is nominalised.

Text Nominalised
The way our politicians behave The behaviour of politicians
frequently deserves to be criticised. frequently deserves criticism.
They tend to avoid considering Their tendency of avoidance
difficult ideas proposed to them and of consideration of proposals
it makes us wonder how wise we of difficult ideas leads to some
are to elect them. Often, how they wonder about the wisdom of their
respond is vague and ambiguous or election. Often responses are vague
they are reserved about ideas they and ambiguous with reservations
supported a short time ago. Having about ideas they supported a
elections more frequently does not short time ago. The solution to the
solve the problem since being loyal problem is not having elections
to one’s political party seems to more frequently since loyalty to
come before doing the right thing one’s political party seems to come
by those whom they represent. before doing the right thing by
those whom they represent.

5. Which is the more effective writing for understanding? Explain your answer with
reference to purpose and audience.




Connecting in class
Take a prose passage from your class novel (not dialogue) and see if you can rewrite it
using nominalisation.

Just for fun

1. An article in The Guardian online (‘Going forward, how should we approach the English
language?’) criticised modern language usage and said we need to abolish words such
as ‘stakeholders’. Which five abstract nouns would you like banned and why?
2. Describe the activities you do through the day and week but nominalise these. For
example, ‘I play sport in the afternoon’ becomes ‘The playing of sport is undertaken in
the afternoon’.

LANGUAGE UNIT 1 NOMINALISATION 7

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 UNIT
EXPRESSING POSSIBILITY 2
Understanding
PARTS OF SPEECH

Verbs describe real events and actions, but they also allow us to imagine and predict
what might happen, and with what consequences. We can do this by using the
conditional and the subjunctive tenses.

Conditional tense
We use conditionals to explain occurrences, share facts, explain a logical relationship
and offer warnings. The conditional tense usually starts with the adverb ‘if’ in one
clause, and projects a possibility in the other clause.
If I practise enough, then I will improve.
I will improve, if I practise enough
The action is ‘practise’, the consequence is ‘improvement’.

Types of conditionals Examples

Real (zero) conditional: If you reduce the temperature of
about scientific or other proven facts water to 0 degrees, it freezes.
If you drop a pencil, it will fall.
Unreal but likely (first) conditional: If you go out in the rain again, you
about a specific incident and expectation will be soaked.
Unreal and unlikely (second) conditional: If you had gone out in the rain,
using past tense about an event that is you would have caught your
unlikely to happen death of cold.
Unreal (third) conditional: If the Ice Age had gone on longer,
imagining the consequences of a past action we would not be alive today.
that has not and will not happen
Counterfeit or speculative conditional: If I were king, I would ban all
an action that is never happening but is taxes.
imagined If I won the lottery, I would buy
(Note the use of ‘were’, not ‘was’, in this type diamonds.
of speculation.)

1. Identify which conditional or conditionals (Zero/First/Second/Third/Counterfeit) we

would use for each of the following.

a. Warnings

8 CONNECTING ENGLISH YEAR 9 LANGUAGE

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 b. Imagined unlikely events

c. Facts in science

2. Which kind of conditional is each of the following?

a. If you work on computers all day, your eyesight will deteriorate.

b. If he were born a dog, he could not have been more obedient.

c. If you add the right nutrients to plants, they grow healthier.

3. Complete these conditional sentences.

a. If he tells me one more time how clever he is, .

b. , if you forget to study.

c. If , you can‘t go to the school formal.

d. if we forget the sacrifices our soldiers make.

e. If we don’t take care of our forests, .

Subjunctive tense
The subjunctive is another way of expressing possibility.
I wish I were better at mathematics.
He talks about travelling to the moon, as if he has been there.
The rules require that everyone bring a signed form.
My teacher requested that I complete my exam this time.
I suggest that we don’t make a fuss when we see her.
Were I to be king, I would not be happy.
The subjunctive mood can be introduced with ‘that’, ‘as if’ or it can use the plural verb
‘were’ (even with a singular subject). The subjunctive is usually in the present tense
(has been/complete, bring/don’t/see).
The auxiliaries ‘could’, ‘would’, ‘should’ and ‘may’ can also be regarded as being in
the subjunctive mood with the conditional ‘if’ for something unlikely to happen.

{ If I were to be told, then I could act with some authority.

If I could be told, I could act with some authority.

4. Complete this subjunctive sentence.

He proposed that they .

LANGUAGE UNIT 2 EXPRESSING POSSIBILITY 9

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Drama

Just like everyday humans, Shakespeare’s characters often speculate about what
might happen. Through their speeches we see that their motivations and dreams are
often not so different from our world. Speculation is at the core of The Merchant of
Venice, as we can see in the passage below.
Before this scene, the moneylender Shylock has lent money to Antonio; if he is not
repaid he has said he wants a pound (0.5 kilograms) of Antonio’s flesh. He is Jewish
and Antonio is Christian with religious prejudice from both sides. In the extract,
Salanio asks Shylock if he will really take flesh from Antonio if he can’t repay the
loan (‘if he forfeit’). Shylock’s answer is a very famous speech that reminds us of the
similarities between people.

The Merchant of Venice

Salanio:
Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take
his flesh: what’s that good for?
Shylock:
To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else,
it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and
hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses,
mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my
bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine
enemies; and what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath
not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, healed by the same means,
warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as
a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison
us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not
revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will
resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian,
what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian
wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by

10 CONNECTING ENGLISH YEAR 9 LANGUAGE

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 Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you
teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I
will better the instruction.
The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare, act 3, scene 1

1. Highlight all the uses of the word ‘If’.

2. Why does Shylock want his ‘pound of flesh’?



3. What does Shylock think is Antonio’s reason to act against him?



4. Why is the word ‘same’ repeated so much? What point is being made?



5. Shylock uses a list of rhetorical questions starting with the conditional ‘if’. Which two
religious groups and what consequences is he listing?



6. Shylock is listing all these conditionals to build up a logical argument and to excuse
what he will do. What is he excusing?


Connecting in class
Creative writing depends on ‘what if’. Using a class text, write a list of ‘what if’ questions
that might change the direction of the story.

Just for fun

1. Using the conditional, list five things that need to happen for the world to be a better
place.

2. Many songs have ‘if’ in their title or their chorus – ‘If I ruled the world (imagine that)’
(Nas), ‘If I were a rich man’ (Fiddler on the Roof), ‘If you’re happy and you know it’
(popular children’s song), ‘If I fell’ (The Beatles), ‘If I just lay here’ (Snow Patrol). Research
songs that use the conditional and write your own chorus or stanza to suit your context.

LANGUAGE UNIT 2 EXPRESSING POSSIBILITY 11

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 UNIT
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE 3
Understanding
PARTS OF SPEECH

Choosing to write in the active or passive voice is an important consideration. In the

active voice, the subject of the verb is the person or thing carrying out the action, but
in the passive, the subject of the verb is a passive acceptor of whatever action is taking
place:
Active: The soldiers attacked the villagers.
Passive: The villagers were attacked by the soldiers.

1. Label these statements as passive (P) or active (A) voice.

a. The famous actor received an award for his performance. ( )

b. She drank the medicine with great care. ( )

c. The trains were taken off the tracks for the weekend. ( )

d. The famous actor was given an award for his performance. ( )

e. In spite of all the attention, she was never vain. ( )

f. In the case of a nuclear attack, Sydney will be placed on alert. ( )

In the sentences above you will have noticed that passive verbs are always compound
verbs. They can be any tense: past, present or future.

2. Which tense is each of the passive verbs (underlined) below?

Past Present Future

She will be captivated by the show when she
sees it.
He had never been encouraged to find his family.
The pool was covered by the massive tree.
Elephants are frequently being hunted for
their skin.
She is surrounded by all her friends.

12 CONNECTING ENGLISH YEAR 9 LANGUAGE

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 To change sentences to passive, find the object of the sentence and make it into the
subject. In the passive, the person doing the action appears after the preposition ‘by … ’:
Object
He took the book from her hands.
Subject
The book was taken from her hands by him.

3. Change these sentences from active to passive. Underline the verbs in the given
sentences and your sentence.
a. As she approached the grand house, she felt the difference between its grandness
and her life.



b. The car rounded the corner at sharp speed, with little consideration for the
pedestrians.



c. Dickens sensitively revealed the world of poverty and disadvantage that the Victorian
public preferred to ignore.



d. Biographies offer glimpses into the lives of other people and other times.

Agentless passives are created when we use passive and don’t say who or what carried
out the action. This form is very powerful because it hides the truth and suggests that
something is generally agreed.
Agentless passives are used by many subjects that want to maintain anonymity to
sound more official and formal and not state who is doing the action. This includes
science reports and experiments (a beaker was filled), police and legal reports (the
victim was attacked) and government reports (a bill was passed).

4. Convert the following to agentless passives.

a. She arrested him.
b. We took a vote.

LANGUAGE UNIT 3 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE 13

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
History

Education: A progressive idea?

Before the Enlightenment, the church controlled education and what was taught.
One of the outcomes of Enlightenment thinking was that religious and general
education were separated.
Most subjects as well as the Classics (Latin and Greek) were introduced. The
influential Swiss thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for example, advocated radical
new approaches such as natural education for children and the creation of a
unified national system of education. Such a national system was actually put
into place in Poland in the late 1700s. Both of these developments we take for
granted now.
Writers who advocated equality for all such as Thomas Paine and Mary
Wollstonecraft saw education as a vital plank in preparing all individuals as
citizens of their society. At New Lanark, Robert Owen provided schools for
children and evening classes for adults. By the end of the nineteenth century,
most Western countries provided compulsory (primary) schooling for children,
although attendance was often sporadic and children could be excused from
classes to help families at busy times.
In Australia, as elsewhere, a national schooling system was established in the
1870s and 1880s that aimed to give all children a level of elementary schooling
(eventually after World war II, there was increased access to secondary schools).
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a very small percentage
went on to universities after completing their school certificate. Throughout the
twentieth century, the age of leaving school was gradually raised.
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 9, p. 277

1. Complete the table: copy all passive verbs, find the subject (ask ‘who’ or ‘what’
before the verb) and try to ascertain who is doing the action or if it is agentless. If it’s
agentless, guess who might have been responsible. Possible agents you could consider:
governments, teachers, students, parents, syllabus writers, politicians, thinkers.

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 Passive Verb Subject Who is doing action
(If it’s agentless write A
and take a guess)

2. Change these sentences to passive voice, including the agent.

a. The church controlled education.



b. The influential Swiss thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for example, advocated radical
new approaches such as natural education.



c. Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft saw education as a vital plank in preparing
all individuals as citizens of their society.



Connecting in class
1. Write an official report using passive voice about an incident in the novel or play you
are reading.

2. Take a paragraph from a novel you are reading and try to change it to passive voice.

Just for fun

We all occupy different roles in life: child, sibling, parent, student, sportsperson, reader, etc.
List some of the roles you occupy in your life under passive or active. What does active or
passive really mean for you?

LANGUAGE UNIT 3 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE 15

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 UNIT
NEGATIVES 4
Understanding
PARTS OF SPEECH

There is a variety of ways we use negatives. The most common negative, ‘not’, is an
adverb modifying adjectives, verbs and other adverbs.
This has been a not too pleasant experience.
I will not go.
I answered not too harshly.
‘Not’, or the contracted ‘-n’t’, comes after the modal or auxiliary.
could not see ➝ couldn’t see; will not cope ➝ won’t cope;
have not been ➝ haven’t been; are not going ➝ aren’t going
In simple past and present tenses, as well as imperatives, you add the auxiliary ‘do’,
‘does’, ‘did’ for a negative and usually contract it.
I run. ➝ I don’t run. (present simple tense)
He runs. ➝ He doesn’t run. (present simple tense)
I ran. ➝ I didn’t run. (past simple tense)
Look at me! ➝ Don’t look at me! (imperative)

1. Is the word ‘not’ modifying a verb, adjective or adverb? (To test if it is modifying a verb,
see if it can be contracted.)

Sentence using negative V ADJ ADV

He was not a pleasant person.
She felt a not too sudden jolt.
We went there often but not daily.
It is not about the way you do it but how often.

2. Rewrite these sentences in the negative.

a. She was often alone in the house.

b. The writer knew the importance of good characterisation.

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 Negative questions
Questions in the negative have unusual constructions, including question tags:
Aren’t you coming with me?
Are you not coming with me?
You aren’t coming with me, are you?
You are coming with me, aren’t you?
You must come with me, mustn't you?
The question tag requires a comma before it and uses the modal or auxiliary. As you
can see, the question tag reverses the original verb from negative to positive, or
positive to negative.

3. Rephrase these negative statements as questions.

a. He will not be at the swimming pool.



b. It doesn’t take us long to get to the zoo.



4. Create a question with a question tag at the end of these sentences.

a. That isn’t the correct answer,

b. You could search for days to find her,

c. Sydney is a large place,

Double negatives
A double negative is when two negatives cancel each other:
He is not without morals
‘Not’ and ‘without’ means he has morals, so the double negative emphasises his
moral position.

5. What does each of these double negatives mean?

a. The sum received for the house was not inconsequential.



b. It was not an unsatisfactory solution.



LANGUAGE UNIT 4 NEGATIVES 17

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum

Most subjects offer information on both sides (positive and negative) so you can have
a fuller understanding of what you need to know.

Food technology

Symptoms of lactose intolerance

People can have varying degrees of lactose intolerance. Many people who are
lactose intolerant have a level of lactose they can consume with minimal
symptoms but most should avoid drinking milk. Cheese contains virtually no
lactose, so it can be well tolerated and yoghurt is generally well digested due
to the natural level of bacteria cultures. Available now are many dairy-like
substitutes that do not contain lactose, which are suitable for people suffering
from lactose intolerance.
Food For You Book 2 (3rd Edition), p. 104

1. The title of this extract immediately alerts us to a negative. Which word does this?

2. How else can we write this title without using a prefix?

3. What other negative words and phrases do we see in this passage?

4. What positive suggestion is made above?

Statistics and probability

Mathematics is about solving problems, which are as much about negatives as

positives. Have a look at the following problem.

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5. In a class of 25 students 40% have been to England. How many students have not been
to England?

Why is it more difficult to answer a question expressed in the negative?




Connecting in class
Playing with the negative grammatical form can be very creative. Explain why the use of the
negative in this poem by Pablo Neruda is so interesting and how it balances the positive.

It is not about forgiving:

the forgiven does not forgive,
nor is it about giving
because he who receives
remembers your kindness as a wound
‘The fist and the thorn’, Pablo Neruda

Now write you own version of Neruda’s poem, replacing ‘forgiving’ with your choice of
these words: winning; breathing, living, lying, having, destroying.

Just for fun

Our world is filled with rules about what not to do, reinforced with a visual sign often in red
or with a strikethrough line. The following signs are missing their words. Advise the sign
writer of what the sign should say.

LANGUAGE UNIT 4 NEGATIVES 19

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 UNIT
COLONS AND SEMICOLONS 5
Understanding
PUNCTUATION

Colons and semicolons stand out for many as the hardest punctuation to use but the
rules governing the use of these punctuation marks are actually quite clear.

Colon
The colon is a very powerful punctuation mark. It:
A introduces a list of items (I want three things: socks, shoes and feet). The list
of items can be in reverse (Socks, shoes and feet: all anyone could want!).
B can be used instead of a comma to introduce dialogue (He said: ‘Go away!’)
C separates a title and subtitle (Creative Writing: How to and when)
D separates hours and minutes in time (3:10)
E states ratios (3:6)
F separates items in a bibliographic entry (in some conventions)
G introduces quotations or formal statements (We can tell Romeo is stunned by
Juliet’s beauty when he asks: ‘But soft what light through yonder window breaks?’)
H is used in a sentence when the second clause is responding to the first clause,
emphasising it or offering evidence (Let’s face it: grammar is not easy).
Avoid using a colon for a list if it follows a verb or preposition.
I want pumpkin, carrots and potatoes.
I want vegetables including pumpkin, carrots and potatoes.

1. Place the colon in the correct places in these examples and in brackets state which rule
above (A–H) is being applied.
a. I use the punctuation I know well the comma, the question mark, the colon, the full
stop period. ( )

b. The dictionary states that ‘a colon offers more information or responds to the
statement before it.’ ( )

c. He went too far all the way to hell! ( )

d. Exploring the Earth Landscapes and Seascapes ( )

e. Elephants, tigers and lions these are the animals everyone wants to see
at the zoo. ( )

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 Semicolon
The semicolon stands between a comma and a colon in its functions.
The semicolon can:
A separate items in a list of extended items (noun groups)
B separate items in a list where the items already have a comma
C join two complete sentences that are related (not phrases or non-finite clauses);
therefore, to use a semicolon correctly you need to know what a sentence is
D sit before a conjunctive adverb such as ‘however’, ‘therefore’, ‘moreover’, ‘nevertheless’,
‘otherwise’, ‘regardless’ and ‘consequently’; the adverb is followed by a comma.

2. Place the semicolon in the correct places and state which rule (A–D) is applied.

a. He was an intelligent child however, his lack of study led to failure. ( )

b. The conference delegates had come from Sydney, Australia New York, USA London,
England and Paris, France. ( )

c. Trees need to be protected they need to be nurtured. ( )

3. Place the correct punctuation in the sentences below.

a. There are three rules for a good life work hard love your family and be punctual.

b. I have one goal in life to find my mother.

c. Here’s a rule study hard to get good marks.

4. Are the colons and semicolons in these sentences correct or incorrect? Justify your
decision.

a. Nothing needed to be said; nothing could have been said. Correct / Incorrect.


b. In the darkness of night, I thought; I am truly myself. Correct / Incorrect.



c. An experiment has three kinds of variables: the one you change, the one you measure
the change in, the ones you want to prevent interfering with results. Correct / Incorrect.


d. I did my bit to help; I was the one who phoned the doctor. Correct / Incorrect.


LANGUAGE UNIT 5 COLONS AND SEMICOLONS 21

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 Applying
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History

The following extracts come from the section on the age of revolutions (including the
Industrial Revolution) in Cambridge Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian
Curriculum 9, pages 201–16.

1. Why are the following sentences using semicolons and colons?

a.
From the sixteenth century onwards, millions of Europeans spread around
the world, including the Portuguese settlers who went to Brazil; the Spanish
who went to Mexico, Argentina and other parts of Spanish America; and the
Dutch who went to South Africa and the Dutch East Indies.

b.
In Java, Dutch colonial rulers forced famers to sell certain parts of the crop to
the colonial government at a low price; the Dutch made huge profits from their
system.

c.
On 27 August 1789, the Assembly passed the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’
and a manifesto of political liberalism that began: ‘Men are born, and remain,
free and equal in rights.’

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 d.
There had been a few large factories before 1750: as early as the 1600s,
Ambrose Crowley was running a large iron-making factory at Winlaton.

2. Add the best possible punctuation (colon, semicolon, full stop, comma) to this sentence
and then explain your decisions.

There were other understood ‘rights’ a poor farmer could let geese feed on the
land and could let pigs search for food people could pick wild berries, chop wood
for fire and ‘glean’ which meant picking up pieces of wheat left over after the
harvest had been finished




3. Combine these notes into one sentence, using a colon and semicolons.

Development of the steam engine

• Steam engine invented in 1698 by Sabery
• Newcomen improved the engine with a steam pump in 1702
• James Watt modern condensing engine 1775.




Connecting in class
1. Different authors use different patterns of punctuation. Conduct a survey. Take a book
by a favourite author and open to a page. Add up the number of words and then add
up the number of colons and semicolons. Compare your list with a friend. As a class,
construct a table and list the authors in descending order of semicolon use. What have
you learnt about each author’s style?

2. Does non-fiction have more semicolons? Conduct an experiment to see if non-fiction

texts have more semicolons.

Just for fun

Construct a 50-word sentence with colons and semicolons. Then try a 100-word sentence
with colons and semicolons.

LANGUAGE UNIT 5 COLONS AND SEMICOLONS 23

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 UNIT
HYPHENS 6
Understanding
PUNCTUATION

Hyphens are an often overlooked form of punctuation that can be a matter of

personal choice. They are shorter than dashes and only go between words.
Hyphens are used for:
• compound words: semi-detached; technology-based
• amounts: 9-10; 20-35
• compound numbers: from twenty-one to ninety-nine
• two or more words acting as a single idea: never-to-be, one-year-old
• words ending in -like: teacher-like; beast-like
• hybrid ethnicities: Greek-Australian
• double-barrel surnames: Smythe-Smith
• some family relationships: father-in-law, great-grandmother
• some official position titles: director-general
• double adjectives: high-quality; micro-sized
• after many prefixes:
– pre- and post-: pre-war; post-war (exemption: ‘prejudge’)
– ex-: ex-husband
– self-: self-expression
– co-: co-operate; co-ordinate (these can also be unhyphenated).

1. Use the words below to complete these compound hyphenated words.

anti, state, president, pre, all, under, non, Irish, like, self

a. bell- f. -oxidant

b. -elect g. -secretary

c. -existing h. -of-the-art

d. -malignant i. -American

e. -expression j. -knowing

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 Different hyphen usages
Hyphens can be used when:
• the word combination is acting as an identifier or adjective rather than ending a
statement:
We have a one-year-old.
The child is one year old.
• the word combination acts alone rather than as part of a bigger phrase:
His conversation was over-the-top.
He marched over the top of the hill.
• clearing up ambiguities and distinguishing words with different meanings:
review and re-view
recovered and re-covered
• discussing two related words with the same suffix:
I study geology and biology.
I study first- and second-year subjects.
• using some idiomatic expressions:
It was a no-brainer.
• after ‘mid’, especially about dates:
mid-1990s
• a word is too long at the end of a line so a hyphen can be used at a syllable
break to show the word is continued on the next line.

2. Should the following words have hyphens? Highlight the correct version.

a. I am resigning / re-signing from my job tomorrow.

b. You need to resign / re-sign the papers.

c. This is a hold up / hold-up.

d. Hold up / hold-up your hands.

e. It was a ‘how do you do today’ / ‘how-do-you-do-today’ kind of greeting.

f. ‘And how do you do today / how-do-you-do-today?’ asked the shopkeeper to his

customer.

g. In the eighteenth century / eighteenth-century people did not have electricity.

h. The bowl was an eighteenth century / eighteenth-century object.

LANGUAGE UNIT 6 HYPHENS 25

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Business

The workplace
Studies in 2008–09 found that a happy workplace is a supportive space that not
only leads to harmonious employer–employee relations but also where profit-
making can be maximised. Satisfaction in life is as much work-related as what
happens outside work. The ways job satisfaction can be achieved are different
for part-time and full-time employees, depending on the circumstances for
each type of work. If the employee is part-time by choice and the workplace has
supported this, then the part-time employee feels a sense of duty and gratitude
to the workplace for allowing some freedom through job-share or other means.
With the rise of e-commerce and immediate connection through email, more
workplaces are realising that they can give employees a choice about the way
they work and where.
If, however, employment has to be in a fixed place, and the part-time employee
is low- to middle-income, may be on a fixed-term contract and wants more work,
then there is some resentment, especially against full-time employees who are
regarded as ‘taking the job’ or being given daytime hours while the part-time
employee works late-night shifts. Even more dissatisfaction occurs when the
workplace is too consumer-oriented and loses sight of its employees’ needs.

1. List the hyphenated words above and decide whether they are nouns or adjectives. If
they are adjectives, add the noun they are describing in brackets.

Hyphenated nouns

Hyphenated adjectives
(plus related noun in
brackets)

2. Some prefixes are actually contractions of longer words. For example, ‘electronic’ has
now been reduced to the prefix ‘e-’. We can see the evolution of the use of ‘electronic’
in the use and further reduction of the word ‘email’: electronic mail ➝ e-mail ➝ email.

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 a. What does the word ‘e-commerce’ mean?


b. Think of five other words using the prefix and hyphen ‘e-‘ to mean electronic.



3. Choose two to three of the above words to create your own sentence.



4. Finish these sentences by adding hyphenated words.

a. We often see the world as opposites, creating an east- or - divide.

b. With resources fast dwindling, we need to consider moving away from coal-
power.

c. Rich farmland is high- .

d. Anti- refers to prejudice against Jewish people.

e. British people still used ration cards in the -war period after 1945.

Connecting in class
1. Some poets use hyphenated words to create a rhythm. The poet Gerard Manly Hopkins,
in ‘Pied Beauty’, made up words such as ‘couple-colour’, ‘rose-moles’ and ‘chestnut-falls’
when talking about the beauty of nature.

a. In pairs, each read a different poem by Manly Hopkins and list all the hypenated
words he uses.

b. Give these words to your partner, who has to create their own poem with the words.

2. Advertisers also use hyphens to create catchy advertisements that are easily recalled.
Write an advertisement to convince young people that reading is good; use at least ten
hyphenated words (including your own originals). For example, ‘A touchy-feely book is
always better than a hearing-seeing film’.

Just for fun

Hyphens, as we have seen, add rhythm. Be a slam poet, using hyphenated words in a topic
of your choice (you may choose to use some ideas from above).

LANGUAGE UNIT 6 HYPHENS 27

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 UNIT
EMBEDDED, PROJECTED AND 7
NOUN CLAUSES
Understanding
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION

Embedded clauses
I like to read books that are science fiction because they make me imagine
other worlds.
The sentence above is a complex sentence with an embedded clause.
In the sentence, the clauses are ‘I like to read books’ and ‘they make me imagine
other worlds’. These are joined by the subordinating conjunction ‘because’. The
embedded clause is ‘that are science fiction’.
Embedded clauses can start with a relative pronoun: that, who, which, when, where.
They can also be called adjectival clauses if they are adding more information to a noun.

1. Complete the embedded clauses for the following sentences and underline the noun
that each clause describes.

a. The house, where , was much smaller than I

remembered.

b. Ms Lee, who , liked to tell us about different

countries.

Noun clauses
The subject or object of a sentence can be a person or thing, but can also be an
extended noun clause. Unlike a noun group, the noun clause includes a finite verb.
What he said was controlled by his mother.
If we ask ‘who’ or ‘what’ before the verb (‘was controlled’), the answer is ‘what he said’
so this noun clause is acting as a subject.
A noun clause can also be the object of a sentence.
His mother controlled what he said.
If we ask ‘who’ or ‘what’ after the verb (‘was controlled’), the answer is ‘what he said’
so this noun clause is acting as an object.
Note: An adjectival clause can also be included in the subject or object.
Books [that are science fiction] transport you to other worlds.

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2. Underline the embedded clauses in the sentences below, and indicate whether the
clause is Adjectival (A), Noun (N) or Adjectival in a Noun clause (AN).

a. Convicting criminals who had been victims themselves was a difficult task for the
judge. ( )

b. The scientist was examining the flow of ice where it was crossing the North Pole. ( )

c. High winds that rose suddenly fanned the fires that had been smouldering. ( )

Projected clauses
Projected clauses introduce a viewpoint: thinking, speaking or facts. They often begin
with ’that’, but ‘that’ can also be implied. There are many ways of introducing the
projected clause including the following ‘projections’:
I think that It is true that
They imagined that The book recommends that
He proposed that Experience has shown that
They agreed that It can be demonstrated that
It is hoped that It is unlikely that
Using the pronoun ‘it’ creates a more formal, less personal viewpoint.

3. Complete the following by adding a projecting clause or a projection.

a. It is common knowledge that .

b. She was advised that .

c. that you needed to bring textbooks to class.

d. History shows that .

e. I can’t agree that .

f. that babies are likely to be harmed by smoking.

4. Are the underlined clauses below examples of noun clauses (as subject or object),
adjectival clauses or projected clauses?
a. Where we stand is often up for debate.

b. The influence of teachers who care for their students cannot be

underestimated.

c. It cannot be underestimated that teachers care for their students.

d. The book explored how he felt.

LANGUAGE UNIT 7 EMBEDDED, PROJECTED AND NOUN CLAUSES 29

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
History

The following are abridged sentences or extracts from the textbook Humanities and
Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 9, pages 270–83, exploring the changing
world of revolution and research.

Long-term impacts of the women’s movement

Women have many more years in which to complete education and training …
Should we argue, then, that the women’s movement has had its day, or that it is
no longer necessary?
There are concerns about violence towards women and also about how women
and men can lead full lives as workers and parents.

Achieving the right to vote

From the time of the French Revolution, some women wanted the right to be
full citizens, and to vote for an elected government. … However, opposition was
strong on many fronts. Some argued that men could represent their wives or
daughters … The strong belief that a woman’s place was in the home and not in
public life shaped much of the opposition.

Collectivism
One of the results brought about by the Industrial Revolution was that
disaffected people began to organise themselves into groups.

1. Copy one projected clause.

2. Why are projected clauses so common in the subject of History?

3. Find any noun clauses and underline these. Why are noun clauses so useful?

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 Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was another man whose challenging ideas had a significant
influence on the progress of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Darwin was
an English naturalist whose theories of evolution and natural selection shook the
establishment of his time because they challenged the biblical notion that the
world was created by God in six days and six nights.
As we have seen, the Enlightenment created a climate where scientific ideas
could flourish.

4. This passage is about Charles Darwin. Highlight the two adjectival clauses that
describe him.

5. Which verb introduces a projected clause in this paragraph and who or what is the
subject of this verb?


6. Extend these subjects and objects using adjectival clauses and information from the two
passages.

a. Collectivism involved people organising into groups.

b. Darwin’s ideas influenced the society .

Connecting in class
1. Take the list of examples of projected clauses on page 29 (‘I think that’/‘They imagined
that’, etc.) and, using every one of the examples, write statements about a text you are
studying in class. You can change the pronoun if necessary.

2. List the characters in a novel or play you are reading and describe three of them in one
sentence each, using adjectival clauses.

3. Write a paragraph on creative writing and how you approach it. Use at least three noun
clauses.

4. David Malouf starts his book A First Place with a noun clause: ‘One of the oldest stories
we tell is the story about leaving home’. Use this opening to tell a story about someone
leaving home.

Just for fun

Take a page of a textbook and colour code it into Noun, Adjectival and Projected clauses.
Transfer the colour pattern to a blank page and use this to design a poster on clauses.

LANGUAGE UNIT 7 EMBEDDED, PROJECTED AND NOUN CLAUSES 31

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 UNIT
SENTENCE VARIETY 8
Understanding
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION

Writing should be interesting and engaging. This happens by varying the way you
write sentences. Here are more ways to extend your sentences.

Participial phrases
Participial phrases, starting with -ing and -ed words, add information. The participle is
not a finite verb so the phrase does not count as a complete sentence clause.

Sentence type -ing -ed

Compound She was hoping that she The Bill was accepted by
would see him so she went to the majority and then it was
the dance. passed.
Simple, starting with Hoping that she would see Accepted by the majority,
participial phrase him, she went to the dance. the Bill was passed
Simple, ending with She went to the dance, The Bill was passed,
participial phrase hoping that she would see accepted by the majority.
him.

The general rule is that the participial phrase should appear as close as possible to
the person or thing being described in order to avoid ambiguity.

1. Underline the participial phrases in these sentences.

a. Having the best of intentions, she had left her child alone.

b. Shaken by wind, the bird flew back to its nest.

c. He placed his finger on the globe, tracing the pathway of his flight.

d. She, knowing it was dangerous, entered the room.

2. Change or join these sentences using participial phrases.

a. She had considered all her options and realised a science degree was the best thing
for her.

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 b. He was walking in a circle. He was spinning from exhaustion. He wondered if he
would ever find his home.



c. The novel begins at the climax. It then takes us on a journey of discovery to lead us
back to the opening.



3. Combine these sentences into a paragraph and compare your answer to a friend’s to
see the different ways you can combine sentences.
My name is Dettah Menda. I come from Sri Lanka. Many people think I am Indian but
Sri Lanka is not India. I came to Australia a long time ago. When I arrived there weren’t
many Sri Lankan immigrants. Now there are many. Then it was more difficult. I knew no one.
I was alone when I first came. I was lucky to get a job in a restaurant. The restaurant was very
busy. I had to work many hours. It was impossible for me to make friends. I saved money.
After many years, I went to TAFE. I studied hard to become a hairdresser. Hairdressing was
always my dream. My dreams have come true because I came to Australia.








4. Join these sentences into one sentence.

a. Josie put down the book. She had enjoyed reading it. It was by an author she didn’t
know. She decided she would read more books by that author.




b. I saw giraffes in Africa. Their necks are so long. They eat leaves from treetops.



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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Geography

The following extract concludes a chapter about the rise of China as an economic
nation and the impact of manufacturing.

Effects of growth of manufacturing in China

The rapid and sustained growth of China’s economy has had a range of
economic, social and environmental impacts on the country.

Rapid increase in wealth of the population

Despite cheap labour being one of the main factors behind China’s economic
growth, wages paid to manufacturers are roughly three times what they were in
2005. This has led to a rise in living standards for all those working in factories.
At the other end of the scale, China is now producing a class of ‘super-rich’, as
owners of businesses profit from the strong performance of Chinese companies.
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 9, p. 133

1. One structure for topic sentences is to list what will follow in the rest of the text. What
impacts will the next two paragraphs be about?

2. When you encounter long sentences in text, it is often easier to understand them if you
can break them down. Divide this sentence into two simple sentences:
Despite cheap labour being one of the main factors behind China’s economic growth,
wages paid to manufacturers are roughly three times what they were in 2005.

3. In what way has the addition of the word ‘despite’ altered the sentences?

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4. Now join these two sentences:
Despite cheap labour being one of the main factors behind China’s economic growth,
wages paid to manufacturers are roughly three times what they were in 2005.
This has led to a rise in living standards for all those working in factories.




5. Mix and match: decide which sentence beginnings go with the endings below.

A. T
 he movement of people from poor – around seven times Australia’s
rural areas to cities population.
B. In China in 2010, there were around is perhaps the most dramatic effect of
150 million migrants from rural areas China’s economic transformation.
living in urban areas
C. Those still in rural areas the demand for goods such as cars and
electronics increases.
D. As the population gets richer earn on average less than $500 per year.

6. To join the sentences, you had to make some decisions. Which sentences can be
explained by the following?

a. The beginning was the subject (a noun group) so the ending had to start with
a verb.

b. The beginning was a complete sentence but the ending added extra information
after a dash so it was about matching information.

c. The first sentence is dependent on the second because it is introduced by a

subordinating conjunction.

Connecting in class
1. Let’s reflect on your reading processes using participial and prepositional phrases.
Complete these sentences with comments about a text you are reading in class.

a. Looking at the book cover, you might think/I thought …

b. After reading the first page,

c. On finishing the book,

Just for fun

Take a paragraph in a book and change every sentence to begin with a participle.

LANGUAGE UNIT 8 SENTENCE VARIETY 35

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 UNIT
SILENT LETTERS 9
Understanding
SPELLING

As you have already learned in Year 8, there are letters in some English words that are
not pronounced. The easiest way to become familiar with the spelling of these is to
memorise them. In doing so, you will also expand your vocabulary. A few of them have
been listed in alphabetical order to help you to remember them.

Silent letters
• Silent a: measure, treasure
• Silent c: adolescent, discipline, fluorescent, luminescent, scintillate
• Silent h: exhausting, ghost, honest, rhetoric, vehicle
• Silent k: knife, knight, knit, knock, knuckle
• Silent l: balm, behalf, calf, chalk, folk
• Silent p: corps, coup, pneumatic, psychology, receipt
• Silent s: aisle, debris
• Silent u: guarantee, guard, guide, laugh, tongue
• Silent ue: fatigue, plague, vague, vogue
• Silent x: faux pas, roux

1. Use the definition to complete the word – the given spaces indicate the number of
letters needed. Circle the letter that is silent.

a. shadowy outline: silh ette f. promise: gu rantee

b. crowded movement: bu tle g. enjoyment: pl a e

c. line-up: que e h. able to be seen: notice le

d. evil: mal gn i. lung infection: p eumonia

e. bubbly: efferve c j. small island: is e

2. Circle the words that contain silent letters and highlight the silent letter.

panda neighbour scoop giraffe sponge

football cupboard damaged advantageous exhausted
knowledge several repetitive plague ascent
susceptible aisle understand simplicity adolescent

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3. Correct the spelling of the following words.

a. bomer d. iland g. thorouh

b. opake e. exilarating h. chassi

c. fasinate f. bilding i. hankerchief

4. Match the words in the table with their definitions.

Word Definition
league without conscience
unconscionable unable to be tired
foreign group or alliance
inexhaustible disastrous
catastrophic strange

Audible silent letters

Sometimes silent letters are no longer silent when the part of speech is changed or an
ending added. For example:
• ‘gn’: sign becomes signature
• ‘mn’: autumn becomes autumnal

5. Circle the endings that change the sound so the silent letter is no longer silent.

a. assign -ment -ation -ing

b. malign -ing -ed -ant

c. condemn -ation -er -ing

6. For each letter pair, give an example of a word where one of the letters is silent, and
then of a word where both letters are sounded. Do not use previous examples.

a. mb: Silent: d. gu: Silent:

Not silent: Not silent:

b. sc: Silent: e. mn: Silent:

Not silent: Not silent:

c. gn: Silent:
Not silent:

LANGUAGE UNIT 9 SILENT LETTERS 37

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Visual arts

The following passage captures, in part, what an art class is like: what happens in it,
the smells, the paintings, the work that is done (or not) and the way in which art
appeals to the imagination.

Dear Anna
I see you in my Art class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I know I don’t
speak English very well, so I can’t even write you a note, but every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday I write you a letter in my head, putting down all the
things I’d like to say aloud but can’t.
Your painting is just wonderful. The one you did for the art show, of the
waterfall where the purple and white flowers and long graceful branches all
hang over the rushing stream, reminds me of how I feel when I watch you leave
the room after class. It’s as if I’m standing on a bank seeing you carried away
from me, watching the tide flow out, beautiful, hurrying and beyond my reach.
Your eyes are like the water you painted: deep turquoise and full of light.
I wish I could paint them. I don’t even notice the smell of turpentine or the mess
I always make in class because I want more than anything to finish my silent
letter. Our teacher says I could be great at art …
Last Friday afternoon, we had to take something we consciously remembered
about a person we knew and liked, and then design and capture it in a small
collage with their name in the corner. So I painted your hand holding a brush to
the canvas and the only things on it were those purple and white flowers and the
outline of the unfinished waterfall. In the corner, I wrote ‘Anna’.
And when I looked at yours, on it was a sheet of paper with a silhouette of me
standing on a hill, waving and you had written ‘José’.

1. Highlight the words that are incorrectly spelt and are missing a silent letter.
Write the correct word in the margin.

2. Make a list of art-related words that have silent letters.

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3. Use five words from Question 2 and/or other words with silent letters to construct a
short paragraph, written from Anna’s perspective, explaining how she feels about José.
Circle the words you have used.






4. Use these words in sentences that are not about art.

a. gnarled


b. iridescent
.

c. crescent


Connecting in class
1. You are a filmmaker looking for unit titles for the first of your new series of short films
made to help refugee children trying to learn English. There are five units in the first film.

Make a list of five possible titles for the units of work concerned with silent letters in your
first short film. Note that at least one word with a silent letter must appear in each of the
five unit titles. A sample would be: The Treasure Hunt: Looking for Silent Letters.

2. Create your own lists of silent letter words to share with the class.

Just for fun

Use the description of Anna’s painting to see if you can draw and/or colour what José saw in
her artwork, i.e. flowers, waterfall and so on. Then write a description of your drawing using
as many silent letters as you can, explaining which aspects of Anna’s painting you used.

LANGUAGE UNIT 9 SILENT LETTERS 39

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 UNIT
DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS 10
Understanding
SPELLING

Dictionary
Many word processing programs have built-in dictionaries. But a separate, reputable
dictionary – especially an online one – is still a very useful resource. It offers extensive
information about the English language and about spelling, pronunciation, meaning,
word origin, parts of speech and examples of related words.

1. Use these labels to annotate the following screenshot of the online Cambridge Dictionary.

Definition, Pronunciation, Further links, Related words,

Other forms, Part of speech

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 Pronunciation
Some online dictionaries include audio files to demonstrate how the word is
pronounced. Dictionaries also use phonetic spelling to show pronunciation: this
indicates short or long vowel sounds, soft or hard consonant sounds, and also where
the stresses are placed in a word.
Use the two pronunciation entries below to understand phonetic symbols.

2. How would you write the following sounds phonetically?

a. Hard c: c. Long a:

b. -tion: d. Y ending:

3. Is there a difference between the phonetic spelling of the words ‘dictionary’ and
‘dictation’ in American and British? If so, explain.



Meaning
When words may have more than one meaning, the dictionary provides multiple
definitions, including examples of words used as part of a compound word. For
example, ‘ship’ occurs in ‘friendship’ and ‘shipyard’.

4. The following words stand alone and are also compound words. Write one or more
compound word examples for each.

a. ‘Board’ occurs in the compound word/s:

b. ‘Sea’ occurs in the compound word/s:

c. ‘Place’ occurs in the compound word/s:

5. You can use a thesaurus to find similar words, which helps you avoid repetition and be
more creative in your writing. Find an alternative for each of the underlined words.

a. He was visibly moved by the funeral service: tears were visible on his face.

b. She was running late, so she ran for the bus.

LANGUAGE UNIT 10 DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS 41

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Biological sciences

We see how important definitions are in this extract from a Science textbook. In an
online book these definitions might appear as pop-ups. However, a dictionary does
more than just offer definitions.

Symbiotic relationships
When individuals from two different species share
symbiotic relationship
a close and long-term biological relationship, it is
a relationship between
known as a symbiotic relationship. There are three
two types of living
different forms of symbiotic relationships and they
things that helps at
differ according to how the organisms are affected.
least one of them

They are: survive

1 Mutualism mutualism a symbiotic

relationship where
2 Commensalism both organisms benefit

3 Parasitism.

[…]
Mutualism
Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship that occurs
pollinator an organism,
when both species within the relationship benefit
such as an insect, that
from living closely together and neither are harmed.
carries pollen from one
For example, plants have a mutualistic relationship
plant, or part of a plant,
with pollinators. Pollinators are vital for many
to another
flowering plants to reproduce.
Cambridge Science for the Victorian Curriculum 9, p. 146

1. Using the sample dictionary page at the beginning of this unit (Question 1, Understanding),
compile a dictionary page on the word ‘relationship’ above. Remember, you have to
include the definition, part of speech, other possible forms and phonetic spelling (you may
need to look up the phonetic alphabet and related words).

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 Word Relationship
Part of speech
Phonetic spelling
Other forms
Definition
Other related words

2. If you were creating a glossary for the Science extract on page 42, what other words do
you think might need to be defined?


3. The word ‘benefit’ has a few variations of meaning. Imagine you are the dictionary
creator: complete the online entry for ‘benefit’ by adding sentences that are suitable for
the meanings that are given.

a. A helpful or good effect or something intended to help:



b. An advantage, such as medical insurance, life insurance and sick pay, that employees
receive from their employer in addition to money [usually plural]:


Connecting in class
1. Write instructions on what you need to know to study a novel. Create hyperlinks to the
words that need defining.

2. Dictionaries also include idiomatic phrases. Make a list of 10 common Australian idioms
and their meanings.

3. If you have someone whose first language is not English in your group or class, ask them
to explain some of the idiomatic expressions in their first language.

4. Words from other languages frequently find their way into English and vice versa. Write
down the definitions for: espionage, bizarre, doppelganger, futon, siesta, yakka.

5. Work in pairs to write an assessment of three online dictionaries. Using the same word,
compare the entries and give a mark out of 10 for each. Consider the layout, the quality of
the explanation and the examples. Decide which online dictionary will become your ‘friend’.

Just for fun

Write a poem or a comedy sketch using as many Australian slang terms as you can.

LANGUAGE UNIT 10 DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS 43

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 UNIT
GREEK AND LATIN ROOTS 11
Understanding
VOCABULARY

Sixty per cent of English words have Greek or Latin root words and over 10 per cent
of all the words in the Latin language have made their way into the English language
without any changes to the words. Some Latin words have come to English via French.

1. Many words for parts of the body come from Greek or Latin words. Add English words
that are derived from these words.

Greek or Meaning English words derived from the Latin

Latin word or Greek word
corpus body (Latin)
podi foot (Greek)
dens teeth (Latin)
manus hand (Latin)

Greek or Latin?
An interesting point to note is that often both Greek and Latin words for the same
thing have entered English, creating synonyms and variety in the words we use.
For example, a speech by one person can be a ‘monologue’ (from Greek ‘mono’ and
‘logo’, meaning ‘single’ and ‘word’) or it can be a ‘soliloquy’ (from Latin ‘solo’ and
‘loquare’, meaning ‘single’ and ‘speak’).

2. Write two examples, one for Greek and one for Latin.

Word Greek Latin

small micro mini

big mega magna

old gero senex

god theo deo

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3. Find at least two words that are derived from these Latin words:

Latin word Meaning Examples in English

pater father
frater brother
mater mother
filia/filla daughter/son

Word groups
Knowing the roots of words will help you guess the meaning of many words and also
learn the spelling. For example, if ‘gamos’ means ‘wedding’, then you can work out
that ‘monogamy’ is marrying one person but ‘polygamy’ is marrying many people.

4. Work out the meaning of the following words using these two roots. ‘Philo’ means
‘friend’, so words ending in ‘-phile’ mean ‘lover of’ or ‘friend of’. ‘Phobia’ means ‘fear of’
(from the Greek ‘phobos’).

Francophile Fear of spiders

Anglophile Fear of enclosed spaces
Arachnophia Lover of English things
Bibliophile Fear of open spaces
Agoraphobia Lover of books
Claustrophobia Lover of French things

Combinations into new words

English words can be combinations of Greek or Latin derived words. For example,
‘geology’ comes from ‘geo’ meaning ‘earth’ and ‘logos’ meaning ‘study’, so geology
is the study of the earth.

5. Work out the meaning of these words using the definitions of the individual root words.

a. If ‘necro’ means ‘dead’ and ‘polis’ means ‘city’, then a ‘necropolis’ is a

.

b. If mono means ‘one’ and ‘archy’ means ‘rule’, then a ‘monarchy’ is

.

c. If ‘manus’ means ‘hand’ and ‘factum’ means ‘make’, then ‘manufacture’ is

.

LANGUAGE UNIT 11 GREEK AND LATIN ROOTS 45

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Chemical sciences

Reactions of life
Life on earth is dependent on two chemical reactions: photosynthesis and
respiration. These are perhaps the two most important chemical reactions you
will ever study.

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants make their own food in the form
of glucose. It takes place in any part of the plant that is green and exposed
to sunlight. As leaves are exposed to the most sunlight this is where most
photosynthesis takes place. Leaves are green because they contain a green
chemical called chlorophyll in tiny structures called chloroplasts.
… For photosynthesis to occur, plants need to turn carbon dioxide and water into
chloroplasts. Carbon dioxide comes from the air and is absorbed into the leaf
through tiny holes called stomata on the underside of the leaf … when carbon
dioxide and water react in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll, glucose and
oxygen are formed.
Adapted from Cambridge Science for the Victorian Curriculum 9, p. 225

1. Find words in the text that come from these roots:

Root word Meaning Word from extract

Scientia Knowledge
Studium Application to
Glykos Sweet
Carbo Coal
Stoma Mouth

2. Define the following words using these root words:

plastos (formed), phyllo (leaf), photo (light), chloro (green), synthesis

( join/bring together)

a. Chlorophyll:

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 b. Photosynthesis:

c. Chloroplastos:

3. What other words do you know that have these roots?

a. Plastos:

b. Photo:

c. Stoma:

4. History is often about government and types of leaders. The Greek word ‘archon’ means
ruler and the word ‘cratos’ means state, so words ending in ‘-archy’ and ‘-cracy’ are
about types of rule. List types of government that end in ‘-archy’ and ‘-cracy’.


Connecting in class
1. When we read texts, we often talk about having empathy with characters. The word
‘empathy’ comes from the Greek ‘pathos’, meaning feeling; someone who is ‘pathetic’
conveys too much feeling. Explain the difference between these ‘pathos’ words: sympathy,
empathy, apathy, pathos, pathological.

2. Poetry is known for conveying the senses. Find the roots of these sense words, define
the differences and add more words with the same roots.
• aural, auditory, audible
• olfactory, nasal
• visual, visible, visuality, visibility, visor
• tactile, manual
• gustatory.

3. Characters are central to novels but there is more than one type: what is the difference
between an antagonist and a protagonist? What is the difference between dynamic
and static characters? Find the roots of these four words: protagonist, antagonist,
static, dynamic.

Just for fun

1. Some Latin phrases are also used regularly in English – such as ‘vice versa’, ‘bona fide’
and ‘de facto’. Find other such phrases to share with the class.

2. Many mottos use Latin. Working in teams, find as many mottos as you can and post
these on a display board with their meanings.

LANGUAGE UNIT 11 GREEK AND LATIN ROOTS 47

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 UNIT
NEOLOGISMS 12
Understanding
VOCABULARY

Language is always evolving and changing. When a word loses its power, it falls out
of use. When our language is missing a word, someone often invents one. Words
which are new to the language are called neologisms, words created or adapted
for a new purpose. A simple example, first recorded in 2004, is the term ‘e-waste’: a
combination of ‘electronic’ and ‘waste’. Neologisms can be formed in a variety of ways
for a number of purposes.

Combinations of existing words

Neologisms are often formed by word combinations, or ‘portmanteau’ words,
combining two or more existing words to form a new one. ‘Brunch’, for example, is a
combination of ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’. It means a late morning meal.

1. Find the portmanteau word derived from the original words.

a. hash, tag

b. smoke, fog

c. mock, documentary

d. chuckle, snort

2. What do you think are the two original words in the following?

a. administrivia

b. malware

c. Nintendonitis

Neologisms are often created from root words from other languages. The names
given to newly discovered species deliberately use Greek prefixes and suffixes like
‘proto’, which means first, or ‘dactyl’, which means a finger or toe.
Today, many neologisms begin life on the internet. When US President Donald Trump
accidentally included the word ‘covfefe’ (instead of ‘coverage’) in a tweet, it came to
mean ‘a social media mistake’.

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 Popular usage
Some words enter the language because of the influence of popular culture.
‘Rambo’, for example, was originally a character in a film. Today, the word means ‘an
exceptionally tough, aggressive man’.
Brand names can also be used so commonly that they are applied to any similar
object, such as ‘to hoover’ the floor, meaning ‘to use a vacuum cleaner’.

3. Match the following definitions with their neologism.

Neologism Definition
google to send mail by electronic means via internet
spam originally an ugly mythological creature – now a person who
posts rude, hurtful or argumentative comments
troll to look up information on the internet
email a modern internet term for a string of random characters
created by hitting a keyboard in anger or frustration
keysmash originally a brand of canned meat – now a term for junk emails

Literary neologisms
One of the biggest creators of words was Shakespeare, but the Harry Potter world is
also the origin of several neologisms.

4. What is the meaning of the following?

a. muggle

b. Slytherin

c. galleon

d. howler

5. Many of Shakespeare’s inventions passed into regular language use. Match these
Shakespearean creations with their meanings.

Neologism Meaning
metamorphose very numerous; of great number
besmirch to transform or change
dauntless playful and light-hearted
multitudinous to damage the reputation of another
sportive unable to be discouraged or subdued

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Information technology

Newspapers regularly hold competitions that involve people creating neologisms

for humorous purposes. For example, in one competition the word ‘abdicate’ was
redefined to mean ‘giving up hope of ever building great abs’. The following is a
review of Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch.

Because Internet: The changing face of language

If you are over a particular age, the language of lolcats and doggo is infuriating.
You may find parents in particular asking why the cat just can’t use ‘is’ and ‘are’
properly! If you are a language purist, you might also be the kind of person who
decries emojis, finds initialisms like ‘lol’ annoying and has no time for anything
with a hashtag.
If you are one of these people, you are going to find Gretchen McCulloch’s
Because Internet a challenge. The book is an entertaining tour through the
changing patterns of our language in the digital era. Lolcat and doggo encourage
creative language use. Hashtags such as #sorrynotsorry have made their way
into spoken language, along with the word ‘hashtag’ itself: one linguist quoted in
the book loved it when her daughter said ‘hashtag awkward!’
In the past, neologisms were the province of formal writing: the works of
Shakespeare, books and articles commenting on life and its issues … What has
changed is that contemporary language change has been driven by informal
writing: the chat, the tweet, the Facebook post, the meme … The triumph of
this book is that it does not judge or prescribe. It makes observations, and in the
end suggests that we see changes in our language for what they are: a natural
response to our changing world.

1. Underline examples of neologisms used in new technology.

2. According to the article, what are three language features that language purists would
find unacceptable?

3. Does this reviewer agree with the view of language purists?

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4. Based on the article, what is a ‘spoken hashtag’?


5. What do you think the hashtag #sorrynotsorry means?



6. Do you agree with the writer’s views on language change? Give reasons for your answer.


7. It isn't just new inventions that cause the creation of new words. In 2020, the COVID-19
pandemic led to the advent of many new words or new meaning applied to known
words. Explain what each of these new words means.

a. Lockdown

b. Social distancing

c. Upperwear

d. Infits

e. Contact tracing

Connecting in class

Fantasy: new and old words

Fantasy writers often create neologisms but they also use archaisms – words from the
past that have fallen out of use and that they have re-purposed for their work. Using
words from Greek and Latin, or revitalising previous myths and stories, are other
common techniques.

1. Build a fantasy world around words for a story you will write. Create your own
neologisms. What words would you use to replace the words ‘wall’, ‘horse’, ‘trip’,
‘boredom’, ‘friend’? Write a story that uses your newly minted words.

2. Look closely at a passage of a fantasy or science fiction story. Focus on one page and list
all the odd words, and whether they are neologisms or archaisms. Write a glossary for
the book page.

Just for fun

You may have noticed your friends and family inventing words when needed. Perhaps
someone asked you to be the ‘dishwasherupperer’. These words are called protologisms.
Find out more about protologisms. What examples of protologisms can you collect or
discover? Why might these words not have moved on to become neologisms?

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 L I T E R A C Y

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TEXT CONSTRUCTION
13 Subjective and 15 Cohesion  62
objective language  54

14 Values, attitudes
and beliefs  58

LITERARY DEVICES
16 Register  66 17 Euphemism, idiom, cliché and
jargon  70

GENRE
18 Narrative genres  74 21 Journalism  86

19 Descriptive writing  78 22 Writing speeches  90

20 Instructional writing  82 23 Biography and

autobiography  94

LITERARY ANALYSIS
24 Themes  98 26 Referencing  106

25 Evaluating texts  102

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 UNIT
SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE 13
LANGUAGE
Understanding
TEXT CONSTRUCTION

Subjective language refers to words and phrases that express personal opinions,
points of view or judgements. Objective language is factual and largely free of
emotional content. It is based on observations and measurement.

Assessing objectivity using language and context

In practice, we often have to decide how objective or how subjective a statement is.
Particularly with controversial issues, careful reading can help.
To tell if the language is objective, we can check and verify information. If the
language is subjective, we can examine a composer’s purpose: how do they want us
to feel and respond?
Personal pronouns can be a marker of a subjective statement. ‘I think’, ‘we believe’ or
‘it is my opinion’ usually tell us the speaker is being subjective, but words like ‘I saw’ or
‘I observed’ can also be part of objective language, reporting experiences.
Colloquial language can be a marker for subjectivity, as can emotive language.
Context is important: how much authority a speaker has can affect their statement.
Finally, medium – where is the statement being spoken or printed?

1. Identify these statements as subjective or objective. Give reasons for your answers.

a. The foundations of nuclear science were developed in the nineteenth century.

b. I think that Marie Curie’s death from radiation poisoning was a great tragedy.

c. German scientist William Roentgen performed experiments that proved the

existence of X-rays.

d. Long-term exposure to X-rays is harmful for humans.

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2. These statements represent a range of views about building a new dam in a rural
community. Match each view with the source; write whether it is subjective or objective.

View Source
The dam, if completed, will hold 450 Spoken at a ‘Stop the Dam’ rally.
gigalitres behind an 80-metre-high wall. Colloquial and emotive language. ‘We’
Total cost will be approximately $477 million indicates the speaker believes they are
dollars. speaking for the whole community.

I’ve lived in this valley for forty years, and Facebook comment. No personal
I know every inch of it. The dam’ll ruin the pronouns, informal language. Has an
fishing. They can build their dam somewhere imperative tone but is an unsupported
else, I reckon. statement.

At a length of over 10 kilometres, the dam Resident of the valley interviewed as

will see a significant loss of prime agricultural part of a news story. Highly personal,
land, but the falling capacity of the colloquial language.
catchment as a whole is a greater priority.
We don’t want our valley to become another Extract from the Environmental Impact
victim of government greed. Stop the Dam! Statement for the dam, reporting
Stop the Dam! evidence about fish numbers.

The people who have rallied against this A description of the details of the dam,
dam are out-of-touch greenies who need to contained in a press release.
keep quiet and let those who care about this
town get on with it.
The Healthy Rivers Commission (2002) Formal language, authoritative tone,
investigation of the river estimated that includes factual information. From a
about 30% of native fish species had been newspaper editorial. Uses objective
lost. Studies conducted over the last 30 details. Discusses the issue and makes a
years have identified 18 native freshwater considered judgement.
fish species in decline.

Connecting with language

The use of the passive voice can make writing sound more objective – although sometimes
this is used to disguise the fact that a subjective view is being expressed. Review Unit 3.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Biological sciences

In Science textbooks, research journals and academic papers, objective language

will dominate. In contrast, in science reporting in the popular media it is likely to be
a mixture of objective language, personal views and speculations. Reading critically,
separating fact from opinion, is an important skill.

No, mobile phones still won’t give you brain cancer

Cell phones have been accused of everything from causing brain cancer to
‘frying’ men’s testicles over the years. Phones emit radiation to communicate
with mobile phone masts, and radiation has always had a bad rap …
But phones use a form known as non-ionising radiation, meaning it doesn’t
carry enough energy to tear electrons away from their atoms and turn them
into ions. It’s this electron-stripping that means X-rays, for instance, can cause
cancerous mutations in our DNA.
… There has been no good evidence that cancers … are increasing in people.
Our use of mobile phones and other wireless devices in our homes has been
increasing at an unprecedented rate … if tumours of the heart or brain were on
the rise, we would know about it by now.
Adapted from ‘No, mobile phones still won’t give you brain cancer’, Clare Wilson

1. Underline the phrases and clauses that are objective. Highlight the parts that are
subjective. Remember that judgements and conclusions are technically subjective!

2. Here are some sentences taken from a range of publications, focusing on the 2019
bushfires. Read each sentence and decide whether it is objective, subjective or a
mixture. Explain your answer.

a. The Gospers Mountain fire destroyed an area 10 times the size of Tasmania.

b. Massive fires in the Blue Mountains are threatening the secret locations of the
Wollemi Pine.

c. Twenty-five homes were lost to fire in Balmoral, in the NSW Southern Highlands.

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 d. Survivors from some of the worst affected areas are returning to their fire-ravaged
homes to see what’s left after the crisis.



e. The Gospers Mountain mega-fire is the biggest fire Australia has ever seen.


f. Sydney’s air quality today was the worst in the world after smoke pushed the city’s
levels to more than 20 times worse than Beijing.



g. The Wollemi Pine was thought to be extinct until its discovery in 1994.


Journalese is the exaggerated style of language found in news stories, designed

particularly to heighten emotion and make the stories more dramatic and engaging.
Examples include describing a fire as a ‘wall of flames’ with a ‘pall of smoke’, or
focusing on the feelings of victims exclusively.

3. What language can you see in the sentences in Question 2 that are examples of journalese?


Connecting in class
1. Write five objective statements about a class text and five subjective statements.

2. Find examples of the following genres and compare how subjectivity and objectivity
work in each genre: persuasion; narrative; information; speeches; picture books; blog;
journal article; advertisement.

3. Can a painting be subjective or objective? Argue the case in class.

4. Choose an issue that is in the news at the moment. Separate the objective and the
subjective. Look for connotations and for journalese. Share your discoveries!

Just for fun

Work in pairs on a topic relevant to your class text and one of you presents a totally
objective speech, while the other offers a totally subjective response. The class can give
points out of 10 to determine who was most convincing.

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 UNIT
VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 14
Understanding
TEXT CONSTRUCTION

Values are what people regard as important in life, e.g. family, the environment,
religion, social and material success. Attitudes are established ways of thinking or
feeling about something, e.g. race, the law, education. Belief is confidence or trust
placed in something, e.g. democracy, God, scientific principles.
The lines between values, attitudes and beliefs may be blurred.

1. For each of these statements, indicate if you think it is a Value, Attitude or Belief.
Compare your answers with those of a partner.

a. Compulsory voting is a good way to select a leader.

b. Taking public transport is preferable to driving.

c. I don’t want to lose contact with my friends.

d. The evidence on vaccination is solid.

e. It’s important to dress well for a job interview.

Texts convey negative or positive values through:

• choice of words
• choice of punctuation
• choice of register (formal, informal, slang, colloquial).

2. Place the words in the correct column as conveying a negative or a positive attitude.

abuse, constructive, lovely, assist, haggard, witty, clever, negligent, vicious,

brave, sickly, careless, hopeful, dangerous

Negative Positive

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3. Attitude can be communicated even when not directly stated. Match the statement with
the description.

Statement Description
A. Train travel! he gruffly responded. Declaration of opinion with adjective
B. Train travel is tiring. Clear statement of negative attitude
using negative language
C. I don’t like train travel. Implied attitude through punctuation and
adverb
D. I think train travel is tiring. Descriptive statement with adjective

4. Using the letters A–D, sort the statements from weakest to strongest attitude:

Weakest             Strongest

5. Read the following passage about land use, and answer the questions.

Any land use or activity undertaken should seek to benefit a range of people in
society, and not exploit, endanger or disrespect any group. Health, safety and
equity must not be compromised. Traditional landholders and their extensive
knowledge of the land should be respected, and the recreational, psychological,
aesthetic and spiritual value of environments should be protected.
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 7, p. 11

a. Which of the following does the writer believe in? (Circle all that apply.)

A. Benefiting people D. Exploiting the land

B. Respecting all groups in society E. People’s health

C. Endangering people F. Indigenous people

b. Underline what and who are valued in the paragraph.

c. Which words indicate negative attitudes that should be eliminated?



Connecting with language

You could revisit the Year 8 unit on Tone. You could also think about how active or passive
voice (Unit 3) and negatives (Unit 4) assist in conveying values.

LITERACY UNIT 14 VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 59

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Geography

A group of developers wishes to convert Gogleys Lagoon into a canal estate

and resort complex. The canal estate will have 300 building sites with water
frontages, a 110-room hotel, a marina and a retail complex. The resort will
create 160 permanent jobs. Local environment groups have objected on the
grounds that it will destroy the environmentally sensitive lagoon ecosystem.
Adapted from Skills in Geography (2nd Edition), p. 86

1. Before reading the below graphic, write a sentence about what you would say about a
marina being built at a beach or coastal spot you love to go to.

2. Here are some other responses to the proposal. Add these value labels to each person
to indicate the value they are most likely to have.

business, employment, recreation, tradition, environment, peacefulness

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3. Which groups in society do you think are represented here?



4. Explain how the family fisherman and the Indigenous person share values.



5. What other attitudes do you hear about developments? Add a statement focused on
each of the following attitudes.

a. Physical health:


b. Mental health:


6. Tradition and progress are regarded usually as polarised attitudes – this means as
far apart as north and south poles. In your notebook, create a mind map placing the
attitudes from Question 2 on each side. Do some fit in between? What does this say
about human values? How else might attitudes be polarised?

Connecting in class
1. Choose a section of a class text that lends itself to being transformed into a speech for
an audience whose values, attitudes and beliefs are different from those in the original
text; for example: in To Kill a Mockingbird, a class talk by Scout about having a father
who is a lawyer.

2. Search for a recording of Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
What attitudes is he challenging? What beliefs does he hold? What then are his values?

Just for fun

Create a mind map that shows the values, attitudes and beliefs to the following:

• the creation of a music festival on a farm in a well-established farming region

• selling an inner-city school for development and requiring students to move

• culling kangaroos.

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 UNIT
COHESION 15
Understanding
TEXT CONSTRUCTION

Cohesion refers to the way a paragraph, essay or text ‘sticks’ together, creating a flow
of meaning. It establishes a relationship between parts of the text and makes it easier
to understand what is being said within a paragraph, from sentence to sentence and
between paragraphs. There are many forms of cohesion.

Pronouns
One way of connecting is by using pronouns to refer to a previously mentioned
person or object, or to refer forward to a person or object.

David was in deep water when he noticed the shark.

There it is: the Eiffel Tower!

You can also use a demonstrative pronoun such as this to refer back to an earlier word.

1. Find the cohesive elements and draw arrows between the words of the sentences below
to show how they connect across sentences.

a. John ventured towards the house. He saw it as if in a dream.

b. Our world was made of the dull light, filtered through the gauze of the sky. It became
a small, self-contained thing, a snowdome of our very own.

Lexical chains
A lexical (word) chain refers to related words (such as synonyms) that connect to
each other
It was cold. The air was freezing and frost had formed on the ground.

Repetition
Repetition of a word from one sentence to the next can also link ideas.
The forest was filled with all sorts of birdlife. Birdlife such as lorikeets, parrots and
magpies flitted between the trees.

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2. Complete this passage using words that create a lexical chain with the word ‘highway’.

They followed the highway along the sea but found that suddenly the
changed from two to one twisting and turning along the sea cliff. As they
moved further from civilisation the became a dirt .

3. Write your own brief descriptive passage connected with a lexical chain referencing one
of these words: heat, ocean, work, trouble, beauty.




Connective (or ‘transition’) words and conjunctions

Connectives or transition words move the text on to the next idea. These cohesive
devices often signal relationships between parts of the sentence and ideas: comparison or
contrast, addition or similarity, exemplification, sequencing and other functions.

4. Categorise these transition words in the table below.

in contrast, similarly, firstly, then, for instance, finally, furthermore, to reiterate,

for example, seen in, in fact, that is, as an illustration, next, secondly, again,
consequently, likewise, for this reason, so, as, as a result, in one sense, owing to,
therefore, as well as, in other words, in comparison, such as, also

Cohesive function Examples

Comparison or contrast

Addition or similarity

Introducing examples

Sequencing

Cause and effect

Connecting with language

When looking at cohesion within sentences, you need an understanding of sentence
structure. You may find it helpful to review Units 7 and 8.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Geography

Liveability in Sydney
In 2016, The Sydney Morning Herald commissioned a survey of liveability in Sydney.
The study used a range of indicators to identify the most (and least) liveable
suburbs in the city. The indicators included: access to employment; proximity to
train, bus, light rail or ferry services; whether there are cultural facilities nearby,
such as libraries, museums and art galleries; the level of traffic congestion; and
closeness to schools, shopping, cafés and restaurants. Other factors used were
the amount of public open space, tree cover, topographic variations, crime levels,
mobile and broadband coverage and harbour and ocean views. The most liveable
suburbs were those lining the harbour and the coast. Perhaps surprisingly, some
of the most liveable suburbs are also the most densely populated parts of the city.
An increasing number of people are embracing high-density, inner-city housing
and many apartment-dominated suburbs rated well. The high-rise, inner-city
neighbourhoods of Elizabeth Bay, Potts Point, Pyrmont and Darlinghurst were all
ranked in the top 10 for liveability.
Elsewhere in the city, areas once dominated by industry (known as
brownfield) have been transformed into high-quality, high-density residential
areas. The suburb of Rhodes, for example, occupies a site once dominated by the
Union Carbide factory. The factory’s toxic legacy had to be remediated before
construction could commence. The suburb now ranks in the top 100 (out of 555).
Suburbs at the bottom of the liveability ranking are those newly developed
neighbourhoods at the edge of the metropolitan area. The liveability rankings
will increase as transport services and other urban amenities improve.
There is also evidence of a multi-centre pattern of liveability developing in
Sydney.
Adapted from Skills in Geography (2nd Edition), p. 35

1. Find examples using the following types of cohesion in the passage.

a. Demonstrative pronoun:

b. Repetition:

c. Cohesive ties:

d. Lexical cohesion:

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2. Complete this passage to make it more cohesive.

Around the world there are some very difficult areas for plants to colonise. The growth of
in these areas requires with very special adaptations.
These stabilise the environment and allow other ,
plants that are not adapted to the initial conditions, to eventually move into an
.

3. What cohesive techniques did you use?



Connecting in class
1. Review your own work: Look at an essay and a narrative you have completed for class.
Write a reflection on the way you use cohesion and the differences you discern between
the two styles of writing you have composed.

2. Take a short story and add these cohesive devices into the appropriate paragraphs.

Firstly; In contrast; Similarly; However; for example; In spite of; furthermore;

Nevertheless; Another point is; In other words; with reference to; As revealed by;
In conclusion; alternatively

How does this alter the story?

3. Write the story of ‘Red Riding Hood’ using these words to link the parts of the fairy story.
Read the results to the class.

4. How successful are these devices for narrative writing? What conclusions do you draw
about appropriateness of cohesive devices?

Just for fun

Robert Gray’s poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ depends on a lexical chain to drive the
metaphor of heat and fire initiated in the title in the word ‘flames’. The images of heat can
be traced through phrases and words such as:

smoke of different fires – always burning dump – the air wobbles – the hot sun – plastic
sheets of heat – dampened fires – sour smoke – hell – blasting

Use this lexical chain to create your own short story called ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’.

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 UNIT
REGISTER 16
Understanding
LITERARY DEVICES

The way we use language can change and shift depending on our context, purpose,
who our audience is and if the language is spoken or written. For example, for a job
application or an essay we would use formal English. However, a chat to friends or
family would be casual and informal with conversational language, including slang,
idioms and colloquialisms. These choices of language are called register.

Formal and informal language

Formal language is more objective and distant than informal language, which is more
subjective, personal and close.
Formal register includes:
• academic: used for higher level study, for essays and articles
• jargon: specialised language of groups; e.g. medical or scientific jargon
• archaisms: old-fashioned unchanging language such as in some versions of the Bible.
Informal register includes:
• colloquialism: spoken casual language
• vernacular: language natural to a country, spoken by ordinary people
• dialect: particular to a region and different from mainstream language
• interjection: speech fillers that agree, disagree or indicate one is listening
(‘mmm’, ‘oh’, ‘wow’, ‘I see’).

1. Fill in the table with the appropriate formal or informal words.

Informal Formal
gonna
should’ve*
ain’t
want to
come on
*Note that ‘should of’ is never correct but sounds like ‘should’ve’.

2. Identify audience, context and register of the following. The first is done for you.

a. The school wishes to advise that mobile phones are to be kept in lockers.
Parents and students, school notice/newsletter, formal

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 b. I am pleased to confirm the success of your application.


c. Catch up at J’s house, sat night. C U there x



3. What language might you find in the following texts? Choose from these words: formal,
informal, academic, jargon, slang, colloquial.

a. Email to a close friend:

b. Class essay:

c. Scientific report to other scientists:

d. Scientific report for general public:

4. Using a dictionary or thesaurus, find three formal synonyms for the following words.

a. lucky:

b. boss:

c. ask:

Emotive language
Language is not only formal and informal. It can also be emotive. Emotionally loaded
language positions audiences to feel, think or act in a particular way.

5. Add words with neutral connotations to replace the underlined words to create a more
balanced tone.

A gang ( ) of young hooligans ( )

have been arrested and charged with causing reckless ( )
damage to homes and vehicles last night. The bunch of criminals ( )
began their crime spree at the local pool where they went on a hooning joyride.
They gate-crashed ( ) an 18th birthday party and finally
dumped ( ) the stolen vehicle at the local footy oval.

Connecting with language

It can be helpful to use a dictionary or thesaurus (see Unit 10) to decide on the correct
language to use in formal writing. This can also widen your vocabulary.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Biological sciences

The following excerpts on shark attacks in Australia use both formal and emotive
language. Read both articles and then answer the following questions.

Horror shark attack and fatality statistics show how deadly

­Australia’s beaches can be.
After a spate of recent shark attacks, new analysis shows the spots you’re most
likely to come face-to-face with a man-eater this summer.
A fierce debate has been reignited about how best to tackle the risks posed
by ocean-dwelling man-eaters. On one side, environmentalists argue the
dangers are overhyped and culling animals is cruel and unnecessary, while their
opponents want more done to protect swimmers and surfers.
Melbourne doctor Daniel Christidis was fatally savaged by a shark in the
Whitsundays in Queensland on November 5, sustaining life-threatening injuries
to his legs and arm. It was the third attack in Cid Harbour in six weeks and
followed maulings of Hannah Papps, 12, and Justine Barwick, 46, in the same
location. Fisheries Minister Mark Furner urged tourists not to swim in the area,
while local tourism operators hit out at authorities in frustration, demanding
more be done.
‘Horror shark attack and fatality statistics show how deadly Australia’s beaches can be’,
news.com.au, 20 November 2018

Alternatives to shark culling already exist.

Surf lifeguards and lifesavers monitor our popular beaches around Australia’s
coast. Innovative approaches have been developed such as aerial drones to spot
sharks and shark tagging and monitoring, where tagged sharks ‘tweet’ their location
as they swim past underwater detectors. Many of these non-lethal methods
improve our knowledge of shark behaviour. With so many of our magnificent,
graceful shark species under threat, this conservation research is critical.
‘Save Our Sharks’, Australian Marine Conservation Society, marineconservation.org.au

1. Read the first article and highlight the emotive words and phrases that present sharks
in a negative light.

2. Then highlight the words or phrases in the second article that have a positive connotation.

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3. Look up the following words from the articles and give a definition.

a. spate: 

b. culling: 

c. innovative: 

4. Find two words from the first excerpt that sound worse than ‘attack’. Explain why you
think the author has chosen to use them.



5. How does this sentence combine formal and informal language: ‘New analysis shows the
spots you’re most likely to come face-to-face with a man-eater this summer’.



6. The following notes are about the impact of shark nets and drum lines. In your
notebook, rewrite them into a more formal paragraph as a letter to the editor.

• huge amount of misunderstanding about nets

• not a barricade – don’t stop sharks getting near beach

• 150m wide, 6m tall, usually set in 10m water – sharks can get around them

• hundreds of other species killed by the nets – not just sharks, e.g. endangered
turtles, dolphins, dugongs, rays, seabirds, harmless sharks and rays

• costs millions each year – could be spending money on better alternatives (eco shark
barriers and aerial drones)

• ocean = where sharks live, we are entering their territory in the water.

Connecting in class
Using a print or online newspaper, locate the opinion section and choose a letter to the
editor that is particularly emotive. Identify the loaded language and rewrite it using a more
neutral, formal tone.

Just for fun

Make a list of expressions that you use every day with your friends. Explain the meaning of
each expression and identify if it has a formal equivalent.

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 UNIT
EUPHEMISM, IDIOM, CLICHÉ 17
AND JARGON

Understanding
LITERARY DEVICES

Euphemisms
Euphemisms are words or phrases that are used to talk about negative things in a way
that avoids being unpleasant or offensive.
between jobs (unemployed) vertically challenged (short)
passed away (dead) getting on (old)

1. Highlight the euphemism in the following and find a phrase to replace it.

a. We’re going to have to let you go.

b. The presentation wasn’t up to scratch.

c. An armed intervention was conducted in the capital city.

Idioms
Idioms are common expressions that don’t literally mean what the words say. For
example, someone might say: ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’ Cats and dogs are not really
falling from the sky. It just replaces ‘it is raining heavily’.

2. Find idioms that could replace the following phrases.

a. When something is very expensive or costs a lot of money.

b. Stuck between two very bad options.

c. The family bond is closer than anything else.

d. A superstitious way to say ‘good luck’.

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 Clichés
Clichés are sayings or phrases that are overused and therefore have become boring,
tired and stale.They have often lost their impact through overuse. They don’t really
add any detail or interest and so are best avoided in writing and speaking.

3. Match the clichés below to their meanings.

Cliché Meaning
At the end of my tether It is your turn to take the next action
The ball is in your court To take a chance or risk something
Go out on a limb End a fight or a feud
Bury the hatchet Out of options, desperate

4. Clichés often use similes and metaphors. Identify which is used in the following.

a. She felt she had to draw a line in the sand.

b. I am as fit as a fiddle.

Jargon
Jargon is language used for a particular activity or by a particular group of people
in different industry, professional and technical contexts. Lawyers, journalists,
IT professionals, teachers, sporting groups and scientific industries all use specific jargon.

5. Sometimes acronyms are jargon. Match the words with medical terms.

Acronym Meaning
IM Blood pressure
BP Intravenous
K Intramuscular
IV Elemental symbol for potassium

Connecting with language

Euphemisms, idioms, clichés and jargon can form phrases within a longer sentence. Units 7
and 8 will refresh your memory of how good sentences are formed.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Earth and space sciences

This is an illustration (albeit to a comical degree) of the principle that given the
appropriate vocabulary, any technical concept should be understandable to a
lay audience. Since most of the jargon used in rocket science is not among the
most commonly used words in everyday life, Randall has challenged himself to
‘translate’ the blueprints for the Saturn Five rocket using only the one thousand
most commonly-used words in the English language.

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 This comic is a diagram of the Saturn V rocket, ‘Saturn’ isn’t a very common
word apparently, and neither is rocket, so Randall decided to use ‘Up Goer’
which is a fair approximation of a craft designed to lift a payload from the earth
to space. The Saturn V vehicle was in use by NASA from 1967 to 1972.
Adapted from ‘Up Goer Five’, https://cambridge.edu.au/redirect/9098

1. Briefly explain how and why the authors of the comic and the excerpt above have used
plain language to explain difficult scientific concepts.



2. Look up rocket blueprints online and find the scientific jargon for the following terms
from the diagram.

a. ‘up goer’:

b. people box:

c. door:

3. Think of one word related to space travel that might be misunderstood or

misinterpreted by others. For example, ‘crust’ is the outermost layer of a planet,
but also the edge of a pie or pizza. Write down both meanings.


4. Choose two more words specific to space travel and define them.




Connecting in class
1. Consider your current novel study. Has the author used idioms, clichés or jargon at any
time? Write down the examples you find in your notebook and explain why you think
they may have chosen to use that language.

2. List 10 to 15 idioms specific to Australia and give their meanings.

Just for fun

Imagine you are a salesperson who can sell anything. Write a couple of sentences for each
of these objects using euphemisms or clichés to make them sound appealing: a bottle of
cough medicine; a pet lizard; a toilet brush.

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 UNIT
NARRATIVE GENRES 18
Understanding
GENRE

Narrative is an important literary genre. Within narrative, there are many subgenres
(narrative types) that we recognise and that shape stories in particular ways. We
expect a particular pattern from these genres, which shape the characters, settings,
plot, structure, themes and even the style of writing. These conventions mean that
we can recognise the different stories as romance, western, adventure and so on. We
know what to expect, but good writers don’t always follow the formula.

1. The narrative genre is often obvious from the opening lines. The following extracts are
all from real books. Decide what genre you think each book is: memoir, crime, science
fiction, horror, historical, fantasy.

a. ‘During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when
the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens,…’ (Edgar Allen Poe)

b. ‘His sword was in his hand. The only thing that saved me was the horse’s reluctance
to pass beneath the gate.’ (Lian Hearn)

c. ‘Jan Pelgrom was miserable. He’d been a cabin boy for more than five years.’ (The
Blue Eyed Aborigine, Rosemary Hayes)

d. ‘Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human
being to be born on Earth was killed in a pub brawl.’ (P.D. James)

e. ‘On a refreshingly brisk, beautiful clear fall evening, Amos Decker was surrounded by
dead bodies.’ (David Baldacci)

f. ‘Here they all are, standing carefully on the curb at a road crossing – my
grandmother, my father, my mother and my Aunt Que.’ (Alice Pung)

Discuss with the class what clues led you to these decisions.

When we study narrative we look at the setting, character, plot structure, style and
language of the text. Different genres are often identified by the way they combine
the elements of narrative.

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 Narrative poetry
We find narrative in film, poetry, speeches and even non-fiction.
Poetic narrative forms include:
• epic poetry – comes from ancient oral traditions and traces stories of heroes
(e.g. Homer’s Odyssey, Beowulf)
• ballads – shorter than epics but like epics have a singing rhythm (e.g. ‘The
Highwayman’ by Noyes) and include Australian bush ballads
• verse novels – a story looking like poetry, using divided lines of prose.

2. Here is the opening to The Man from Snowy River:

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the colt from old Regret had got away,
And had joined the wild bush horses – he was worth a thousand pound,
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
The Man from Snowy River, Banjo Paterson

a. Annotate the extract to show setting, characters or plot.

b. What narrative genre might this be?

Breaking the model

Narratives can be very traditional but many authors change them to fit in with the
modern context. For example, modern gender attitudes mean that we don’t always
need to have a male hero.

3. Test author Ernest Hemingway’s statement that a story can be perceived in as little as six
words: For sale, Baby shoes, never worn. What is the setting, character/s and plot of this
narrative?


4. Using a story you know, try to reduce it to six words in your notebook.

Connecting with language

When reading a narrative text, it is helpful to be aware of different approaches to
punctuation (see Units 5 and 6) and sentence construction (see Units 7 and 8).

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Business

Narrative is such a powerful way of conveying meaning that we find it in every subject,
even in business. Business narratives are usually about achievement: economic prosperity
despite the odds; it’s about realising the potential of what you have. The extract below is
from a business textbook – it offers a narrative about the invention of Post-it Notes.

Economics and business fact

A well-known example of innovation and entrepreneurship was the development
of Post-it Notes by 3M back in the mid-1970s. In 1970 a scientist, Spencer Silver,
who was working in the 3M research laboratories, developed a new adhesive
(weaker than 3M’s current one) which, while it stuck to things, could also then
be lifted off. The idea was kept on the back burner until 1974 when Arthur Fry
(another scientist), who was a member of a local church choir, decided to try
the glue on small markers in his hymn book. He found they would stay in place
but when required could be lifted off without damaging the book. This discovery
then led to the commercial production of the Post-it Notes.
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 9, p. 462

1. Analyse this business ‘fact’ in terms of narrative.

a. Plot:

b. Setting:

c. Characters:

d. Language:

e. Theme:

2. Religion is so powerful that often business narratives align with religious sentiments.
How does the inclusion of the churchgoer affect the narrative?

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3. Like all narratives, this one can be challenged. Post-it Notes are contributing to our
environmental devastation. In your notebook, write the narrative from the point of view
of an environmentalist. Remember to cast the character as a wicked scientist who only
cares about business and money.

Visual arts

Narrative is also a visual medium. One image can convey

a whole story. An important period of narrative art is the
Victorian period because the Victorians used painting
to convey the everyday tragedy of poverty. Historians
studying the Victorian period can uncover many stories
through the paintings. This painting by Hubert von
Herkomer, ‘On strike’, depicts the sadness of workers’
conditions in 1891.

4. Analyse the painting according to narrative criteria.

a. Plot:


b. Setting:

c. Characters:


d. Theme:


Connecting in class
1. Use the image in the Applying section to craft your own narrative.

2. Choose an amusing, informative or happy event you have seen or read about. Writing
in role as one of the people involved in that event, outline the structure of it in three
stages, then write a one-paragraph letter, diary entry or narrative expanding each part of
the event to about 100 words. You will have 300 words altogether.

3. Working in pairs, read each other’s accounts and discuss what else could have been added.

Just for fun

Find pictures of the following, select one and construct a short narrative around it; or alternatively
a narrative using two, three or all four: hot air balloon, rocket ship, submarine, racing car.

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 UNIT
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING 19
Understanding
GENRE

Writing descriptively enables us to form a picture or image in the reader’s mind. By

paying close attention to details, using our senses and a variety of language, we can
make our writing more vivid, colourful and interesting. Descriptions become richer by
considering the nouns and verbs we use and selecting more precise words.

1. Write down three words or phrases to describe the following.

a. The feel of sunburn:

b. The sound of running water:

c. The smell of a new car:

d. The taste of your favourite food:

2. When describing people or characters in a story, it is good to move beyond just their
physical appearance. Find at least four descriptive words for the following categories.

a. Appearance:

b. Personality:

c. Attitude:

d. Mannerisms:

3. Add words, phrases or clauses to compose more descriptive sentences below.

a. It was very hot, and our car had broken down on the first day of our family holiday.

b. She took off her shoes and walked along the beach.

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 Linking figurative language such as similes and metaphors with our senses of smell,
touch, taste, sight and hearing evokes vivid pictures.

4. In the following we see how a sentence such as ‘The old lady gave me a cup of milk’ can
engage the senses instead of just stating an action.

The old lady gave me a cup of creamy milk from Bessie the cow; the fresh milk
before it had gone through the cooler. Nothing I had drunk had ever tasted like
that before: rich and warm and perfectly happy in my mouth. I remembered that
milk after I had forgotten everything else.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman, p. 18

a. Underline the language that connects taste with feelings in the extract.

b. Using either the following sentence or one of your own, imitate the extract with
three sentences that build a vivid sensory description.
The teacher handed me the book from the library shelf.





Descriptions don’t always act alone but can create a creative contrast, as we see in this
extract below. We call this juxtaposition: the placement of one thing next to another.

5. Use these words to fill the gaps in the extract from The Hunger Games: rotting,
primrose, ugliest, raindrop, beautiful, muddy, mashed-in, bright, fresh, missing, distrusts.

My little sister, Prim, has a face as as a , as lovely as the

for which she was named. My mother was very once, too.
Or so they tell me. Sitting at Prim’s knees, guarding her is the world’s
cat. nose, half of one ear , eyes the colour of
squash. Prim named him Buttercup, insisting that his yellow coat
matched the flower. He hates me. Or at least me.
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, p. 3

Connecting with language

Using a variety of adjectives can add interest and depth to your writing. Varying your
sentences can also help. Review Unit 8, Sentence variety.

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Literature

Imagery and detailed descriptions are important in writing because they encourage
readers to see what is going on and sense the atmosphere or mood of a piece of
writing. Read the following extracts and answer the following questions.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

A cascade of perfect movements, with hundreds of brilliantly calibrated actions,
coursed through the mechanical man. The key tightened a spring connected
to a series of gears that extended down into the base of the figure. There, the
last gear turned a series of brass disks with precisely cut edges. Two little
hammerlike contraptions came down and trailed along the edges of the notched
disks, rising and falling as the disks steadily turned. The actions set in motion by
the little hammers were then translated back up through a series of rods that led
into the man’s torso. There, the moving rods silently turned other mechanisms
in the shoulder and the neck. The shoulder affected the elbow, and as the elbow
engaged, it sent other movements in a chain reaction down into the wrist and,
finally, the hand. Hugo and Isabelle watched, wide-eyed in wonder, as very
cautiously the man’s miniature hand began to move …
Isabelle and Hugo held their breath. The mechanical man dipped the pen into
the ink and began to write.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick, pp. 240–1

1. Underline two phrases in the first sentence that create precision and anticipation.

2. Which of the senses do you think is most clearly evoked in this extract? Give evidence.

3. We sometimes refer to cinematic description when the description moves through the
scene like a camera. In what ways is this extract cinematic?

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4. What is the effect of having an extremely intricate and detailed description in the first
paragraph, followed by two short sentences in the second paragraph?




5. This is a story about a machine with human qualities. How does the author imply that the
mechanical man is like a human? (Look for words associated with humans.)





Geography

Irrigation canals and bunds are designed to direct fresh water away from natural
watercourses and into the rice-farming areas. The impact of water diversion is
most significant in the dry season in monsoonal environments. During the wet
season, monsoon rains provide abundant water.
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 9, p. 53

6. Highlight all the adjectives and underline all the prepositional phrases in the
extract above.

Connecting in class
1. Refer to your class novel, or another book you have read recently.

a. Write about the protagonist from another character’s perspective, including a

description of their appearance and actions.

b. Find an example of effective imagery that describes the protagonist or another

important aspect of the story. How does the author share the description?

2. Re-tell an experience of visiting a place that is important to you. Draw on your senses to
create a description that helps the reader to see and feel what you felt.

Just for fun

Using the extract from The Invention of Hugo Cabret, draw the figure of the mechanical
man. You may want to do this as a series of graphic panels to reveal the action step by step.

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 UNIT
INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING 20
Understanding
GENRE

Effective instructional writing allows writers to communicate clearly how to do, make
or experience something. Often this relates to a specific task or action, presented in a
variety of forms including lists, dot points or paragraphs, generally characterised by:
• a clear goal or aim
• resources or materials needed
• sequential steps or directions
• a conclusion or evaluation relating to what will be achieved.
Visual elements such as diagrams, photographs, pictures and drawings can help
audiences gain a much clearer understanding of the task being presented.

1. What do you think is most important for a good set of instructions? Rank the following
elements from 1–8, with 1 being most important.

Numbered steps to help organise the information

Equipment needed/‘You will need’ section

Sequence words to understand order, e.g. first, next, then, finally

Clear main heading

Clear, easy-to-understand language

Safety tips

Diagrams or pictures

Subheadings to break down information into manageable parts.

Instructions and procedures use imperative verbs that form a command or an order
and usually come at the beginning of a sentence. ‘You’ is the implied subject.

2. Most of the tasks you are set at school start with an imperative verb. List at least five
imperative verbs you will find on your class assessment tasks. (Think about the different
subjects you study.)

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3. Underline the imperative verb in the following sentences.

a. Complete the worksheet by tomorrow.

b. Fill in your name, age and address in the form below.

c. Take two tablets twice a day with water.

4. a. Read the following excerpt from the wikiHow website called ‘How to Parkour’ and add in
the appropriate second person pronouns (‘you’ or ‘your’) in the spaces provided.

Parkour is a natural method for training the human body to be able to leap
and move from place to place by climbing, jumping and flipping. This ‘art of
displacement’ requires neither specific structures nor accessories for its practice:
the body is the only tool. It takes perseverance, guts and discipline but the end is
rewarding.

Part 1: Gathering your materials

1. Invest in a good pair of shoes. want a pair that has decent grip and
shock absorption: it’s less about protection and more about morphing with
foot to the surface.
2. Get some comfortable clothes. As long as can move quickly, and
clothes are not restrictive are good to go.
3. Consider wearing gloves as a beginner. When are starting out,
wearing gloves can be a good way to avoid some serious scrapes and cuts.
4. Find a friend. Not only will friend help keep motivated, but
they will show things that did not even occur to , keeping
motivated.
5. Find a few places to train.
‘How to Parkour’, wikiHow

b. Identify three elements of instructional writing that the writer has used effectively.




Connecting with language

Instructional writing often includes lists and dot points to condense information. Colons and
semicolons can help incorporate lists into sentences: review their usage in Unit 5.

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Design and technology

HOW TO: Organise your bookshelf

To organise a bookshelf at home, cast aside all thoughts of Marie Kondo
minimalism and rules. Let your personality guide your choices. Books should
be everywhere in the house; in the kitchen, the bedroom and the lounge room.
Cookbooks strategically located in the kitchen and dining room are a personal
favourite. Mad about mauve? Arrange your books chromatically; a row of orange
Penguin Books will add a welcome splash of block colour. You don’t have to
restrict your shelves to books alone. You might want to wedge a sentimental
item from your childhood at the end of your collection of books on organic
gardening; or perhaps a photo of your mother at Cloudland in the 1950s in a gold
frame. Another favourite tactic is to hide mementos in books: concert tickets,
love letters or postcards. When you open them up you are serendipitously
reminded of a past event or acquaintance. Books can help you relive the best
of times. If you are looking to cull your collection, an alternative to throwing
books out is to lend them to people. Just don’t expect them to come back in the
same condition. A friend of mine once dropped one of my books in the bath. As
someone who has been organising books (with respect) for 40 years, I was not
very impressed when the book returned with wrinkled pages.
‘HOW TO: Organise your bookshelf’, The Weekend Australian, 15 November 2019

1. Define the following words in the context of this excerpt:

a. minimalism:

b. arrange chromatically:

c. sentimental:

d. serendipitous:

2. Find two examples of imperative verbs in the excerpt and write them below.

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3. Giving instructions and using imperatives can sometimes sound bossy. How does this
writer avoid taking an overbearing tone?





4. The two excerpts in this unit (on parkour and the bookshelf) use different styles of
language. How does this help us to identify their different audiences?

a. How to Parkour:





b. HOW TO: Organise your bookshelf:






Connecting in class
1. Choose a skill or activity that you enjoy or know a lot about and create your own
instructions following the wikiHow format. Don’t forget to include some good graphics
or visuals. Present your instructions to the class.

2. Imagine you are a writer for a newspaper or you have a blog. Create a short paragraph,
like the extract on page 84, that gives instructions for a task in a friendly and amusing tone.

3. Design a list of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for an activity or skill that you know
how to do well. Provide both the questions and the answers.

Just for fun

Students work in pairs to write a set of instructions for each other for a basic task, such as:
making a Vegemite sandwich, making a paper aeroplane, creating a simple drawing or
making a glass of orange juice. Students take turns to follow the exact instructions.

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 UNIT
JOURNALISM 21
Understanding
GENRE

Print versus digital

Traditional journalism is static. By contrast, website news layout is dynamic. However,
traditional features can be found in digital news, including:
• the flag: the major heading that names the publication
• the byline: the name of the writer of a particular story
• the caption or cutline: explains and gives the source for images
• the layout: the standard position of images on a page.

1. The following story is an example of the practical work of print journalists.

Lisa Harvey-Smith
In her life as an unknown but exceptional astrophysicist, Lisa Harvey-Smith was
frighteningly qualified. She had published more than 40 scientific papers, spent
a decade working with the CSIRO and played a leading role in helping Australia
win the bid to co-host the Square Kilometre Array telescope.
But Harvey-Smith is no anonymous astronomer. She has become one of the
best communicators in Australian science, starting with When Galaxies Collide,
her 2018 book about the Andromeda galaxy hurtling towards us. (Don’t worry,
it won’t be here for another 5.86 billion years.) Soon after, she was appointed
Professor of Practice at the University of NSW, and named Australia’s first
‘Women in STEM Ambassador’ – tasked with promoting gender equity.
‘Good Weekend’s Who Mattered 2019: Science’, Konrad Marshall

a. Highlight the factual information about Lisa Harvey-Smith.

b. Quote two pieces of evidence that Harvey-Smith is an ‘exceptional astrophysicist’.

c. Give examples of subjective language used in this article.

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 2. This article from Mamamia needs you to complete the annotations to show: headline;
hyperlinks allow the reader to follow up; embedded audio and video; photo included;
byline (writer) identified; invitation for audience participation; social media icons.

Numbers common in digital media

Identified as news stories – designed to increase
in the header interaction from readers

Traditional
news would
have a caption
on this photo.
Omitted here.

Short
paragraphs
with accessible
language

Words like
‘yesterday’ are
absent. News
stories designed
to stay ‘live’ on the Writer makes her own Focus on narrative
website for longer emotional response engagement,
clear. Objective voice speculation, rather
mostly absent than a factual record

Connecting with language

Appropriate sentence structure is key to good journalism. Units 7 and 8 look at the use of
clauses and phrases in sentences.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Food technology

Health and diet are the subject of many articles in both traditional and digital media.
They are also where ‘fake news’ and unscientific claims are incredibly common. Some
of the features of fake health news can include:
• claims of amazing benefits, without evidence
• claims of special powers for a health ‘guru’
• anecdote – personal stories – rather than evidence
• claims of popularity – popularity does not equal proof
• celebrity endorsements
• exaggerated or emotional language
• scientific language used to support doubtful claims
• claim that one medicine is a cure for multiple conditions.
The following is an example of a health article making claims about the healing
properties of beetroot juice.

Millions are being healed by beetroot juice

Jackson Flowers is the Medical Guru. Born with the unique ability to commune
with the Spirit of Compassion, he divines amazingly accurate health information
that many others cannot see.
He discovered his powers at the age of five. He ‘read’ his aunt, and announced
to his family that she had lung cancer. His family were shocked when tests
revealed he was right.
Jackson uses his gift to help others recover their health.
His books have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Medical Guru, Adrenal
Cleansing and Liver Renovation are on the Amazon Top 100 sales list and have
been endorsed by millions of followers.
He has the trust and love of movie stars, professional athletes and billionaires.
In his latest book, Beetroot Juice, he shares the secret of how to properly do a
powerful beetroot juice cleanse.
You will learn how beetroot does its anti-inflammatory, alkalising, life-
changing work. You will see sweeping improvements on every level of your
health as beetroot juice relieves digestive disorders, clears brain fog, balances
adrenal function and flushes toxins from the liver and the brain.

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1. Complete the table, identifying the ‘fake news’ markers in the previous article.

Feature Evidence
Claims of amazing benefits, without ‘Millions are being healed by beetroot
evidence juice’
‘Born with the unique ability to commune
with the Spirit of Compassion … ’
Anecdote – personal stories – rather than
evidence
Claims of popularity – popularity does not
equal proof
the trust and love of movie stars,
professional athletes and billionaires
Exaggerated or emotional language

anti-inflammatory, alkalising

Claim that one medicine is a cure for

multiple conditions

Connecting in class
1. Compare the same news item across two platforms – print and digital – to see the
differences. Then create your own news for each platform based on a school event or an
event in your class text.

2. ‘Fake news’ is rarely completely fake. There is often a small amount of truth in the story
to help make it more believable. Research this story at https://cambridge.edu.au/
redirect/9099 to determine the elements that are true.

3. Write a story around a fake news item you have discovered. Assess your characters’
strength of mind: which character would believe fake news? Which character would
never believe it? Which character would create fake news?

4. Add a fake news story into your class novel and predict how it will change the events.

Just for fun

The fact-checking website Snopes.com includes a whole section on food and diet. It
includes a range of stories from the plausible to the ridiculous. Find and share one amusing
and one believable story from the site.

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 UNIT
WRITING SPEECHES 22
Understanding
GENRE

An effective speech is conscious of the medium of sound and the presence of a

listening audience. The speech recognises and exploits the rhythm of language and
uses a range of techniques to communicate its message. As well as debates and
speeches before live audiences, speech-writing transfers to podcasts, TED talks, vlogs
and other contemporary forms.
Speech-writers have a range of language tools they can use to influence their
audience, depending on their purpose: do they wish to inform? Persuade? Entertain?

1. Mix and match: the following lists of techniques need to be matched to the correct
student-written example in the right-hand column.

a.

Technique Example
Repetition – repeating key words or It’s when we get into the workforce that we’ll find
phrases in order to make them more out how important those Careers lessons were.
memorable.
Triplets – using groups of three words or Who doesn’t like winning?
phrases.
Inclusive language – using the pronoun Australians gamble in clubs. They gamble at the
‘we’ rather than ‘you’ or ‘I’ connects the TAB. They gamble at racetracks, and they even
speaker and the audience. gamble at home.
Pauses and silences – usually indicated The engines’ furnace roar, the grinding groans of
by punctuation such as full stops, the landing gear, the dip and lift of the plane as it
hyphens and ellipses. slips free of the runway …
Rhetorical questions – a question that Cruising yachts aren’t roomy. Imagine a family of
implies its own answer. five living in a single bedroom for a week.
Sound devices – alliteration, assonance, I knew I wasn’t allowed in the poker machine area
consonance and onomatopoeia are – but the flashing colours, the music, the promise
common in speeches. of winning … I stepped through the door.
Scenarios – an imagined situation I didn’t realise what a problem gambling was –
designed to connect an audience with until one of our neighbours knocked on our door,
your subject. desperate for money.
Anecdote – a short personal story Travel helps us escape from our quiet, humdrum,
designed to illustrate a point. everyday lives.

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 b.
Technique Example
Analogy – a comparison designed to There is nothing in the world I love more than
explain or clarify a point. chocolate.
Shifting modality – Speakers can Today, the cost of flying from London to Perth is
move between low and high modality, under $1000. Thirty years ago, it was three times
particularly through their verb choice, as much.
to appeal to their audience. Examples
include: Low modality – requesting,
begging; High modality – demanding,
imperative.
Contrast – highlighting the differences In economy class, seats on international flights are
between two points. 79 centimetres apart.
Hyperbole – exaggerated language. I urge you all to boycott air travel.
Logic, facts and statistics – evidence Could you please help save this building?
for a speaker’s view – used to persuade (Request)
rationally. Saving this building would benefit us all. (Formal)
Your help is needed now. (Imperative)
Emotive language – language chosen Air flight used to be luxurious, armchairs and
to appeal to the audience’s mindset and champagne, not drop-down plastic trays and
influence them emotionally. crushed knees.
Sharing values and beliefs – language Given the massive environmental cost of air travel,
chosen to communicate principles and we should all reconsider our attitudes to travel.
justify action.
A call to action – common particularly in What if next time you travelled, you chose an
the conclusion of persuasive speeches. ocean-going yacht?

2. Here is a range of sentences. Identify the technique(s) that each of them is using.
Choose from the techniques listed in Question 1.

a. In Australia, 600 000 people play the pokies on a weekly basis.

b. When we arrive in a new country, we like to feel welcomed.

c. Australian airports are friendly and efficient. US airports are threatening and
bureaucratic.

d. Travel should be more than seeing the same old tourist sites, snapping selfies to stick
on social media before slumping back to your seedy hotel to complain about the
queues.

Connecting with language

Because speeches are designed to be listened to, not read, avoid overly complex sentences.
Look at the examples in Units 7 and 8, and think about whether they would be effective.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
Geography

Sometimes we find that when an issue is very important, people listen. This is the case
with young student Greta Thunberg, whose speech on climate change delivered to
the UN in 2018 made a worldwide impact. You can view this speech at
https://cambridge.edu.au/redirect/9100.

Our leaders behave like children (abridged)

For 25 years countless numbers of [people] have stood in front of the United
Nations climate conferences, asking our nations’ leaders to stop the emissions.
But, clearly this has not worked since the emissions just continue to rise.
So I will not ask them anything.
Instead I will ask the people around the world to realise that our political
leaders have failed us.
Because we are facing an existential threat and there is no time to continue
down this road of madness. ...
Because how can we expect countries like India, Colombia or Nigeria to care
about the climate crisis if we, who already have everything, don’t care even a
second about our actual commitments to the Paris agreement? ...
And why should I be studying for a future that soon may be no more, when no
one is doing anything to save that future? ...
So we have not come here to beg the world leaders to care for our future.
They have ignored us in the past and they will ignore us again.
We have come here to let them know that change is coming whether they like it
or not. The people will rise to the challenge. And since our leaders are behaving like
children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago.
Thank You!
Greta Thunberg, UN climate change summit, 4 December 2018

1. What contrast does Greta Thunberg establish in the opening paragraph?

2. What repetitions are there? How do they add to the speech?

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3. What emotive language adds to the impact of this sentence?



4. What is the effect of the rhetorical question?




5. The modality of the speech shifts in the last paragraph. Find three language features
that make this conclusion more imperative (authoritative and commanding).





Connecting in class
1. Reflect on Greta Thunberg’s speech. Greta Thunberg has been criticised for her views by
some media figures and politicians. Who was critical of her? What were their criticisms?
Do you believe these criticisms were justified?

2. Greta Thunberg’s speech is just over 500 words, less than four minutes, in length. Write a
speech of your own that explores an issue. Attempt to use some of the same techniques
as Greta’s speech: carefully selected facts, the one paragraph sentence, repetitions,
triplets and imperative voice.

Just for fun

One of the problems speech-writers can have is that they can make their language too
complex. Pack in too many language devices, and the speech will become unreadable. Try
it for yourself: deliberately over-write a paragraph for a speech on the topic of your choice.
For example, here is the beginning of a speech on travel and its overwritten version.

• Original version: Travelling the world, meeting interesting people and discovering
new places is something we all desire.

• Overwritten version: Travel, perambulating across our multifaceted globe with the
glitterati and the cognoscenti, dipping our toes into the uncharted and exotic waters
of countries and cultures unknown, fulfils at a visceral level many of our longings.

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 UNIT
BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY 23
Understanding
GENRE

Biographies and autobiographies are non-fiction texts, based on facts about real
people and events. (In Greek, ‘graph’ refers to a written account, ‘bio’ means ‘life’ and
‘auto’ is ‘self’.)
The first biographies from ancient times were about famous people – kings and
soldiers. You’d think these biographies would be about important historical events,
but in Twelve Caesars, the ancient Roman Suetonius wrote biographies about the
gossip surrounding Roman emperors. Nowadays, we still have gossipy biographies,
but these can be about ordinary people.
The distinction between fiction and non-fiction is not always clear cut – many
biographers want to create a story around a real person, collecting facts and
imagining the rest: this can be called creative non-fiction.

1. Using the words below, complete the table to determine the features of biography and
autobiography. Some words may belong in both columns.

first person, third person, facts, dates, praise, chronological order, description,
reasons for writing, stories, people as characters, events, actions, summaries,
family relations, personality, reflection, interviews, feelings, setting, family trees,
photographs

Biography Autobiography

2. Share with the class any biographies or autobiographies you have read and what you
learned.

3. Read the biography of famous Australian children’s author May Gibbs, and then answer
the questions.

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 Biography of May Gibbs
May Gibbs (1877–1969) is one of Australia’s most treasured illustrators, artists
and children’s authors. Her bush fantasy world has captured the imaginations of
Australians for over a century ... May was to say in later life, ‘I’ve always had the
greatest pleasure in thinking of all those little children who enjoyed my books.
Everything became alive for me, it was just a fairy tale all the time.’ Born Cecilia
May Gibbs in England on 17 January 1877, she was the only daughter of artist,
cartoonist and public servant Herbert William Gibbs and Cecilia Rogers …
Raised in a creative household, May demonstrated artistic ability from an
early age – ‘I could draw before I could walk’, ... in 1892 at just fifteen years of
age May won her first Art prize at the Perth Wild Flower Show.
In 1918, May took her place as a beloved Australian children’s author. Her
most ambitious work to date Tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie was published and
was ardently scooped up by the Australian public and has never been out of
print to this day.
About May Gibbs (abridged), maygibbs.org

a. Give one fact for each of the following: time, place and family.




b. What other facts do you think biographies usually include?



c. What hints do we find in this extract that May Gibbs’s childhood was significant?


d. Find three words or phrases that suggest praise.



e. Which sentence sums up her national impact?




Connecting with language

Biographies and autobiographies often rely on the use of conditional and subjunctive
tenses (see Unit 2), as well as active and passive voice (Unit 3).

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
History

Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, whose father Ted Ruska was a Noonuccal elder
and trade union leader of Minjerriba (North Stradbroke Island), married Bruce
Walker, a member of the Gugingin (Logan) people and a childhood friend, in
1942. As Kath Walker, she became in 1964 Australia’s first published Aboriginal
person and poet. Her celebrated collection We are Going rapidly became one of
Australia’s most successful books of poetry. She was an activist for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights and received an order of the British
Empire from Queen Elizabeth II in 1971, in recognition of services to her people.
In 1988, the year of Australia’s bicentenary, Kath Walker changed her name to
Oodgeroo, meaning ‘paperbark’, in order to reclaim her heritage and as a protest
against 200 years of white rule. At the same time she returned her Order of the
British Empire – she did not want the award until all Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples in Australia were given unconditional land rights. Since that
time she has been known as Oodgeroo Noonuccal.
Oodgeroo’s roles as a writer, activist and educator are hard to separate in her
life. All her writing was for and about her people and their struggles. It carried
a strong political message. For Oodgeroo, politics and poetry were essentially
one: she fought the battles of her people with her pen and echoed the voices of
storytellers and song-makers in her prose and verse. Famous Australian writer
Judith Wright said her poetry was ‘a galvanising set of demands’ that ‘rang
out against a background of long-accepted silence’. Oodgeroo wrote in a voice
that was alive, pulsing with the power of anger and sorrow for the suffering of
First Nations peoples.

1. Why is Oodgeroo Noonuccal important?

2. Using different highlighter colours, indicate the facts, her beliefs and her impact.

3. Which facts are personal and which are about her work?

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4. Why do biographies often quote other famous people?


5. Many biographies become what is called a ‘panegyric’, a song of praise. Which

paragraph might be a panegyric? Explain how the sentences build the effect of praise.




Connecting in class
Oodgeroo Noonuccal shows us that biography is not just shared through prose but through
poetry. Her biographical poetry shares the lives of Indigenous peoples.
Her poem ‘Namatjira’ is about the painter Albert Namatjira, who ‘walked with pride’ and
‘painted with joy the countryside’ but finally they ‘broke your heart’.
Another poem, ‘Last of his Tribe’, is about Willie Mackenzie, the last surviving member
of the Darwarbada people of the Caboolture district (Queensland), who died in 1968 in a
Salvation Army Home for the elderly, ‘A displaced person in your own country’. You can find
and read these two poems on the Australian Poetry Library website.

1. Compare Noonuccal’s poem on Namatjira to a Wikipedia biography or the Australian

Dictionary of Biography entry. What differences do you see? Which text is more powerful
in evoking Namatjira’s life? Discuss as a class.

2. Read the poem ‘Last of his Tribe’. Noonuccal contrasts past and present using Willie
Lomax as a symbol of the impact of colonialism on First Nations peoples. Which line
stands out for you?

3. Read the Wikipedia entry on Truganini. Using the information on that website, write a
poem about Truganini – imitate Noonuccal’s style in her poem ‘Last of his Tribe’.

4. Find out about an author of a book you are reading and write a short (100-word)
biographical entry summing up the author’s life. Make choices about what information
you give.

5. Write an autobiographical extract about an event in the author’s life that centres around
how something in the book you are reading came to be written. You may have to create
some details.

Just for fun

Write about a significant moment in your life as part of your own autobiography.

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 UNIT
THEMES 24
Understanding
LITERARY ANALYSIS

A theme is a statement about what is valued in a text. Texts can be about the
same topic but show different attitudes to that topic; themes about family might
include ‘whoever we are, we need family’ or ‘families are important for imparting
moral codes’.

1. List three possible thematic statements around the topic of friendship.

Themes are easy to find in fables because they are a catchy moral phrase, but we
need to go beyond a catchphrase and express it more clearly.
‘Slow and steady wins the race’ might be expressed as ‘Hard work and focus are
necessary for us to achieve in life’.
To find the themes in a text we are studying, we might ask:

1. What can I learn in this text about human experience?

2. Who is the main character and what values does that character represent?
3. How can I apply the ideas in the story to real life?
4. What beliefs ‘win’ in the end?

2. Using the guide questions above, what themes might you draw from Red Riding Hood?

What you’ll notice is that themes are always expressed as generalisations.

• We don’t use the characters’ names or places.
• We express the theme in third person; a theme should be universal.
• We use abstract general language.

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3. Circle the more effectively expressed thematic statement in the following pairs.
a. i. To Kill a Mockingbird is about prejudice in 1930s America.
ii. To Kill a Mockingbird shows us that prejudice is a powerful negative force in
society that can have tragic consequences.

b. i. Perseverance is a necessary and admirable human trait.

ii. If we keep trying, we will get there in the end.

c. i. Romulus doesn’t like Australia at first, but then he gets to like it and feels like
he belongs.
ii. Belonging can take time and can be learned.

Every element of a text supports the theme: the characters, the plot, the setting and
the language all add up to a bigger picture. Sometimes characters might make a
‘philosophical statement’ about what things mean to them and this will direct us to
the theme.

4. This passage comes from the novel Skellig by David Almond.

a. Underline the sentence that offers a ‘philosophical statement’ that hints at the theme.

‘What does it mean,’ I said. ‘If Skellig eats living things and makes pellets like
the owls?’
She shrugged.
‘We can’t know,’ she said.
‘What is he?’ I said.
‘We can’t know. Sometimes we just have to accept that there are things we
can’t know. Why is your sister ill? Why did my father die?’ She held my hand.
Skellig, David Almond, p. 140

b. Using just this passage from Skellig, offer a suggestion for a theme.


Connecting with language

It is often easiest to focus on character, plot and setting when identifying the theme, but the
author’s choice of vocabulary can also give emphasis to particular elements.

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Poetry

Often themes may be conveyed through symbols or even animals which represent
human traits, as we see in the poem ‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
‘The Eagle’, Alfred, Lord Tennyson

1. When analysing the poem to find the themes, we first need to understand the poem,
then we need to consider what is valued. A text about the natural world can be about
nature or it can be used to represent human values.

a. Fill in the blanks:

In this poem Tennyson focuses on the eagle, perched high above the sea, close to
the , surveying the below and then seizing his prey. The
poem shows the greatness of the as part of nature.

b. What is valued in this poem?

c. What might be the theme of this poem?

d. There is often more than one theme in any text. Write another possible theme you
can draw from this text: this time use the eagle to represent a powerful person.

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 The following poem, written in 1920 by American poet Robert Frost, uses the symbol
of a road to develop a theme about the pathways we follow in life.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
‘The Road Not Taken’ (abridged), Robert Frost

2. What are the two choices of road that the traveller has to make?


3. What attracts the speaker to the road he takes, and what are the consequences?



4. What theme can we draw from the poem?




Connecting in class
Use the questions on page 98 to find two possible themes in your class text.

Just for fun

Compose a negative and a positive theme in response to debating topics such as: wisdom is for
the old; the environment is the responsibility of the individual; we need to protect our privacy.

LITERACY UNIT 24 THEMES 101

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 UNIT
EVALUATING TEXTS 25
Understanding
LITERARY ANALYSIS

Evaluation is about passing judgement. In assessing the quality of a text or the

information contained in that text, we determine what it is we value. Evaluation is different
across disciplines: in Science, evaluation may be objective and based on measurement;
in History it is about contrast, assessing what is stated against available verifiable facts;
however, in English literary study, evaluation can be more subjective, where we judge
the effect of a text on the audience. Whatever the view, it is important to understand the
process of evaluation and the values we apply to judging a text.

1. How do you assess whether you like or don’t like a text? Share your answers with
another student in the class and discuss the similarities and differences in the way you
approach texts.

The language of evaluation

In everyday life, every time we press ‘like’, we are evaluating and passing judgement.
In English, our evaluations are expressed in carefully selected words across digital and
print texts, in short answers, essays, book reviews, online comments, tweets, blogs …
the list goes on. Words drive the evaluation, but we also need to give evidence to
support our views.

2. Is the following leading to a positive or negative evaluation? Underline the words that
tell you this.

Positive Neutral Negative

The novel provided an interesting perspective on
the lives of child performers in the 1920s.
It is a worthwhile text for older readers.
This adventure isn’t very different from any other book.
Sasha is a strong and credible character with an
enquiring mind.
This particular book is about Bridget, who arrives in
Brisbane town from Ireland in the nineteenth century.

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3. Think of interesting positive and negative words you might use to judge the following
features of a novel.

Positive Negative (critical)

Character
Setting
Theme
Plot

4. Reviews are an important way of evaluating literary texts.

a. The review paragraphs below are out of order. Number them 1–5.

Out of order paragraphs Order

The refugee camp in Ramallah where Karim lives reflects overcrowding
and dislocation with them living like ‘packed sardines in the sprawl of
the refugee camp’. In contrast the ‘little piece of ground’ where he plays
football becomes a metaphor for freedom.
A Little Piece of Ground is a book that everyone should read as it
encourages empathy about a situation that is not always understood.
Karim and his friends, Hopper and Joni, find a small patch of ground
which they set about clearing for a small soccer pitch. All the boys want a
sense of connection through playing soccer in a safe environment.
The book follows his growing up, from innocent child to aware young
man as he begins to realise the bad ways people treat each other. Karim’s
uncle tells him: ‘I see what humans are capable of. I know we could be like
them too’.
Many readers will know Elizabeth Laird’s writing through the book Kiss
the Dust. This book, A little Piece of Ground, follows in this fine tradition,
capturing the everyday life of a Palestinian boy.

b. Is the review a positive or negative evaluation? Explain what language led to your
answer.



Connecting with language

The units Sentence variety (Unit 8) and Dictionary and thesaurus (Unit 10) will also help you
with narrative writing skills.

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum

Evaluation follows a different process in different subjects. In this section you will look
at the way we make evaluations in two subjects: History and Science.

History

The following extract gives advice to history students about quality evidence.

Written or literary sources

For a historian, the most important source of information that has survived from
the ancient past is literary or written sources. But to the best information from
it, each source needs to be examined or exposed to a range of questions.
• Who wrote it and when, and how close or distant in time was it to the event it
describes?
• Is the source reliable?
• Why was the written text produced?
• What information does it provide?
• Is the information credible?
• Does the source tell us where the information it provides came from?
• Can the information the source provides be substantiated?
Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 7, p. 193

1. The extract mentions the ‘closeness’ or ‘distance’ from an event. How does this time
lapse affect the view of what happened?

2. What would make a source ‘reliable’?

3. Why might historians not be able to determine the origin of a source?

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Scientific thinking

An important distinction in Science is between quantitative and qualitative data.

Quantitative data Qualitative data

Quantitative data: information about Qualitative data: information about
the quantity (how much) the quality (characteristics)
• Uses numbers or categories • Often expressed in words (letters)
• Can be statistically analysed or pictures
• Easily measured and compared • Difficult to categorise/analyse:
with other data wide variety of forms and open
• Similar to objective data as to personal, observer or research
researchers can easily draw biases
conclusions and allows for • Similar to subjective data because
comparison with other data. both are opinion-based.
Cambridge Science for the Victorian Curriculum 9, p. 10

4. Which words above are negative and which tabled heading do they appear under?


5. From the table above, what do we see that science values?

Science values Yes No Science values Yes No

Statistics Personal bias
Objectivity Words and pictures

6. In your notebook or a digital document, write a comparison of evaluation methods in

the different subjects English, History and Science.

Connecting in class
One of the issues in narrative or personal writing is the issue of the unreliable narrator.
This is someone who does not tell the truth for one reason or another. Why might a writer
employ such a character and what effect might it have?

Just for fun

Write a diary entry about an encounter with a time traveller who, in exchange for an
explanation of your present, tells you about the future.

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 UNIT
REFERENCING 26
Understanding
LITERARY ANALYSIS

Referencing
A reference list is made up of all the sources you have cited in your work. Reference
lists are important as they give evidence of where material in an essay comes from.
Referencing includes consistency with punctuation, italics, information to be provided
and the order of that information. Titles can appear in minimal case (only one capital
for first word) or maximal case (all words start with capital). Because of the variety of
texts we use as evidence, referencing is very different across text types.
There are a number of different referencing styles in use. Your teachers may tell you
what style they prefer you to use, or you may even have a school style guide. In this
unit, we will look at several common referencing styles.

Referencing books
Depending on the style of referencing you are following, a reference list for a book
may include:
• author’s surname
• author’s name or initials
• date of publication
• title italicised (underlined if handwriting)
• publisher
• place of publication.
Two common referencing styles are Harvard referencing style and MLA.

1. Here are bibliographical entries of books using Harvard and MLA styles. Under each
entry, write down the elements. Put them in the correct order, and have the same
punctuation between them as in the reference. Use the following list of elements:
surname, first name (state whether initials or full), book title (in italics – state whether
maximal or minimal case), publisher, date of publication, place of publication.
a. Harvard referencing: Holt, DH 1997, Management principles and practices,
Prentice-Hall, Sydney.

b. MLA referencing: Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth or Reality?: The Erring Ways
of Climatology. Springer, 2005.

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 Referencing websites
Writing the URL of a website is not enough as it may change or disappear, so the
website reference has to include the date of accessed information. You need:
• name of author or organisation (if available)
• date of creation (if available)
• title of the text and title of the website
• date accessed.

2. Under each entry for websites below, show the order of the reference information with
the correct punctuation:

a. Harvard: Weida, S 2013, Developing strong thesis statements.

Available from: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/1/.
[13 October 2015].



b. MLA: Regas, Diane. ‘Three Key Energy Policies That Can Help Us Turn the Corner on
Climate.’ Environmental Defense Fund, 1 June 2016, www.edf.org/blog/2016/06/01/
3-key-energy-policies-can-help-us-turn-corner-climate. Accessed 19 July 2016.



More rules for referencing

• Entries in a reference list or bibliography must appear in alphabetical order; e.g.
Avis, Bevan, Edgeware, etc.
• If the book has an editor, put (ed.) after the name.
• If there is more than one author, then you may see ‘et al.’, which is short for the
Latin ‘et alia’, meaning ‘and others’.
• If there is a citation within a citation, the original must appear first followed by ‘in’
and so on.
• Entries for articles, poems, short stories, chapters and other short forms that come
from a book or newspaper must have quotation marks, and the book or newspaper
they appear in has italics or is underlined (if handwritten).

Connecting with language

In the Year 7 book, Unit 10 on punctuation (when to use capitals for titles – maximal and
minimal case) is relevant for referencing.

LITERACY UNIT 26 REFERENCING 107

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 Applying
Connecting with the curriculum
History

Finding the information

In the Understanding section, we looked at what you need for a reference list, but we
haven’t looked at where to find the information. The cover page of a book is often
about attracting attention and may not have as much information as we need, so we
have to go to the title page (the first or second page, which has title, author and other
information) and also the back of that page.

1. The extract above is from the back of a title page of a History textbook. Add labels to
show: publisher, author/s, place of publication, date of publication.

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2. The name of this book is Humanities and Social Sciences for the Australian Curriculum 9.
Use this title and information on the back of the inside cover to write two references for
this book using Harvard and MLA styles, which appear on page 106. When there is more
than one place listed, use the one that seems most relevant – in this case, the book is an
Australian text.

a. Harvard:


b. MLA:


3. Here is a reference using the Oxford style guide:

Bracken, F.M. (ed.), Tracing History through the Ages, Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge
University Press, 2009.
Rewrite the Cambridge textbook reference above using this style format. Remember that
punctuation is essential, regardless of differences in style guides, and must be copied.



4. If your teacher prefers a different style (e.g. if your school has a style guide), write the
reference using this style.



Connecting in class
1. Conduct research on different systems of referencing that are available and decide
which you like best. Explain to the class why.

2. Write the reference details of this language book in three different styles (MLA, Harvard
and Oxford).

Just for fun

You have become a world-famous author on a subject of your choosing. Prepare a fictitious
bibliography of your work. Include a book, a film, a website, a research paper and your
autobiography.

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 GLOSSARY This glossary contains foundational words from the textbook. An extended
glossary is available for download from Cambridge GO.

active voice the subject of the verb is the lexical chain a series of words that are
person or thing carrying out the action related in some way and connect across a
attitudes established ways of thinking or sentence, paragraph or verse
feeling about something negatives words or word forms used to
autobiography a person’s life story, written negate a proposition; a double negative is
by themselves an assertion of a positive statement

biography a person’s life story, written by neologism words created or adapted for a
someone else new purpose

clause a part of a sentence that contains nominalisation changing a word from a verb
a subject and a verb (and possibly also an or adjective into a noun form
object or other complement). There are objective language words and phrases that
many types of clauses: projected clauses are factual and largely free of emotional
introduce a contention; embedded noun, content
adverbial and adjectival clauses may not passive voice the subject of the verb is a
have a finite verb. passive acceptor of whatever action is taking
clichés sayings or phrases that are overused place; the agent of action is unknown if it is
and therefore have become boring an agentless passive
cohesion the way parts of the text relate to phrase a part of a sentence often beginning
each other, creating a flow of meaning with a preposition or a participle but without
colon a punctuation symbol used mostly a subject and verb combination*
to separate elements of a sentence, such reference list list of sources cited in a work
as to introduce a list, quotation or formal register the way we make different
statement, or title and subtitle, or when the language choices based on social context
second clause is responding to the first clause
root word a word that forms the basis of
conditional tense a way of expressing another word; many English root words
possibility by starting a clause with the word ‘if’ come from other languages, including
euphemisms words or phrases used to Greek and Latin
avoid being unpleasant or offensive semicolon a punctuation symbol used
evaluation assessing the quality of a text, or mostly to separate items in a list, to join two
other item complete sentences that are related, or sit
hyphen a punctuation symbol, shorter than before a conjunctive adjective
a dash, used to create compound words subjective language words and phrases
idioms common expressions that don’t that express personal opinions, points of
literally mean what they say view or judgements

jargon language used for a particular activity subjunctive tense a way of expressing
or by a particular group of people possibility by using words such as ‘as if’,
‘that’ or ‘were’
journalism writing for broadcast or
publication in news media including terms theme a statement about what is valued in
such as ‘flag’, ‘byline’, ‘caption’ and ‘cutline’ a text
thesaurus a type of dictionary in which words
with similar meanings are arranged in groups
values what people regard as important in life
* from ACARA definition

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