Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Watson and I'm really looking forward to guiding you through your learning today.

For this lesson, you will need a copy of the Chicken House Books edition of "Asha and the Spirit Bird" by Jasbinder Bilan.

When you've got that, we can get started.

So the outcome of today's lesson is that you will be able to plan and write up a clear and cohesive paragraph.

As ever, we are going to begin with the key words.

They are analytical, cohesive, present, tentative, and infer.

Let's look at what they mean.

Analytical.

If you're analytical, you examine something closely so that you can understand it.

Cohesive refers to how a text is connected together to link it all and give it meaning.

And to present something in a text is to give, to show, provide, or make known.

Now, something, if it is tentative is said or done in a careful but uncertain way.

Because you do not know if you are right.

And if you infer something, you form an opinion or guess that something is true based on the information that you have.

Now, these are really important words for understanding and unlocking your learning.

So if you would like to spend a little more time familiarising yourself with the key words, do that now.

You can pause the video and join the lesson when you're ready.

So, there are three learning cycles in today's lesson.

We are going to start by annotating the extract, and then we are going to look at what clear analytical writing involves.

And we are going to finish with you writing an analytical paragraph.

So, let's start with the extract.

So we are going to read an extract from Jasbinder Bilan's "Asha and the Spirit Bird", and we are going to consider this question, "How does Bilan present the temple?" So, how? Now that refers to the way Bilan uses language and structure.

And it refers to, "how does Bilan show the temple to us? What ideas and feelings do we get from it?" So, now we're going to read and annotate an extract from Jasbinder Bilan's "Asha and the Spirit Bird".

I would like you to read page 149 of "Asha and the Spirit Bird".

You need to pause the video while you do that.

Happy reading.

It's a lovely extract.

So, off you go.

So, welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed reading that extract.

We're going to just use that first read to see what the first impressions of the temple are.

Sam said, "I think the temple sounds beautiful." You do agree with that? Because I'd like you to think about which words in the extract support Sam's idea that the temple is beautiful.

Have a think.

Look at the extract.

Find some words that suggest that the temple is beautiful.

Now, you might have said "magnificent", "iridescent", and "sparkling".

Now, Lucas isn't sure how the simile that compares the temple to the sun makes the temple seem beautiful.

How could we explain that simile? Have a think.

Have a discussion.

You can pause the video while you do that.

Let me share an idea with you.

Laura said that, "The combination of 'sparkling' and 'sun' suggests that the temple is shining brightly and we associate light with beauty because of its radiant, warm, positive connotations." That is a good explanation of how this simile makes the temple seem beautiful.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Is it true or false to say that Bilan uses a simile to describe the temple? That's right.

It's true.

But why is it true? Is it A? The temple is described as like a "star"? Or B? The temple is described as like the "sun"? Have a think.

Make your choice.

That's right.

It's like the sun.

Well done.

Let's move on.

Now, I want you to think about colour imagery in the description of the temple and how might that colour imagery connect to ideas of beauty? So look back at the extract, have a think, pause the video while you're discussing that, and then we'll share ideas.

Now, Jacob said, "I can see how 'pink' links to beautiful because it makes me think of roses and love, but how do the other colours fit?" And Laura made a suggestion.

She said that, "'Yellow' suggest ideas of sunshine and happiness while 'blue' could suggest a calm tranquillity.

And both those colours imply ideas of beauty and serenity." So, we have three colours there, which all link in some way to the idea that the temple is beautiful.

Well done.

Let's move on.

We're going to have another check for understanding.

Bilan uses colour imagery to highlight the beauty of the temple.

Is that true or false? That's true.

And, again, you're going to justify your answer.

Is it A? Bilan describes the temple as "pink"? Bilan describes the temple as "red"? Which one? Make your choice.

That's right.

It's pink.

"Pink like a rose." Well done.

Let's move on.

So, I would like you to complete the table with your notes to show how the following quotations present the temple as beautiful and welcoming.

Now, there is the semantic field of brightness and impressive, "magnificent", "sparkling", and "iridescent".

There is the colour imagery of "rose" and there is the word "disappearing".

So, pause the video, complete the table.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you write.

So, well done, and welcome back.

I'm gonna share Alex's notes with you and I'm gonna ask if you agree with them.

So, he wrote for the first one, "They all give ideas of extreme beauty and luminosity." Luminosity means filled with light.

"And 'rose' rather than 'pink' suggests the flower which gives ideas of beauty and romance." And for "disappearing", he wrote, "I don't know?" And a question mark.

So, that's over to you.

Can you help Alex consider what he should write for the third quotation? The quotation "disappearing"? Have a think.

Ideas of disappearing equal ethereal.

Ethereal means as if made of air.

And you could say, as Lucas does, that, "'disappearing' makes it seem almost delicate and light as if it's floating rather than being a solid, heavy building." Really good work annotating the extract.

Well done.

Let's move on.

So, we've looked to the extract, annotating our ideas, and now we're going to look at what is meant by clear analytical writing.

Now in analytical writing, we need to be able to clearly explain our ideas.

Now, why do you think that's important? Have a think.

Share some ideas.

Well, you might have said something like this, like Aisha said, that, "Our responses to texts can be very personal and individual, so we need to explain to the reader how we have reached our conclusion so that they can understand how we've reached that conclusion." The reader can't understand what you're thinking, so that's why you have to explain your ideas clearly.

Good answer there.

Well done.

Now, one way to clearly explain our ideas is to use conjunctions and connections, such as "because" and "therefore".

And I'm going to give you an example.

So, "'Rose' suggests beauty because it has connotations of the flower, which arguably symbolises love and beauty." "We associate the sun with warmth and happiness; therefore, comparing the temple to a sun could suggest that it is a warm, welcoming place." So those words, "because" and "therefore", are really helpful to introduce your reasons for believing something or for thinking something.

And when we're writing analytically, we want to convince the reader that our interpretation is correct and, therefore, we need to develop our analysis and show more than one piece of evidence.

So, to do that, we can use discourse markers, such as "additionally" and "in particular", and they will help you develop your analysis.

For example, you might write something like this, that, "Bilan uses a semantic field of beauty to describe the temple; in particular, the use of 'iridescent' might make the temple seem as if it is glowing with light." And when you are writing analytically, you also want to use tentative language, language around uncertainty or that suggests that you are thinking it through and are not necessarily positive.

And I want you to think about why using tentative language is important.

You can pause the video while you have that discussion.

Have a think.

Great discussion.

Now, let me share some ideas with you.

So, you could say something like this, that, "We can't know for certain what the writer's intentions were and everyone has their own personal response to a text." It's a really good response.

So basically we're saying, "This is what it might mean." And you're leaving the kind of door open for other interpretations.

Really good.

Let's look at how we use tentative language.

Essentially, the easiest way is to use modal verbs, such as "could' or "might".

For example, "Bilan's image of the temple 'disappearing' could infer ideas of lightness and delicacy onto the temple." Let's have a check for understanding.

Which one of the following statements is true? Is it A? You should use definitive language in analytical writing.

B? You can use connectives and conjunctions to help clearly explain your ideas.

Or C? You should use one piece of evidence in each paragraph for clarity.

Have a think.

Make your choice.

Did you say B? You're right.

A is wrong because you should use tentative language.

And C is wrong because you want to use more than one piece of evidence.

Excellent.

Let's move on.

Now, in order to write cohesive analytical answers, we need to plan our response.

One way to do this is with a single paragraph outline where you have a topic sentence which explains the specific focus of the paragraph and should be written in full sentences.

And then you have supporting detail, which is evidence from language, form and structure analysis that supports your argument, and that should be written in note form.

And then you have a concluding sentence, which is the summary of the paragraph with a clear focus on writer's purpose, and that should be written in full sentences.

For example, the topic sentence here is, "Bilan presents the temple as beautiful through the use of adjectives and colour imagery." And the supporting detail is "magnificent", which shows how impressive the temple is.

"Rose", which has connotations of flowers and beauty.

"Iridescent", light imagery that has beautiful, positive connotations.

And "sparkling", which is further light imagery that also has a magical quality.

And then the concluding sentence, "The combination of adjectives and colour imagery arguably create a semantic field of beauty and light, which makes the temple seem like a warm, positive environment." Let's have a check for understanding.

I would like you to match the single paragraph outline component on the left, topic sentence, supporting detail, and concluding sentence with its function, its purpose, on the right.

Evidence from language, form and structure, summary of paragraph, explain specific focus of paragraph.

So have a think and decide how to link them up.

Okay, did you say this? That, "The topic sentence explains the specific focus of the paragraph." "Supporting detail is the evidence from language, form and structure." So the, "Concluding sentence is the sentence, which is the summary of the paragraph." Well done.

Let's move on.

So now, it's over to you.

I would like you to create a single paragraph outline to plan one of your analytical paragraphs and it's to answer the question, "How does Bilan present the temple?" You will need to pause the video while you do that.

So do that now, and off you go.

So, before you look at your own, I would like you to look at Lucas's single paragraph outline.

He's written, "Bilan presents the temple as beautiful through the use of colour imagery." His supporting detail is, "rose coloured", connotations of flowers and beauty.

Other colour imagery, connotations of brightness and serenity.

"Spiralling" makes the temple seem impressive.

And his concluding sentence is, "Bilan's use of colour imagery arguably creates the impression of a wondrous, beautiful place that is both serene and welcoming." Now, which of the quotations, there's three quotations in the supporting detail, which one does not support Lucas's topic sentence? Okay, is it "rose-colored", "other colour imagery", or "spiralling"? It's "spiralling".

It doesn't use colour imagery, so we need to swap it for a quotation that does match the point of the paragraph.

You can say orange.

That's a lovely, again, like yellow, another positive, happy colour.

So, read over your analytical paragraph and make sure that all your quotations support the point you have made.

So, brilliant lesson so far, and now we are on to gathering all your ideas together and writing an analytical paragraph.

This is the question that you're going to write.

"How does Bilan present the temple?" You've got lots of ideas for this now.

But we're going to see what you can remember.

So have a discussion.

What do we need to remember when writing an analytical paragraph? Have a think.

So, let me share some ideas with you.

Aisha said that, "We need to use evidence from the text to support our ideas." And June said that, "We need to clearly explain our ideas to the reader so they can understand our argument." Let's complete the following sentences as a check for understanding.

"In analytical writing, we need to use blank from the text to support our ideas." "We need to blank explain our ideas so that the reader can understand our argument." What should go in those blanks? Have a think.

Okay, so did you say this? That, "In analytical writing, we need to use 'evidence' from the text to support our ideas." And that, "We need to 'clearly' explain our ideas so that the reader can understand our argument." Well done.

Let's move on to writing.

Now, I want you to use your single paragraph outline and write that analytical paragraph.

"How does Bilan present the temple?" Remember to: use evidence from the text that matches your point.

Use connectives and conjunctions such as "because" and "therefore" to help clearly explain your ideas.

And use discourse markers such as "additionally" and "alternatively" to develop your ideas.

And use tentative language.

Words like "could" and "might".

So you're going to need to pause the video while you do that.

So do that now, and off you go.

Welcome back.

Now, we're going to look at Sophia's analytical paragraph and to see where she has met the checklist criteria.

This is what she wrote.

"Bilan presents the temple as beautiful through the use of language devices.

The simile comparing the temple to the 'sun' shows that the temple is a beautiful, welcoming place because we associate the sun with positivity, happiness, and warmth.

Additionally, the semantic field, 'magnificent', 'iridescent', and 'sparkling' create the impression of a beautiful, wondrous place." So let's look at the checklist.

Evidence? Yes.

Connectives? Yes.

Discourse markers? Yes.

Tentative language? No.

So, she hasn't used tentative language.

And how can we rewrite the paragraph to include it? Well, you might do this, you might write that, "The simile comparing the sun." Sorry, "The simile comparing the temple to the sun could show that the temple is beautiful because we 'arguably'." That's another way of using tentative language, to use adverbs like "arguably".

"And the semantic field, 'magnificent', 'iridescent', and 'sparkling' 'might' create the impression of a beautiful, wondrous place." So now, look at the answer has met the the criteria, all four aspects of the checklist.

So before we finish the lesson, I'd like you to check over your paragraph using that checklist to see that you have done all those things.

And anything you've left out, you've got time now to put it in.

You can pause the video while you do that, and then join the lesson when you're finished.

So, before we say goodbye, I'd like to summarise what you have been learning today.

You've been learning that in analytical writing, use conjunctions and connectives, "as", "because", "therefore" to clearly explain ideas.

In analytical writing, use discourse markers like "additionally" and "in particular" to develop your analysis.

And, also, in analytical writing, use modal verbs to develop a tentative style.

Use "could" or "might" to explain inferences.

And use single paragraph outlines to plan detailed, cohesive paragraphs.

It's been a great pleasure teaching you today.

Thank you for your hard work and focus.

I wish you a brilliant rest of the day and I look forward to seeing you again soon in another lesson.

Bye for now.