Reading comprehension, Year 8: viewpoint, argument and layout

The writer disapproves of it

HintAsk whether those two words are compliments.

The whyThe writer never says 'I dislike it'. The attitude is carried by the choice of 'noisy' and 'eyesore' where neutral words were available.

Each writer's opinion of the crowd

HintThe facts are identical; only the feeling has changed.

The why'Mob' suggests danger and disorder; 'supporters' suggests loyalty. A single loaded word can tip the writer's hand.

No — the narrator's view is not the writer's

HintThe author invented this voice, just as an actor plays a villain.

The whyA narrator is a character the author has made up. A writer may create an unpleasant narrator precisely so that readers judge him.

Tone

HintMusicians use the same word for the quality of a sound.

The whyIt is created by word choice, sentence shape and what the writer chooses to include. Naming it is the first step in working out a viewpoint.

2

HintCount the points that come after the first sentence.

The whyThe claim is 'Zoos should close'. It is supported by two separate reasons: animals suffer, and films teach more. Mapping an argument means separating the claim from its support.

School should start at ten

HintIt is the sentence the other two points are there to support.

The whyThe second sentence gives two reasons. A quick test: put 'because' between the sentences, and the one before 'because' is the claim.

It comes only from the writer's own friends

HintAsk how many people were really consulted.

The why'Everyone I know' is a small group that probably thinks alike. An argument is only as strong as its weakest supporting step.

It signals the conclusion

HintLook at what usually follows it in a sentence.

The whySignpost words show how the steps connect. 'Because' and 'since' point to a reason; 'therefore', 'so' and 'thus' point to what follows from it.

A caption

HintCartoon competitions ask readers to write one.

The whyIt tells the reader what the image shows and often steers how to feel about it. The same photograph can be made to mean different things.

So the steps are easy to follow in order

HintImagine cooking from a solid block of text.

The whyNumbers show the sequence at a glance and let the reader find their place again after looking away.

To help the reader find a section quickly

HintThey break a long page into labelled parts.

The whyA reader hunting for one fact can scan the subheadings and jump straight to the right part without reading everything.

To make it stand out as important

HintYour eye goes there before anywhere else.

The whyBoxes, bold type and colour all signal 'look here'. Writers use them for the thing they most want remembered, such as a deadline or a warning.