Every card in Reading comprehension, Year 8: viewpoint, argument and layout
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- A report calls a new skatepark 'a noisy eyesore'. What is the writer's attitude to the skatepark?
The writer disapproves of it
HintAsk whether those two words are compliments.
WhyThe writer never says 'I dislike it'. The attitude is carried by the choice of 'noisy' and 'eyesore' where neutral words were available.
- One writer calls a crowd 'a mob'; another calls the same crowd 'supporters'. What does the choice of word reveal?
Each writer's opinion of the crowd
HintThe facts are identical; only the feeling has changed.
Why'Mob' suggests danger and disorder; 'supporters' suggests loyalty. A single loaded word can tip the writer's hand.
- In a novel, the narrator boasts about cheating his friends. Does this mean the writer approves of cheating?
No — the narrator's view is not the writer's
HintThe author invented this voice, just as an actor plays a villain.
WhyA narrator is a character the author has made up. A writer may create an unpleasant narrator precisely so that readers judge him.
- The feeling or attitude a writer's words carry, such as admiring, mocking or angry
Tone
HintMusicians use the same word for the quality of a sound.
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.
- 'Zoos should close. Animals suffer in small cages, and films now teach us more than a visit can.' How many reasons does the writer give for the claim? (number only)
2
HintCount the points that come after the first sentence.
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. Teenagers' body clocks run late, and tired pupils learn less.' What is the writer's main claim?
School should start at ten
HintIt is the sentence the other two points are there to support.
WhyThe second sentence gives two reasons. A quick test: put 'because' between the sentences, and the one before 'because' is the claim.
- 'Everyone I know hates homework, so homework should be banned.' What is weak about the evidence in this argument?
It comes only from the writer's own friends
HintAsk how many people were really consulted.
Why'Everyone I know' is a small group that probably thinks alike. An argument is only as strong as its weakest supporting step.
- In an argument, what is the job of a word such as 'therefore' or 'so'?
It signals the conclusion
HintLook at what usually follows it in a sentence.
WhySignpost words show how the steps connect. 'Because' and 'since' point to a reason; 'therefore', 'so' and 'thus' point to what follows from it.
- The short line of text printed beside or beneath a picture, explaining it
A caption
HintCartoon competitions ask readers to write one.
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.
- Why might a writer set out a set of instructions as numbered points and not as a paragraph?
So the steps are easy to follow in order
HintImagine cooking from a solid block of text.
WhyNumbers show the sequence at a glance and let the reader find their place again after looking away.
- What is the main job of subheadings in an information text?
To help the reader find a section quickly
HintThey break a long page into labelled parts.
WhyA reader hunting for one fact can scan the subheadings and jump straight to the right part without reading everything.
- A leaflet puts one fact in a coloured box, apart from the main text. Why?
To make it stand out as important
HintYour eye goes there before anywhere else.
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.
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