H S C B E L O N G I N G , 2 0 1 3 P A P E R 1B . H E R O N 2 0 1 5

SHORT ANSWER TASK

VISUAL TEXT

Angle The position from which a camera is pointed at a subject, or the perspective at which the subject is viewed

Body language, gesture and gaze

Facial expressions, gestures, stance or position – can convey the attitude, feelings or personality of the individual shown. Take note of the direction of the subject’s eyes.

Composition What is included is deliberately placed (also applies to what is omitted). Consider all inclusions and omissions e.g. surroundings, objects, clothing etc.

Colour, Hue and Tone In black & white images examine the use of contrast, light and darkness. In a colour image, colours are used to signify feelings and evoke a response. E.g. Red = passion, anger, hell, vitality, etc. blue = peace, harmony or coldness.

Contrast The arrangement of opposite elements (light and dark, large and small, rough and smooth) to create interest, excitement or drama.

Modality The level at which an image possesses reality – the lower the modality, the more unrealistic it is. E.g. a cartoon would be low modality.

Omissions What has been deliberately left out.Orientation, Point of view Relates to framing and angle: is the responder positioned above the image (looking down), below or at eye

level?Positioning Consider which objects have been placed in the foreground, middle ground or background.

Rule of thirds Divide an image into thirds from the top and sides and look at the placement of people and/or objects. An object in the top third is usually empowered whereas anything in the bottom third is disempowered.

Salience The part that your eyes are first drawn to in the visual. Colour, image and layout determine what the salient image is.

Symbolism The use of an image to represent one or more (often complex) ideas.

Vectors The line that our eyes take when looking at a visual. Composers deliberately direct our reading path through the vectors. E.g. If all of the subjects are tall, long and upright our eyes follow straight vectors that lead to the top of the frame. This could make the subject seem powerful or inflexible.

ALONE IN THE CITY

TEXT ONE — IMAGE

(a) Describe how a sense of disconnection is created in the image. 2 marks

Directive Term - Provide

characteristics and features

= techniquesEstranged,

detached from, alone

DON’T go overboard – it is only a 2 mark question! Your response should be about 5-8 lines in an A4

book.

TIPS.. FOR VISUAL TEXTS

• Focus on simple techniques – like colour imagery and contrast – just because it is a simple technique, doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get full marks. Just make sure that you justify any given techniques by referencing the AOS and conceptual ideas.

• Try to finish these shorter questions as fast as you can, giving yourself more time to write the extended responses.

• Make sure you try to use MORE than ONE technique because the more techniques you have, the stronger your response will be.

QUESTION 1 (A)

Answers could include:

• The physical separation of the figure from the building enacts his feeling of disconnection.• The grouping of the buildings juxtaposed with the isolation of the figure. The figure is

foregrounded but small suggesting his feelings of dislocation.• The windows and doors are closed preventing a literal and figurative entry to the city buildings.• Contrast of black and white and colour highlights his separation from the cityscape.• The distorted shapes of the buildings suggest/symbolise/construct a sense of discomfort and

unfamiliarity.• The comparative size of the buildings and the figure. His exaggerated size means he literally and

metaphorically does not ‘fit’ in the landscape.• The figure is on the outside looking in. He is a displaced observer of the scene.• The written text states the figure feels ‘smaller’, ‘more lost’, ‘alone’ in the city. The disjointed

layout represents his feelings of disconnection. The word ‘alone’ stands separated from the other text and highlights the figure’s feelings.

• Despite the warm, inviting colours of the door and windows of the traditional house his sense of alienation is evident.

• Repeated use of blue hues may represent his state of mind – loneliness, depression, feeling ‘blue’.• The red at the bottom of the image – open to interpretation. The red may represent his desired

path to the house and a sense of connection or the potential ‘pull’ of living in the house.

C-RANGE ANSWER

• The character in the picture does not belong because he looks sad and is alone. I think that the different colours help to show this, and that he feels a sense of disconnection to the place.

A – RANGE ANSWER

• The image, Alone in the City, demonstrates a sense of disconnection and therefore, a desire to belong through the disjointed composition. The foregrounding of the male figure, as well as the comparative size of the buildings to the figure, exaggerates both literally and metaphorically the disconnect that the figure feels, and reinforces that he does not fit in the landscape. Similarly, the distorted shapes of the buildings symbolise a sense of discomfort and unfamiliarity to this place.

WRITTEN TEXTAllegory Story with a double meaning: one primary (on the surface) and one secondary.Alliteration Repetition of consonants at the start of words or in a sentence or phrase.Cliché An over-used, common expression.Consonance Repetition of consonants throughout a sentence or phrase.Contrast Paradox, antithesis, oxymoron, juxtaposition, contrast in description etc.Didactic Any text that instructs the reader or is obviously delivering a moral message.Disjunction A conjunction (e.g. ‘but’ or ‘yet’) that dramatically interrupts rhythm of sentence.Ellipsis A dramatic pause (…) creates tension or suggests words can’t be spoken.Emotive language

Words that stir the readers’ emotions.

Enjambment A poetic technique, when a sentence or phrase runs over more than one line (or stanza). This assists the flow of a poem.Euphemism Mild expression used to replace a harsh one.Exclamation Exclamatory sentence ending in “!” to convey high emotion.Form Purpose and features of a text influence its construction and will suggest its structure.Figurative language & sound devices

metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, simile, personification, assonance, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia, etc. These devices have a powerful impact as they work on our senses to strengthen the subject matter of the text.

Fractured/truncated sentences

Incomplete sentences used to increase tension or urgency, or reflect the way people speak to each other.

Gaps & silences What is not said; whose voice isn’t heard and whose voice dominates?Humour Incongruity, parody, satire, exaggeration, irony, puns etc. used to lighten the overall tone.Icons A single person, object or image that represents complex ideas and feelings.Imagery Vivid pictures created by words. Reader visualises character/setting clearly.Imperative Voice Forceful use of the verb at the start of sentence or phrase.Intertextuality A text makes a reference to other texts, may be explicit, implied or inferred.Irony Gap between what is said and what is meant.Juxtaposition Layering images/scenes to have a dramatic impact.

Level of usage of language

Slang, colloquial, informal or formal.

Linear Sequential – in chronological order.

Metaphor Comparison of 2 objects where one becomes another – adds further layers of meaning about object being compared.

Modality The force the words are delivered at. High modality = forceful. Low modality = gentle.

Non-linear Non-sequential narrative, events do not occur in chronological order

Onomatopoeia A word that echoes the sound it represents. Reader hears what is happening.

Parody Conscious imitation for a satiric purpose.

Person First, second or third person.First person refers to the speaker himself or a group that includes the speaker (i.e., I, me, we and us).Second person refers to the speaker’s audience (i.e., you).Third person refers to everybody else (e.g., he, him, she, her, it, they, them), including all other nouns (e.g. James, Swedish, fish, mice).

Personification Human characteristic given to a non-human object. Inanimate objects take on a life.

perspective A particular way of looking at individuals, issues, events, texts, facts etc.

Plosive consonants

Harsh sounds in a sentence or phrase.

Repetition Of words or syntax (order of words) for emphasis or persuasion.

Representation How a composer conveys meaning through textual features.

Satire Composition which ridicules in a scornful & humorous way.

Setting Location of a story – internal and external.

Sibilance Repetition of ‘s’ – can sounds melodious and sweet or cold and icy.

Simile Comparison of 2 objects using ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Symbolism When an object represents one or more (often complex) ideas.

Syntax – sentence structure

Short, simple sentences or truncated sentences create tension, haste or urgency; compound or complex sentences are slower, often feature in formal texts.

Tense Present, past, future (events are predicted).

Theme Message or moral of a story – makes us ponder bigger issues in life.

Tone The way composer or character feels – conveyed by word choice.

Word choice or Diction

Emotive, forceful, factual, descriptive, blunt, graphic, disturbing, informative etc. E.g. use of forceful verbs ‘insist’ & ‘demand’ can be very persuasive.

BLOOD LINKS

If you were still aliveWhat would you sayTo your child and grand childrenAnd great grand children?I see my face’s shapes in yours,My genes freightedWith feelings and features.You’re standing thereIn black & white,A jacketButtoned tight across your fatness,Smiling my lopsided smileBack at me.Nothing emits.Sure, you were kind,There is evidence for that,But what did you stand forOr stand up toIn your time?I must make doWith memory’s distortionsAnd creased photographs;Their pithy silence.

MARK MAHEMOFF

TEXT TWO - POEM

(b) Why is the ‘creased photograph’ important to the speaker and his sense of identity? 2 marks

use evidence from the text to justify

Subject – direct from the text. What

does this object symbolise?

Identity as important in shaping and creating a sense of belonging – to the world, to family, to heritage, to culture, etc

QUESTION 1 (B)

Answers could include:

• The photograph provides a familiar connection to ancestors• The photograph provides a sense of physical connection through

physical similarity• The photograph is a concrete link to the past, evidence of continuity of

the family• The ‘Blood Link’ is clear in the photograph• Tangible link to his past• The photograph evokes questions about his ancestor, which are

questions he asks of himself• The photograph represents the distortions of times past and highlights

the gaps in his knowledge/sense of self/identity• It is an inadequate piece of evidence about his family