What to look for when collecting articles? How does this prepare us for the SAC?

[inspired]

Hey everyone,

My teacher has told us to take a look at a few articles and be updated with current issues in the news as our holiday task. Whilst looking at articles... what are we actually trying to find? We haven't exactly been told what to do or what information to look at.
Can someone please help me out by explaining why we take a look at the articles? In Unit 4 are we required to write essays on current issues? 

I'm really confused with how to start preparation for Unit 4 or be prepared for the SACs for this Unit as my teacher has given has minimal information.

Would appreciate any help
Thanks so much !

[The Usual Student]

You wanna look for
"Real world examples of the linguistic concepts you learn in unit 3/4"

So for example, if you see real world examples of how language can be used to obfuscate Eg the 2016 budget really confusing to read
Then break that example up linguistically and then record them so you can chuck em out in an essay!
Essentially you are trying to decode the world linguistically so that you have a wealth of knowledge to throw out in essays ! They make your arguments stronger!

So yeah I would recommend coming up with someone linguistic topics and then see if you can find articles about them
For me I have got
- Language being used to obfuscate
- language as a marker of group identity or national identity
- politically correct language
- Language reflecting changing and shifting values
....... I have a few others but that is off the top of my head

[MB_]

To add to what The Usual Student has said and to answer your question we aren't necessarily writing about "current issues" but rather topics relating to themes such as how language plays an important role in reflecting and constructing identity. I'd suggest taking a look at some of the  past exams and examiners responses (found here) to get an idea of what you have to write about.

The reason for the articles and finding recent media examples of interesting uses of language is to reinforce points being made in your essay as well as showing how your points are relevant today by linking them to contemporary examples. As you'll see in the past exams, those who score highly include contemporary examples. As for finding examples, this post shows a few ways of doing so. I've personally found that searching a metalanguage term followed by 'Australia' (eg. 'slang Australia', 'euphemism Australia') into Google News can give some results.

I hope this helps!

[dmitridr]

Hey everyone,

My teacher has told us to take a look at a few articles and be updated with current issues in the news as our holiday task. Whilst looking at articles... what are we actually trying to find? We haven't exactly been told what to do or what information to look at.
Can someone please help me out by explaining why we take a look at the articles? In Unit 4 are we required to write essays on current issues? 

I'm really confused with how to start preparation for Unit 4 or be prepared for the SACs for this Unit as my teacher has given has minimal information.

Would appreciate any help
Thanks so much !

Hey there

This is the issue that many students face - teachers saying 'go find articles' - but find what!? You need to first have a thorough understanding of the metalanguage and content/themes for Unit 4 AOS 1. If you don't, you won't be able to spot it.

For example, in Unit 4 AOS 1, you look at Australian cultural values such as egalitarianism and friendliness. The Australian election perfectly coincided with this unit and so I found that Turnbull was trying to appeal to the Australian cultural value of egalitarianism.

Sometimes you'll find articles that are explicitly talking about language usage which is not difficult to find (simply go to Google and type in 'egalitarianism australia language' or keywords along those lines), and sometimes articles don't talk about language but you'll need to spot it in there based on your knowledge of Unit 4 AOS 1.

I hope that helps!
Dmitri.

[inspired]

Hey!

Thank you all so much
It makes a lot more sense in terms of what to look for in articles and the purpose of it being there. I'm sure many others will also find your advice just as helpful as I did!