The Six Senior Cycle Language Types
The way we use language changes depending on the
situation. The words you use in an interview are
more formal than the words you would use when
chatting to friends. If you write an online comment
to win a competition you’ll use lots of gushing
superlatives (‘biggest’, ‘best’, ‘brightest’). Yet, for an
after speech at a GAA match you would use semi-formal language.
Paper 1 is based on six language categories:
¨ The language of narration/description
¨ The language of information
¨ The language of argument
¨ The language of persuasion
¨ Aesthetic language
These six styles reflect the fact that we use language in different ways in different
contexts. These categories aren’t singular, in fact they often overlap e.g. (narrative
+ descriptive = short story).
Understanding the basic rules for informing, arguing, persuading, describing and
narrating will make you a more discerning reader i.e. better at reading
comprehensions and a more skilled writer (i.e. better at QBs & composing).
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