English language passages
The danger of a single story
Genre: a speech made by Chimamanda at ted talk
Author : Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
Subject : This speech is about a girl who is black and has always believed in the wrong in having a single story, she explains how we as humans read and perceive people as stereo types and thats all we will ever believe of them
Purpose: the purpose of this is to emphasise how bad it is to believe in stereo types and how important it is to keep an open mind and not always believe just what you read but learn about people for yourself
A passage to Africa
Genre: autobiography
Author: George Alagiah
Subject: this is a passage a journalist wrote from his experience to Somalia and how he met one man or saw this one man who mad him reflect, feel guilty and to show the various emotions he felt as a journalist with this man
Purpose: the purpose of this extract is to encourage us in the West to reflect on this experience and to think about how we feel towards those in the develop[ing countries
The explorers daughter
Genre : autobiography
Author: Kari herbert
Subject : this is about a young girl who used to live in the arctic and how she feels so passionate about the life of the narwhals but at the same time she emphasise with the humans as she understands the importance of killing them for the necessity of life
Purpose: the purpose of this extract is to show the conflict in her emotions as she talks about the beauty of the narwhals but also the importance of killing them for the arctic people.
Explorers or boys messing about?
Genre : a news-article in the Guardian adaptation
Author : Steven Morris
Subject : This extract is about two men who are supposedly ' experienced' and fly a helicopter over the sea, while flying they crash the helicopter into the ocean and are rescued by multiple rescue teams and cause huge havoc and a lot of money is used for the rescue teams
Purpose: The purpose of this extract is to vividly show how when men are immature and act like boys with dangerous equipment accidents can happen and its not them who will have to pay but the general public that have to pay taxes for to the government for general rescue teams and services
Between a rock and a hard place
Genre: autobiography
Author : Aron Ralston , a well experienced and famous explorer
Subject : this is a extract from a novel he wrote about an incident that occurred when he was stuck in a canyon because his arm was crushed between a rock
Purpose: to show that even the most experienced explorers can become in a hard place and accidents can happen to anyone irrespective of experience and talent
Young and dyslexic?
Genre: a contribution to a book which was published online on the guardian
Author: Benjamin Zephaniah a well known novelist who is also dyslexic
Audience : This interests the audience as the author is writing from a personal experience
Subject: A description of his experience as being dyslexic and how it initially held him back but ultimately used it to succeed
Purpose: to show and encourage people to see and embrace the positive side of dyslexia, that it need not hold anyone back
A game of polo with a Headless goat
Genre: a memoire written from personal experience
Author: Emma Levine
Subject: she writes about a strange experience she had while travelling Karachi in Pakistan, a donkey race she experienced
Purpose: to show the diverse culture and weird sporting hobbies and the difference in sports in Pakistan compared to other worldwide sports
Beyond the sky and the earth
Genre: memoire, non fiction travel litrature
Author: Jamie Zeppa
Subject: she talks about her experience in Bhutan and what an amazing place it is and her travels to get there and all about the people in Bhutan.
purpose: to demonstrate the natural beauty of Bhutan and the mentality of its people
H is for Hawk
Genre: memoire, autobiography, personal experience and a vivid memory
Author: Helen MacDonald, who lost her father to a heart attack
Subject: She buys a new Hawk to distract herself from the grief of loosing her father but then realises it is the wrong bird and has the panic of asking for the other bird back
Purpose: to show the pure passion and love for an animal and how a bird/ any animal can help with grief and sorrow
Chineese cinderella
Genre: autobiography
Author: Adeline Yen Mah
Subject : this is about a young girl Adeline who is completely abandoned and hated by her family, she is sent away to boarding school and forgotten about until she wins a writing competition and her father calls her home from school to congratulate her and tell her she can go to school in England
Purpose: the purpose of this extract is to show how abandonment can be powerful and sad, and the danger of a family who's pivoting theme is materialism and money and when one is forgotten about but wins money is suddenly remembered