Examining authorial context and narrative viewpoints

Description

A series of quiz-style tasks to help learners develop a deeper understanding of how authorial context and narrative viewpoint affect the way writers present information to readers.
Sarah Holmes
Quiz by Sarah Holmes, updated more than 1 year ago
Sarah Holmes
Created by Sarah Holmes almost 9 years ago
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2

Resource summary

Question 1

Question
In the two accounts,of the accident given in the extract from Touching the Void, Joe and Simon demonstrate very different points of view on the situation that they find themselves in when it becomes clear that Joe has broken his leg. Complete the diagram below by dragging and dropping the correct comments on the ways in which Joe and Simon’s use of language, viewpoint and perspective and attitudes towards the events differ.
Answer
  • Fearful
  • Brave
  • Irrational
  • clear-headed
  • Unsetteld
  • Relaxed
  • Highly emotive
  • Very emphatic
  • powerful metaphors
  • powerful personification
  • Verbs emphasise pain
  • Nouns emphasise pain
  • Varied sentence structures
  • Repeats sentence structures
  • Very direct
  • Ambiguous
  • an experienced climber
  • a novice climber
  • The one who is injured
  • An outsider
  • Someone facing certain death
  • Knows he will survive
  • Logical
  • Illogical
  • Dispassionate
  • Over-emotional
  • Rational
  • Sensible
  • Calm
  • Panicked
  • Straightforward
  • Very descriptive
  • dull verbs and adjectives
  • exciting verbs and adjectives
  • Words relate to logic
  • Words relate to emotion
  • A good climber
  • A first-time climber
  • Physically & emotionally distanced
  • Physically & emotionally engaged
  • The one who will survive
  • The one who will die

Question 2

Question
Joe presents Simon's account of the event in an unbiased way.
Answer
  • True
  • False

Question 3

Question
Read the opening paragraphs from Ellen MacArthur's autobiography, Taking on the world and then complete the PEE paragraphs below to explain what we learn about her as a person through her use of language by choosing from the drop-down menus. From the opening two paragraphs we get the impression that McArthur is [blank_start]only too aware of the dangers[blank_end] she will face when she climbs the mast to repair the sail. We see this when she tells us that '. . . though I would be wearing a helmet it would not be difficult to break bones up there. . . '. Clearly she is taking [blank_start]all the precautions she can[blank_end] in order to [blank_start]stay safe[blank_end] but she recognises that [blank_start]she is still at risk of serious injury.[blank_end] This indicates to us that she is [blank_start]not some reckless adventurer,[blank_end] doing it [blank_start]for the thrill of an adrenaline rush[blank_end]. She comes across as very [blank_start]sensible and thoughtful[blank_end], only taking [blank_start]necessary[blank_end] risks and then, only [blank_start]after careful consideration and[blank_end] planning. This impression of McArthur as [blank_start]sensible and careful[blank_end] is established in the very first paragraph where she informs us that she 'had worked through the night preparing for it. . . '. Here we get the impression that she is [blank_start]meticulous[blank_end] in her planning, trying to [blank_start]account for every eventuality[blank_end] but realising that she can [blank_start]only do so much[blank_end]; ultimately she is at the mercy of [blank_start]the elements[blank_end] once she has climbed the mast. Her awareness of the dangers she faces creates a [blank_start]tense[blank_end] atmosphere that [blank_start]grips the reader's attention[blank_end] as we are encouraged to share her feelings of [blank_start]fearful anticipation[blank_end] through comments such as 'the most dangerous thing apart from falling off is to be thrown against the mast,' which make the reader almost [blank_start]hold their breath[blank_end] in anticipation of what will happen. In this way McArthur presents herself as [blank_start]an ordinary person[blank_end]; she does not [blank_start]arrogantly exaggerate[blank_end] her skill and experience as a sailor, instead she presents the situation in a way that the reader [blank_start]can relate[blank_end] to and [blank_start]imagine themselves[blank_end] in her position.
Answer
  • only too aware of the dangers
  • oblivious to the dangers
  • all the precautions she can
  • all the risks she can
  • stay safe
  • get a buzz
  • she is still at risk of serious injury.
  • she is one of the best young sailors.
  • not some reckless adventurer,
  • not a very experienced sailor
  • for the thrill of an adrenaline rush
  • for the very first time
  • sensible and thoughtful
  • bold and irresponsible
  • necessary
  • unnecessary
  • after careful consideration and
  • after failing to undertake any
  • sensible and careful
  • irresponsible and reckless
  • meticulous
  • careless
  • account for every eventuality
  • cut corners where she can
  • only do so much
  • do it very easily
  • the elements
  • her own actions
  • tense
  • thrilling
  • grips the reader's attention
  • excites the reader
  • fearful anticipation
  • reckless joy
  • hold their breath
  • shout out
  • an ordinary person
  • an extraordinary person
  • arrogantly exaggerate
  • modestly downplay
  • can relate
  • cannot relate
  • imagine themselves
  • can't imagine themselves

Question 4

Question
6 of these quotations indicate that McArthur is an experienced sailor. Which ones are they?
Answer
  • agonized for hours over how I should prepare the halyard
  • I laid the halyard out on deck, flaking it neatly
  • I unclipped my jumar from the halyard
  • knowing we would pile into the wave in front
  • By the third spreader I was exhausted
  • We had been surfing at well over 20 knots
  • Santa had called early on Kingfisher and we had the best present ever - a new halyard
  • I tugged and tugged on the rope - the frustration was unreal
  • I hung on tight, wrists clenched together, and hoped.
  • I kitted up in my middle-layer clothes.

Question 5

Question
How does the authorial context of literary non-fiction texts relate to the narrative viewpoint?
Answer
  • It influences the the narrative viewpoint as the writer will present their ideas, themes etc. . in a particular way.
  • It is the same thing just different terminology
  • it means it is always written in the first person present tense
  • All literary non-fiction texts use the third-person omniscient narrative viewpoint
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