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AS/A2 English Language

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Textual Analysis

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Applying to University?

Alan Cooper's All About Homonyms
Does what it says on the tin.

Cyber Grammar - the University of Exeter online Grammar course
A site designed for teachers but very useful as a reference tool.

English Spelling Rules
Basic rules of British and American spelling

EME exercises
An interesting exercise in analyzing a piece of Shakespearean text

Exploring English - Knowledge Explorer Centre
Come explore the wonders and quirks of the English Language including the parts of speech, sentences, style guidelines, usage, punctuation, spelling, and more.

Guide to Grammar and Writing
Includes some good advice about how to write an essay.

INDEX
Guide to Grammar and Writing and Principles of Composition.

Lexical FreeNet
Interesting grammar generator




 

Frameworks for the Study of Language

In order to develop your understanding of how language works you will need a toolkit for the analysis of language. We call this toolkit the linguistic frameworks. The study of language can be carried out on different levels and below are listed the features which will enable you to discover how language works. You should be aware that simply identifying features is insufficient. You should consider the items listed below as elements of systems that construct and convey meaning.

The emphasis is on the application of linguistic frameworks to illuminate understanding of how texts work.

Phonological:

  • alliteration
  • assonance
  • rhythm
  • rhyme
  • consonants/vowels

Graphological:

  • design
  • layout
  • typeface

Lexical:

  • word formation
  • levels of formality
  • technical and non-technical vocabulary

Semantic:

  • denotational and connotational meaning
  • semantic fields
  • synonymy
  • antonymy
  • hyponomy
  • collocation
  • processes of semantic change
  • figurative language
  • pragmatic meaning
  • context dependence (deixis)

Grammar:

  • lexical and grammatical word classes
  • types of noun
  • adjectives (incl comparison of adjectives)
  • adverbs (incl comparison of adverbs)
  • verbs (person, number, tense, aspect, voice, modal auxiliaries, negation)
  • pronouns
  • conjunctions
  • determiners
  • morphemes
  • sentence functions
  • sentence types
  • sentence structures
  • main, sub-ordinate and co-ordinate clauses
  • clause elements