Writer's Effects PPT Final

Writer`s effects Writing Process
1.Skimming
 (Read passage to get a sense of time,
place, topic, genre, tone and
atmosphere.)
2.Scanning and selecting
 After reading the question on writer’s effects and
underlining the key word in each part of the
question, return to passage and highlight
(possibly in two colours for the two different
aspects) the relevant material.
 Identify and highlight only the key word or
phrase which is particularly effective, not a large
‘chunk’ of text. Aim to find approximately three
to five choices for each part of the question
3.Transferring to a plan
 Transfer the chosen quotations to table dividing them
into the three sections:
Point, Evidence, Explanation, Effect.
 Explain the effect it is conveying and the reason for the
word or short phrase being effective.
 Pay particular attention to figurative language i.e. similes
and metaphors. You may use literary terms if they are
relevant and accurate, but you still need to explain the
precise effect of the particular example you have chosen.
4.Developing the response .
 Look again at the passage, this time at the use of such
devices as repetition, contrast, question marks or
exclamation marks, sentence lengths, sound effects.
 Add to the beginning or end of each section of your
plan a brief overview comment which draws an
overall conclusion about the aim and combined
effect of the language of the passage e.g. ‘An
atmosphere of fear is created through the use of short
questions and repetition of references to darkness.’
5. Writing the response
 Start your response with a thesis statement,
commenting on the overall effect.
 Use topic sentences to introduce your points.
 The response should be written carefully, putting
the quotations from the passage in inverted
commas within each sentence explaining its
meaning and its effect, and not repeating
unnecessarily the words ‘The effect is …’.
 For full marks there should be a range of choices
Writing the response cont…
 For 15 out of 15 you should give a full
range of explained effects and link them into
an overview which shows understanding of
what the writer was trying to achieve in the
passage as a whole.
 Do not select a quotation which you do not
understand as you will not be able to explain
either its meaning the words used in it.
 When explaining a quotation do not repeat the
words used in it. Do not repeat quotations; you
cannot get credit more than once.
 Generalized and ‘gushing’ comments such as
‘The writer makes me feel as though I am
there’ and ‘The passage is cleverly written’
gain no marks and give the impression that
you are failing to find things to say.
 Writing the response cont…
 There is no need to use technical terms, and they are

no substitute for explaining an effect in your own
words; if you do use technical terms, such as
onomatopoeia, make sure they are actually correctly
used.
 Select brief quotations only, of between one and four
words. Do not lift whole chunks of text, or clump
quotations together, or list them. Each one must be
focused on specific use of language and explained
separately.
 Once you have arrived at an overview, do not
contradict yourself, e.g. do not say that one quotation
makes a character seem physically old and another
one makes her seem physically young. This is not
likely therefore you need to look at the passage again.
However, there are no ‘right answers’ to this (or any
other) part of the exam and you can score highly by
engaging with the text and thinking about the way
language is being used, whether or not your comments
are what the examiner is expecting.
Things to look for are:
use of the five senses; use of contrast; use
of colour; use of noise; links between
subject and environment; surprising, or
unusual words; words which create sound
effects; unusual or dramatic
punctuation; imagery (similes and
metaphors)
Top Tips
 Make sure the comments on Effects link
back to the passage. Think: What is the
effect of that word in that passage? Do not
be too general or random!  Make sure
your examples are images, i.e. create a
picture in your head.
 Make sure your examples are relevant to
the question.
Writing Framework
You may wish to use the following writing
frame to structure each paragraph:
 The writer creates the impression of… in
paragraph…
 The word ‘ …’ helps to create this effect. It
literally means… However, it also suggests…
The word has connotations of… The writer
uses this word to create an image of…
Writer`s effects Examiner`s Advice
 re-read the whole paragraph before making selections;
choose the best and not those which happen to come first.
 Remember that you are not being asked to write about the
whole paragraph but only about the language which
relates to the particular question. 
 choose a range of words and phrases that seem powerful.
Do not write out whole sentences, but also do not give
only one word if it is part of a descriptive phrase. Do not
write out the beginning and end of a long quotation with
the key words missing from the middle.
Examiner`s Advice cont….
 remember to put quotation marks around your
choices. This makes it easier for the Examiner
to identify them and makes it easier for you to
focus on the exact wording. 
 treat each of your choices separately and do
not present them as a list or give a general
comment which applies to all of them.
Examiner`s Advice cont….v
 avoid general comments such as ‘the writer makes you
feel that you are really there’ or ‘this is a very descriptive
phrase’. Such comments will not earn any marks at all.
 if you are not sure about effects, try to at least give a
meaning, in context, for each of your choices. That can
earn half marks for the question. 
 to explain effects, think of what the reader sees and feels
when reading the word or phrase, because of the
connotations and associations of the language. Often
there is more than one possible related effect.
Examconiner`s advice
  include images from each paragraph,
and try to explain them (but you do not
need to know or give their technical
names); think about sounds as well as
visual effects.
Layers
Writer`s effects example 1
a) The rainforest and its wildlife in paragraph 1 The writer conveys the slow speed and
effort required by the family in walking through the forest by the word ‘trudging’, which
gives the idea of the difficulty of the terrain, described as consisting of ‘thick knots and
tangles of roots’. This luxuriant growth and confused mass of interlocked vegetation
makes it seem as though the forest does not want visitors to pass through it and is
asserting its dominance. The word ‘steaming’ describes the vapour being given off with a
‘hissing sound’ reminiscent of a boiling kettle or angry snakes. The jungle seems hostile
to the extent that it ‘stole their air’, as if deliberately trying to suffocate the visitors by
depriving them of oxygen. The ‘outraged hoops and screams’ of the monkeys suggest that
their loud angry noise is an attempt to show their displeasure and warn off the intruders
into their territory. The birds which ‘splashed the canvas’ are like randomly thrown,
vividly-coloured paint blotches on the dark background of the trees, or dots of green
highlighted against the bits of sky seen in the gaps of the canopy; both of these images are
artistic and make the jungle scene picturesque and reminiscent of a large painting
consisting of contrasting colours. The rainforest is as beautiful as it is inhospitable.
Writter`s effects example 2
(b) Julia’s walk through the rainforest in paragraph 4 Julia’s experience of the rainforest is that it is a
frightening and painful place to be alone and in ‘deep darkness’, where the total lack of light creates an
effect of being submerged and disorientated. The ‘staggered’ nature of her unstable walking shows how
much pain she is in and how much effort she is having to make to keep moving. The ‘screaming jungle’,
like the screams of the monkeys earlier, makes the place seem alive and threatening, as if trying to drown
out any noise she could make. The foliage which ‘snaked, twisted and snared’ is sinister language showing
that the jungle plants seem to be trying to catch hold of Julia and entwine around her to prevent her from
escaping its clutches. The swarms of insects ‘whirr’, suggesting how close they are to her ears and that they
sound like an engine rather than something natural. This image is repeated in the reference to their being
‘as large as model aircraft’. This makes them seem unnaturally, impossibly huge and therefore frightening,
able to inflict damage when they ‘dive, attack and bite’, once more using the language of fighter aircraft
and pain. The fact that they ‘orbited her constantly’ means that they surrounded her like satellites and
focused on her as their target in a way she could not escape. The leeches also ‘gravitated’ towards her as if
their movement was the effect of being pulled by a magnetic or cosmic force. All these aspects of her walk
made it a ‘torturous journey’, pain and suffering deliberately inflicted to a nightmarish degree by an
animated rainforest.


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Writer`s effects Writing Process

 There is no need to use technical terms, and they are

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