The Debate Between Reading Books and Playing Video Games
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2011
1. Read lines 1–14.
(a) By referring to
word choice analyse
how
the writer’s word choice in lines
1–4
emphasises
the “conventional wisdom” that
reading books is better than playing
videogames
.
Identify a word or short phrase
Quote this word/ phrase
Explain how the connotations convey the
writer’s points
The associations, rather than just the
meaning, of a word.
A diamond has connotations of glamour and
wealth.
‘Glorious’ has connotations of great majesty,
of something stunning to behold. It has
suggestions of almost religious worship. This
suggests that Ali was so important to the
writer that he was almost a figure of worship.
Reading books
enriches
the mind; playing
video games
deadens it
—you can’t get much
more conventional than the conventional
wisdom that kids today would be better off
spending more time reading books, and less
time
zoning out
in front of their video
games
“enriches” suggests that reading adds to
one’s knowledge, awareness; is rewarding,
beneficial; improves one
“deadens” suggests video games make kids
less aware, less sensitive, less vigorous; they
make kids think less; lifeless
“zoning out” suggests video games make kids
detached from people and things around
them, unresponsive, unstimulated
(b) Explain
“the question
” the writer asks in
lines 7–9
about
“other forms of “culture”
.
Understanding= own words as far as possible
Explain in more detail than an identify
question.
Do not repeat the question
Yet the question is
whether these other forms
of culture have intellectual virtues in their
own right—different from, but comparable to,
reading
. Where most critics allege a dumbing
down, I see a progressive story: popular
culture steadily, but almost imperceptibly,
making our brains sharper as we soak in
entertainment usually dismissed as so much
lowbrow fluff.
If these other forms of culture have qualities
which benefit, stimulate, challenge, stretch
our minds in ways which are different from –
but just as important as – reading.
Analyse how the writer’s
use of language
in
lines 9-14
(“Where … books.”) emphasises
the contrast between his positive view of
“other forms of culture” and the negative view
held by “most critics”.
In your answer you should refer to
specific
language features such as: imagery, word
choice, sentence structure.
.. 4(a)
Identify a technique
Quote an example
Analyse the writer’s use of this technique
Contrast= identify both sides of the contrast
Where most critics allege a
dumbing down
, I see a
progressive story
: popular culture steadily, but
almost imperceptibly,
making our brains sharper
as we
soak in
entertainment usually dismissed as
so much lowbrow fluff
. I hope to persuade you that
increasingly the non-literary popular culture is
honing different mental skills that are just as
important as the ones exercised by reading books.
When dealing with imagery, answers must
show recognition of the literal root of the
image and then explore how the writer is
extending it figuratively.
Imagery “our brains sharper”
just as sharpening involves giving cutting
tools a better edge, this suggests popular
culture making our brains keener, more
accurate…
Word choice- “dismissed” suggests that
popular culture is considered beneath
contempt, irrelevant, unimportant, trivial
“…how much time you spend not having fun.”
(lines 18-19)
Analyse how, in
lines 15-22
, the writer
conveys the difficulty of playing video games
by his use of:
(a)
sentence structure
;
Identify relevant features
Quote part of the sentence to be specific
Try to discuss how it relates to the sentence
as a whole
Explain how these features convey the
writer’s point
You may be frustrated; you may be confused
or disorientated; you may be stuck.
Repetition of ‘you may’ highlights the many
difficulties caused by playing video games.
This is reinforced through the use of semi-
colons, helping to join together all the
different problems games may present.
Quote the image
Explain what the literal root is and what it is
being compared to
“wrestling with the game”
wrestling involves close, physical combat with
a single opponent; it suggests a demanding,
exhausting battle with an unforgiving enemy.
This is a metaphor for the struggles involved
in playing video games, conveying the sense
that they are arduous.
3.Read lines 23-30.
Explain what is ironic about the situation
described by the writer in lines 23-26 (“In the
typical game … homework.”)?
Irony is an unusual meeting of different but
connected elements.
You must always explain both parts of the
irony.
young people are very averse to doing
mundane, repetitive tasks but will happily
play video games which involve more
drudgery than fun, are full of mundane,
repetitive tasks
4.Read lines 31-45.
(a) Identify why “reward” is so important to
the learning process involved in playing video
games? (3)
3 points for three different reasons. Own
words as far as possible.
1.
people are hard-wired to respond strongly
to rewards; people’s brains are created in
such a way that they find rewards a great
stimulus to action, learning etc
2.
video games are designed to be full of
rewards
3.
the rewards are vitally important to
achieving success in the games
(b) Analyse how the writer’s
use of language
in
lines 40–45
(“In the game
world . . . life.”) conveys the
excitement
generated by rewards in the world of video
games
.
In the game world, reward is everywhere. The
gaming universe is literally teeming with
objects that deliver very clearly articulated
rewards
:
more life, access to new levels, new
equipment, new spells
. Most of the crucial
work in game design focuses on keeping
players notified of potential rewards available
to them, and how much these rewards are
currently needed. Most games offer a fictional
world where
rewards are larger, and more
vivid, and more clearly defined than life.
Sentence Structure- effective climax at end
of the paragraph ‘
rewards are larger, and
more vivid, and more clearly defined than
life.’
Repetition of ‘and’ creates pace and a
sense of excitement when describing the
nature of the rewards.
Colon introduces a list of the different
rewards the games offer ‘
more life, access to
new levels, new equipment, new spells’.
The
repetition of ‘new’ creates pace and
excitement.
5. Read lines 46–54.
(a) Identify
two criticisms
the writer makes
of
the content of video games. (U)
(b) Analyse how the writer’s
use of language
in these lines
conveys a dismissive attitude
towards the content of video games
.
Extremely simplistic/ immature
Unnecessarily violent
Word choice: ‘childish’ has connotations of
something extremely simplistic and infantile.
This suggests that the games are
undemanding.
6. How does the example of algebra or of
chess illustrate the point the writer is
making
in lines 55–61?
Algebra- seen by many as pointless but
studying it develops their brain power, adds
rigour to the way they think
Chess- presents war and battles in a
formulaic way, but playing it develops
strategic, tactical thinking and adds rigour to
the way they think
7. Read lines 62–68.
(
a) “Novels may activate our imagination and
may conjure up powerful
emotions, but
games force you to analyse, to choose, to
prioritise, to decide.” (
lines 63–65
)
Show how the writer’s
use of language
in this
sentence
emphasises the contrast between
novels and video games
.
Word choice of ‘conjure up’ has magical,
dreamy connotations, suggesting that books
are associated with the mort artistic part of
our brains.
Word choice of ‘force’ suggests that video
games are more rigorous and compelling.
(b) Show how the writer’s
use of language
in
lines
65–68
conveys the
contrast between
what a gamer looks like from “the outside”
and what is happening “inside the gamer’s
mind”
.
Outside
word choice- ‘fury’ suggest uncontrolled,
irrational and dangerous behaviour.
Inside
Sentence structure- a colon is used to
introduce a list of the rational, intellectual
processes involved in game playing.
The text analyzes how word choice emphasizes the argument that reading books enriches the mind while playing video games deadens it, showcasing the contrasting viewpoints. It delves into connotations of words like "glorious" and "enriches" to convey the writer's perspective. Furthermore, it questions if other forms of culture possess intellectual virtues akin to reading. The writer challenges the notion that modern children should spend more time reading and less time playing video games.
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Presentation Transcript
1. Read lines 114. (a) By referring to word choice analyse how the writer s word choice in lines 1 4 emphasises the conventional wisdom that reading books is better than playing videogames.
Identify a word or short phrase Quote this word/ phrase Explain how the connotations convey the writer s points
The associations, rather than just the meaning, of a word. A diamond has connotations of glamour and wealth.
Glorious has connotations of great majesty, of something stunning to behold. It has suggestions of almost religious worship. This suggests that Ali was so important to the writer that he was almost a figure of worship.
Reading books enriches the mind; playing video games deadens it you can t get much more conventional than the conventional wisdom that kids today would be better off spending more time reading books, and less time zoning out in front of their video games
enriches suggests that reading adds to one s knowledge, awareness; is rewarding, beneficial; improves one deadens suggests video games make kids less aware, less sensitive, less vigorous; they make kids think less; lifeless zoning out suggests video games make kids detached from people and things around them, unresponsive, unstimulated
(b) Explain the question the writer asks in lines 7 9 about other forms of culture . Understanding= own words as far as possible Explain in more detail than an identify question. Do not repeat the question
Yet the question is whether these other forms of culture have intellectual virtues in their own right different from, but comparable to, reading. Where most critics allege a dumbing down, I see a progressive story: popular culture steadily, but almost imperceptibly, making our brains sharper as we soak in entertainment usually dismissed as so much lowbrow fluff.
If these other forms of culture have qualities which benefit, stimulate, challenge, stretch our minds in ways which are different from but just as important as reading.
Analyse how the writers use of language in lines 9-14 ( Where books. ) emphasises the contrast between his positive view of other forms of culture and the negative view held by most critics . In your answer you should refer to specific language features such as: imagery, word choice, sentence structure... 4(a)
Identify a technique Quote an example Analyse the writer s use of this technique Contrast= identify both sides of the contrast
Where most critics allege a dumbing down, I see a progressive story: popular culture steadily, but almost imperceptibly, making our brains sharper as we soak in entertainment usually dismissed as so much lowbrow fluff. I hope to persuade you that increasingly the non-literary popular culture is honing different mental skills that are just as important as the ones exercised by reading books.
When dealing with imagery, answers must show recognition of the literal root of the image and then explore how the writer is extending it figuratively.
Imagery our brains sharper just as sharpening involves giving cutting tools a better edge, this suggests popular culture making our brains keener, more accurate Word choice- dismissed suggests that popular culture is considered beneath contempt, irrelevant, unimportant, trivial
how much time you spend not having fun. (lines 18-19) Analyse how, in lines 15-22, the writer conveys the difficulty of playing video games by his use of: (a) sentence structure;
Identify relevant features Quote part of the sentence to be specific Try to discuss how it relates to the sentence as a whole Explain how these features convey the writer s point
You may be frustrated; you may be confused or disorientated; you may be stuck. Repetition of you may highlights the many difficulties caused by playing video games. This is reinforced through the use of semi- colons, helping to join together all the different problems games may present.
Quote the image Explain what the literal root is and what it is being compared to
wrestling with the game wrestling involves close, physical combat with a single opponent; it suggests a demanding, exhausting battle with an unforgiving enemy. This is a metaphor for the struggles involved in playing video games, conveying the sense that they are arduous.
3.Read lines 23-30. Explain what is ironic about the situation described by the writer in lines 23-26 ( In the typical game homework. )? Irony is an unusual meeting of different but connected elements. You must always explain both parts of the irony.
young people are very averse to doing mundane, repetitive tasks but will happily play video games which involve more drudgery than fun, are full of mundane, repetitive tasks
4.Read lines 31-45. (a) Identify why reward is so important to the learning process involved in playing video games? (3) 3 points for three different reasons. Own words as far as possible.
1. people are hard-wired to respond strongly to rewards; people s brains are created in such a way that they find rewards a great stimulus to action, learning etc 2. video games are designed to be full of rewards 3. the rewards are vitally important to achieving success in the games
(b) Analyse how the writers use of language in lines 40 45 ( In the game world . . . life. ) conveys the excitement generated by rewards in the world of video games.
In the game world, reward is everywhere. The gaming universe is literally teeming with objects that deliver very clearly articulated rewards: more life, access to new levels, new equipment, new spells. Most of the crucial work in game design focuses on keeping players notified of potential rewards available to them, and how much these rewards are currently needed. Most games offer a fictional world where rewards are larger, and more vivid, and more clearly defined than life.
Sentence Structure- of the paragraph rewards are larger, and more vivid, and more clearly defined than life. Repetition of and creates pace and a sense of excitement when describing the nature of the rewards. Colon introduces a list of the different rewards the games offer more life, access to new levels, new equipment, new spells . The repetition of new creates pace and excitement. effective climax at end
5. Read lines 46 (a) Identify two criticisms the writer makes of the content of video games. (U) (b) Analyse how the writer s use of language in these lines conveys a dismissive attitude towards the content of video games. 5. Read lines 46 54. 54.
Extremely simplistic/ immature Unnecessarily violent
Word choice: childish has connotations of something extremely simplistic and infantile. This suggests that the games are undemanding.
6. How does the example of algebra or of chess illustrate the point the writer is in lines 55 61? 6. How does the example of algebra or of chess illustrate the point the writer is making
Algebra- seen by many as pointless but studying it develops their brain power, adds rigour to the way they think Chess- presents war and battles in a formulaic way, but playing it develops strategic, tactical thinking and adds rigour to the way they think
7. Read lines 62 (a) Novels may activate our imagination and may conjure up powerful emotions, but games force you to analyse, to choose, to prioritise, to decide. (lines 63 65) Show how the writer s use of language in this sentence emphasises the contrast between novels and video games. 7. Read lines 62 68. 68.
Word choice of conjure up has magical, dreamy connotations, suggesting that books are associated with the mort artistic part of our brains. Word choice of force suggests that video games are more rigorous and compelling.
(b) Show how the writers use of language in lines 65 68 conveys the contrast between what a gamer looks like from the outside and what is happening inside the gamer s mind .
Outside word choice- fury suggest uncontrolled, irrational and dangerous behaviour. Inside Sentence structure- a colon is used to introduce a list of the rational, intellectual processes involved in game playing.
