English Flashcards
Advertising techniques
➢ Association: Using images (like a cartoon character or the American flag), in the hope you’ll transfer your
good
➢ feelings about the image to the product.
➢ Call to action: Telling you what to do— “Buy today!” or “Vote now”—removes all doubt about next steps.
➢ Claim: Informing you about how the product works or helps you.
➢ Games and activities: Putting a commercial into the form of a game can be a fun way for you to get to know
more about a product and spend more time with it.
➢ Humour: Using ads that make you laugh can catch your attention and be memorable.
➢ Hype: Using words like amazing and incredible make products seem really exciting.
➢ Must-have: Suggesting that you must have the product to be happy, popular, or satisfied.
➢ Fear: Using a product to solve something you worry about, like bad breath.
➢ Prizes, sweepstakes, and gifts: Using a chance to win a prize to attract attention.
➢ Repetition: Repeating a message or idea so you remember it.
➢ Sales and price: Showing or announcing a discounted price can make a product look better.
➢ Sense appeal: Using images and sounds to appeal to your senses: sight, touch, taste, etc.
➢ Special ingredients: Promoting a special ingredient may make you think the product works better than
others.
➢ Testimonials and endorsements: Featuring someone, like a celebrity, saying how the product worked for
them can be convincing
When Analysing an Advert, look at the following:
Identification
Structure and description
Interpretation and analysis
Explain Identifying an advertisement
➢ This is an advertisement for…
➢ Information about the product when possible.
➢ Origin of the document (magazine, newspaper etc.): country, author, time …
Explain the Structure and description of an advertisement
➢ Structure of the picture: study the diagonals, the horizontal/ vertical lines, the differences
which may appear in the image.
➢ Analysis of the different shots (high angle shots, low angle shots) and the colours used.
➢ Description of each part (when, where, who, what, how).
➢ Don’t forget to thoroughly study the characters: the age group, their position, their clothes, attitude etc.
Explain Interpretation and analysis of an advertisement
➢ Analysis of the catch phrase and the slogan when possible: size, words, grammatical structure, tone.
➢ Target audience: age, gender, occupation, social class
➢ Imagine the feelings of the different characters on the picture
➢ When possible, link this picture to a historical or social context
➢ Imagine what might have happened before and what might happen after
➢ Goal of the ad: feelings, impact on the reader
➢ Express your personal opinion and reaction. Has the ad reached its goal? Do you like it? Why?
What is a novel?
A novel is an invented prose narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals imaginatively with
human experience, usually through a connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific setting.
What is a theme in literature?
A theme is a message or abstract idea that emerges from a literary work’s treatment of its subject matter. The
theme differs from the subject itself. The subject of a work can be described in concrete terms, usually through actions.
The theme is the central, general message, the main idea, the controlling topic about life or people. The author usually doesn’t tell you the theme directly. To discover the theme of a story, think bog. What big message is the author trying to say about the world in which we live? What is this story telling me about how life works, or how people behave? The theme is revealed through the way the characters act and react. Many novels have more than one theme, some major and some minor.
What is a Plot
Plot is an essential characteristic of all novels. And is the sequence of events or what happens in a story. The plot is
the story, the reason for writing the novel. The author creates a story that is believable, or at least relatable to true
events, feelings or actions. A science-fiction story about living on Venus with aliens as pets may not be entirely
believable, but the author can write the characters and events in such a way as to be relatable to real life.
Parts of a plot:
- Exposition
- Rising Action
- Climax
- Falling Action
- Resolution
The setting is
where the plot takes place (the environment of where the story unfolds or takes place). For a fantasy
novel, the setting may be an imaginary realm with creatures, plants and lifestyle completely different from those in
the real world, so the author must dedicate himself to describing the setting in such a way as to make it feel real to
the reader. The setting is an aspect of a fiction novel that makes the story believable. The setting includes the time
and period in history, the place, the atmosphere, the clothing, the living conditions and the social climate. The
setting is important because it influences all aspects of a character’s life, including the way the act and think.
Point of View
Point of view is essentially the voice of the narrator. There are four types of point of view: first person, second
person, third person omniscient and third person limited:
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First person is written from the main character’s perspective. This means that the narrator is a character in the story
and is describing the action in his or her own words. What is shared is limited to the character’s observations and
thoughts.
Second person is written like a choose-your-own-adventure, using “you”.
Third person point of view is when the events and characters are described by a character outside the action. The
narrator tells the story from the perspective of only one character. The reader only learns what this person feels and
experiences.
Third person omniscient allows the reader inside the heads of all characters involved. In third person limited point of
view, the narrator focuses on the main character and his perspective. Here, the narrator is all-knowing and can see
into the minds of more than one character. This type of narrative gives the readers access to all the characters.
What are main characters role in a story:
Characters who the story revolves around the most. The main character is the most important character.
The action of the plot and main conflict revolve around him or her. This character is also known as the
protagonist in the story. The main character or hero in a narrative or drama, usually the one with whom the
audience identifies with, is the Protagonist. He or she is often referred to as ‘the good guy’ or represents
good.
The antagonist in a novel is the person, thing or force that works against the protagonist. The antagonist can
be another character, a family, a society, a force of nature or even a force within the main character.
• Minor characters:
interact with the main characters and help move the story move along.
• Flat characters:
stay the same over the entire course of the story, even though their situation may change.
• Round characters:
evolve as individuals learning from their experiences and growing emotionally.
Characterisation
The way the author develops a character is called characterisation. When studying a character, take note of:
- Physical appearance and personality.
- Speech, thoughts and feelings and actions.
- Interactions with other characters.
- Direct comments by the author.
Why is conflict neccessary in a novel?
Conflict is necessary in a novel, because it makes the story feel real. Happily-ever-after all the time would make for a
dull story. Conflict can be external or internal. A gruesome murder case is an example of external conflict. An
internal conflict can be a character’s battle with forgiving someone who wronged him or discovering an unpleasant
personality trait in himself. The characters usually have a goal to achieve or a problem to solve. The struggle to
achieve this goal or solve the problem is the conflict. There are different types of conflicts in a story
Conflict: External Forces
- Character vs Man – another individual
- Character vs Fate – a problem that seems uncontrollable
- Character vs Nature – something in the environment
- Character vs Society – a group or individuals and norms
