Practising writing concisely

1. Outline two ways in which Pilkington gives you a sense of perspective in the first 8 lines of the text? [2 marks]

Trough-out the first 8 lines of the text you can clearly tell that he is stating his opinion. This shows that the text is from Pilkington's perspective. Secondly, he uses the word "I" which also shows it is written in the first person perspective indicating that it is Pilkington who wrote it.

1. Identify two ways in which the author makes the description of the toad killings memorable. [2 marks]

One way the author has made the description of the toad killing memorable, is by using diction. He has used words such as massacre which immediately gives a strong impact on the reader. The second way he has made it memorable is by using imagery which he uses by giving a extremely detailed explanation on how the person is killing the toads.

1. Select two examples of humour from the text and analyse the effect of each on the reader. [4 marks]

Firstly, Pilkington talked about how Chinese people do not age well and giving a sarcastic remark stating: "I've always though that the Chinese don't age very well, that they look healthy and good looking until about the age of 35." Another way the author used humour is when he was talking about how the person eating the egg does not wait for it to be born yet, which again is a sarcastic remark.

Video Questions:

1. Outline two ways in which sound plays a role in this scene. (Do not include comments on the use of voice-over here). [2 marks]

One way sounds plays an important role is because the diegetic sounds (the people having conversations with each-other) gives you a feeling that you are actually there. Secondly, there is no music which gives it a more authentic/realistic feeling to the audience.

1. What is the overall effect of the voice-over in this extract? Select two examples of voice over commentary and analyse their effect on the viewer. [4 marks]

The effect of the voice over in this extract is that it gives a more detailed description of what Pilkington is seeing. This makes the audience more aware of what is happening and makes them understand it better as well.

1. Outline two ways in which Pilkington makes the scorpion eating scene humorous through his spoken language in the scene. Give an example of each. [4 marks]

One way Pilkington made the scorpion eating scene humorous is by using slang such as: "What should I go first, the head or the arse?" This again is a sarcastic remark, joking about their food which would be considered rude but that is the way he talks and makes it more entertaining for others to watch. Secondly, he talked about them eating cockroaches which is normal for them, however if somewhere in Europe there was a cockroach, the restaurant would be closed.

Time given: 15 minutes