Sample language analysis essays

Unit 3 English School Assessed Coursework Outcome 3:

Analyse the use of language in texts that present a point of view on an issue currently debated in the Australian media

Length:

Timing:

800-­‐1000 words The SAC will take place during the weeks 4 and 5 (depending on which class you’re in) You will have five lessons to complete this SAC: two for preparation and three for writing your analysis under exam conditions

Instructions:

Carefully read the three texts provided and then complete the following task

Task:

In a coherently constructed piece of prose, analyse and compare the ways

in which language is used in the texts provided to present a point of view and position readers in particular ways.

Materials allowed:

In order to complete this task you may refer to your text book,

handouts and your notes. All material must be sited by your teacher prior to the task beginning.

Once the task is begun, all material being used to complete the SAC must be submitted to the teacher at the end of each lesson. You are not to take the texts for analysis home.

Background Information: Jumps racing has come under fire again after spectators at Warrnambool jumps racing carnival were taken to hospital when a horse leapt over a fence and into the crowd on Thursday May 5, 2011. The riderless Banna Strand veered off course and jumped a two-­‐metre-­‐high brush fence into the crowd at the back of the course proper on Thursday.

Banna Strand was one of six horses that failed to complete the marathon 5500m course over 33 fences. Although no horses or riders were injured in the race the only horses to complete the course were Al Garhood and Awaking Dream.

Racing Victoria said it would investigate the incident, in conjunction with the Warrnambool Racing Club. Victoria’s Racing Minister, Denis Napthine, said the safety of spectators was of paramount importance.

The Warrnambool carnival got off to a bad start on the first day when a horse was put down after falling in the first hurdle race of the day, prompting renewed calls from activists to ban jumps racing.

In 2008 The Grand National Hurdle at Flemington turned ugly when two horses were destroyed and a jockey was taken to hospital after serious falls. Only four of the 13 horses in that event finished the race with a jockey still on board. Another horse survived a fall during the Grand National Steeplechase at Flemington the following weekend.

Victoria and South Australia are the only states where jumps racing is allowed. NSW banned jumps in 1995 and Tasmania stopped them in 2007.

Text One: Horses have no choice The Age, 7th May 2011 UNUSUALLY for jumps racing, in Thursday's fiasco at the Warrnambool carnival, it wasn't only the horses that were injured ("A bad day at the races. . .", The Age, 6/5). Tragically, some spectators suffered the pain of broken bones, an experience usually reserved only for the horses. And for what?

To keep a small number of people employed and generate gaming revenue.

It's not as though jumps racing performs any kind of needed service to society which, if it immediately ceased, would cause widespread social disruption.

We used to think it acceptable to set roosters onto each other and take bets on who won and who died, but society has moved on from thinking it's OK to deliberately cause injury to sentient animals for entertainment.

There is no way to make jumps racing safe, as the industry acknowledges by the fact that the "acceptable" rates of fatality per starter are five times those in flat racing. Jumps racing is the only sport in which the regular death of the contestants is considered normal, and unlike the humans watching or riding, the horses do not choose to be there.

Cath Henshall, Bungonia, NSW

Text Two:

7/5/11 Herald Sun, Mark Knight

Text Three: Go jump: keep the horses on course Michael Lynch The Age May 4, 2011

Horse death sparks call for jumping ban OPINION I love jumps racing and I think there should be more of it. This week, when the Warrnambool carnival is on, would be a good time to start.

Does that make me a horse hater? Of course not, although given the success of the anti-jumps racing protest group's lobbying, you could be forgiven for thinking so.

In common with all those involved in steeplechasing and hurdling, I have the greatest regard for animals. And to suggest that people in Ireland, England, France, Australia and parts of the US (where jumps racing is successfully staged) who work with steeplechasers and hurdlers are not concerned for horses and their well-being is at best the ill-conceived view of a partisan critic pursuing an agenda. At worst, it's insulting.

The horses involved get better care than many humans, and owners can spend more than $30,000 a year on all the related costs that come with keeping a horse in training.

There are no million-dollar races over obstacles, so to suggest that the incentive for keeping a horse jumping against its will is a money-making venture is drawing a rather long bow.

Of course, jumps racing is not everyone's cup of tea. Fair enough. And horses do get injured or killed. But they do so in flat racing, too - rarely on a racecourse, but not infrequently on the gallops at home or out in paddocks when spelling. There will always be some degree of risk in equestrian sports, both for the horse and the human involved.

Given that racing, three-day eventing, hunting, showjumping etc are still legal pursuits, the key is to ensure that risk is minimised. In the end, you have to accept that sometimes lives will be lost - and I do.

It is inevitable when dealing with livestock.

The issue is how many and at what point the numbers become unacceptable.

The protesters believe that one death or injury is too much. I believe that, given the size of the industry, the number of horses involved and the sporting and economic benefits it brings to many rural parts of Victoria, society should be prepared to accept a certain degree of wastage.

A zero deaths policy, while it would be lovely, is not rational or realistic.

Jumps racing provides a haven for many horses who would otherwise have met a much earlier end.

In Britain, where jumps racing is much more popular, the RSPCA and animal welfare groups are co-opted and become part of the process. They are involved in the monitoring of races, the design of the obstacles and, in some cases, help decide on the siting of the fences on the track. They accept the sport's right to exist, and understand that the best way to ensure animal welfare is to minimise risk where possible.

Racing Victoria and the jumping fraternity have spent heavily and worked hard in the past two years to improve the design of the fences. The hurdles can now be knocked down by a horse if he doesn't measure his jump appropriately. The new steeplechase fences are a bigger, more imposing obstacle and the horses jump them better.

Jumps racing is an easy target because it is in the public eye and television footage of spectacular falls is easy to come by. It's an easy story for the media to run because the protest lobby is well organised.

In my view, the sport's future should be guaranteed so that owners are encouraged to buy jumping horses, extending the pool available to race, and trainers and jockeys given a stable career option to learn and develop better skills.

The races should be made longer and the fences higher, so that speed - the big determinant in falls - is reduced and the premium is put on jumping ability and horsemanship.

Of course it should continue to be monitored and ways found to make it safer. But there will always be a risk involved. I believe it's a risk worth taking.

Michael Lynch is a senior sports writer.