URGENT FOA TOPIC DILEMMA

[Paperboat]

For the FOA that we are supposed to do in part 1, I chose to analyse a speech (ich bin ein berliner). I thought about this for a while since analytical skills aren't tested specifically in the FOA and I decided that it DID in fact satisfy one of the part 1 learning outcomes - "analyse how language and meaning shape the audience and purpose". My focus would be the historical and social context of the time period in which the speech was delivered and how it shapes the overall meaning of the text. 

When I asked my teacher if this could be a suitable topic for the FOA, she told me that analytical skills were assessed in Paper 1 and that I would only score 15 marks for the analysis. However, she added that she wouldn't stop me from going through with this topic and that I could score higher if it was a critical analysis of the text. 

I am freaking out since it took me along time after I left the group that I was originally in and had to brainstorm for a new topic- which exhausted me mentally

Could anyone offer any suggestions as to whether it would be a good decision to continue with my current topic or advice as to what could possibly constitute as a critical analysis?

PS I have to present my topic on MONDAY so it would be very helpful if you guys could offer suggestions before then.

Thanks

[voh26]

Hi Ppboat,

Did you figure things out already? All good? If not, just give me a shout. I might be able to help.

[Paperboat]

@voh26 I havent made significant progress so i guess i could use some help 

[voh26]

On 7/22/2018 at 12:14 PM, Paperboat said:

@voh26 I havent made significant progress so i guess i could use some help 

OK, so it seems you can either continue with what you have started with (the Ich Bin Ein Berliner) or swap it for something else. I had a similar issue as you with speeches (what's to analyse??) but then got really good advice and samples. I cannot remember too many details now (there were a lot of things I covered with the one helping me), but it earned me "7" in the end. It was based on a Mandela speech.  What I DO recall is "rhetorical aspects" (e.g. pathos-audience, ethos -speaker) are extremely important to account for in your FOA. You must also describe in detail what the context is (Germany - US, Cold War, Berlin Wall) and how it has shaped and formed the speech given. You must also account for the purpose and motive of the speech. There are a ton of other things (the stylistics) but these I cannot remember in great detail right now (it's been half a year now, since I did my first FOA) and they apply directly to my own speech. I was also told that involving your classmates is important too, so you should make your FOA as "interactive" as possible. There are different ways of doing this, and much depends on your class dynamics and your own preferences. The advice I got from my helper was really GOOD and meant I did not waste time waiting for classmates to answer (our class dynamics is pretty pathetic right now) but the teacher was impressed. It was a "true-false" type questionnaire that classmates filled in as they listened. It was phrased very carefully and was the basis for an interesting 5 minute discussion at the end. Does this help at all? I'll see if I can think of anything else, in the meanwhile, and I'll try to find my notes in the next hour or two with the good advice I got. It should help you a lot. Check again in an hour or two.

[Paperboat]

Thank you so much for the help