Self-assessment for person and viewpoint

[2016 note: unfortunately the original links to answers no longer work.]

Select a self-assessment exercise from the options below:

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

These verses, from John Keats’ poem, are not all written from the same viewpoint. You will be asked several questions about the poem.

1. O what can ail thee,
Knight at arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake
And no birds sing.

2. I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

3. I met a lady in the meads
Full beautiful – a faery’s child
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

4. She took me to her elfin grot
And there she wept and sighed full sore
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

5. And there she lullèd me asleep
And there I dreamed – ah woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dreamed
On the cold hill-side.

6. I saw pale kings and princes too
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried – “La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”

7. I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gapèd wide
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill-side.

8. And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

Question 1. Which of these statements are true of verse 1 of the poem?

  • It is written from the point of view of the Knight
  • It is written from the point of view of the poet
  • It is written in the first person
  • It is written in the second person
  • It is written in the third person
  • The poet addresses the reader
  • The poet addresses the Knight

Question 2. Which of these statements are true of verse 3 of the poem?

  • It is written from the point of view of the Knight
  • It is written from the point of view of the poet
  • It is written in the first person
  • It is written in the second person
  • It is written in the third person
  • The Knight addresses the poet
  • The poet addresses the reader

Question 3. In verse 6 are these lines:

“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”

  • The point of view here is the poet’s
  • The point of view here is the Knight’s
  • The point of view here is the pale warriors’
  • Ownership of the view is attributed using indirect speech
  • Ownership of the view is attributed using direct speech
  • “Thee” refers to the reader
  • “Thee” refers to the Knight
  • “Thee” refers to the poet

Question 4. In the last verse, verse 8, the speaker is:

  • the beautiful lady
  • the Knight
  • the poet.

Passage from Which? magazine

Read this excerpt from Which? magazine, October 2001. You will be asked to identify several sentences in which views are expressed in interesting ways.

BRACE YOURSELF

1 As many as 80,000 children in need of orthodontic treatment each year may have to go without or turn to private dentistry, under the latest government NHS cost-cutting review.

2 Rationing guidelines for England and Wales are expected to be introduced to April. 3 These will mean that, unless a child has a problem that poses a danger to their health, for example, buck teeth that stick out so far they are in danger of being knocked out, the chiId will be denied NHS treatment.

4 Specialist dentists and orthodontists will have to follow the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) which covers the whole spectrum of need from severe dental need to purely cosmetic enhancement.

5 It is feared that this will result in a two-tier system of treatment, as many families will not be able to afford the average £3,000 cost to get their children’s teeth straightened.

6 Children who don’t qualify on dental grounds may still suffer psychological or developmental damage, lack of self-confidence or other problems later in life which result from having crooked teeth.

 

7 The resulting needless bullying and teasing of their children is bound to cause an angry reaction from many parents.

8 Jonathan Sandier, spokesman for the British Orthodontic Society, said: ‘9 There are currently not enough dentists trained to give diagnoses using the lOTN’.

10 If a qualified dental practitioner assesses your child and finds they need treatment using IOTN,they can be treated by the dentist or referred to a specialist.

11 If the assessor decides against treatment on the grounds of dental need, then you can appeal.

12 At this stage it is unclear how this process will operate. 13 Second opinions and an appeals procedure may only serve to increase the current annual £80 million spent on orthodontics, which the government is hoping to reallocate through this review.

14 We think before the government introduces these proposals, it should reconsider its pledge on free dentistry for children at the point of delivery, as we believe access to dentistry for all is still attainable.

Question 1: Identify a sentence that begins by using the impersonal passive voice to express a view without attributing it to any person or group.

Question 2: Identify a sentence that appears to be a statement of certainty about the future, but in fact is just a guess for which no evidence is offered.

Question 3: Identify a sentence that expresses the magazine’s view directly, attributing the viewpoint clearly by using the first person plural.

Question 4: Identify a paragraph that begins with an even-handed statement of uncertainty, but continues with speculation which is negatively biased.

 

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