, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE TO ANSWER YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Please note that the author of this document will not responsibility for any plagiarizing you
commit.
1. Read the extract from a media statement below and answer the questions that follow.
MEC David Maynier launches #BackOnTreack campaign#
11 May 2023
Massive R1.2 billion #BackOnTrack campaign launched to reverse learning losses in the Western
Cape
Today we launched the #BackOnTrack programme, which is a big, bold intervention to reverse
Covid-19 learning losses in the Western Cape.
The pandemic is over, but the effect of the pandemic is not over.
Earlier this year, we released our 2022 systemic test results for Mathematics and Reading, which
confirmed that during the pandemic, learning outcomes fell off a cliff.
We simply cannot say that a child is receiving quality education if more than half of our Grade 3, 6,
and 9, learners cannot achieve the basic pass score for Mathematics and Reading.
And we expect the results of the Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study 2021, due to be
released next week, to show learners across our country are facing the same challenge. We have to act,
and we have to act decisively, and we have to act in a way that has impact in order to deal with what is
a full-blown learning crisis.
This is why we are investing a massive R1.2 billion into our #BackOnTrack programme over the next
three years, to improve learning outcomes so that our children have a better future in the Western
Cape. The programme marks a big change from ‘business as usual’ in our schools.
The scale of the programme is unprecedented: 333 schools have been selected to receive targeted
support based on the systemic test results, in addition to the 1 100 schools already receiving extra
support in the Foundation Phase since 2022.
The new schools selected will identify 126 000 learners, 8 980 teachers and 28 000 parents targeted for
focussed participation, in addition to the 310 000 learners and 10 000 teachers already participating in
the Foundation Phase.
All school phases are covered, with all grades in the Foundation Phase, and Grade 4 in the
Intermediate Phase, Grades 7 and 8 in the Senior Phase, and Grades 10 and 12 in the Further
Education and Training Phase, targeted.
,All stakeholders in learning are being supported simultaneously, recognising that we can all make a
contribution towards improving learning outcomes.
We’re using a variety of teaching, learning and support methods, both in person and online. For
example, we will be taking some of our Grade 4, 7 and 8 teachers out of class every ten days, for
targeted support.
And our Grade 12s will participate in biweekly online afternoon sessions with expert presenters in a
wide range of subjects.
We will be applying tried and tested methods in grades where they have not previously been used. For
example, where Saturday classes were previously used for matrics in preparation for their exams,
Grades 4, 7 and 8 will now have #BackOnTrack classes on Saturdays.
The #BackOnTrack programme complements and builds on existing programmes. We are entrenching
previously successful interventions that have been shown to work, including as proven eLearning
platforms like the Maths Curriculum Online programme in the Foundation Phase, while introducing
new ways of teaching and learning.
And the allocation of extra time for Mathematics and Reading within the school day in the Foundation
Phase, which we piloted in the Western Cape last year, has now been recommended across the country
and will continue for our youngest learners.
The programme is designed to incorporate feedback and change over three years. We have invited
principals and teachers of the participating schools to let us know what works, what needs more work,
and how we can build the best possible interventions we can.
And finally, the programme will be closely monitored through the #BackOnTrack War Room, the first
of which will be held on Friday, 12 May 2023. Every two weeks, officials from across the province
will provide updates and feedback, and work together to resolve challenges, as we move through the
programme.
A tremendous amount of work has gone into getting this massive programme off the ground. 333
principals have already been briefed, and 2 554 teachers have already attended briefing and training
sessions.
The reception from the principals and teachers in the run up to the launch has been outstanding, and
we look forward to their continued support and feedback.
And we invite all residents of the Western Cape to support us on this journey and make the choice to
invest in our children’s futures. Let us all work together to get our children #BackOnTrack!
https://www.gov.za/speeches/mec-david-maynier-launches-backontrack-campaign-11-may-2023-0000
1.1. In an essay of 1000 to 1200 words, write a detailed discussion on how the writer has used
diction and register for the purposes of persuading the reader that interventions are required to
reverse learning losses after the COVID-19 pandemic.
, [ESSAY 1]
The language used in this media statement by MEC David Maynier serves to powerfully convey the
urgency and necessity of the #BackOnTrack campaign to address the significant learning losses
experienced by students in the Western Cape during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a strategic
use of diction and register, the writer crafts a compelling and authoritative message that aims to rally
public support and buy-in for this ambitious intervention program.
One of the key rhetorical techniques employed is the use of forceful and emotive language to
describe the scale of the learning crisis. Terms such as "learning outcomes fell off a cliff", "a
full-blown learning crisis", and the assertion that "more than half of our Grade 3, 6, and 9, learners
cannot achieve the basic pass score for Mathematics and Reading" create a powerful sense of alarm
and a clear call to action. This vivid and dramatic phrasing is designed to shock the reader and
impress upon them the severity of the situation, leaving little room for complacency.
Another one of the central rhetorical strategies employed by the writer is to create an immediate
sense of urgency surrounding the learning losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This
is achieved through the use of striking, hyperbolic language. Terms like "learning outcomes fell off a
cliff" and the declaration of a "full-blown learning crisis" are designed to shock the reader and
convey the scale of the problem in dramatic, emotive terms. This heightened rhetoric leaves little
room for ambiguity or complacency, and instead demands immediate action.
Alongside this dramatic language, the writer also adopts an authoritative and matter-of-fact tone that
conveys a sense of expertise and urgency. Phrases like "we have to act, and we have to act decisively,
and we have to act in a way that has impact" demonstrate a forceful command and decisiveness,
backed by the writer's positioning as the MEC of Education. This authoritative register is further
reinforced by the specific numerical data provided, such as the R1.2 billion investment, the number
of targeted schools and learners, and the precise breakdown of the program's scope. This level of
detail lends credibility to the writer's claims and underscores the comprehensive, well-planned nature
of the #BackOnTrack initiative.
Interspersed with this authoritative tone are moments of more emotive, persuasive language that
appeal to the reader's sense of moral obligation and concern for the future of the province's children.
References to providing "a better future" for the learners and the need to "work together to get our
children #BackOnTrack" invoke a sense of shared responsibility and a collective investment in the
wellbeing of the younger generation. This shift in register from the clinical, data-driven aspects of
the program to the more evocative, values-driven language serves to humanize the issue and elicit an
emotional response from the reader.
The writer employs inclusive language that positions the reader as a stakeholder in this endeavor.
The use of pronouns such as "we", "our", and "us" throughout the text creates a sense of shared
ownership and investment in the success of the #BackOnTrack campaign. Phrases like "we invite all
residents of the Western Cape to support us on this journey" directly call upon the reader to be an
active participant in this effort, fostering a sense of civic duty and community engagement.
Alongside this inclusive language, the writer also strategically deploys certain terms and phrases that
evoke a sense of positive, forward-looking momentum. Words and phrases such as "a big, bold
intervention", "a tremendous amount of work", "getting this massive programme off the ground", and
"moving through the programme" all convey a sense of progress, dynamism, and a determined march
towards a better future. This choice of diction helps to counterbalance the more somber and urgent
