Language and Power in Public Discourse · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Who gets named, who vanishes

English · Vocabulary · ages 17-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Two accounts call the same crowd 'protesters' and 'rioters'. Which contrast captures the difference in these labels?

    • Protest activity versus a gathering without permission.
    • Protest activity versus involvement in violent disorder.
    • Peaceful protest versus a gathering without permission.

  2. A notice reads, 'The archive was being emptied.' What does this clause establish about the doer?

    • The sentence names the action but leaves the doer unstated.
    • The sentence names the archive staff as the people acting.
    • The sentence names the council as the body ordering the work.

  3. In 'The mural was painted by volunteers', volunteers is the grammatical subject of the clause.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A label for an event appears only on one side's pages in the accounts you checked. Which check most directly tests whether the label fits the event?

    • Compare descriptions with records of what happened.
    • Compare how often each description is repeated.
    • Compare each writer's preferred term with their allies' terms.

  5. A report says, 'The forms were checked by the clerk.' Which active rewrite preserves its meaning?

    • The clerk checks the forms.
    • The clerk will check the forms.
    • The clerk checked the forms.

  6. A notice says, 'The removal of the benches is complete.' Which analysis is supported by its wording?

    • Removal is the subject; the benches are named as its actor.
    • Removal names the action; the sentence does not name its actor.
    • Removal names the action; complete identifies when it began.

  7. A clip says 'Safer streets for drivers' and names a car-park company as sponsor. Which analysis stays within the supplied evidence?

    • The company is the sponsor; pedestrians' benefits are excluded.
    • The company is the sponsor; pedestrians' benefits are included.
    • The company is the sponsor; pedestrians' benefits are unstated.

  8. A student reads 'The hearing was postponed' and concludes, 'The writer intended to deceive us.' Which diagnosis identifies the error in that conclusion?

    • It assigns the action to the hearing instead of its organiser.
    • It treats an unnamed actor as evidence of deliberate deception.
    • It treats a completed postponement as a promise about a future hearing.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Who gets named, who vanishes W1-mt_nOBe8ExZx--s1

  1. Protest activity versus involvement in violent disorder. · Protesters names participation in protest. Rioters adds involvement in violent disorder, not merely gathering without permission. Protesters does not itself establish peaceful conduct.
  2. The sentence names the action but leaves the doer unstated. · Was being emptied reports an ongoing action in the passive voice. The clause does not identify who was carrying it out or who ordered it.
  3. False · The mural is the passive subject. Volunteers names the doer inside the by-phrase. A named doer is not necessarily the grammatical subject.
  4. Compare descriptions with records of what happened. · Records of what happened address the conduct described by the label. Repetition and shared terminology concern the accounts' wording, not direct evidence of the event.
  5. The clerk checked the forms. · The original reports a past action by the clerk. Checked keeps that tense. Checks changes it to the present, while will check changes it to the future.
  6. Removal names the action; the sentence does not name its actor. · Removal expresses removing as a noun. The sentence names the benches as the things removed, but no actor. Is complete reports completion, not when removal began.
  7. The company is the sponsor; pedestrians' benefits are unstated. · The clip identifies the company as sponsor and names drivers. It says nothing about pedestrians' benefits. Their absence establishes neither inclusion nor exclusion.
  8. It treats an unnamed actor as evidence of deliberate deception. · The conclusion adds an intention to deceive because the actor is unnamed. The clause alone does not establish that intention. The student makes neither of the other proposed errors.
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