Grammar and the construction of meaning

Practice for Assessment Task 2B

PART 1
Analyses the following sentences for transitivity. For each sentence, break the sentence up into
ranking clauses, one clause per line. Then analyse each clause for transitivity on a separate line. You
do not need the analyse the transitivity structure of embedded clauses.
Sample analysis.
I forgot that sometimes he could be quiet and kind, and I hated him.

I forgot
Senser Process: mental

that sometimes he could be quiet and kind
Carrier Process: attributive Attribute

and I hated him
Senser Process: mental Phenomenon

1. Shauna brought her daughter into work for the morning.
2. I loved Ms. Fanin’s Georgia History classes and her indomitable spirit.
3. For Maria Ormena and her two children collecting sea coal is a daily necessity.
4. Like many great orations, Barack Obama’s victory speech on Tuesday night was deceptively
simple.
5. The vote on the constitution as a whole occurred on 19 November, and only ten of the Council
fathers voted against it.
6. The vicarage house is a handsome brick building in the Gothic style.
7. Mr Christopher flew from Damascus to Riyadh for talks with Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd.
8. England were beaten by Spain in Madrid in 1929.
9. They walked towards the tall iron gates of the school.
10. He built them a four-roomed brick bungalow
11. The airport was in chaos.
12. There was no reliable information.
13. The hotel also features dancing once a week.
14. The tray remained untouched.
15. At our pensione, they gave us melon every day!
16. Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
17. As he reached the front door, he saw a strange sight.
18. The thought pleased her, and she smiled.
19. There could not have been a less likely literary friendship.
20. Moxie said to the doctor, `What has happened?’
21. She began to tremble.
22. Liz’s first marriage had lasted all of ten months.
23. The Russians had undertaken little bombing during the war.
24. That represents a growth rate of 1,000%!
25. She was hurt by his answer.
26. Free copies of a promotional video were sent to local doctors and accountants.
27. The frightened cat was caught by the vet and given protective injections.
28. Can you remember the number?
29. He does do some pretty silly things now and again.
30. I was sickened by the apparent ruthlessness of it.
31. ‘What’s amusing you?’, she asked.
32. But I was too ill, so I said nothing.
33. He saw the excitement in her eyes.
34. He made us some fine sets of playing cards and a neat Monopoly board.
35. But how can you recognize a “similar” problem?
36. The scheme was a perfectly serious one, though like many railway ventures at the time it was
rather ambitious.
37. The reason that so many clues are needed is because they are chaotic and unreliable.
38. The court has been told that, minutes later and in daylight, Mrs Wilks, 22, was abducted, then
stabbed to death.
PART 2
Analyse the following 2 texts for Theme. You should set you analysis out as a table. Follow the example
below for how to set out your analysis. Firstly, you need to break the text up into ranking clauses.
Each ranking clause will occupy one line. Analyse each clause for theme.
Sample Analysis
Sample test: What is a didjeridu? Didjeridus are traditional Australian aboriginal musical instruments,
and are handcrafted from the branches of small trees. Often the didjeridu is an accompaniment to
ceremonial song and dance. How do you play a didjeridu? To produce the various sounds and notes, you
must learn to manipulate the tongue, lips and breath while blowing into the instrument. Playing sounds
in the continuous manner characteristic of this music requires the use of a process called “circular
breathing”.

THEME RHEME
Textual Inter-personal Topical
What is a didjeridu
Didjeridus are traditional Australian aboriginal musical instruments
and […] are handcrafted from the branches of small trees
Often the didjeridu is an accompaniment to ceremonial song and dance
How do you play a didjeridu
To produce the various sounds and notes
you must learn to manipulate the tongue, lips and breath
while blowing into the instrument
Playing sounds in the continuous manner characteristic of this music requires the
use of a process [[called “circular breathing”]] Analyse BOTH Texts A and Text B

Text A: Wikipedia entry on Barack Obama <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama> viewed 10 Nov
2008.

Barack Hussein Obama II is the President-elect of the United States and the junior United States
Senator from Illinois. Obama is the first African American to be elected President of the United
States.

He is a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was
president of the Harvard Law Review. Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil
rights attorney before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught
constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful
bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S.
Senate in January 2003, won a primary victory in March 2004, and was elected to the Senate in November
2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control
conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also
made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he
helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism,
and care for returned U.S. military personnel.

On February 10, 2007, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States, and on June 3,
2008, he was named the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party after a 17-month-long primary
campaign. He became the President-elect after defeating Republican presidential candidate John McCain
in the general election on November 4, 2008, and is due to be sworn in as President of the United
States on January 20, 2009.
Text B: AIR FORCE Advertisement printed on a disposable paper coffee cup

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like to do something more with your trade, call 13 19 10, visit defencejobs.gov.au/airforce or
SMS:SPARK to 13 19 01.
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