Course review
By Debbie Harris, Contributor

WITH JUST about three (3) weeks to go before the examinations begin, we are continuing to review some of the imperatives of Communication Studies. If you will recall at the start of our lessons in September 2003 I emphasised that the approach towards the course would be chiefly one in which the past examinations have been presented. Bearing this in mind we will revisit discourse analysis this week.

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Remember now that there are four basic types of discourse/writing: description, narration, exposition and persuasion/argument. Not only are you expected to identify the type(s) of discourse but also justify your choice by explaining each of the techniques/devices and literary strategies used by the writer. In addition, you may be required to summarise the writer's main point, state his/her intention in writing the piece and discuss the suitability of the writer's style for a particular audience. Here is a question which appeared on a past examination paper. Try doing it!

Read the following extract, then

(1) State the writer's main point;

(2) Comment on the strategies used by the writer and discuss the suitability of the extract for a general audience. [25 marks]

THE DARKNESS THAT ENLIGHTENS
By JAY M. PASACHOFF

It is a curious fact of astronomy that one of the best ways to study the sun is to have its glowing disk hidden from view. With its great light seemingly extinguished, the usual glare of the earth's atmosphere drops away. Then, in a sky as dark as night, the sun's faint outer atmosphere ­ its veil-like corona ­ comes boldly into view.

The total solar eclipse that swept a cone of darkness across the earth last July11 dramatically banished the daylight. For unforgettable minutes hundreds of scientists and millions of other watchers saw fantastic prominences ­ masses of gas ­ looping from the sun's surface out into the corona.

THE SPECIAL ECLIPSE

It was a special eclipse. Usually astronomers and their equipment go to the eclipse. This time the eclipse came to the astronomers, passing directly over the world's largest array of giant telescopes, on Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. Mauna Kea's altitude ­ 13796 feet ­ and its clear, dry air gave astronomers and their machines an unmatched earthly view of the phenomenon.

The eclipse darkened the great urban mass of Mexico City. The moon's central shadow drew a swatch of darkness 9300 miles long and as much as 160 miles wide, bringing nearly seven minutes of totality in some areas ­ a duration that occurs only every 18 years, 11 days.

ASTRONOMERS AND ECLIPSES

Why do astronomers find eclipses fascinating? While telescopes can be adapted to partly simulate an eclipse, a real eclipse offers the best visibility for observing the corona. At eclipse we see the corona as a crown of light around the sun; its shape is sometimes more round, sometimes more elliptical. We see its glow extending a million miles from the edge of the sun. The corona is composed of the same gases as the rest of the sun; 90 percent hydrogen, almost 10 percent helium, and a tiny quantity of the other elements.

The corona flows outwards into the solar system as the solar wind-streams of charged particles. These travel 93 million miles to earth and even pass beyond the outer planets.

Eclipses are a time-tested tool of solar astronomy. Observers pursuing the 1868 eclipse determined through spectroscopy the existence of the gas helium-- . Other eclipses showed over time that the corona changes shape in step with the 11 year sunspot cycle.

THE ECLIPSE OF 1991

But few eclipses attracted scientific observers like that of 1991. Many clustered on Mauna Kea. My experiments, tackling the mystery of coronal heating, did not require elevation. My team set up two tons of telescope and electronics on the Big Island at Waikoloa. All we needed was clear skies.

Here are some notes which you could use to guide your essay:

This is an expository piece. The writer's main point is that the sun is the best studied during an eclipse.

In terms of strategies: description of the eclipse of the sun which provided a visual image.

: the paradoxical title, The darkness that enlightens
: the use of an example of the solar eclipse of July 11
: the use of technical language
: the use of a rhetorical question to heighten readers' interest and engaging his/her fascination

The visual representation of the subject matter and the use of figurative language make the extract suitable for a general audience.

I hope this has been of some assistance to you. Try writing the essay in its entirety and exchange essays and discuss them among your friends. Until next week, walk good!