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A Game of Polo

This document provides background information and instructions for analyzing a passage from a travelogue describing unusual sports in a foreign country. It instructs the reader to choose adjectives to describe the scene, notes there are three races happening involving donkeys, spectators, and the writer trying to get pictures, and to identify examples of description, dialogue, informative writing, and evaluation within the structured chronological passage. It also provides directions to create a tension graph tracking the writer's feelings throughout.

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James Reinz
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417 views6 pages

A Game of Polo

This document provides background information and instructions for analyzing a passage from a travelogue describing unusual sports in a foreign country. It instructs the reader to choose adjectives to describe the scene, notes there are three races happening involving donkeys, spectators, and the writer trying to get pictures, and to identify examples of description, dialogue, informative writing, and evaluation within the structured chronological passage. It also provides directions to create a tension graph tracking the writer's feelings throughout.

Uploaded by

James Reinz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

What is happening?

Choose adjectives to describe the scene.


Background
 This extract comes from a book which was written as a
spin-off from Emma Levine’s television series about
strange and unusual sports.
 It is from a travelogue (a book which describes travel in
a foreign country). In this book she describes these
sports, the people involved and her experiences of
filming them. In doing so, she gives an insight not just
into the sports themselves, but into the lives and culture
of the people who take part in (and watch) them.
 What is the significance of the title of the travelogue, ‘A
Game of Polo with a Headless Goat’?
How many races are taking place?
There is not just one race happening, but three:

º The donkey race


º The spectators’ race
º The writer’s race to get the best pictures

Find one quotation for each to prove that there are three races.

• Is the main focus of the reader’s interest the race, or the people involved?
What do you think? Find some evidence to support your point of view.
Structure and Form
The passage can be defined as a series of linked paragraphs,
describing events in a chronological order and concluding
with the end of the race and the writer’s overview of what
happened.
There are moments of:
description

dialogue

informative / factual writing

evaluation

Highlight one example of each of the above kinds of writing.


Tension Graph
 Create a tension chart, which tracks the writer’s
thoughts and feelings throughout the extract (e.g.
anticipation, boredom, foolishness, excitement…).

 Try to include quotations.


 Pay particular attention to the closing paragraphs.
Plenary
What are the TONE and PURPOSE of the extract?
The TONE is a mixture of comedy and serious reportage.
Her PURPOSE is to inform and entertain hence the
seeming contradiction in tone.

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