COMMUNICATION STUDIES

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

NAME OF CANDIDATE: Riquelme Bennett

CANDIDATE NUMBER: 1000520118

SCHOOL: Jamaica College

TEACHER’S NAME: Mrs. Blake- Atkinson

THEME: Poverty

TOPIC: The impacts of poverty on academic performance of students in Jamaica

YEAR: July 2021

Table of contents
General introduction 1

Reflective Section 2

Preface i

Reflection ii

Analytical Section (Title page) 3

Analysis iii

Conclusion 4

Bibliography 5

INTRODUCTION
This portfolio focuses on the theme of “Poverty”. By the Oxford Student Dictionary, the term

“Poverty” is defined as the state of not having enough material possessions or income for a

person's basic needs. The purpose for selecting this topic is to investigate the impacts that

poverty has on the academic performance of students in Jamaica.

My reflective piece is about a single parent mother and her well-educated daughter, struggling

because of poverty. The daughter being well educated migrates from Jamaica to America to

attend college, and will help her mother move up along the social class table.

The theme that i will be conducting my research on will help me gain more knowledge on the

subject of entrepreneurship as well as make it more comprehensible to me. It may also provide

me with information not taught in the syllabus that can be useful when sitting the

entrepreneurship CAPE examination in 2021. Therefore the information gathered in this study

would be beneficial to me as it would give me a better knowledge of how becoming a Real

Estate Agent can help those students suffering from Poverty.

Preface
 The narrative “ Better Days Ahead” is about a single parent mother and her well-educated

daughter, struggling because of poverty. The daughter being well educated, migrates from

Jamaica to America to attend college, and will help her mother move up along the social class

table.

The researcher wrote the story intending to bring across a few important points. The first

purpose is to inform the intended audience that if they live in Poverty, do not give up; they

should try and better themselves in life. The second purpose is to provide an understanding of the

effects poverty has on persons living in underdeveloped communities whether it be negative or

positive. Finally, it encourages persons who might be in the same situation.

The targeted audience is intended to those of undeveloped communities because in today’s

Poverty is most frequent in those communities.

The reflective piece entitled “ Better Days Ahead” will be presented verbally to an audience, in

undeveloped communities for example a Town Hall Meeting. The reason why the researcher

chose this method was that it would be more entertaining as opposed to printed documents.

The researcher anticipates that the narrative will not only be entertaining but also informative

and encouraging to the audience.

Reflection
 Better Days Ahead

Bethel sat well-dressed, staring at the prestige office. This was the job interview that she

had waited her whole life for. The most popular firm in America. With tears-filled eyes, her

mind drifted back to the time in her life when she had to survive off food stamps. Growing up

things weren't easy for Bethel and her mother, Andrea.

They lived in a one-bedroom home in an inner-city community in Kingston, Jamaica.

Andrea got pregnant at the age of sixteen years old. Her parents were poor and she had to depend

on her taxi driver for lunch money then. As soon as she was aware, she stopped attending school

and went to work as a janitor at a nearby primary school to provide for them. Andrea played the

mother and father role for Bethel. Bethel’s father wanted nothing to do with Andrea since she

had gotten pregnant.

Bethel on the other hand is a well-educated, high-achieving student, who was always first

place in her class. She is about five feet five inches tall, with a rich glossy skin tone and rapture

blue eyes that could steal your day.

“Bethel! graduation a next month,” Andrea said in an exciting tone patting her only

child on the back.

“Yeh MUMZ!,” a nuff trofi mi ago guh get yuh know,” Bethel replied in a boastful

tone.

“ Yes Sah!, mi proud a yuh mi daughter, no watch no face. When yuh go get di

student visa and go up gah college and start work, doh fidget yuh mommy,” Andrea said

teasingly, wanting her reassurance.

“ No man, mommy, it always has been wi two,” she reassured her for the millionth

time. She knew how hard her mother struggled to keep them alive. Nothing could separate them.
 As night fell, so did Andrea and Bethel’s stomach.

“ Jass christ nuthin no deh ya fi eat? Mi hav a chiffun butta, guh bwoil dumplin fi mi

an yuh nuh Bethel,” Andrea said in a dreary voice. She was tired of disappointing her child.

“ Ok mommy, don’t fret, everything ago be alright soon,” Bethel replied, grateful that

there was at least something to be had. Andrea looked at her and smiled. A couple of minutes

passed and the boiled dumpling was ready.

“ Bwoy mi daughter you know fi boil dumplin sah!” Andrea said in a joyful tone. She

was proud that she has equipped her with the necessary life skills.

“ I learned from the best,” Bethel boasted, placing the few dumplings and butter on the

rickety table.

As dawn breaks, night falls, it is the day for graduation.

“ Bethel!, ready, a time fi guh get your hair done,” Andrea shouted.

“ I am coming mommy!” Bethel replied in a high pitched tone

Bethel and Andrea rushed to the hairdresser.

“ A today mi daughter a graduate eno,” Andrea said to the hairdresser.

“ Eeee! Big star girl,” the hairdresser replied smiling from ear to ear..

“Come work and make your mother proud, my girl. Cah yuh see how she struggle wid

yuh fi mek sure yuh have yuh education and try to get her out the ghetto,”

“ I will,” Bethel and Andrea both chuckled.

The moderator went down her list and now it was the time,
 “ Bethel Brown! She was the head girl for this year's groups. She scored twelve ones in

the CXC examinations. She was also first in this year's group from first form. May I have a

round of applause for the phenomenal Bethel Brown!!”

“ YAYY!” The audience stood and applauded.

Tears of joy fell down Bethel's face as she stood on the podium.

“ I would like to thank my mother, and everybody who supported me, through this journey

and I love you all so much,” Bethel sobbed, trying desperately to hold back the tears of joy.

Months passed and the time had come for Bethel to attend college in America.

“ Awhh bwoy me daughter, mi love so much a doan wan yuh leff mi. Yuh mek

mommy proud sah,” Andrea said embracing her daughter.

“ Yes mommy, betta ago come,” Bethel replied as she walked off in the departing lounge.

“Miss brown!” the interviewer said. Bethel came back to her senses. “ I thought something

happened to you there for a second,” the interviewer said in a mocking tone.

“ I am so sorry, Sir,” Bethel chuckled.

“ It is okay,” the interviewer assured her. “Miss Brown, you have a very impressive resume.

Tell me more about yourself,” the interviewer said in an impressed tone.

“I am Bethel Brown. I am a proud Jamaican girl from the inner city. That speaks to my

humility and the ability to adapt to adverse situations….”

 Language Analysis

The reflective piece “ Better Days Ahead” is about a single parent mother and her well-

educated daughter, struggling because of poverty. The daughter being well educated, migrates

from Jamaica to America to attend college, and will help her mother move up along the social

class table. The writer deftly employs a combination of registers, dialectal variations, and

communicative behavior and attitudes towards language. However, for this exercise, only two

will be discussed namely, dialectal variations and language registers.

Dialectal variation refers to changes in language due to various influences. There are

different variations of dialect portrayed within the reflective piece. Firstly there is Acrolect

portrayed when Bethel was her speech at the graduation ceremony “ I would like to thank my

mother, and everybody who supported me, through this journey and I love you all so much,”

Next in line comes Mesolect brought to life in the 24th line of this piece where Bethel’s mother

said “ Bethel!, ready, a time fi guh get your hair done,” And last but not least there’s Basilect

with a perfect example coming out in Andrea’s and Bethel’s conversation, where Andrea said

“Jass christ nuthin no deh ya fi heat? Mi have a chiffun butta, guh bwoil dumplin fi me an yuh

nuh Bethel,”

Language Registers is a variety of language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social

setting. Examples of registers found in the reflective piece are Intimate register for example

when Bethel and her mother were conversing, for example when she said “Yes MUMZ!,” a nuff

trophy mi ago get you know,” using basic slang for the word ‘Mother’ and effectively portraying

the intimate registers. There was also a formal register being portrayed as a result of Bethel’s

interaction with the interviewer, for example where the interviewer said “I thought something

happened to you there for a second,” to which Bethel replied, “ I am so sorry, Sir ”. This showed
mutual understanding and level of education. In concluding, linguistic features are important and

help to realistically narrate a series of events.

 Conclusion

In conclusion, Poverty has several impacts on the academic performance of students in Jamaica

namely: when students don't have enough school equipment they don’t perform well at school,

lack of nutritional foods affects their educational performance, just to name a few. The challenge

of the researcher while conducting this research is time management, having a busy schedule

made it difficult for me to make time to research information and formulate my Internal

Assessment, and finding sources that allocate to my research question. The sources in which my

information was gathered were retrieved from the World Wide Web. In addition to the source’s

information from my knowledge on the subject, Poverty Was applied to the expository. The

information sources are reliable as they were written by an expert author. When the information

was compared against others, it was proven to be valid. The information was factual and not

biased or opinion-based.
 References

1. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20101022/letters/letters3.html date retrieved

November 6, 2020

2. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170506/poverty-affecting-our-children-

guidance-counsellor date retrieved November 6, 2020