CAPE 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Forward

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Sample Essays
CAPE Communication Studies

FORWARD

The purpose of making this compilation is to help students preparing for the

CAPE Communication Studies Examination gain a broader perspective and deeper un-

derstanding. Mainly, it is set to help the self-studying student. I have used these notes

during my time studying CAPE and they has helped me tremendously. This book con-

tains most of the theory which I believe to be of necessity to know for the exam. Do en-

sure to learn material outside this book but be wary of skipping theory within this book.

Additionally, I recommend that you do a minimum of twenty essays ( approximately 6

years ) of past examination papers during your one year of preparation for this exam.

This book contains theory for all three modules of the CAPE Syllabus, and some

essays that i have written.

  If you have any other questions, require help, or any questions answered,

please feel free to contact me at: saisrinath2001@hotmail.com .

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Communication Studies

Module 1 - Gathering and Processing Information

THE BASICS

For a module one - paper two - question, the following composites listed below are
required:

• Main Idea of the extract

• Main Purpose of the Extract

• Identify Organisational Strategies Used

• Identify Language Techniques Used

Comment on the effectiveness in achieving the writer’s purpose.

DETERMINING THE MAIN IDEA OF A PASSAGE

• Determine the topic of a passage

• What did I learn about the topic ?

• Thesis Statement: Located in the Introduction, usually the last sentence in the
paragraph

• Main Idea of Each Paragraph: Topic Sentences

• Summary Statement in the Conclusion: Statement that reiterates the thesis.

Follow this formulaic approach in obtaining the main idea of the question

The main idea is that …….

The main idea deals with ………

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Writer’s Purpose

Purpose / Intention refers to what the writer hopes to achieve through the writing.

Narrative - to relate an event

Argument - to persuade / convince

Description - To create a picture

Exposition - To highlight / inform / educate

Method:

• Identify the type of writing

• Methods of organization/ strategies used by writing

• Language Techniques employed

The purpose is always written as something to do.

The writer’s purpose is to ___________ (verb) and link to main idea

Examples

To sensitise To explain

To create awareness To Argue

To alert To Persuade

To express To Evaluate

To explore To Illustrate

To entertain

To amuse

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Language Techniques

• Figurative Devices  - Simile, Metaphor, Onomatopeia, Oxymoron (loudly silent),

Personification, Hyperbole, Allusion, Idiom.

• Emotive Language and Choice of Vocabulary

• Connotative Language - signifying or suggestive of an associative or secondary meaning in

addition to the primary meaning.

• Denotative Language - the explicit usage of words as described within a dictionary.

• Use of Jargon - use of terms specific to a subject or context.

Connotative Language - has an emotion or feeling attached to it.

Denotative Language - The literal definition - has no sort of feeling attached to it.

Use of Jargon - use of technical language specific to a certain field.

Devices of Comparison

Simile - like or as

Metaphor - states that one thing is another. Comparison without use of as or like

Personification - compares an object to a person. Inanimate objects are given human

characteristics.

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Devices of Contrast

Contrast - Differences.

Paradox - making a contrary statement which has truth.

Oxymoron - two contrasting terms placed together.

Irony - something is said where the opposite is meant.

Pun, litotes, sarcasm ( Litotes - she’s not ugly, not bad, you are not wrong )

Pun - Play on words

Litotes - Understatement

Sarcasm

Devices of Sound
Onomatopoeia - words that mimic the sound

Alliteration - repetition of initial consonant sounds

Consonance - repetition of consonant sounds close together

Assonance - repetition of vowel sounds close together

Hyperbole - deliberate exaggeration

Exaggeration

Direct Appeal - directly addressing the audience

Inclusive Language - we

Rhetorical Question

Allusion

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Tone

Tone is referred to the writer’s attitude with regards to what they say.

- How is the writer saying what is being conveyed

- Word Choice: Denotative Vocabulary, Connotative Vocabulary, Allusion, jargon,
Loaded Words

- Attitude: Neutral, bias, positive, negative ( Tone ).

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Communication Studies

Module Two - Language and Community

Firstly, a few major things we are required to consider are listed below:

1) What is Language?

2) What is a Language?

3) Characteristics of Language

4) Functions of Language

To understand the answers to these questions, please refer to the first handout given
during the class.

When compared to other animals, humans possess a much more complex system of
communication. We possess a Language, whilst other organisms only possess a
system of communication. It is not over-the-top to state that man have accomplished a
plethora of their works due to their use of Language.

It is true that other animals have a system of communication associated with their
mates, but it is far simpler and lacks the complexity of the human communication
system . Animal Communication ( other than humans ) is neither reflective nor
descriptive. A fish entangled in a net can show distress by movement and sounds but
should it escape, can it detail the horrifying experience to other fishes - NO.
Furthermore, animal communication is not vocal . Animals predominantly communicate
with gestures, sounds, facial expressions, colors, and movement. In the final analysis,
animals are unable to transfer abstract thought  as humans do.

To sum up, animal communication is Instinctive . Animals easily adapt to their

communication. Hens and baby chicks- once a hen gives the signal of danger, all the
baby chicks automatically remain quiet.

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WHAT IS LANGUAGE ?

It is observed that language facilitates communication but communication is not

synonymous with language. There are many different forms of communication and
animal communication may not even be considered a language.

Linguists have highlighted a number of features of human language. Animal

communication shares some features but the two main offsetting features are: (NF)

Nature of Language

Function of Language

Animals are not considered to possess a language due to: nature of language and
function of language.

NATURE OF LANGUAGE (HNVSSDM)

- It is Uniquely Human. It is used within human societies for communicating. There is

no active conversion of thought into speech.

- Non Instinctive - Humans are not born with a knowledge of a language. They learn it
through socialization in a particular group that speak a particular language. These are
known as language/ speech communities.

- Verbal - Sound is very important in producing a language. Language is based around

recognizable sounds.

- Systematic - Language has a specific set of rules and regulations that regulate its
structure, pronunciation and order. It provides the framework for forever allows to
speak speech never before spoken.

- Symbolic  - There is hardly any association between fixed and inherent association
between words in the language and the objects they signify. The association is
determined by the speakers in the speech community. The association must be
assigned so that translations in other languages can easily take place.

- Dynamic - Language is always changing as new words are always being added to its
vocabulary/ lexicon or words that have become archaic are dropped. Also, as time
passes, the meaning of verbs change.

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- Maturational - As a human being grows older, he/she will begin to use more complex
sentence structure or lexicons. In addition, they can use old words in new ways. This
also keeps language dynamic.

LANGUAGE AND A LANGUAGE

A language   is a system made up of arbitrary symbols and rules ( grammar ) that

humans use to communicate with each other. ( individual )

Language , on the other hand, is used to refer to the thousands of such systems as a
general phenomenon. ( generic ).

PURPOSES OF LANGUAGE

Although all individuals do not speak the same way- eg. vocalics, lexicons - the
purposes associated with the speech remains the same. Language allows human
beings to communicate anything they want. ( IECPPM )

- Expressive Purposes  - This is when language is used to express one’s feelings,

ideas, and attitudes. This is indeed the purpose of diaries, journals etc. The reason for
doing this is not to effect change in an individual but to vent out emotions and relax.

- Informative Purposes - In this instance, language is used to convey information to a

person, group, school, office etc. For this purpose, a plethora of instruments can be
used eg. News bulletin board, flyers, signs.

- Cognitive Purposes  - Language is commonly used cognitive with the intention of

affecting the audience in some way and evoking a certain response. When one is
arguing, telling a joke, teaching etc, one is using language cognitively.

- Poetic Purposes - Language used in literary, stylistic and imaginative ways is using
language in a poetic manner. The sole purpose of using language in a creative way is
a poetic purpose. It is the way in which language is used, not its form.

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20 19
Country Official Language Majority Language Minority Language

Suriname Dutch Suriname Hindi Javanese Malay

Amerindian Languages
Maroon Creole
Languages

Netherland Antilles Dutch Papiamento/ English Spanish

Creole

Aruba Dutch Papiamento/ English Spanish

Creole

ATTITUDES TO LANGUAGE

• Pejorative ( Contempt, Disapproval ) —> Negative

Shame ( Uneducated, lower economic status, backwards )

• Positive

• Pride (Mutually Intelligible)

• Sense of Nationalism

• A sense of Personal Dignity, reflection of who you are

• A reflection of your status and values

• Reflects Prestige

• Language is personal and signifies sensible information such as social class,

educational background, and financial status.

Some quotes have come to be historically associated with power or oppression.

Individuals may be contentious or insecure about their language. Some speakers may
be insecure about their ow language or protective of it.

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Characteristics of Caribbean Creole

Like all languages, creole can be described according to the typical features of a
language. (SVGS)

• Sounds (phonology)

• Vocabulary (lexicons)

• Grammar (syntax)

• semantics ( use of words from english, but used in a different manner )

Caribbean creole languages, regardless of their lexicon base, exhibit consistent

features that are easily recognizable. These characteristics make them distinct from
Standard English or Standard French.

Phonology in Creole 

The sound represented by ‘th’ is replaced by t, d, and f.

Examples:

Think - tink

Then - den

thin - tin

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The sound of v is replaced by b

Examples:

gloves - glubs

vex - bex

r changes to l in Suriname

Example:

rasta - lasta

There is often a reduction in word initial consonant clusters and word final consonant
clusters

Examples:

world - worl

left - lef

rest - res

In some creoles, h is not a significant sound and is added or dropped at the beginning
of the word.

Examples:

ham - am

egg - hegg

happy - appy

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Some creoles dispense with the final consonant in the words that end in ‘ing’ or with a
‘d’.

Examples:

dancing - dancin

playing - playin

blind - bline

band - ban

In some cases, an English sound combination is reversed.

Examples:

Ask - aks

film - flim

Restructuring of English words by inserting a vowel between consonants

Examples:

Public - pubilic

Students - studients

English - Engelish

Creole has a palatal y after consonants k and g.

Examples:

car - Kyar

gamble - gyamble

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Lexicon of Creole 

Derived primarily from standard english, however, a number of words used in creole
speech are related to cultural influences from other European, African, East Indian, and
Chinese Languages.

East Indian Amerindian Chinese French Spanish

Dhal BBQ Chow Mein Ponche de Cre’me Pelau

Aloo Hammock Corbeaux Pastelle

Baigan Maize Pommecythere Parang

Cassava

Arepas

Rastafarian Influences: ital, irie, I an I

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The Creole Grammar System 

The structure of creole are often similar to those of African languages. Creole shows
less dependance on morphology.

1) Number: Creole nouns carry no sign of plurality and the utterance makes it clear
that the reference is more than one.

a) Use of ‘dem’

Standard English: Girl Girls

Creole: Girl de girl dem.

b) The creole may use some words ( the actual number or plenty).

Standard English: a mango 4 mango

Creole: ah mango plenty mango

2) Possession: Creole shows possession by juxtaposition, by following one noun

immediately after another, the first being the possessor and the second, the possessed.

SE: Tim’s book Boys’ books

Creole: Tim book dem book/ dey book

3) Comparison: Creole engages in the use of double comparatives.

Dis more bigger.

Tim more taller.

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Interviews

Advantages:
- Researcher can adapt questions to clarify doubt and ensure understanding.
- Researcher can pick up on non-verbal queues.
- Useful to obtain detailed information on personal feelings, perceptions, and opinions.
- Allows for more detailed questions
- Achieves a high response rate
- Respondents own words can be recorded
- Ambiguity is clarified and incomplete answers are followed up
- Interviewees are not influenced by others in his/her group.

Disadvantages
- Geographical Limitations
- Costly in some cases
- Interviewer biased as they may understand and transcribe interviews in different ways
- Respondents may feel uneasy about the anonymity of their responses
- Time Consuming

Focus Groups

Advantages:
- Detailed information is obtained about personal and group feelings, perceptions and opinions.
- Saves time and money compared to individual interviews
- Provides a broader range of information
- offers opportunities to see clarification
- provides useful information for quotations, publications, and presentations.

Disadvantages:
- There can be disagreements and irrelevant discussions which distract from the main focus
- Difficult to control and manage
- Difficult to encourage a range of people to participate
- It can be intimidating and participants may be obliged to agree with the dominant view.
- Because they are self selecting, they may not be representative of the population.

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Document Analysis

Advantages:
- Decreases difficulty of encouraging participation by uses
- Fewer costs involved

Disadvantages:
- Time Consuming
- Some documents may be sensitive and not publicly available

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

Reliability relates to consistency, trustworthiness, and dependability.

Factors to consider when determining Reliability:

• The Author
 Is he or she an expert in the field ?
 What are his/her qualifications ?

• Professional Standards
Most professions are governed by professional standards eg. academic authors who are
published in academic journals, or books have to conform to standards. Also, articles published
in academic journals are peer-reviewed. Additionally, many newspapers, especially large
international ones, expect their journalists to operate within a professional approach.

• Publisher
Academic publishers need to maintain their reputation for accurate factual information,
therefore, they have editors to ensure a high standard, and articles are peer-reviewed. Similarly,
publishers of newspapers and magazines try to avoid legal action for libel (written), and so print
the truth.

• Organization and Institution.

Evaluation of Data obtained from an organization or institution that is reputable and understands
their role or responsibilities are important. Examples of Reputable organizations: United
Nations, World Bank etc.

• Research Method
Whether the research method chosen is suitable to generate the data.

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Validity refers to the cogency ( how convincing ) of sources.

1) Is the information based on sound reasoning ?

2) Does it have logical structure ?
3) Is it supported by evidence
4) can the information be considered as incontestable?

Factors to consider when determining Validity

• Accuracy
The currency of the sources and the information.
When was the data published or gathered?
Could the information be out of date ?

• Relevance
Does the information relate to circumstances you are applying it to?
Eg. Will research carries out in the US apply to the Caribbean ?

• Data Collection
Was the data collected by reliable methods?
Was it accurately collected ?

• Sample Size
Was the sample size large enough for generalization to be accurate ?
With any social research, the sample size is vital in judging whether the data is representative of
the population as a whole.

• Replicable
Do other sources have similar information?
Would another similar piece of research have the same result?

• Biased

- Representation: Does the sample include all the variables within the population, such as:
gender, age, social class, religion, educational level ( which may affect responses ). Are the
proportions in the sample the same as that of the population. Therefore, even with large
samples, if the data is not represented, bias in the data will occur.
- Biased: Has the data been collected by someone of the same or different culture, eg. a
Western researcher may misinterpret a non-western culture and be biased due to racism, lack
of understanding or the factors.
- Political Biased: Is the data being presented from a right wing or a left wing perspective? Eg.
A conservative agenda will differ from a liberal agenda.
- Social Bias: Aspects such as gender, race, age, and social classes may affect presentation of
data.

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- Research Methods: Mistakes within the research method inadvertently cause bias, hence
academic research is reviewed by either academics to evaluate methodology and avoid bias
in the conclusions.
- Aim of source is presenting data (purpose): The reason for data being presented may cause
bias if the sources aim is persuasive. There may be bias or advertisement.

The Communication Process

Communication is the ability of one to interact and convey their point of view by way of
speech, writing, drawings, body language, gestures and facial expressions. It is also
the act of imparting and transferring information as fact/ news.

Elements of the Communication Process:

• Sender/ Source - The entity from which information or message flows.

• Channel - means of communicating the message
• Receiver - the target entity for the message
• Feedback - The response given to the message from the receiver to the sender.

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Aspects of the Communication Process:

• Encoding: The representation of an idea in a way that enables for it to be conveyed.

• Selecting a Channel: The chosen channel should enhance the opportunity for the
receiver to accurately receive what was sent.

• Decoding and Interpretation: The receiver is the decoder, and through the use of past
experience, the language itself, perceptions, opinions or any other clues to decipher
the message sent and understood the meaning.

• Barriers and Facilitators: Anything that negatively affects the understanding of a

message is known as a barrier. The opposite would be a facilitator, which aids the
passing of information.

• Feedback: When the receiver processes/ decodes the information, the response given
or lack of response is known as feedback.

• Media, Channels and technology: Communication process decisions must be made

on the best channel and medium to ensure effective communication.

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Forms of Communication

Verbal Communication: Based on the use and understanding of vocabulary.

( i.e. speech and writing).

Non-Verbal Communication: Relies on elements other than speech or writing. In theory, non-
verbal communication entails more than ninety percent of communication.

Types of Non-Verbal Communication

• Kinesics - the use of gestures, facial expressions, body language, head movement, posture,
eye contact.
• Adornments/Attire- Body Presentation, physical environment, dress
• Paralanguage/ Vocalics - Tone, pitch, volume, and rate at which one speaks.
• Proxemics - Use of Space
• Haptics - Use of Touch
• Chronemics - Use of Time, Punctuality.

FUNCTIONS OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

• Contradictory
• Emphasis
• Regulating
• Complementing
• Substituting

- Contradicting - Are you sick? Person coughs and say, “Yh!”

- Emphasis - If someone accuses you, and you raise your hand and say,” no it wasn't me.”
- Regulating - Pausing after ending a sentence, indicating that the other person may now enter
the conversation.
- Complementing - Person is agreeing and says yes whilst nodding.
- Substituting - Someone asks a question and instead of replying, one shrugs his shoulders.

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CONTEXT OF COMMUNICATION

Situation: Where, why, what

Social: Who, relationship, cultural beliefs.

• Intrapersonal: Communication that takes place within the individual, ie, it occurs in the mind. It
is internal to the communicator.
• Interpersonal - Communication that takes place between two or more persons. Interpersonal
communication is irreversible.
• Group: Communication that occurs in a group of between 2 to 12 individuals. It takes place in
different contexts and mixes interpersonal communication with social clustering.
• Organizational: Communication which takes within an organizational context. There are
patterns of organizational communication: Downward- High position to Lower ( Teacher to
Students), Upward- Lower position to Higher position ( Students to Teachers), Horizontal- Sam
e Position (teachers), Grapevine ( Gossip).
• Academic - communication in various forms with which the student at that level should be
familiar
• Public
• Intercultural - Also known as cross-cultural communication
• Mass Communication - Use of Mass Media to transmit a message, eg. An address to the
nation.
• Health Communication.

CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION

A channel is a means of delivering your message. How the message is sent:

Range includes:
• Oral
• Written
• Electronic Media
• Visual

The decision as to which channel is used, depends on the context of communication:

• Nature of message
• Whether private or public
• whether audience/receiver is an individual or a large group
• whether feedback is required instantly
• Geographic Distance

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ORAL

Advantages:
• Direct
• Can be varied to suit the needs of the receiver
• Easy to Understand
• Can be Questioned quickly

Disadvantages:
• Need to listen carefully
• Affected by Noise
• Passive
• No permanent/ accurate record
• Can be quickly forgotten

Eg, Speeches, meetings, discussion, conversations, interviews, argument, singing, complaints.

WRITTEN

Advantages:
• Recorded so there is permanency
• More structured
• Easy to distribute
• Cannot be varied
• Can be referred to again

Eg. Notice Boards, Letter, Newsletter, Magazine

Disadvantages:
• Often difficult to read.
• No body language
• Feedback is slower
• No immediate response
• May be misinterpreted
• Losty and Time Consuming

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