Unit 4 Spoken Language and Creative Re-casting overview - WJEC A2 English Language
A complete overview of WJEC A2 English Language Unit 4, Spoken Language and Creative Re-casting: analysing a transcript with features of speech and conversation theory (Section A), and transforming a source text into a new genre (Section B).
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This overview maps WJEC A2 English Language Unit 4, Spoken Language and Creative Re-casting. Like Unit 2 it pairs analysis with production, but at A2 level: you analyse real spoken interaction and then demonstrate your command of genre by transforming a source text.
What Unit 4 tests
Unit 4 has two sections. Section A tests close analysis of spoken language using features of speech and conversation theory; Section B tests directed writing through the re-casting of a source text into a new genre, audience, purpose or mode. Together they assess both analytical understanding of talk and practical command of how texts are made for readers.
The two sections
This module covers both sections, each with its own page.
- Section A: Analysing spoken language. Transcript analysis using prosodics, non-fluency and interactional features (turn-taking, overlaps, adjacency pairs, repair) and conversation theory (Grice's maxims, politeness, power).
- Section B: Creative re-casting. Transforming a given source text into a new genre, audience, purpose or mode, selecting and reshaping the material with deliberate, genre-appropriate choices.
How to study Unit 4
- Learn the features of speech. Master prosodics, non-fluency and interactional features so you can label them precisely.
- Apply conversation theory. Use Grice, politeness and power to explain transcripts, not just describe them.
- Read transcript notation. Practise decoding timed pauses, overlaps and emphasis before analysing.
- Practise re-casting. Transform sources into features, leaflets, speeches and scripts for different audiences.
- Adopt genre and mode. Build pieces in the target genre's shape and adapt to spoken or written modes.
Where this fits in the qualification
Unit 4 is an A2 unit alongside Unit 3 and the Unit 5 investigation. Its spoken-language analysis draws on the pragmatics from the AS units, and its re-casting builds on Unit 2 original writing. For the official specification, past papers and mark schemes, see wjec.co.uk, and always revise from the current specification because question style is board-specific.