Deverbal Adjectives
Use the data below and relevant literature to write an essay of no more than 1,500 words on the topic ‘Deverbal Adjectives.’ In this essay, you should discuss the phonological, categorical and semantic change that occurs when –able is attached to the words in the examples. You should also discuss the relation that holds between the underlined words in the ‘a’ examples and their –able suffixed counterparts in ‘b.’ Ensure that you look for relevant sub-categories to which the suffixation applies in your discussion of the change in category.
DATA
1a. The researcher cured the disease.
b. The disease is curable
2a. The boss employed the worker.
b. The worker is employable
3a. The boy washed the fence.
b. The fence is washable.
4a. The doctor healed the patient.
b. The patient is healable
5a. The student read the document
b. The document is readable
6a. The wind broke the window
b. The window is breakable
NB:The six verbs underlined are:cured,employed,washed,healed,read,broke
GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTATION
Your entire discussion should be done in no more than 1,500 words. The following are some general guidelines for preparing and presenting the essay.
1. Make an opening statement that puts the topic into context. What is your thesis? That is, what is the overall point you wish to make? What general topic is this a part of? What background information will a reader need in order to follow the discussion? (Stick to just what is directly relevant.)
2. Identify the problem/task.
Break it down into smaller parts. What are the issues? What is involved? What do you need to demonstrate in order to convince the reader of your overall point or thesis?
3. State the method of approaching the task.
What did you do in order to investigate the issues and so achieve your goal or support your thesis? How did you sort your data so you can find relevant answers? What categories/headings did you use to help you sort your data into meaningful categories? How did you analyse your findings? (What tool did you use and why?)
4. Discuss the findings.
What patterns did you observe? What generalizations have you discovered? What surprises? How do you interpret what you found in the data? What light do the results of your investigation shed on the task you identified?
5. Restate the task (briefly) and state your conclusion.
What did you set out to do? What did you find of relevance to what you set out to do? You began with a topic for investigation & identified the issues you needed to investigate in order to achieve your goal, what answers did you find? What is the answer to your overall question?
6. Organize and express the essay well. Use Standard English. Organize for effective communication. Don’t present examples without discussing them; show how they make the point under discussion. Do not overuse illustrative examples. One or two examples usually make a point.
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING IN-COURSE ESSAY This activity is for 15% of the total marks for the course. To make the assessment easier, the activity will be graded out of 30 points total and converted to a mark out of 15.
Allotment of Points: 6 points -Statement of Context/ Background of the topic under discussion.
4 points -Statement of problem/task/issue
2 points -Method of approaching the task
15 points -Discussion of findings
3 points – Conclusion
-5 points – Exceeding the word limit
-1 to 3 points – Problems with grammar and expression
-2 points – Poor organization of the essay