Language Analysis: A Feature Article on Boredom — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the 11th Grade text analysis & essays worksheet.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheet11th Grade · English · Text Analysis & EssaysLanguage Analysis: A Feature Article on Boredom — Answers
Part A: Contention, tone and technique
Circle the best answer.
- APhones should be banned for young people.
- BWe should deliberately make room for boredom because it encourages original thinking and noticing.
- CLong car trips are the best part of childhood.
- DBoredom is a serious problem that technology has solved.
Answer: We should deliberately make room for boredom because it encourages original thinking and noticing.
The article argues that boredom is valuable and ends by urging readers to "leave a gap" each day. Paragraph 5 explicitly rejects getting rid of phones.
- Aangry and accusing
- Bnostalgic and gently humorous
- Cformal and scientific
- Danxious and urgent
Answer: nostalgic and gently humorous
The childhood memory, the hyperbole of "the longest place on Earth" and the comic "opera about a lost sock" create warm, self-mocking nostalgia.
- Aa rhetorical question
- Bmetaphor
- Calliteration
- Dan imperative
Answer: metaphor
Boredom is described as if it were a threatened animal, which suggests it is precious and at risk of disappearing.
- Aanaphora
- Bonomatopoeia
- Ca simile
- Dan anecdote
Answer: anaphora
Anaphora repeats words at the start of successive clauses or sentences, building rhythm and a sense of accumulating loss.
- ATo introduce a new anecdote
- BTo concede a point to the other side and then rebut it
- CTo give statistical evidence
- DTo change the topic
Answer: To concede a point to the other side and then rebut it
The writer acknowledges technology's "extraordinary gifts" (concession), then argues that a gift never put down "becomes a leash" (rebuttal). This makes the writer seem reasonable.
- AIt becomes bitter and sarcastic
- BIt becomes encouraging and quietly urgent, speaking directly to readers
- CIt becomes neutral and factual
- DIt becomes confused and uncertain
Answer: It becomes encouraging and quietly urgent, speaking directly to readers
Short imperatives ("leave a gap", "Let the drive be long") address readers directly, and the closing metaphor ("We should stop locking it") adds gentle urgency.
Part B: How the language positions readers
Answer in full sentences. Always explain the effect on the reader, not just the technique.
Answer: The anecdote draws readers in through story and humor and makes the writer relatable; many readers will recall similar moments. By showing boredom producing creativity (an invented language, an imaginary opera) before arguing for it, the writer makes readers feel the claim is true from experience, so they are more open to the argument that follows.
Answer: The questions voice the doubts a skeptical reader might have, so readers feel their view has been heard. The short, calm answer "Not necessarily" then turns the argument, inviting readers to reconsider rather than pushing them, which makes the writer seem fair-minded.
Answer: It is hedged: "Some researchers have suggested that boredom can nudge the mind towards daydreaming". The cautious verbs ("suggested", "can") avoid overclaiming, which keeps the writer credible with thoughtful readers while still lending the argument the authority of research.
Answer: The writer corrects one metaphor (an empty room: nothing there) with another (a waiting room: something is about to arrive). This reframes boredom from absence to anticipation, positioning readers to see it as a productive pause. The play on "waiting room" and "what waits there" makes the idea memorable.
Answer: The specific sensory details let readers picture small, beautiful things they may be missing. The list moves from sight to human connection to sound, suggesting that constant distraction costs us richness across our senses and relationships. The gentle, lyrical rhythm contrasts with the quick "scroll, a clip, a notification" of paragraph 2.
Answer: It extends the room imagery of paragraph 3: boredom was a "waiting room", and now it is a "door" to new ideas. The inclusive "We" shares responsibility with readers, and "locking" suggests we are actively shutting out something valuable. Ending on short declarative sentences gives the conclusion a firm, memorable final note.
Part C: A model language analysis
Read the model response, then answer the questions.
Model response (extract): In "In Praise of the Empty Afternoon", the writer contends that boredom is a valuable experience that modern readers should deliberately make room for. The article opens with a nostalgic, gently comic anecdote about a long childhood car trip, its hyperbolic "longest place on Earth" and absurd "opera about a lost sock" inviting readers to recall their own childhood boredom with affection rather than irritation. Having established this warmth, the writer then shifts to a more concerned tone, describing boredom as "an endangered species", a metaphor that positions readers to see it as fragile and worth protecting. The list of "a scroll, a clip, a notification" mimics the rapid, fragmented attention the writer criticizes.
The writer pre-empts objections through rhetorical questions ("Is that so terrible?"), voicing a skeptical reader's doubts before calmly answering "Not necessarily". A carefully hedged reference to research, followed by the reframing of boredom from "an empty room" to "a waiting room", invites readers to view it as a pause full of possibility. The anaphora of "We lose" then builds a cumulative sense of what is slipping away, with the inclusive "we" implicating writer and reader alike. In paragraph 5, a concession that technology offers "extraordinary gifts" reassures readers that the writer is not an extremist, which makes the rebuttal, that an unrelenting gift "becomes a leash", more persuasive. The article concludes with direct, encouraging imperatives such as "leave a gap", before the closing metaphor of boredom as "a door" we should "stop locking", leaving readers with a sense that the choice is theirs.
Answer: Any one, for example: "inviting readers to recall their own childhood boredom", "positioning readers to see it as fragile and worth protecting", "readers are reassured that the writer is not an extremist", or "leaving readers with a sense that the choice is theirs".
Answer: It follows the article's development in order, using signposts such as "opens", "then shifts", "pre-empts" and "concludes", and it tracks how the tone changes from nostalgic to concerned to reasonable to encouraging. Each technique is linked to its place in the argument.
Part D: Write your own analysis
Model answer: In the final section of the article, the writer moves from describing the loss of boredom to urging readers to reclaim it, using a combination of anaphora, concession and imperatives. Paragraph 4 opens with the command "Consider what we lose", drawing readers into reflection, before the repeated "We lose" builds a steady, mournful rhythm that makes the costs of constant distraction feel cumulative. The concrete images in the central list, "the shape of a cloud, the expression on a stranger's face, the sound of rain", appeal to readers' senses and suggest that small, quiet beauties are disappearing unnoticed. The paragraph climaxes with the loss of "the chance to discover what we think when no one is telling us what to think", an appeal to readers' sense of independence that raises the stakes from pleasure to freedom of thought. Having built this concern, the writer adopts a reasonable tone in paragraph 5, conceding that technology has given "extraordinary gifts". This concession disarms readers who might suspect the writer of being anti-technology, and it prepares for the sharp metaphor of the gift that "becomes a leash", which suggests that devices can quietly control those who hold them. The final paragraph then shifts to direct address, with short imperatives such as "leave a gap" and "Let the drive be long" that make the suggestion sound simple and achievable. The admission that the "restless, itchy feeling" will come acknowledges readers' likely discomfort, making the advice feel honest. Finally, the article closes on a sequence of short, firm sentences that extend the earlier room imagery: boredom "is a door", and "We should stop locking it". The inclusive "we" frames the change as a shared responsibility, positioning readers to see their next empty moment not as a problem but as an opportunity.
Success criteria:
- Identifies the writer's purpose in this section and tracks how the argument develops
- Analyses at least four techniques (for example, anaphora, sensory imagery, concession, metaphor, imperatives, inclusive language)
- Every technique is linked to a specific effect on the reader (positions, invites, reassures, encourages)
- Short, accurately embedded quotations
- Comments on tone and how it shifts
- Formal, objective analytical voice: analyses the writer's choices rather than agreeing or disagreeing with them
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.