Grouping Texts Task

Grouping 1:  

 

Texts A, C and D all have a secondary purpose to inform which helps them achieve their primary purpose to persuade. Text A is a job specification for a waitress in café, in order to persuade people to apply the first piece of information the audience – anyone interested in waitressing of any gender aged 16 and over- receives is the job title : ‘’ Front of House Team (Part-time, weekend)  - Clifton.’’  This might have been done to carefully select the people who are suited for the job from those who aren’t, the use of jargon in '’Part of House Team’’ shows us that the writer wants someone who already has experience in waitressing, we can tell this because anyone who has worked in waitressing before would know what this term means but those who haven’t won't. By saying where the café is located and the number of hours required it further eliminates those who aren’t interested in part time work, or those who live too far away for the job to be suitable to them.  For those who meet the requirements this could be a form of persuasion as it might entice them to apply for the job.  The job advert also contains a small description of the company: ‘’ our mission is to serve simple & well prepared food and drinks made with great ingredients, skill & love.’’ The use of the first person pronoun of ‘’our’’ makes the company seem like a family which is then supported by the abstract noun ‘’love,’’ this gives a welcoming vibe and might persuade the audience to apply.  By stating what the company is about, it also informs the audience what kind of environment they would be working in, as well as provide an idea of what kind of employee the company is looking for. Text C also uses information in order to persuade however unlike the other text, C relies heavily on it. Text C is the back of an Innocent Smoothies bottle; Innocent Smoothies are well known for their healthy drinks that are 100% natural. All packaging contains a list of the ingredients, however to stand out Innocent Smoothies puts the exact amount of ingredients in each bottle: ‘’2 ½ pressed apples, ½ mashed banana, 12 crushed raspberries, ½ freshly squeezed orange etc.’’ By adding adjectives in front of the ingredient it conveys just how much work and effort goes into each bottle, as well as inform the consumer how fresh the produce is. The preciseness of the measurements ensures the consumer that what they are drinking is 100% natural and therefore convinces them to maybe buy the product. Similarly to A, the back of the Innocent bottle also contains information about the company, this makes the consumer trust them more as they are informed on the company and therefore might convince them to stay loyal to the company.Text D is the blurb of a book and has a main target audience of female teenagers. One way we can tell who the book is aimed for is the language it uses:  ‘’but when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Support Group…’’ the use of the adjective ‘’gorgeous’’ suggests to us that the book could be written from Hazel’s point view, showing us that the book might be mainly aimed at girls as they would be able to relate more with the character therefore convincing them to buy it. Through orthography the audience can also be persuaded to buy the book, written in bold and in yellow colouring at the top of the book is ‘’ #1 New York Times Bestseller.’’ This convinces people to buy the book as the New York Times is a well respected magazine, and therefore shows the audience that the book is highly regarded.  The bright yellow colour has positive connotations of happiness and sunshine which might persuade the reader to buy the book. 

Grouping 2:

 

Texts B and E both use rhyming couplets in order to achieve their primary purpose which is to entertain.

Text B is an extract from a popular children’s book The Gruffalo. The vocabulary used in the book are of a simple nature and doesn’t contain more than 3 syllables, because of this the rhymes have a set rhythm. This makes the book easier to and read more enjoyable for the children as they are not caught up on bigger words that they cannot understand. It also makes the book more memorable. An example of the simplistic language and rhyme used is: ‘’ a mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood, a fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.’’ The use of the determiner and indefinite article of ‘’a’’ when referring to the characters depersonalizes them, in doing this the author makes it seem like it could be any fox or any mouse that this story is about making it more exciting for the audience. By only having 10 syllables in each verse also makes the book more memorable. The use of plosives in ‘’deep dark wood’’ makes a heavy sound which makes it easier for the reader to imagine the setting of the story, this then might make it seem like we are walking through the woods with the together making the story more interactive. The next line in the excerpt is ‘’where are you going to little brown mouse?’’ and could be seen as a form of colloquial language. The language used here is similar to that of a child, this clearly shows us who the target audience is and is also an example of accommodation. It also creates a light atmosphere within the whole story as even the speech rhymes.  Text E is a poem by Daniel Gabriel Rosetti known as ‘The Woodspurge’ and although has similar techniques as B it has a different target audience. Like Text B ‘The Woodspurge’ has an AAAA rhyme scheme throughout the whole poem, however in the poem it is used to create a dull and repetitive atmosphere. The rhymes in the poem aren’t quite as simple as the rhymes in B as it occasionally uses half rhymes, however the strengths of the rhyme are the same: ‘’from perfect grief there need not be, wisdom or even memory:’’ The use of oxymoron in ‘’perfect grief’’ conveys to us the powerful sadness that the writer feels, and also creates the monotonous atmosphere that the writer is trying to create. The next line adds to the feeling of hopelessness that the poet feels as it is saying that sometimes grief doesn’t have a point and it’s just there to be felt. The two verses show us that the language used in this poem is more sophisticated than the language used in Text B. This is because it contains disyllabic and polysyllabic words; the use of formal language could be attributed to the fact that it is aimed at an older target audience or the age of the poem.  

Grouping Texts

Texts A, C and E all have the purpose to persuade, however they do it for different reasons; A and C are all trying to make the audience do a task whilst E is trying to get the audience to buy the product.  Text A is a missing’s poster for a lost cat and is asking the audience- any person that may have the cat- to call the owner. A does this through the use of emotive language, when describing the cat, the writer states ‘’ he loves food and will definitely respond to the words ‘dinner time’, ‘’ the use of anthropomorphism makes the cat seem more human and so creates an image of importance which might make people more willing to look for the cat. It also adds light hearted humour in a relatively serious text which allows the writer to persuade the audience to help him/her more as it might make them more likable and so the audience feels more willing to help out.  Text A also uses emotive language to persuade the reader similarly with Text E. However Text E’s use of emotive language isn’t as strong as that of A’s, this could be attributed to the fact that in order to read the back of the bottle the audience would already have interest in the product, which means they don’t require as much persuading as the audience of A’s. Text’s E is the back of a shampoo bottle and therefore contains information about the brand, under the heading ‘’Our Philosophy’’ the bottle reads ‘’ we believe that every woman deserves to look fabulous without spending a fortune.’’  By using the first person plural of ‘’we’’ it makes the company seem like one big group of friends which might make the audience trust them more. The verb ‘’deserves’’ is a form of flattery which in turn is a form persuasion but also it raises the status of the brand as well as the audience. It makes it seem like women should only get the best and the best is this brand of shampoo. The noun ‘fortune’ is informal and in this case is an example of colloquial language, this gives us an idea of who the audience for this shampoo bottle is; average working woman who want the best products but for a reasonable price. ‘’Fortune’’ in this case could be an example of accommodation which is a persuasive technique as subconsciously l it makes us trust the brand because they are similar to us.  Text C could be categorised as a weak inclusion as it doesn’t use emotive language to persuade the audience to quit smoking but uses graphology, facts and imperatives. The main fact that the poster is centred around is ‘’ you are four times more likely to quit with our help than on your own,’’ the use of a different colour on the first half of the sentence highlights the importance of the fact and therefore makes it stay in people’s heads more. Fact is a form of persuasive technique as people are more likely to trust it rather than an opinion, and by putting the NHS logo on the poster it further heightens the importance and reliability of it. Another word highlighted in the text is ‘’free, ’’ ‘’patches,’’ ‘’gum’’ this could be used to convey to people how it can be to quit smoking. It might make more people willing to quit smoking. The main focal point of the poster is ‘’take the next step,’’ this is in bold and in a bigger font than the rest of the other words. The imperative implies that it is up to the person to quit smoking, it also has positive connotations because ‘‘take the next step’’ implies moving forward onto a better and healthier life away from smoking. This is supported by the image of a woman’s shoe stepping on a packet of cigarettes.  

Twitter Trolls; Hiding Behind Affordances

Twitter is a popular social media site that has over 284 million active users every month. It allows users to 'tweet' their views and opinions in no more than 140 characters. Twitter also enables it's users to 'retweet' and 'favourite' tweets that they like, as well as allowing them to follow other people. 

Like many social media site one affordance of Twitter is that it allows people to create an online persona; people can re-invent themselves and make their voices be heard and no-one even has to know who you really are. However people take this affordance one step too far, and use Twitter to troll celebrities and other users. Trolling is an act of anti-social behaviour on the internet with the sole purpose of creating conflict between users. An example of a Twitter troll is '@plasticbieber' who's Twitter account is dedicated to Justin Bieber and sending hate to boy-band One Direction. '@plasticbieber's' many tweets include racism, hatred, bigotry etc. which are all commonly found in trolling. ''@OneDirection can you please put your ugly fans back in their cage? or do i have to call animal control seriously..'' is just one example of her tweets. By including One Direction's user name in her tweet she has made sure that this will appear in their 'notifications' which increase One Direction's chance of seeing it; although this is  another affordance of Twitter this is also an example of how it can be abused. Including user name's in tweets is one convention of Twitter and allows users to talk directly to each other, yet another affordance of the site.

The Princess Phone; A Short History

During 1959 the first compact telephone with a light up dial was introduced by Bell System. It was designed for convenient use in the bedroom and was primarily targeted at women; because of this the Princess Phone came in a range of different colours: pink, red, yellow, moss green, ivory, light blue etc. The phone was primarily advertised with the slogan ‘’it’s little, it’s lovely, it lights.’

The telephone was designed by Henry Dreyfuss Associates along with Bell’s Lab engineers and Indianapolis Model Shop. Before hitting the mass market a prototype of the Princess Phone was underwent a product trial and was given to a focus group to try out. The initial response to the phone was negative many people said the phone was ‘too light’ and ‘moved around a lot.’ Bell Labs however disregarded the feedback and gave Western Electric permission to manufacture the phone. Throughout its lifetime the Princess Phone received more negative feedback and because of this underwent some technological changes: lead weights were added to make them heavier, so as to not move around so much; a single gong ringer replaced the external ringer.After these changes the phone's popularity increased; some even said that the First Lady at the time (Jackie Kennedy) bought one herself.  Despite the problems it had, the Princess Phone still stands as one of today's best loved phone. 

Excerpt from a Transcript of a conversation

Participants: Ruby(R) and Sam (S)

R: Ok right(.) and then at the bottom left hand corner

S: yeah

R: draw like a square/

                         S: /yeah

                        R: / but don’t fill in the top that’s facing the circle/

                          

  S: / how big’s the square?

R: Quite small(.) kind of (2) actually medium(.)

S: Ok (1)

R: And then at the top of the square there’s kind of like a sideway’s ‘S’(.) that’s like along the top of the square. (2) If that makes sense.

Analysis of Transcript:

In the middle of the transcript we can see Sam interrupting Ruby whilst she is describing the next shape that Sam has to draw. The interruption is indicated with ‘/,’ Ruby however talks over this interruption which is also indicated with yet another slash. This is known as a back channel, and is a co-operative form of interruption; this is because Sam is not really interrupting Ruby but is talking under her instead. This can show that the speakers have a good relationship, because by saying ‘yeah’ Sam is encouraging Ruby to continue with her description and is re-assuring her that her description is understandable. We can also see that they have a good relationship because Ruby does not stop with her description when Sam interrupts her. When Ruby continues with her description Sam interrupts her with an interrogative: ‘how big’s the square?’ From this we can gather that Ruby was not being descriptive enough in her description which resulted in Sam having to ask for more detail. To answer Sam’s question Ruby replies with: ‘ Quite small(.) kind of (2) actually medium.’ The pause between the first and second sentence is not significant and it just shows us the rhythm of Ruby’s speech. However the 2 second pause is significant, from the long pause we can guess that Ruby is re-evaluating what she has said, as well as thinking about what to say next. We can see that after the pause Ruby changes her first answer, which shows us that she was re-evaluating her answer and after finding it to be incorrect she chose to change it. Sam then replies with an ‘ok’ which could be to show that she has taken into consideration what Ruby has said. The short pause might be due to Ruby giving Sam time to draw. The last sentence shows Ruby having a 2 second pause before saying ‘if that makes sense.’ The pause again could be Ruby giving Sam time to draw what she has just described. However it could also be her, re-evaluating her description of the shape which is what prompts her to say ‘if that makes sense,’ because she might have thought it might not have been very clear which is why she is asking for clarification from Sam.

Lilies

‘‘I need to go’’ She made no reply.  

‘‘I’ll visit again tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that, as promised. And I’ll bring more lilies. They’re still your favourite right?’’

Still she remained silent. But what did he expect? It’s not as if gravestones can speak. 

Commentary on 'Gods Among #5' Article

The ‘Gods Among Us’ article I have written is mainly targeted at the readers of Empire magazine, with the main purpose to persuade the readers that Jennifer Lawrence is a ‘god among us.’ This is because many people who read the magazine will be aware of who Jennifer Lawrence, or maybe will recognize her from a movie. However they might not agree with my point of view, which is why I have used literary and language techniques such as simile’s and metaphors to convince them. Due to the fact that the article can be accessed online another purpose of the article is to entertain people who already like Jennifer Lawrence and just like reading articles about her.

One way I have tried to persuade the reader is by creating a list of the movies that Jennifer Lawrence has starred in; ‘X-Men… The Silver Linings Playbook… Winter Bone.’ The list has several purposes; one of them is to show the readers that Jennifer Lawrence can play a variety of roles and because of this people will be able to see that she is in fact talented. The list also connotes that Jennifer Lawrence is very hard working and dedicated to her job; this will make her seem more likable to the readers and helps me convince them of her talent. Another purpose of the list is to create a connection between the reader and Jennifer Lawrence; most people who read Empire will be into films and will most likely have watched a film that Jennifer Lawrence has starred in. However they might not have realised who she was, and so by providing a list of the most popular movies she’s been in they’ll recognise who she is. This then creates a connection between the person and Jennifer Lawrence, creating more interest for the reader which forces them to read more of the article.

Using the interest created from the opening paragraphs I then use metaphors to try and convince them of my point of view. The style model I based this article on also used metaphors; ‘this is a cat so cool’ is just one example. I therefore used this technique in my writing an example of this is when  I state that Jennifer Lawrence is ‘the sun, a dazzling ball of talent.’ This metaphor suggests that Hollywood needs Jennifer Lawrence just as much as we need the sun, it can also work as a pun. This is because the sun is a huge star in our galaxy, and in terms of film and the media Jennifer Lawrence is a huge star. This creates a light hearted humour in the article, making the reader feel relaxed making it easier for me as the writer to persuade them. I then extended the metaphor by describing Jennifer Lawrence as a ‘dazzling ball of talent.’ I have used the adjective ‘dazzling’ to carry on theme of Jennifer Lawrence of being a star; it also suggests that Jennifer Lawrence is extremely beautiful. In addition to this the adjective can be placed in the lexical field of stars, which further emphasizes my point on just how brilliant Jennifer Lawrence is. Other words that belong in the lexical field of stars that I have used throughout this article are; ‘shine’ and ‘brighter.’ The style model that I used also used lexical fields to get their point across; however instead of using the lexical field of gods I used the lexical field of stars.

 Another technique that Simon Braund uses in his ‘God’s Among Us’ article is contrasting Paul Newman to other celebrities, and so I also used this technique in my writing. For my article I contrasted Jennifer Lawrence to Jennifer Aniston, this is because Jennifer Aniston is a very well known superstar and a celebrity that I feel all my target audience will know. One way I have contrasted them us by comparing how many awards Jennifer Lawrence has won in comparison with Jennifer Aniston; Lawrence… won 99… whilst Aniston has only won 28.’ This shows that although Aniston has been in the industry twice as long as Lawrence, she hasn’t won as many awards and maybe therefore isn’t as talented as Lawrence is. By using factual information to compare the two actresses I have solidified my opinion that Lawrence is a better actress, it also makes my point more valid. Moreover it will make the reader realize that Jennifer Lawrence is actually a great actress, this is because it is hard to argue with facts. I then compared Jennifer Lawrence to even more successful actresses like Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts; I chose to compare her to these two actresses because in the world of film they are thought of being at the top. By comparing Jennifer Lawrence to two of the top actresses currently, it makes it seem like she could also be one of the most successful actresses of our time.