Six Document Analysis.

Authors Avatar

Jonathan Stamp – ICT Coursework Unit 1 – Six Document Analysis Page  of

Six Document Analysis

Table of Contents

Introduction

I am going to be analysing three business letters and the brochures that came with them. The company’s documents I will be analysing are:

  • Macmillan Cancer Relief – A Charity
  • Oxfam – A Charity
  • Barclaycard – A Bank

I will be analysing the documents using three different titles; Purpose, Content & Layout and Suitability for Purpose.

Letter 1 – Macmillan Cancer Relief

Purpose

The purpose of this letter is to persuade the reader to ‘give just £2 a month to help more people living with cancer’. They make this purpose very clear from the start of the letter with a large heading, ‘Please give just £2 a month to help more people living with cancer’

Content & Layout

  • At the top of the letter is the Macmillan Cancer Relief logo which incorporates colour into it. The logo is quite large and striking and is positioned near the centre of the page.
  • Just underneath this and left aligned is the companies UK Office Address. This is positioned in the standard place for an address to be. Also included in this section are three phone numbers to contact the charity.
  • Below the address and centre aligned over two lines is a large heading, ‘Please give just £2 a month to help more people living with cancer’. This outlines the whole purpose of the letter and emphasises the point it is trying to illustrate. The text is in green and bold to make it stand out.
  • The letter begins with ‘Dear Friend’, this implies that they do not know the reader by name and that it could be a circular (a letter put through every letterbox).
  • The first two paragraphs explain a little bit about the charity for someone who is not familiar with it. The text is in a regular serif font, designed for easy reading. The paragraphs are formatted in a standard left aligned and unjustified style.
  • Underneath the first two paragraphs is another large, bold, centred and green heading outlining the main points of the first two paragraphs. These headings help to break up the letter, and keep the reader interested in it.
  • The next four short paragraphs contain a brief story of ‘Jeanette Cordall’, a cancer patient the charity has been helping. It explains about how much help £2 a month could bring to peoples lives and let them enjoy the best things in life – which it claims are free. A small, black and white photo of Jeanette is included on the right side of the page. The photo is there to add impact to the letter and introduce variety, so the reader is not just looking at plain boring text the whole time. The text is formatted around the photo using the same standard left align paragraphing.
  • The letter closes with the line ‘Thank you for your support.’ This lets the reader know that any donations they do make are appreciated and the charity values its donators.
  • The letter is signed ‘Yours Sincerely’, this is the incorrect ending for a letter starting with ‘Dear Friend’; it should end with ‘Yours Faithfully’.
  • The Director of the charity has signed the letter and her name is printed underneath. She has not individually signed each letter but a replication of her signature gives the impression that she has.
  • In the centre at the bottom of the page is the Charity’s small print, this includes the phone number, website in a small green font. Below this is even smaller black small print informing the reader of the major investors in the charity and the employees with the highest positions in the company. There is a small amount of information about when the company was founded etc. The important words in the small print are highlighted by using a bold typeface.
  • At the very bottom of the page, and stretching all the way across is a green strip with white text with the words ‘You can make a difference today’. This strip of green is about 2cm thick and I feel it rounds the letter off nicely.

        

        

Suitability for Purpose

I think the letter is very suitable for its purpose and gives a good impression of what the charity is about. The tone is friendly and the letter is never complicated to read or understand. Having a complicated letter in this situation would be very unsuitable because the average would get annoyed and discard it because it is not essential for them to donate to this charity, they will find one that is easier to understand.

To improve this letter I would simply change the ending from ‘Yours Sincerely’ to ‘Yours Faithfully’ as this is the correct ending for a letter starting with ‘Dear Friend’. Apart from this minor mistake I think the letter is well presented and portrays a good image of the charity.

To improve this letter I would shorten it as I think it is currently to long to hold the average persons attention span for that length of time.


Letter 2 – Oxfam

Purpose

The purpose of this letter is to inform the reader of what a huge amount of help, just £2 a month can be to some of the poorest people in the world. After informing the reader of what their money will be spent on, its purpose is to persuade the reader to actually give that £2 a month. It explains how easy it is to donate and thanks the reader for taking the time to read the letter.

Content & Layout

  • At the very top of the page is a large green block like the one shown below:

In the green section is the word Oxfam, with their logo printed in white ink. The font is a simple one with no serifs, possible Arial Black.

  • Moving down the page is the recipients address (mine) on the left hand side. A serif font (Times New Roman) is used. On the right side of the page is Oxfam’s address printed in green, and in a sans serif font. Just below this address is the Oxfam website. These addresses are in the standard position for a business letter.
  • The date is then printed on the right hand side in the normal black font as used for the recipients address.
  • Just below this are the words ‘…unusual people like you’. I am not entirely sure what the purpose of these words is, it could be just to get the reader interested in the letter. Anyway, they are printed in a large, green font with the word ‘you’ larger than the rest for emphasis.
  • The letter is started with ‘Dear Mr Stamp,’ this is a formal start and proves that the letter is not a circular.
  • The first three paragraphs explain to the reader what the charity is asking them to do, basically make a regular monthly donation of £2. These paragraphs are standard block text, right aligned and not justified. A serif font is used to make the text easier to read.
  • Below this is a centred and bold paragraph explaining exactly what £2 a month could provide for families in Malawi. This paragraph is designed to break up the letter and is also useful for people reading the letter in a rush; they may just read the bold paragraph as it encapsulates everything in the paragraphs above.
  • The letter continues with a further four paragraphs explaining to the reader the problems of the people living in Malawi, and what Oxfam is doing to help them.
  • At the very bottom of the first side of the letter, is the charity’s small print. The first line of this small print is an Oxfam slogan, ‘Oxfam works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering.’ This is printed in green, and like the rest of the small print is left aligned. The rest of the small print includes the company’s director, its registered charity number and its address.
  • Over the page the letter continues with two standard block format paragraphs explaining the situation in Bangladesh. The letter informs the reader about the diseases in Bangladesh and the very simple cures which could be used, if only people were educated about them.
  • Then there is a bold, centred line of text explaining that £2 a month could train two more health workers.
  • The next seven short paragraphs explain to the reader the techniques Oxfam use to tackle the problems in the world, and it informs the reader how to donate their £2 via a standing order form included with the letter. The letter thanks the reader for taking the time to read it.
  • The letters is ended with ‘Yours Sincerely’ this is the correct ending for a letter addressed to a particular person.
  • Barbara Stockings signature is printed with her name underneath with her position at the charity – Director.
  • Under this is a brief  ‘PS’ explaining to the reader that if they tick a specific box on the standing order form then their £2 can be made more worthwhile for Oxfam.
Join now!

Suitability for Purpose

As outlined in the ‘Purpose’ section for this letter, its purpose is to persuade the reader to make a regular donation of £2 a month to Oxfam.

I think the letter is very suitable for its purpose because it explains in clear language what the charity is all about, and how your small donation per month can help them and other people enormously. The letter is friendly and easy to understand, so it is possible for everyone to donate, not just the people that can understand the letter. It is important to make the letter simple ...

This is a preview of the whole essay