Text A – like text B – is a transcript however, it is a Radio Five weather forecast which means that it is spoken but pre-planned. It is a factual and precise transcript rather than emotive, this is because its aim is to inform the listeners. Declarative sentences such as, “more cloud in the west of Scotland”, are used because it is a weather forecast with the purpose to inform and these type of sentences achieve that purpose. The noun phrase “the northern isles really quite grey cloudy with mist and murk” gives the listener more detailed information and is a typical linguistic feature used in speech and writing.
Text C is a sixth form poster with the same purpose to persuade. It also uses declarative sentences such as, “decent party venues” to achieve this. However, it has more persuasive elements then text A. This is because the poster is about a student council election and is trying to encourage people to vote for “Holly, Hayley [and], Kym”. Age related jargon is used through out to relate to the teenagers who are the target audience of the poster. Slang such as “2moz” and “ur” are typically associated with text speech that relates to the target audience who generally use it.
Text E is an extract from a novel for teenagers. As a novel it is very unusual for it to be using very informal lexis such as “brovver” and “2 lornorders”. However, it is aimed at teenagers so age related jargon and teenage vernacular forms are used so that the readers can relate to the novel.
Text D is also aimed at teenagers but has a more formal element. There is a politeness feel to the text with lexical choices such as, “please”. The text does try to relate with teenagers by using colloquial lexis’ like “gigs”. However, colloquial language is limited and instead the text uses modality to persuade the reader. The model verb “could” appears in an interrogative as it is engaging the reader through persuasive elements.
Text F is a label from an American shampoo bottle. It is an informative written text that has been planned with persuasive elements. Positive connotations and language in the semantic field of hair such as, “stressed out strands” persuade the customer. Making the products ingredients sound official and almost scientific, for example the label states; “certified organic linseed oil” helps to persuade the customer as they are led to believe this shampoo is extremely good for their hair.
All of the texts can relate to each other in one way or another. For example, texts D and E share the same audience even though there is a significant difference in the way they are written. Both texts are able to engage the reader through shared context and linguistic features. The texts all link together through various groups but predominantly through shared genre, purpose, formality and audience.
