To begin the transformation of the tabloid article I first had to re structure the headline. Out of the entire space taken up by the tabloid article, half of it made way for the dominant headline. This is not a common characteristic of a broadsheet as these headlines usually only extend over two columns and the print tends to be smaller. Furthermore rhyme is used in the headline found in the tabloid newspaper and the use of slang is eminent. I therefore had to negate the rhyme and replace the slang with proper nouns. Additionally by using a noun phrase for a headline I am able to inform the reader of exactly what the article is about through the subject of the noun phrase and also supply the reader with further information that has relevance to the subject, in the predicate.
‘DISASTEROUS OPERATION LEAVES MIDDLE AGED MAN TRAUMATISED’
‘Operation’ is the head word of the noun phrase and consequently the subject and this enables me to comment on the effects such an operation has had on the man in question, providing the reader with clarity as to what the article is about. In continuance I used the adjective ‘disastrous’ to pre-modify the noun ‘operation’ and as the main purpose of a broadsheet is to inform the reader I can sustain this concept as I highlight immediately the negativity that surrounds this article.
To enable a broadsheet paper to inform its audience, its articles usually consist of longer paragraphs so that the facts can be relayed to the reader in a formal manner and also the reader has to concentrate for longer periods of time. By adapting this style myself I was able to expand on certain events in greater detail and therefore present the information as accurately as possible. To compliment the longer paragraphs, longer, more informative sentences have been used. I began my article with a complex sentence, made up of multiple subordinate clauses, and by doing so I was able once again to provide the reader with greater amounts of information regarding the subject in the predicate. This aided me in my aim to inform the reader of the facts and I attempted to keep this sentence structuring consistent throughout the article.
‘During the early hours of yesterday evening, / forty two year old Gary Dunk / spoke out of the agony he was suffering / after an operation /has left him scared for life.’
I have also used complex sentences when referring to certain places. By doing this I can use the multiple subordinate clauses to relay each specific place clearly and I am also able to give certain place names clauses of their own for emphasis regarding the setting of the scene.
‘Park Field Hospital, Rotheram, South Yorkshire, on the 4th January 2003…’
When focusing upon the article as a whole it is essential to establish the register of the text. I decided to keep the mode of the article written as apposed to spoken as it appears a more formal and neutral way to relay the facts mirroring the aim of a broadsheet article. In addition to broadsheet articles informing the reader, it is also done in a formal manner and I was able to hopefully sustain a formal manner to the article in numerous ways. I avoided the use of colloquial language and also refrained from using puns or satire for that matter as the issue being reported was serious. Moreover by replacing common and more conversational verbs and nouns with those not often found in everyday speech I was able to keep the serious tone and formal manner consistent.
‘Garry’s worst reservations’
‘With the comprehensive failure of the operation clarified and Garry’s diffidence being elevated corollary to this…’
The lexis is also a factor that determines the register of an article and it is often the field of an article and how it is presented to the reader that can determine the style of writing that the author of the article has adopted. In this instance the article I have chosen to write focuses upon the consequences of an operation therefore by writing this article with a medical field in mind I can constantly remind the reader and subsequently inform them of the subject matter. By including a series of medical terms in my report I can make the article more formal as I would expect a reader of this broadsheet article to understand the terms I was referring to. Additionally the accuracy of the report I have written is further enhanced as I can use medical terminology to justify my points and back up the facts I am portraying, thus further informing the reader, which is the main aim of my broadsheet article.
