Texts A, E, F and D all
share either a primary or secondary purpose to instruct. Texts A and E are the
back of a product, instructing how to use them, A being watermelon seeds and E
being the back of a moisturiser for children. Strong inclusions A, E and D all
use imperatives to give clear and concise information in a manner which is
quick to read. For example, text A uses imperatives throughout like, ““Sow in
thoroughly warmed soil”, “Cover with 1” of fine soil,” and “Keep evenly moist.”
The use of imperative here instructs without confusing the reader with long
winded explanations, and also as a means of saving space as the text has to fit
on the back of the seed packet. Text D is the information on an ID photo card
for the train. The use of imperative in this text coincides with the formal
register of the information, for example, “produce it for inspection,” and “Show
this Photocard when you buy a Season Ticket or Travelcard.” Which suggests a
sense of importance and informs the reader of problems which may arise if you
do not use the card correctly, for example, “It must not be used by any other
person.” The information here has been crafted in a way which instructs with no
confusion. Weak inclusion F is a charity leaflet its primary purpose being to
persuade and its secondary purpose being to inform. The instructions in the
poster are mitigated as they are telling the reader how to give to their
charity and want to avoid making the audience feel forced to “donate”. For
example, “Donate your clothes,” and “pop them into the cardboard collection
bin...” These imperatives are softened by the word choices. The word donate could
give the reader a sense of power, if they donated their unwanted clothing it is
their choice, and they are contributing to a good cause. Whereas a synonym of
donate, such as give, could make the reader feel as though they are being told
what to do, which could make them less inclined to give generously which is one
of the many purposes of the leaflet . And the word choice of “pop” is very
friendly and creates personality as opposed to a synonym such as “put”, which
could seem too ‘forceful’ for example. Text E shares this ‘gentle’ way of instructing,
“Use as often as required…” this imperative does not come across as commanding,
again it gives the reader the power in the situation, as they decide how often
they use the cream. This coincides with the lexical field of serenity, words
such as “gently,” “softens,” “nourishes,” “soft,” “sensitive,” “supple,” all are
used to create a calm feel. So the imperatives must match the way in which the
producer wanted to sell their product, a cream for children with “sensitive
skin”. The intended audience here would be parents and so the word choices are
important as they must work with the secondary purpose which is to persuade
people to buy the product.
Texts B and C are both
transcripts of either partly rehearsed or spontaneous speech, text B is an
interview between a news presenter and president Obama, and text C is a
conversation between friends. Different speech features are used in order to
suit the context in which the conversations are taking place. Text B has a much
more formal register than that of C and the transcript could be mistaken for
writing due to the lack of non-fluency features like fillers and false starts.
The formality of the two transcripts could be displayed by how the individuals address
one another. Text C uses the second person pronoun “you” when referring to one
another whereas Obama and the interviewer use each other’s names. This could
also suggest power; usually the conventions of an interview mean that the
interviewer, the one asking the questions, is the “dominant speaker”. However
in this case, due to Obamas status, he is the one who leads the interview. The
greeting at the beginning: “Mr.President, thank you for doing this,” differences
from usual interviews where the interviewee may thank the interviewer for their
time for example. This may be because of Obamas status, the news channel he
appeared on here is sophisticated and the content of the interview is complex
and important. Obama will be used to speaking under these circumstances and
therefore has many skills when speaking to a vast audience. Whereas text C’s
audience is only the two participants in the conversation who are most likely
friends. This is suggested by the anaphoric referencing to earlier
conversations suggesting that the two participants talk often. As well as Sally
asking John, “so how's your new job going?” which, at a first glance, could be
phatic talk however she then asks more meaningful questions about his job “so
you've got to deal with all the moaning and complaining…” suggesting Sally
cares about Johns feelings.
Texts A and B both
contain specialised lexis. Text A is the back of a packet of seeds and contains
words such as “fusarium wilt”, “anthracnose”, “sow” and “seedlings”. These
words are specialised to the lexical field of gardening meaning the intended
audience would be ‘keen gardeners’ who are familiar with these plant diseases,
it also suggests that the intended audience is people who perhaps grow water
melons annually as water melons would not be the easiest plant to grow and so
the manufacturer is able to use complex gardening jargon on the back of their
product as its highly likely that only people with a pragmatic understanding of
the product would buy the seeds. At first glance text B, a transcript for an
interview with president Obama, seems to appeal to a wide audience, however the
use of political jargon such as, “the Senate”, “the Speaker” or “Republican”
suggests that the intended audience is people who have knowledge of the
subject. This could suggest that this particular audience is very narrow. Even
though text B is for the news, the communication is very specific, speaking
only about recent political events and avoiding any type of phatic talk, using
specialised lexis such as “the bill” which would only be understood with a
pragmatic understanding of the context in which this specialised lexis is being
used.
