In this lesson you
will read nine different texts, all related to just one event or topic. The purpose of the lesson is to help you
understand that texts are greatly affected by audience (who will read
this?) and purpose (what is it trying to do?). Although this is a reading lesson, you will
need to consider the same factors in your own writing.
First, draw a
table with the row headings TEXT TYPE, AUDIENCE, PURPOSE, ORGANISATION/LAYOUT and REGISTER
in the first column on the left. Label
the remaining columns A, B, C etc.
CONTRASTING TEXT TYPES: Questions to Consider
As you read each
text, answer the following questions which are designed to help you appreciate
the differences between text types.
Write your answers, in note form, in the table you created.
1. What is
the text type? (e.g. diary entry, argumentative essay,
literary narrative etc)
2. What is
the intended audience? (e.g. friend, educated newspaper reader,
cyclist considering helmet purchase) How
does the audience affect the content, use of language or other aspects of the
text?
3. What is
the writer’s purpose? (e.g. to inform, to entertain, to
persuade) How does the purpose affect
the use of language or other aspects of the text?
4. How is
the text organised? Are there any special layout or graphic features?
(The short extract provided here may not display all the organisational
features, but you can use your knowledge of similar texts to comment.)
5. What is
the language register? In general, is the tone more formal or
informal? (How does the topic
affect the language and other features of the text? How does the relationship between
speaker/writer and listener/reader affect the language or other features of
the text?)
TEXT A
Hi Zul
How’s life? Sorry I’ve
taken so long to reply to your email. We
moved house a few weeks ago and we don’t have an Internet connection for our
computer yet. In fact, the place is a
real mess – half-unpacked boxes everywhere, and we can never find anything when
we need it.
Hey, you’ll never guess what happened to me last
weekend. I was knocked off my bike and
had to spend a night in hospital! I was
riding home from a hockey match at school and was coming up to a bus stop on Dover
Road (you know the one just outside Fairfield Secondary?) when a pickup passed
really close to me and then cut across my path to enter the bus stop. The idiot forced me to swerve and of course I
hit the kerb and came off head first.
Stupidly I wasn’t wearing my helmet (Dad was really pissed with me when
he heard that) so I got a bloody great whack when I hit the pavement. Stars everywhere, and a thundering headache,
and I could feel the blood seeping into my hair. Some guy appeared
TEXT B
At approximately 6.10pm on Friday 21st
October 2005 I was called to the scene of an accident in the vicinity of
The man identified himself as Robert Lim
Hun-Tao, the driver of the Hyundai pickup.
In response to my questions he stated that as he drew near the cyclist,
the latter began to wobble and look over his right shoulder. Suddenly, the bicycle …
TEXT C
TEXT D
TEENAGE CYCLIST INJURED IN DOVER ROAD ACCIDENT
A
Kazuhiro
Shimizu, 15, hit the kerb and fell while swerving to avoid a vehicle. He was treated for concussion and bleeding at
the
Police
are questioning the driver of a Hyundai pickup truck. Meanwhile, a police spokesperson has
confirmed that
TEXT E
Fri.
21 October 2005
My head hurts like hell
but I’m determined to scribble a few words before I sleep. That is, if I ever do manage to sleep … God, what a day. I thought my hat trick at hockey was going to
be the highlight of the week, but little did I realise that I was about to have
a close shave with death.
I can’t say that my
whole life flashed before me as I fell, but jeez I was terrified. I really did think I might be about to
die. Hitting the ground was like being
struck by a gigantic sledgehammer: instant pain, bright disco lights (all those
cartoons are accurate - I really did “see stars”) and an overwhelming feeling
of nausea. I threw up. And then I just felt incredibly lethargic and
thirsty. I could hear a man’s voice -
“Are you alright?” – but he
TEXT F
In the first five
years of the new century cyclists have accounted for roughly 8% of road deaths
in
TEXT G
Keen to get home before
dark since he had forgotten his bike lights, Kaz didn’t bother with a
shower. The breeze was invigorating as
he sped down the long driveway with its ancient shady raintrees and leaned into
the main road, barely pausing to check the traffic.
“Hey man,
awesome game,” called Liam at the pedestrian crossing.
“Thanks, see you
around.”
Kaz stood up in
the pedals as the lights changed and did a U-turn, swinging right ahead of a
line of cars.
“Wear your helmet, Kaz.
You might think you’re a safe rider but it’s the other guys you’ve got
to worry about. The world’s full of bad
drivers.” Despite his dad’s plea at
breakfast, he had left the helmet at home, unwilling to muss up his hair after
taking the trouble to gel it.
TEXT H
How to Fit a Bicycle Helmet
TEXT I
©
Frankie Meehan, 2005