Non-Fiction and media texts

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Non-Fiction and media texts
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The exam

• Paper 1, Section A Reading response to
  non-fiction/ media texts.
• In this part of the exam, you will be asked to
  read at least two texts. They will be non-fiction
  documents. You will have to answer questions
  about the texts and then write a piece in which
  you compare them.

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Mind the GAP

• GAP stands for
• Genre
• Audience
• Purpose

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Genre

• What is the text? How do you know?In the exam,
  this is easy because you will be told where the
  text came from.Knowing where the document came
  from - eg a newspaper, a magazine, a website, a
  book etc - will help you to think about the
  intended audience.

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Audience

• Who is the text aimed at? How do you know?A
  writer always has an audience in mind. Different
  styles of writing will be used for different
  audiences. You would probably not speak to your
  head teacher in the same way as you speak to your
  friends.

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• There are many different types of audience for
  which a text might be written. A text could be
  aimed at
• a certain age group
• men or women
• those with a common interest or hobby
• people from a particular geographical area
• people who buy or use a particular product

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Who is the audience?
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• The language is not too technical, but neither is
  it too childlike. Therefore, it suggests the text
  is aimed at young adults.
• Unfamiliar words appear in bold so that they can
  be identified and discussed.
• Photographs are used to support the text.
• There is factual information about the height,
  age and measurement of trees that would be useful
  to a class discussion on the topic.

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Purpose

• What does the text want you to do? How does the
  text make you do it?All documents have a purpose
  - some entertain, some inform, some persuade and
  so on.

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• Non-fiction texts can be written for a variety of
  purposes. For example, a text might be written
  to
• provide instruction
• promote awareness
• inform about the facts
• report news
• Non-fiction texts are usually written with a
  purpose to explain, inform or persuade.

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What is the purpose?
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• The leaflet describes the problems of Amazon
  rainforests, moves on to talk about temperate
  rainforests in North America and Canada and then
  covers ancient woodlands in Britain, highlighting
  the fact that it is not just tropical rainforests
  that are affected.
• Look at the diagram and text on the following
  slide. This is one of several diagrams featured
  in the leaflet. What do you think its purpose is?

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This diagram, together with the accompanying
text, seeks to inform people about ancient
forests by providing a source of facts and
figures.
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• It's easy for the information in the leaflet to
  be digested and understood because
• It is broken up into different subjects in short
  blocks of text with clear sub-headings.
• Technical words, which may be unfamiliar, appear
  in bold so that they can be identified and
  discussed.
• There are plenty of photographs, diagrams and
  maps to reinforce and develop the message of the
  text.
• The leaflet is designed to appeal to everyone,
  and this is achieved by presenting the
  information in so many different ways.

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Make a LIST

• LIST stands for
• Language
• Information
• Style
• Tone

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Language

• Is the language persuasive, informative,
  descriptive, childish or adult? Is the language
  emotive? Does it make you feel angry or sad? Does
  the writer address you directly?
• To get high marks in an exam, you have to
  understand how language is used, because when it
  comes to non-fiction text every word is designed
  to achieve a specific effect. So how do you go
  about unpicking the language of a text? A lot of
  people have trouble answering questions on
  language, because it's hard to know where to
  start

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Emotive language

• When the author of a text is trying to persuade
  you to believe an opinion, you'll often find they
  use language that appeals to your emotions. This
  emotive language can be extreme at times, but can
  also be deceptively subtle.
• Emotive language can sound very convincing, but
  you have to decide if the writer is using it to
  twist the meaning and manipulate your response.

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• Ask yourself why the author is using emotive
  language. Are you being persuaded to form a
  particular opinion about a subject or agree with
  a particular point of view?
• Have a look at this text and see if you can pick
  out any of the emotive language for yourself.
• The sight has become all too familiar drunken
  yobs, hunting in packs, degrading themselves and
  shaming the flag of their country. Heavy
  drinking, violence and racial hatred is all part
  of the culture of young Britain, and is generally
  followed by whines and bleats of self pity when
  those trusted with upholding the law are pushed
  to take action.

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• Now, just to ensure that you've spotted the
  emotive language above, look at this text and
  compare the two.
• The sight has become familiar drunken young men,
  travelling in groups, letting themselves and
  their country down. Heavy drinking, violence and
  racial hatred is all part of the culture of young
  Britain, and is generally followed by expressions
  of self pity when the local police take action.

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• The two texts say the same thing, on the surface.
  Yet the furious attitude of the first one comes
  over strongly. How?

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• Did you notice how the emotive word yob has much
  more impact than young men? You may agree or
  disagree with the writer, but the words have
  certainly provoked a response from you.
• The phrase hunting in packs is much stronger and
  more emotive than travelling in groups, which is
  purely a phrase to describe what the men are
  doing. The writer's attitude is beginning to come
  over clearly.
• Degrading and shaming are much more pointed than
  letting their country down. We are being
  encouraged to share the writer's firm opinions.

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Informative language

• Non-fiction text often uses informative language,
  which is simply language that gets across the
  facts. The newspaper extract shown simply puts
  across the facts.

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(No Transcript)
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• Often non-fiction text will use a mixture of
  emotive and informative language to try to get
  its message across.

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Tone of Language

• Another key word describing the way an author
  uses language is tone.
• One of the best ways to examine tone is to read
  or listen to a speech. Think about some famous
  people who have made speeches that you might be
  able to remember
• Earl Spencer's speech at Princess Diana's funeral
  
• Martin Luther King (his 'I have a dream...'
  speech)
• Winston Churchill

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• These people all used a combination of their
  voice and words to communicate messages that were
  important to them. Obviously, some people are
  better at this than others. Why do you think this
  is?
• You will notice how people might use emotive
  language to reinforce arguments.
• They might also use a passionate tone in their
  voice to persuade or show how strongly they feel
  about their purpose.

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Information

• Is the information in the document factual, a
  series of the writers opinions, or a mixture of
  the two?
• When reading a non-fiction text, you need to be
  able to assess whether the information in the
  text is fact or opinion. You will also need to
  be able to comment on the writer's line of
  thought or their argument.

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• If you want to check how a writer makes a
  convincing argument
• Find the topic sentences.
• Look for sentences that reinforce.
• Look for sentences that illustrate or give facts.
  
• Look at the ending (conclusion)

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Style

• Is the document long and wordy with few pictures?
  Is it written in short paragraphs with lots of
  pictures? Is it written in bullet points? Is it
  interesting or eye-catching to look at? Is it a
  leaflet?

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• Every time you pick up a magazine, or look at a
  web page or newspaper, you are introduced to
  different types of information presented in
  hundreds of different styles.
• When you are answering a question on style and
  presentation devices, it is often helpful to
  think about what attracts your attention most
• Is it headlines (eg 'Help')?
• Is it pictures (eg the eyes of a little boy in a
  photograph)?

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• Can you think of any examples of the following
  presentation devices? Try to think about how
  these devices are used and for what purpose.

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• headlines
• subheadings
• illustrations/photographs
• bold print
• underlinings
• logos
• slogans

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Tone

• This is linked to language. Imagine how you would
  read this document aloud. Do you need a serious,
  humorous, sad or angry tone of voice?
• One important aspect of a non-fiction text that
  you will need to be able to comment on is the
  tone in which it is written

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• Tone can be defined as the attitude of the writer
  towards the subject in a text.
• So how can you tell what tone a piece of
  non-fiction text is written in?
• Firstly, and most importantly, you need to assess
  the language in which it is written. If it seems
  quite light-hearted, then it is possible that the
  text has a humorous tone whereas text with lots
  of facts about an important topic is probably
  quite serious in tone.

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• There are certain clues you can look out for to
  help determine the tone of a non-fiction text

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• Source of textFor example, an article from a
  broadsheet newspaper or a charity advertisement
  is likely to be quite serious in tone.
• PunctuationThe use of exclamation marks can
  suggest that the writer is in disbelief about, or
  astounded by something.
• Rhetorical questionsAn article that uses
  rhetorical questions is likely to be quite
  thought-provoking in tone.
• ImagesThe use of cartoons or caricatures could
  suggest that an article is not serious or aims to
  ridicule its subject matter.

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Fiction or non-fiction?

• Fiction or non-fiction?
• Non-fiction text is usually written for a precise
  practical purpose, unlike fiction text, which is
  primarily written to entertain.
• Non-fiction text could be used to
• Inform the reader.
• Persuade the reader.
• Give advice to the reader.
• Describe a person, place, feeling or object.

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Fiction or non-fiction?

• Of course, fiction texts - novels, poems, plays -
  might include information, persuasion, advice and
  description, but remember that they were not
  specifically written with these in mind.
• Text usually contain clues that enable you to
  tell at a glance whether it is fiction or
  non-fiction. Non-fiction text often has bold
  headlines and sub-headings, poignant
  illustrations and lots of facts and figures - but
  more of that later. The main thing to remember is
  that non-fiction text has a particular job to do
  how successful it is at doing this job depends on
  the skill of the writer.

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• newspaper article
• magazine article
• list of instructions
• dictionary definition
• advertisement
• social worker's report
• list of ingredients on the side of a cereal
  packet
• For each one, think about the job that it does -
  its purpose - and who it is aimed at - its
  audience.