Articles

[goldy123]

Hey everyone,

SO i get we should b reading and reading all sorts of news papers articles etc....but what exactly r we looking for when we read it?
say i read about Bushfires or Steve Bracks, in those articles...what am i looking for? what do i take notes of? what examples will they provide me to use in future?? Im so confused.

[ealam2]

Hey goldy123!

The following is taken straight from my English Language Language Examples Task with a few alterations:

Language Examples
Your essays will only be as good as your examples and the best examples are current ones that show how language is used in society today. You need to begin collecting and discussing examples straight away.

•   Read the newspapers each day if possible
•   Collect texts that either discuss or demonstrate an aspect of language use in Australia
•   Highlight and annotate each text, identifying 2-3 significant language features (refer to metalanguage glossary)

What type of texts?
We recommend that you include a variety of texts. This could include:
•   Newspaper or magazine articles that discuss or contain examples of:
o   Slang or Australian idioms
o   Racism
o   Jargon
o   Taboo
o   Technology and language
o   Social networking
o   Language for play or fun
o   Texting
o   Texting out of its normal context
•   Advertisements
•   Cartoons
•   Speeches
 
 
You must keep reading the papers, listening to the news and collecting examples as the year progresses.

You are encouraged to include a range of text types: news reports, opinion pieces, cartoons, ads, graffiti, transcripts, sms and emails, birth/death/marriage notices, items in newsletters and so on.

Annotation: You need to annotate each example by identifying and discussing the following features:
1.   What is the mode? (Is the sample spoken or written?)
2.   What is the text type?
3.   Audience – who is speaking/writing? And to whom? How can you tell?
4.   Function of the text – what is the function and purpose of the text? How can you tell?
5.   Message/s
6.   Are there any implied meanings in the text?
7.   Nature of the text - Identify the features of the language used in the text (look at both visual and written features)

Features of the written text: the following are only a sample of the possible observations that you can make about the written features of the text. Look at handouts, notes and your textbook for other suggestions.

•   Morphology
Underline and identify some of the different word classes used in the text and comment on their contextual significance. This includes:
   How and why the word has been used in this way in the sentence?
   What is the effect of its use?
   How does the word selection help ‘sell’ the product?
   Have any classes of words been freely invented or used in a non-standard way?
   Can you analyse any words by breaking them down into prefix, root and suffix in order to explain its meaning. Are words used in standard form? Can you identify free and bound morphemes?
   Are there invented words? Why are they used?
   Do words have standard or non-standard meanings?

•   Syntax – Sentences, clauses and phrases
   Identify and phrase and a clause and reflect on their use in the text? What is the intended effect of their use in this text? What impact does it have on the audience?
   What types of sentences are used?
   Look at the verb phrase – does it use active or passive voice?
   What tense is used?
   Are there any non-standard features or structures?
   Analysed how punctuation is used

•   Semantics
   Are there any puns or word plays?
   Are there any figures of speech – similes, metaphors, literary quotes?
   Are there any deliberate ambiguities?
   Does the text make semantic sense?

•   Discourse analysis
   Can you identify any assumptions that have been made about the text (speaker) and the audience?
   What is the tone of the address? Is it proud, pleading, bullying, does it use scare tactics? Identify words and phrases that carry that tone.

Features of the visual text
What sorts of images have been included in the written text?
Is there more image than text or vice versa?
Examine the logo
Is there a ‘spin’ put on the product through the selection of images?
What group of people might be targeted through the image selection? Is this the same audience that the written text targets?
Do the images support the text or create another way of seeing the product?


Don’t just identify the textual features – analyse them!



(That's all we got on information on collecting and what to look for in articles. Hope this all helped.)

[goldy123]

Thanks so much ealam2... but can u pleassee provide me an example for this??

or do u do this to any article?

because im confused if im just looking for any thing or specifically for articles discussing about language or spelling for eg..

[ealam2]

Thanks so much ealam2... but can u pleassee provide me an example for this??

or do u do this to any article?

because im confused if im just looking for any thing or specifically for articles discussing about language or spelling for eg..

You're welcome! Just find what's relevant to your chosen article or whatever written text you have from the lists above. You don't have to cover every single thing.
You can look for articles discussing about language/spelling etc., but that doesn't happen often, I think.
I'll PM you details about the examples.

[goldy123]

Thanks so much again I look forward to ur examples