Language Scrapbook 2

Genre

The genre of this text is an instructional illustration teaching the reader how to tie a thread to a needle. It is from Twilley's  Book of Easy Knitting.

Audience

I think the implied audience of this text are younger girls, perhaps around the age of 10, where they would first begin to knit. The text is from 1969, so it was standard for children to learn how to knit. I don't think it is aimed at older girls/women, simply because they probably would already know how to knit, as well as the picture of the girl in the first panel.

Purpose

The purpose of this is to instruct the reader on how to tie thread around a needle. This would probably be early on in the book as it is a precursor to knowing how to knit, so it is preparing the reader for what will come later in the book.

Context of Production

The influence for the illustration is traditional, basic knitting techniques. They simplify it in the text, as not to confuse (the possibly young) reader. It was most likely written by somebody with experience of both knitting and teaching, whereas the illustrations were most likely done by a hired artist.

Context of Reception

The text may be read by the audience alone, or with a supervising party (parent-child), so the reception is mostly going to be good because of the text's basic nature and step-by step layout. If it were a solid paragraph of text with little or no illustration, the reader may not receive it so well, because it wouldn't explain it quite so clearly for beginners.

Topical Language Issues

For our enrolment task, we had to produce a piece of writing which outlined both the for and against arguments over the statement "you should always use English correctly".

We watched the above clip and in pairs, we comprised a list of for/against arguments from our task. After a few minutes, we shared our ideas with the class and compared and contrasted the individual points.

Language Scrapbook 1

Genre:

The text I have chosen is a sign indicating Fire Instructions for staff. It was produced to help those in the workplace organise themselves and be able to act appropriately in the event of a fire. The way the sign is laid out is also appropriate for the genre, as it cannot look too complicated in case of an emergency, where you may only have seconds to react.

Audience:

The audience for the text is absolutely anybody. Though it is addressed for the staff of the company, the rules are applicable to anybody in the building at the time; it's not as though you'd just leave the fire be because you weren't a member of staff. It is also a common layout for emergency signs of all types, so it is easily recognised and interpreted by most audiences.

Purpose:

The text was created with the purpose of informing the reader of what to do in case of an emergency. Knowing what to do in a stressful situation is imperative and this text runs you through each step in chronological order, which minimises the time it takes to read and understand the text. Its aim is to be clear and provide information without overcomplicating the matter.

Context of Production:

The author was intending to be clear and concise with their delivery of the message. It's designed to be simple and effective so that it is universally understood.

Context of Reception:

The sign was designed to be received as a formal set of instructions telling the person what to do in case of an emergency, and that is how it will be taken by everyone, as it is highly unlikely anybody would find this hilarious.