Opinion Style Models

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/04/national-grammar-day-rules

Date: 4th March 2016

This article is about what someone considers to be bad grammar or not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/9966117/Text-speak-language-evolution-or-just-laziness.html

Date: 3rd April 2013

The writer expresses his opinion by showing his disgust at young children using text talk by emphasizing the fact that children need to be educated on how to use language properly.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/the-drunken-aussie-accent-theory-is-another-slur-on-our-rich-use-of-english

Date: 30th October 2015

This article is about the Australian accent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mea-culpa-a-flashy-backlash-against-mixed-metaphors-a6993711.html

Date: 22nd April 2016

This article is about mixed metaphors and some conventions of language.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/after-40-years-of-being-lied-to-its-time-to-leave-the-eu/

Date: 25th April 2016

This is an opinion article from someone who wants to leave the EU.

"Why superlatives are the absolute worst (unless you're Donald Trump)"

http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2016/apr/15/why-superlatives-are-the-absolute-worst-unless-youre-donald-trump

Example Exam Answer

Analyse how Text A uses language to create meanings and representations.

[25 marks]

The form of Text A is an online forum from the website Mumsnet. This is shown in the acronym, “MNHQ””, meaning Mumsnet Headquarters. The purpose of this text is to open up discussion on differing views about “prom”. The audience is mothers of school leaver children because that is when proms occur.

There are some abbreviations in Text A such as, “AIBU”, “DD” and “BTW”. These relate to the online mode of the text but it may also be typical of teenage sociolect. This could suggest that the writer, woollyideas, who uses most of these, has teenage children. This is further supported by the topic of proms because children leave school at around the age of 16. Woollyideas also uses the low-frequency lexical choice of, “competitive consumerism”.  This may show intelligence which could be her trying to put herself above the other mothers. The adjective, “naff”, shows that this text is written in an informal register which may be because it is a friendly discussion. Mumsnet advises people that they, “don’t allow personal attacks” which may be why they are trying to keep the conversation comfortable.

The use of rhetorical interrogative syntax in the text is frequent. This can be seen in, “is okay?” This is suggesting that woollyideas strongly disapproves of this kind of expenditure. This idea is further supported in the interrogative, “what sane parent”, suggesting that the efforts some parents go to for their children’s prom is ridiculous. The term, “these parents” is almost dismissing them which may be another example of woollyideas making herself seem superior.

The clause, “it is not a fight club” in the opening syntax of the Mumsnet warning is trying to stop arguments from participants in discussion. This may be why writers are implying their strong opinions instead of outright saying them. For example, muckycarpet says, “Don’t be a grump!” but then continues to say, “Although the helicopter is way OTT!” This is an example of positive negative face as muckycarpet is contradicting her views. This shows that she doesn’t want to completely disagree with woollyideas which may be due to the guidelines.

There is a discourse marker of “okay” used at the beginning of the first speaker. This is addressing the situation and showing that she is going to give her opinion. It is almost as though she is marking her territory. The emoticons throughout the text are used to soften the opinions of others. One example is from woollyideas using an emoticon which is replacing lexis. This is quite a contemporary thing to do with the increase in social media as emojis are used to display feelings without actually saying them.

Analyse how Text B uses language to create meanings and representations.

[25 marks]

The form of Text B is a tabloid newspaper article from the Mirror. The purpose is to inform readers on the increasing expenditure that boys spend on prom. The audience could be families of teenage school leaver children, in particular boys.

Throughout the article, there are lots of statistics and figures used: “24% more” and “average £385”. This gives the reader some facts to support the ideas in the text. The use of these figures make the reader more likely to believe what they are saying. The address term, “Debenhams spokesman” is used. This gives “Ed Watson” more credibility since it states his involvement with the topic. 

There is a neologism blend of ‘prom’ and ‘Godzilla’ to make “Promzilla” used in the text. This is used to describe teenager girls who are “obsessed” with prom. This can be seen as quite degrading since it is making their hobby seem trivial. In a quote by Ed Watson, he uses the address term, “ladies”. This can be seen as quite patronising when the definite article “the” is used as a prefix. This is almost objectifying girls which relates to them wanting to look good for prom.

The use of sophisticated punctuation in the phrase, “Mr Watson said:” shows that this text has quite a formal register. The discourse of the text is fairly cohesive as it is made up of mostly compound syntax. This makes it a lot easier for the audience to read, especially when the text is aimed at families.

The image of Daniel Craig shows the audience how the Mirror says that boys are aspiring to look like. This leaves less to the imagination of the reader and it gives them that image as they are reading the text. The message being portrayed throughout the article is that proms involve a lot of expenditure which is higher with girls than boys. It almost makes it seem ridiculous and unnecessary.

The verbs “rocketing” and “soaring” are used to show the reader how the prices are increasing. This can be seen as quite hyperbolic to give a better effect on the audience.

Compare and contrast Text A and Text B, showing ways in which they are similar and different in their language use.

[20 marks]

Text A and B are thematically linked with similarities but there are some differences in their language use.

The register of Text A is informal which can be seen through the use of slang lexis such as, “frothy” and “naff”. These are all used to show opinion. This is different to Text B which is mostly informative through the use of declarative syntax and statistics such as, “24% more on their outfit than a year ago.” The register is more formal than Text A which may be due to it being an edited article published online rather than an online forum. The discourse in Text A is not very cohesive as there are lots of different speakers conveying lots of different ideas. Whereas in Text B, it is a lot more cohesive since the text is continuing with the same idea.

Text A has a lot of interrogative syntax in it such as, “What’s a Prom?” because it is a conversation between mothers. There is some turn taking in Text A which relates to the interrogatives. The structure of syntax in Text A uses a lot of non-standard grammar shown in the participant webwiz who uses the single noun phrase “Prom fair” along with a shocked face emoticon. However, Text B is mostly made up of declarative syntax such as, “shoes and bow ties soaring by 20%”. This is because it is supposed to be informative and not display much opinion. It is mostly made up of compound syntax with clauses.

Text A and B both use the informal noun, “limos” instead of ‘limousine’. This could be because it is usually shortened in our daily lives and both of the audiences are working class/lower middle class so they are trying to make it more relatable to them. It relates to the social norms of today. The semantics and pragmatics of both texts give negative connotations about prom. Woollyideas displays her string dislike for prom in Text A and there is negativity surrounding expenditure in Text B. Both texts are implying that proms are extreme and unnecessary.

Overall, the texts are linked by the theme of prom but they display slightly different ideas through the use of language. Although they are different in some ways, the main idea being portrayed throughout both texts is that prom are intense and unrequired.