A Grammatical Analysis of the Texts presenting the Critical Social Event
The similarities and differences of the grammatical features
of the two texts from the genre of a news article, will be analysed.
Both articles are written in the genre of a news article and
were presented in digital form on the internet. They share similar and
different features.
According to Fairclough (2003), newspaper reports have a predictable generic structure.
Firstly, they have a headline. Both articles have a headline.
In Article 1 the headline is:
Alice Springs youth curfew extended beyond school break
In Article 2 the headline is:
The youth curfew in Alice Spring has ended.
What did we learn? Will it happen again?
The headings for both articles are written in bold writing
in an enlarged font. Article 2 was written in the style of Segoe UI, size 24 font.
Article 1 was written in Georgia style, font size 24. It was noted that in
Article 2 the heading had a spelling error ‘Spring’, instead of ‘Springs’. The
headline of Article 2 also contains two questions, which guide the reader to
the areas of focus that the article will be taking.
In a news article there is generally a lead or opening paragraph.
The headline and the lead paragraph, summarise the article. It was noted
however, that in the two articles chosen, rather than paragraphs, the sentences
stand alone, and each sentence is separated by a line. The first four or five
sentences of each article seem to serve the same purpose as the opening
paragraph.
In Article 1 the opening paragraph (including the first four
sentences), explains the extension of the curfew to beyond the school holidays,
to prevent further violence. The reason for the two-week curfew to end violence.
A summary of the facts is also stated, the date of the start of the curfew
being March 27, the age effected, anyone under 18 years and the period of the
curfew, 6pm to 6am.
In Article 2 the opening paragraph (including the first four
sentences) describes the ending of the curfew after three weeks. Similar
information was reported as in Article 1, the date it began on March 27, the
reason for the curfew, after violent episodes, the age the curfew applied to,
youth under 18 and the time of the curfew, 6pm to 6am.
According to Fairclough (2003), the genre of news articles, generally then contains several other paragraphs or satellites which add detail, but are not necessarily in a set order.
This is seen in Article 1 where the next paragraphs describe
the success of the curfew due to the decrease in crime, that families are
asking for help and then a review of the cause of the curfew was revisited
describing the death of the 18-year-old which caused the riots.
In Article 2 the writing is presented in a different manner.
There is a sub heading of The curfew was divisive which is written in a
bold and enlarged print. The following paragraphs then describe, unlike in the
first article, the mixed reactions to the curfew. Some residents described the
curfew as providing a safer place, but others felt that it was unfair to young
people. Residents saw the curfew as a band aid solution. Even the legality of
the curfew was questioned by the Northern Territory Police Association. A
second subtitle occurs in the article, again in a bold enlarged font which says:
How were kids affected?
In the article young people were interviewed on the affects
of the curfew and said that they felt it was unfair as all youth were punished
for the actions of a few. Three more subheadings occur in the article as
follows:
No arrests reported by police so far
All agree it was only a short term measure
Could we see another curfew imposed in the future?
For each sub heading there are several sentences that
address the given topic of the heading.
Usually in the genre style of news articles there is a wrap
up which gives the outcome of the events that have been reported.
The first article does not have a conventional wrap up. The article
describes the reasons for the extension of the curfew, as shadow minister Bill
Yan said “it has to be a curfew with consequences." The article ends with the
description of a review of the NT police force and with better support for
front line police.
Article 2 somewhat wraps up by answering the question in the
subheading of whether there will be a further curfew in the future. In the
article it is explained that the NT government may bring in another curfew if
the crime spikes again. The article ends by explaining that legal challenges
may prevent further curfews.
Article 1:
Article 2:
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. Routledge.
Comments
Post a Comment