The Purpose and Presentation of Texts Please note that I have adapted information from various resources to create this PowerPoint presentation Inform Remember that a text may serve more than one purpose ID: 769734
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The Purpose and Presentation of Texts Please note that I have adapted information from various resources to create this PowerPoint presentation
Inform Remember that a text may serve more than one purpose . When this is the case, you will need to identify the main purpose served. Instruct (tells you how to do something) Advise (explains what your options are or what you need to do in certain situations.)
Sights, sounds, smells, tastes & (physical) feelings Describe Helps the reader to create a mental picture Emotions Relationships Events Characters/people Many texts that describe (such as songs, poems and stories) also entertain.
Persuade To buy To do something To adopt a certain opinion/think in a certain way To give/donate To join an organisation or group
Audience: Who is the Text Aimed At? What Does it Do? For example, people who enjoy reading fiction- particularly if the story is set in the past- might want to read ‘The Book Thief.’ This text tells a fictional story but also contains factual historical information. A serious newspaper, such as 'The Independent' would probably appeal to people who are interested in politics and current affairs (what is happening in the world.) This text gives this kind of information.
Please note that the following table on the different purposes of texts is adapted from Collins KS3 Revision: English
Purpose Explanation and Examples Texts that entertain often use lots of description. Entertain Novels, stories and songs entertain, but they may also want us to think about issues and ideas. They may use suspense , humour , excitement , narrative, themes, topics and emotion. They may also make you identify with or feel interested in characters and events. Describe Fiction and non fiction texts may describe people, places, events and experiences. Biographies, travel writing, stories and poems often use a lot of description, so you will probably encounter lots of adjectives and adverbs .
Purpose Explanation and Examples Inform These types of text tell you (or inform) you about something. This could be a textbook, a website such as the one for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, a news article or even an advert or magazine article that contains information. Instruct Instructive texts also give information. This is often done in a step-by-step manner, with a list of actions to take to help you to achieve a specific goal. It may also contain pictures/ diagrams. Examples include recipes, instruction manuals and leaflets, and maps.
Purpose Explanation and Examples Advise A text giving advice will suggest ways of dealing with problems and tell you what your options are. A careers advice leaflet will advise you about possible jobs, while a problem page will give advice to readers about their problems. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau can offer legal advice and help you with debts, housing, applying for citizenship and what to do if you are being treated unfairly at work.
Purpose Explanation and Examples Persuade Some texts will persuade you to support a certain view (e.g. that fox hunting is wrong and cruel.) Others will persuade you to do something (e.g. give money to a charity or buy something.) They may use arguments , facts and evidence or certain ideologies (for example, World War I posters often used the ideas of masculinity and sense of ‘duty to one’s country’ that were popular in Britain in this era.) Adverts often try to persuade you that their product is better than similar products and/ or use images to make the product seem desirable (if you buy this product, your life will become more exciting/ fun/ glamorous etc.)
Presentational Features/ Devices You Might Find in the Layout of a Text: Different font sizes Different types of typography to emphasise certain parts of the text ( bold , italics and underlined) Use of pictures/ images Captions
Use of colour Bullet points Headings and subtitles Footnotes
* Quotations (things people have said) * Statistics and facts * Charts and graphs A boxed text may be used to make a particular point (perhaps a quote, fact or a statistic) stand out. * Boxed texts In a study of 3,000 people who made New Year's resolutions in 2007, only 12% stuck to them. The resolution with the greatest chance of success was "to enjoy life more".
FormatFormat refers to the way the text looks or is laid out.