Essay: Miguel Street - Rationale

Rationale

Written task Miguel Street.

Text type: newspaper article from a newspaper in Trinidad & Tobago

Subject text: Laura (chapter 10 in Miguel Street)

Text Type

Characteristics of a newspaper article:

Ø The use of pyramid writing. In the first paragraph the most important information is given, in the last paragraph the least important information is given.

Ø The subjects discussed in newspaper articles are current (most of the time).

This text is written for a more ‘sensational’ kind of newspaper, not really gossip. If this would appear in a quality newspaper they would appear in the human interest section. Therefore the target audience would probably be woman, from the middle-class.

#Examples:

v Miguel Street – A dramatic story of a woman who kept faith in life but finally lost it.

à This is more dramatic than it is (or may seem), this would not appear in a quality newspaper. This title also makes you curious, how did this happen, and why?

v Overall, they believe other women must be jealous of her

à To make the audience think she was really, really ‘fantastic’. They may become a bit jealous as well. (example of emotive language)

The basis of this article is:

v Paragraph 1: Short introduction of who Laura is, where does it take place, and some questions which are discussed in the following paragraphs.

v Paragraph 2: A brief description of her ‘history’, and how others, living in her surrounding, see her.

v Paragraph 3: Turning point in the story about Laura, happy à unhappy. Try to discuss the cause etc, with the help of quotes from MS.

The language use and style

In this article, there is a big difference between the formal style of writing a newspaper article and the quotes of the inhabitants of MS, which are really informal.

#Examples:

v ‘An amazing woman was she’, ‘ everybody welcome there’, ‘Her children: happiest persons in Miguel Street, must be’

à These quotes all describe Laura, if you compare these to: Overall, they believe other women must be jealous of her, life must have looked a bit sunnier when you saw her.

This is a very clear difference between the informal language of the people in MS and the ‘informal’ language the writer uses.

v ‘It was baby, daughter had one’ and Her oldest daughter Lorna tells her mother she is pregnant, and gives birth to a baby.

à A clear difference between the informal, and shorter way of speaking in MS and the way of speaking/writing the writer uses in this article, which is a lot more formal.