• * Tone: sarcastic, yet conversational. * Register: fairly formal register with some descriptive language.
• * Purpose: persuasive text. * Style & Tone: emotive language to provoke sympathy and empathy. It also addresses the reader directly, using empowering language to gain their support and urgent directions to prompt them to act quickly.
• * Tone: chatty, ‘gossipy’ and sensationalist. * Register: informal and uses colloquial/slang terms and idioms (sayings.) * Other features: fragmented sentences are used to create dramatic pauses.
• * Tone: friendly, sympathetic, advisory and supportive. * Register: fairly informal and conversational, but the text uses Standard English (as opposed to ‘slang’/colloquial terms) and conforms to SE grammatical and punctuation conventions.
• * Tone: angry, openly insulting and harshly critical. * Register: fairly informal, as it uses various colloquial terms.
• * Tone: suspenseful and fearful with eerie and chilling imagery. * Register: formal. * Style: empathetic and contains lots of detail (events are described from the viewpoint of a particular person.)

Disclaimer

Please note that these texts have been adapted from online sources. Also, the Oxfam poster image remains the property of Oxfam.  

Text 1 

I think you’re suffering from depression so ‘‘pulling yourself together’’ (as some people have told you to do) is not an option. It sounds as though you have reactive depression, which comes on after a blow of some sort, or a period of stress. This responds well to treatment, so click on to our file on depression and start the ball rolling. Also, your GP will be able to refer you to a support group or specialist. You’re suffering from a recognisable illness, so don’t feel ashamed.

Description:

 Text 2:    

You people have a serious attitude problem! By the time I got through your Jan. 22 issue, I was worn down by your snotty, groovier-than-thou, ultra-hip, snivelling, I’m-better-than-everyone attitude.

Bowles is never going to endear himself to the Austin public by slamming the Cowboys, and that catty little prat, Sivle, told me nothing worth knowing.

I hope everyone in Austin decides to stop buying your publication and your business goes bankrupt.  

Description:

Text 3:       

What good fortune that I happened to stay in your hotel on Primrose Hill Road this week! It was a little unusual to be asked to pay the £140.60 room rate in advance, as most hotels do not charge for the room until the following morning. Could it be that your guests were less inclined to pay their bill after they had seen their room?

You can imagine how relieved I was, therefore, when, arriving at my bedroom, I found that the décor here was as tasteful as it is in the communal areas of the hotel. There was flowery wallpaper decorating every wall and I couldn’t quite work out if the assorted stains were part of the original design scheme or just the natural result of many happy visits over the years. It was good to see that the evidence of these previous visits had not been completely erased by the cleaning.

I would also like to thank the maintenance team for disconnecting the ventilation system, as not being able to see myself in the mirror when shaving means that I am more likely to cut myself; this makes my morning much more exciting and interesting! The black mould on the ceiling was a small price to pay for all that lovely humidity.

Description:

Text 4:      

Fans of One Direction singer Liam Payne have gone into absolute MELTDOWN after a confusing hashtag on Twitter lead them to believe he’d revealed some BIG personal news.

The hashtag ‘congratsLiam’ went viral, initially trending in North America and then worldwide, after the news broke that Liam had signed to Republic Records as a solo artist.

Now, this is BIG news. Another One Direction member launching a solo career- we can barely contain our excitement!

HOWEVER, some of Liam’s 23.4 million folowers thought this was signaling some EVEN BIGGER news.

Something we’ve all been eagerly anticipating.

Fans across the world appeared to get the wrong end of the stick and took the #CongratsLiam trend to mean the rumours of another One Direction baby had been confirmed.

AWKS.

Description:

This mimics the way in which gossip is often relayed in spoken conversation.

Text 5

Frank knew what he must do. Now, if ever, was the time to go to the police. He would creep out of the house and head straight for the telephone box in the village...but the cold voice was speaking again, and Frank remained where he was, frozen to the spot, listening with all his might.

"One more murder...my faithful servant at Hogwarts...Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet...I think I hear Nagini..."

And the second man's voice changed. He started making noises such as Frank had never heard before; he was hissing and spitting without drawing breath. Frank thought he must be having some sort of fit or seizure.

And then Frank heard movement behind him in the dark passageway. He turned to look, and found himself paralyzed with fright.

Something was slithering toward him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long. Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer - What was he to do? The only means of escape was into the room where the two men sat plotting murder, yet if he stayed where he was the snake would surely kill him -

Description: 

Text 6

 "Her love can’t make dirty water clean. £3 from you can. 

 Stima does everything she can for her little boy, as any mother would, but when there’s only dirty water to drink- when it’s deadly, disease-ridden water or nothing- all the love in the world can’t keep him safe. £3 from you can. Text water to 70013 to give the £3 that could provide clean water for a family- before it’s too late.”

Description:

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Note to students:

When writing about texts in exams or essays, don't worry if you forget the difference between 'style', 'tone' and 'register'; writing about the type of language used, how this affects the reader and giving examples will earn you lots of marks!