Extract from a charity letter by

the RSPB campaigning for donations.

Will you join the RSPB from £28 a year and help to secure the
future for the UK's wild birds?

Dear Friend,

Perhaps, like me, you have paused to listen to the haunting melody of a song thrush at dusk. Or enjoyed
the noisy and energetic squabbling of house sparrows under the eaves. But have you ever considered
how eerily still our parks and gardens would seem without their reassuring sounds? Or how empty life
would be if we rarely caught a glimpse of once-common birds?

Without your help this terrible vision of the future could become reality. Time could be running out for
some of our wild birds.

UK-wide decline

The figures are appalling, and it is some of our most loved birds which are under threat. Despite a small
recent improvement, there are less than half the number of song thrushes in the UK than in 1970.

In Kensington Gardens, central London, there were over 2,600 sparrows in 1925, but this dropped to 544
in 1975. There were only eight sparrows in Kensington Gardens in 2000.

Some serious drops in the population are harder to appreciate. Skylarks are still heard in many parts of
the UK, but their numbers have fallen by 52% since 1970. We must act now in order to keep these birds
in all our lives. Without your help, birds like house sparrows could disappear from some parts of the UK
altogether.

Take action now and help our wild birds

The fall in numbers of some of our wild birds is not unstoppable. There is something you can do right
now to help address this terrible situation. You can join the RSPB today for £28 a year which works out
at just £2.33 a month. Your membership could help time stop running out for some of our inspirational
wild birds...

QUESTIONS

1. Why is this text written as a letter when it is actually from a leaflet?

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2. Why is the heading at the start of the leaflet an effective opening?

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3. Explain two ways in which the writer uses language in the first paragraph to involve the reader.
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4. In the second paragraph, which phrase gives the impression that we must act quickly?
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5. Why does the writer of the leaflet call the reader ‘friend’?
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6. What is the effect of the sub-headings in this text?

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7. Why is the text divided into such short paragraphs?

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8. What is the effect of using facts and figures in the text?

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9. Which phrase in the last paragraph gives the impression that something can be done to help the
birds?
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10. What is the effect of including this paragraph quite late in the text?
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