Cold Weather Alert

Cold Weather Alert is an informative article an appeal made by the NGO

"Crisis At Christmas" to create awareness among the people who are
privileged to help the homeless. The article tells us that while we enjoy
our Christmas with Gifts and having good Food, there are people who
suffer in the cold weather without a home to live in. The article says that
"You can help fill that space for someone, for just a few pounds - for
23.39, in fact" by this the article is trying to say in a positive tone that
you can fill a place( which contains 3hot meals, a new set of clothes, a
health check, housing and job advice, and simple companionship to fell
human again.) for the cost of just a few pounds.
To me the Audience for the article are its readers but The target Audience
are the People who are Financially Stable and are willing to help as the
economy is at a fall and people are at a verge of becoming homeless.
The main purpose of the article is to create awareness among the people
so that during the time of Christmas when everyone is supposed to be
happy no one remains without a present.
The mood of this particular article is Sympathetic as we can see that the
article is showing sympathy towards the people who are unprivileged by
gathering places for them, while the tone is that of urgency as, in the very
first sentence the article has short and crisp sentences, evoking the feeling
of urgency in the people by telling them the condition of the homeless
poor people who have to suffer the harsh weather conditions.
The text type of this passage is an advertisement in probably a
newspaper. This is because the text type is written in two pages. It has a
short summary box, and its printed. This text used different types of
literary devices and stylistic features to achieve the purpose of getting
donation.
The speaker of this text is Crisis, a British national charity organization.
The speaker establishes ethos throughout the text by repeating past
success stories of the campaign. For example, it says since 1972, when
we opened our doors for the very first Crisis at Christmas, weve seen

how a little comfort and support, given at the right time, can trigger a
real, lasting change. It also gives an anecdote of Johns story of the
changes that were made in his life after receiving help from Crisis, using
its experiences as a way of proving that this charity is reliable. The
purpose of the speaker is to inform the audiences of their Crisis at
Christmas campaign and persuade them to donate money for dinner and
presents for single homeless people. This is seen when it uses direct
requests like You can help fill that space for someone, for just a few
pounds for 23.39 euros, in fact, and You can help us turn our plan
into reality, by reserving a place at Crisis at Christmas for someone whos
homeless today. Also, it repeats at the end of the text Please reserve a
place for a homeless person this Crisis at Christmas, reassuring the
audience of its main purpose. Moreover, the speaker uses a dedicated tone
when asking for help, making the project sound more urgent and
significant. As a result, the speaker sounds more persuasive and yearning.
In this way, the speaker, Crisis, aims at achieving its purpose of receiving
donations with its humble and devoted tone.
The time when the text was published was during the 40th anniversary of
the charity Crisis at Christmas, which opened in 1972. Hence, it can be
implied that the text was published in 2012. This advertisement was
released during winter when Christmas was approaching. For instance,
when it says Crisis at Christmas, and This Christmas, we want to
double our efforts, the audience can clearly see that this advertisement
was released near Christmas, an annual event during winter. The heading
of the text also says Were planning to take on homelessness this
Christmas. Another context of the text is that this advertisement is
situated in during an economic downturn, because the advertisement
states, As the economic downturn hits home Since the economy is
not in good shape, the charity wants more donations from the public to
help those who are vulnerable. The location where the text is published is
the United Kingdom. For instance, the currency that is mentioned
throughout the text is pounds, which is the national currency for the UK.
This shows that this article mainly targets English citizens.
The subject of this appeal gives more information about the charity to the
readers. The objective of this appeal is to receive donations and gifts from
people during the annual Crisis at Christmas event. This appeal repeats,

"You can help For just a few pounds..." to make it seem that the
amount of donation required is not that expensive. Also, the charity
appeals to the ethos and pathos of the readers. For example, "We know
that it works" appeals to ethos, because this lets the readers know that the
charity is experienced and reliable and that their money will be placed in
good hands. John's story appeals to the pathos of readers making them
more inclined to donate. John benefitted from the charity and the
donation from people, which gives the readers an example of how their
money can help support the homeless people during Christmas. Important
information is also given to the readers: "Crisis at Christmas has to open
on... This extra information tells those who are interested in donating
about the specific deadline before the charity gives all donations they
collected to those in need. There is also information about where and
how to contact Crisis and Christmas. Website address, phone number,
and zip code are written for people who are interested in donation.
The advertisement begins with using a bolded font for the banner. This
bolded font and its distinctive color contrast with the banner effectively
grabs the attention and convey the message to the readers. As the banner
that is likely the first thing to be read by the audience, it completes its job
of grabbing the audience's attention through using bolded font and its
color contrast. The phrase "COLD WEATHER ALERT" is written under
the banner with a different form and all caps. The capitalization and
special font also helps grab attention and reminds readers about the cold
weather. On the 2nd page, the short description of 'crisis at Christmas' is
highlighted as well as the banner. The text is highlighted to emphasize
important information about the date of that event.
There are many stylistic features present in this advertisement, which
help make it an effective ad. On the first page it shows an advertisement
for Crisis, which tells us what Crisis and Christmas is about. On the 2nd
page it shows an old man's real life story to give us an idea of how the old
mans life has changed since he was aided by Crisis at Christmas. At the
end of the advertisement, you can find the contact information, showing
that they are trying to get those who are interested in donating money to
call them. Also, this allows Crisis to have ethos in persuading the
audience to trust them, since it allows the audience to check their website
or to call them can get the audience to verify that this event is real.

Another example of stylistic features in this advertisement are the

snowflakes on the heading's background, which helps us understand the
coldness of winter, allowing us to feel sympathy for the homeless
individuals that are out there suffering. The old man that is on the 2nd
page looks happy and he is dressed up properly, which shows the
audience that he was intent with the aid provided to him by Crisis. It also
shows how homeless peoples lives can be changed when volunteers help
out Crisis. The tag that states that the Crisis national charity organization
has been around for 40 years, which allows the audience to trust them
because this even has been hosted by Crisis at Christmas every year for
the past 40 years. This shows that Crisis is very successful and
trustworthy. The Crisis logo at the end of the advertisement can also
leave an impact on the audience, because the two Is in the word crisis
was made like a head and a body together, which represent people. This
could imply that when there is a crisis, people are needed to help so that
the problem can be resolved.
Testimonials and rhetorical devices (ethos, pathos and logos) are common
methods used in advertisement. The use of statements from ordinary
people recommending a certain product is called testimonials. It is used to
appeal to the audience ethos in this particular text type. For example, an
excerpt of Johns story was used to increase the reliability of the
advertisement. The audiences felt as if they could trust the charity since
they were able to give an evident of a real life-changing event.
Testimonials can also be used to appeal to the audiences emotions. By
providing information about Johns tragic life the audience was able to
connect to the single homeless people more as if they have met them
personally leading them to feel the urge to donate money. Furthermore,
the choices of words are also important in appealing to all three qualities
of persuasive speech. In this particular case the writer chose to use words
that appeal to emotion for the sake of a better persuasion. For example,
the writer intentionally used several words that provoke negative or
sympathetic emotions such as homeless, hardest time of all and
worse than ever. The word just was also mentioned several times
throughout the advertisement when the topic of money was introduced.
For example, for just a few pounds for 23.39, in fact and One
place costs just 23.39 . This makes the audience feel as if the money
theyre donating is just a small amount when compared to the greater

change theyll help bring to the homeless people. Additionally, the tricolon was used to create a powerful effect on the audience. Some
examples include Cold, hungry and alone, and nothing to enjoy, no
one to be with, and little hope of anything better. Both testimonial and
diction have a significant effect on the extent this particular advertisement
could persuade the audience to donate money for the Crisis charity.
In light of these facts, this text has achieved its purpose through the usage
of literary devices, rhetorical devices, and stylistic features to effectively
persuade the audience to make donation to Crisis. Ethos and Pathos is
conveyed clearly through the appropriate placement of logos, and real life
examples within the text.