English Exam Notes

Annotating a text:

 Find publication information at bottom of page.

o For context
o For text type
 Speech.
 Interview.
 Screenshot of web page.
 Cartoon.

 Find audience of text

o What is being featured and how that links to who would be reading it.
o Target and incidental audience.
 Demographic (old, young).
 Ethnicity.
 Socioeconomic status.
o Visual elements

Example Text Past Paper 1

Context:
 Contemporary text
 Satirical text type
 A screenshot of a web page which features a cartoon

Audience:
 Main audience: Frequent readers of ‘Justice Hub’.
 Individuals who have an invested interest in politics.
o Educated demographic – complex issues brought up.
o People who live in America.

Purpose:
 To
General Structure to remember:

Introduction:
 State the text type, who published it and when it was published.
 Briefly outline what the text is about.
 Briefly state the target and incidental audience.
 Briefly state the context.
 Briefly state the purpose.
 Also state a subliminal purpose.

Paragraph 1 – Context
 If not a web page, state where it would likely appear (magazine, newspaper).
 Relevant social values to publication date.
o WW1: 1914-1918.
o WW2: 1939-1945.
o Cold War: 1947-1991 (between Soviet Union and America)
o 1st Feminist wave: Early 20th century – focused on right to vote.
o 2nd Wave: 1960-1989
o 3rd wave: 1990-2008
o 4th wave: 2008-present

Paragraph 2 – Audience

 Incidental and primary

 Demographic (old, young).
 Ethnicity.
 Socioeconomic status.

Paragraph 3 - Purposes

 Primary purpose
o Stylistic and language features used to achieve purpose.
 “Being an ad this text uses rhetorical devices such as…’
 Secondary purpose
o Grounded values and concerns
 Techniques to memorize:
o Satire
o Semantic field
 A topic related to through specific use of vocab.
 E.g. ‘heart’, ‘flower’ may refer to semantic field of love.
o Visual elements
 Social media icons
 Navigation bars
 Images
o Tone
o Sentence structure