1. As Language

2.  My first group includes texts B and F as they both use interrogatives. Text B is a transcript of conversation between a mother and daughter and it uses interrogatives for an interactional and also slightly instructional purpose. The interrogatives used are tag questions such as ‘doesn’t he’ (mother) and ‘aren’t we mummy’ (child), which show how the child is learning by socialisation and interacting with the mother, and also how the mother is gently questioning the child to prompt her into reaching correct conclusions. The fact that tag questions are used relates to the mode, which is spoken, as the speech is naturally occurring and spontaneous so the questions are almost like afterthoughts.

3.  On the other hand, text F is an advertisement for ‘The Samaritans’ and used rhetorical interrogatives for a persuasive purpose. The first paragraph is all one interrogative (‘could you erm... whatsit?’) which includes voiced pauses and vague language in order to demonstrate the issue which the charity wishes to aid (the difficulty of talking about personal problems). The use of this instantly involves the reader to persuade them to support ‘The Samaritans’ and is continued by using further rhetorical interrogatives in the second paragraph such as ‘would you tap your fingers?’ and the use of 2 nd person pronoun in the question instantly has us questioning ourselves over the matter. Minor sentences ‘sigh? Tut?’ are also used as interrogatives to reinforce how the problem may not always be taken seriously, but it is a worthy cause to help these people.

4.  Texts C, E and F can be grouped by their informal register. Text C is the back cover of a CD and it shows its informal register by the use of colloquial lexis: ‘Bangin’’ and ‘naff’ which is an abbreviation of ‘nothing’. The text aims to persuade them to buy the CD, and the informal register helps it to fulfil this purpose. It mimics youth sociolect, and seems slightly rebellious and therefore would appeal to the young music-lovers who are the target audience for this text. Text F is an advert. It contains non fluency features such as ‘erm’ and ‘er’ which not only create a conversational tone but also make the text informal in register. Vague lexis such as ‘wotnot’ and ‘thingy’ also contribute to this register. Like Text C, Text F aims to appeal to a young audience in order to persuade them to support ‘The Samaritans’, and uses this informal register in order to create a familiar, youthful style which would appeal directly to them.

5.  Text E is a cross-boundary text because it is mixed register. Although its discourse structure is formal, because it starts with the appropriate salutation ‘hello’ and finishes politely with ‘yours Ben’, the main body of the text is much more informal. The writer uses abbreviated lexis such as ‘tis’ and creates his own non-standard lexical formations such as ‘gap yearing’. There is little use of capitalisation which adds to the informality. The context of the text, an email sent to a teacher by an ex-student, perhaps explains why the discourse structure is relatively formal; they seem to have a friendly relationship but politeness is still maintained.

6.  I am grouping texts C, D, G, and A by the use of imperatives. Text G uses imperatives because it is instructing women on how to put on tights: ‘Draw tights up to knees... ‘. These imperatives are abrupt, to the point and quite short so that they are easy to follow and remember. Text D also uses imperatives due to its purpose which is to persuade. ‘Prove it’ sets an almost accusatory tone which immediately draws the audience’s attention. The second imperative ‘Phone her’ then softens the tone as it is meant to relate to the audience (men) as pragmatically they are meant to understand that men ignore their girlfriends when football is on which makes this slightly entertaining. It also relates to the slogan ‘Bringing people together’ because it is trying to bring together football fanatics and their girlfriends. Imperatives are used in Text A because of the purpose, to inform. The speakers are informing Katie about something (‘get the drinks in’) and this is done in a range of ways depending on how close she is tot the speaker; the closer the relationship is, the less politeness is used. For example, the colleague from work hedges ‘can you give me a ring’ before using an imperative whilst the others get straight to the point. Text C uses imperatives in a list of three and this is to make it entertaining and persuasive to the audience. Each time the imperative relates to the CD, telling the audience how to use it: ‘Play it’, ‘stash it’, ‘keep it’. This is done in a rather offhand way, which is suggested by the ‘whatever’ that follows’; this would appeal to the young target audience.