FA Cup Reports Essay - Daniel Button.

The texts I and J are both match reports following the result of the FA Cup final, the target audience for these articles is obviously football supporters; however it could be argued that Text I’s readership will be less broad because it is a souvenir edition article containing responses from the match and so only avid supporters are likely to be willing to buy and read it. Perceptive AO3 Another important difference to note is that Text J, a BBC online match report, is being updated live at the match in comparison to Text I where the article was published three days after the match. Good, you have, in part, used the information from the question rather than simply repeating it.

There is a notable difference in how both texts are displayed, with each text using a contrasting array of graphological features and opposing discourse structures. One of the most notable graphological features in Text J is the insertion of the BBC Sport logo at the top of the web page. The logo is used to give the reader a clear indication of the context of the site, this is included in Text J and absent in Text I because as Text J is a website online readers will expect to be able to quickly identify the site they are on as well (this is an excellent point which could be developed further - are we more likely to head for the BBC as it is considered reliable?) as the fact that for articles online there’s not a limited amount of white space which means that the BBC can afford to take up space with their logo. In contrast to this the Manchester Evening Chronicle doesn't need to put their logo on the article because the reader will have had time to decide whether they want to purchase the newspaper to read the article and will obviously know that they’re reading the work of the newspaper. For your AO2/3 you need to discuss the cost implications of printing. The font type is also differed between the texts, with Text I adopting a more formal and dated font which would be expected of a newspaper at the time. But it also allows for more words to be printed within a limited space. The font style is very different in Text J where it’s a typical font that you’d expect to be used on the internet. This shows how technology has influenced the typeface over time and now as the articles are being posted online the BBC is using a font that the reader will expect and also be able to more comfortably and quickly read than the dated font used in Text I.  The two texts both carry opposing forms of discourse structures with Text I separating the text into short paragraphs displaying different people’s reactions to the result, this provides an informative insight into  the reaction of individuals who are of importance to the subject (such as the Manchester City Manager and the Portsmouth F.C. Chairman). Whereas the discourse structure in Text J follows a chronological report of statements live from the game and includes the time of each post, although Text J also includes reaction the article has more information about the game itself as it’s a live report, with the score displayed twice in the article to further improve how efficiently the reader can navigate through the web page. I think that because you have grown up with technology, you have missed a key point here - the fact that the most recent posting is at the top, which means the reader does not have to scroll down the page for the most recent information. Normally, the latter information is at the bottom of the written page - this reversed discourse structure is prevalent because of technological advancements.

As well as this, the lexical features that are prominent in Text I and Text J can also be compared. By looking at how the names of the individuals in each text are displayed it can be seen that there are obvious differences. In Text I the majority of the names included such as ‘Mr J. W. Gibson’ enforce a sense of status that fits in with the formality that the text carries whilst also bringing the text back to the rigid class structure that existed at the time of production. Whereas in Text J the use of proper nouns is different with only the surnames of the players being used such as “Kanu” this shows how in modern football and modern media there is a need for efficiency, especially because of the live commentary of games. Although there is the use of surnames for players in Text I with “Busby” it’s used in the context belonging more to the typical grammar school usage of surnames and so the air of formality remains. Make the concept of 'informalisation' clearer. Texts have become, at times, increasingly informal - this would be an AO2 point.  Another important proper noun in Text J is the name of the writer of the article “Caroline Cheese” although this is a standard name it’s inclusion in the text shows how there is beginning to be more of a gender balance in the world of football, and this is also shown by how the voice of the article doesn't follow the stereotypical connotations of a female sports writer even though it the writer is in fact female.  In addition to the lexical discussion above, you do need to include terminology surrounding lexical and semantic change - have a look at your handouts and see my essay, with a focus on the paragraph about lexis, for further development.

Semantics features are also apparent in the text, one such feature being the aforementioned use of proper nouns. With texts, specifically Text J as the names are often not given alongside their position, there is a pragmatic expectation that the reader will be able to understand who the person is by just displaying their surname. It could also be added that because Text J is an internet article then if the reader is not aware of who the person is they’d be able to search for their surname elsewhere on the internet unlike readers of Text I where finding out who a person was would be a lot more difficult. Both texts also give reference to the semantic field of war through their terminology. In Text I the winners are said to “thoroughly deserve the victory” and also refers to the teams “fighting spirit” – lexical features that could also be linked to war time efforts of soldiers fighting in a battle. In addition to this, in Text J the Cardiff boss is quoted as saying “I’m sorry we couldn’t see it through to the death of them.” Which also draws up connotations of a war-like battle. And then you could develop this point to include attitudes towards football today and the fact that money plays such a large part - this drives the rather aggressive attitude which is in stark contrast to Text I.