Texts to be analysed
:
3. Tennis 4. Formula 1 Racing
If you want to look at any other articles, note that they should be reports of a specific match/race etc as in
these examples - not just general sports news.
Task : Identify as many typical features of the genre as possible. You should consider :
-
visual / layout
features
-
organisational/content features
- linguistic features
You may consider a feature as “typical” if it is found in at least 3 of the texts you consider. For each feature that you list you should be able to give three examples – each from a different text.
NB : In my answer below I
have indicated at least three texts which contain examples of each feature specified, but usually given examples
from one of those texts only. Look at
the two others and make sure you can identify a similar example from
each.
Suggested answer :
If there are any linguistic terms in the following analysis which you don't fully understand, look them up in the ELT Glossary
A: Visual / Layout Features
1. Large font headline ... (all texts). Summarises result and grabs attention. Eg Tennis: Raducanu copes with windy conditions to breeze into Nottingham last eight
2. Headline is followed by results /statistics (Tennis/Athletics/Cricket) . Summarises the most important information. Eg Cricket: Phil Salt scored a brilliant 87 from 47 balls as England won in St Lucia
3. This is followed by photo of a significant moment from the competition or one of the protagonists (Golf/Tennis/F1). Gets the reader’s attention. Eg Golf: Amy Taylor giving thumbs up sign
B. Layout / Content Features
1. Text divided into short paragraphs, often with only a single sentence (Football/Golf/F1) which summarises the result. Eg Football: Shrewsbury ensured a 10th successive campaign in League One after their 1-1 draw at Charlton.
2. Description of key moments of the competition (all texts except Athletics). Eg Football: Dan Udoh put Shrewsbury ahead in the 23rd minute with his 11th goal of the season, slotting smartly across Addicks keeper Harry Isted.
C. Language Features
1. “Headline” grammar : use of simple present to describe past event (Golf/Tennis/Athletics). Eg Athletics: British student sprinter Louie Hinchliffe shatters 10-second barrier in US
2. Use of simple past in the text to narrate events (all texts) Eg Football: Charlton levelled almost instantly after the restart.
3. Use of past perfect for “flashbacks” (Tennis/ F1 /Cricket) Eg Tennis: Raducanu had complained strongly about the line calls in her first-round win over Ena Shibahara,
4. Quotes from the protagonists in direct speech (all texts except football) : Eg Cricket: ‘That was great fun,’ said Salt.
5. Technical Lexis connected with the specific sport of the competition (all texts) which may not be understood by those with no knowledge of the sport. Eg Golf: Birdies at the 14th and 16th meant she could afford the bogey she made at the last,
6. Lexis associated with war, battles and fighting used metaphorically : eg Football: … but sharing the spoils at The Valley was enough to secure safety; Cricket: The rest of the attack didn’t quite come off: Tennis: ..before wrapping up victory in an hour and 19 minutes.
7. Cardinal and ordinal numbers connected with scores, times, and players ages (all texts). Numbers up to (and sometimes including) ten will usually be written as words. Those above ten will generally be written as numbers: eg Golf: She started well, making birdies on the third and fourth holes … Birdies at the 14th and 16th meant… Exceptions to this rule include score statements: Football: … after their 1-1 draw at Charlton.
8. Style : frequent use of grammatical features connected with written style – eg:
a) Non-defining relative clauses (Football/ Athletics/Cricket) Eg : Athletics: That phone call led to Hinchliffe, who
also ran a wind assisted 9.84sec last month, moving to Houston to study
b) heavily pre-modified noun phrases (Tennis/Cricket/F1) Eg Tennis: her first WTA Tour
quarter-final; Cricket: his
fellow slow left-armer Gudakesh Motie;
F1: a crucial pit stop call
c) apposition : Eg Golf: Taylor, 23,; Football: Addicks captain George Dobson,; Tennis: her good friend Francesca Jones,
d) compound/complex sentence structure - ie with sentences containing both co-ordinated and subordinated clauses (F1/Cricket/Athletics) Eg : F1: However when a safety car was called McLaren did not pit him immediately and he lost time, dropping from first to third, losing an advantage he was unable to make back, before finishing in second. = Sentence adverbial + subordinate clause + main clause + co-ordinate clause + 2 non-finite subordinate clauses + relative clause with relative pronoun ellipted + non-finite subordinate clause.
