Look at the following examples of posts from Travel Blogs. How many typical features of the genre can you identify? You should aim to find at least one feature of Layout, one of Content and one of Organisation, plus at least three linguistic features, including style.
You can consider a feature as “typical” if it occurs in at least three of the blog posts. In the suggested answer below, the points are exemplified using the numbers given below to indicate which blog your examples come from.
Travel Blogs – sample posts
1. http://www.whileoutriding.com/usa/arizona/arizonan-bikepacking-snow-red-rock-and-saguaros
3. http://www.matthew-woodward.com/2020/02/the-southwest-chief-from-la-to-chicago.html/
4. https://journeywoman.com/feature-articles/travel-over-80-tips-for-surviving-a-4-day-new-york-trip/
5. https://www.adventurouskate.com/my-worst-travel-moments-of-2021/
Suggested answer
Layout
a) Use of heading in
larger, bold font to catch the reader’s attention (Examples: all texts)
b) Includes photos of the place described, often including the writer and their companions. (Examples: all texts)
c) Paragraphed text (Examples: All texts)
d) Use of subheadings (Examples: 2, 4, 5)
Content
e) May describe a complete journey from start to finish or a section of a longer journey lasting over several days (Examples: 1, 3, 4, 6) rather than just focusing on one specific place.
f) Includes evaluative
comment, giving the writer’s reaction to the place, journey, events etc. Examples:
1. As bikepacks go, this one’s near-perfect if you only
have a few days to hand. What’s more, logistics are very straightforward,
making it especially appealing.
2. It’s
a nice beach but we preferred the other two beaches because they are less busy
with boats.
3. It’s all about the staff on a train like this, and the
crew on the Chief have been totally first class.
4. The
show is moving beyond words.
5. Sicily is wild and raw and gorgeous — but also disorganized.
6. …the jaguar and mask temples are particularly spectacular.
Organisation
g) Chronological
organisation. Examples:
1. The
different stages of the journey from start to finish
3. The different stages of the train journey
from boarding to disembarking.
4. Planning the trip – Day One – Day Two
6. 3 days in
Crooked Tree village – on to Orange Walk – time spent in Palencia
Linguistic features
h) Is a narrative text
and therefore describes past events. Past tense verbs (simple, continuous and
perfect) are therefore common but the blogs may also use the “historic” present to give a “here and
now” feel to the narrative. Examples
:
·
Past tense verbs
1. Where the snow had melted, mud reared its ugly
head.
2. …which was fine by us as we were
waking up to watch sunrise most mornings
5. I moved to the next row over. My
purse was still sitting on the table.
·
Historic present
3. I munch on a Caesar salad for lunch
4. Walking
back, Ethan and I stop by one of the theatres…
6. ... resting crocodiles plop into the
water as we pass, kingfishers look down at us.
i) Narrated in the first
person – either singular or, if the person is traveling in company, plural. So
frequent use of 1st person pronouns (subject, object, reflexive and
potentially also possessive), and possessive determiners. Examples:
1. ..our route lead us
from a snowy and decidedly frigid Flagstaff to a more enticingly summery
Sedona, via the Coconino Loop. There, we
paused…
2. Our dive guide looked at us as if we
were a bit mad.
3. I surprise myself and get up
4. ...close enough for me to duck back to
the hotel for naps.
5. I ran back to
where I was sitting. This was my seat, wasn’t it?
6. Part
of us wonders what else could be found out there
j) Also includes
features of descriptive text – eg use of adjectives to help the reader
visualise the place. Examples:
1. 78 miles of parched
desert singletrack that hugs the steep canyon sides, wending its way
south towards the sprawling metropolis of Phoenix.
3. But nothing
prepares me for the big sky and little fluffy clouds.
4. The story is real, the music haunting,
and the laughs warm and genuine.
6. Our first floor balcony in Crooked Tree village is set amongst tall
green trees with huge red flowers
k) As the post usually describes
a specific place or area (or events in specific places or areas), there is
frequent use of proper nouns. Examples:
1. ..our
ride from Flagstaff to Phoenix, knitting together segments of the
AZT, the Coconino Loop, and the Black Canyon Trail.
2. Koh
Lipe is a small island
located in southern Thailand’s Satun Province.
5. I’ve only had food poisoning three
times: in Cambodia in 2013, in Thailand in 2013, and in New
York the morning after coming home from Mexico in 2019.
6. …we
stayed in Orange Walk, a larger town on New River….
l) For the same reason,
lexis in the field of geographical features occurs regularly
1. …78 miles of
parched desert singletrack that hugs the steep canyon
sides,
2. If
you are looking for an island paradise with white sand beaches,
turquoise blue sea …
5. There
was one point when the mountain got steep that I was gasping for
air
6. Crooked Tree village, spread out on the shores of a lagoon…
m) Neutral to informal style, with the informal
features including use of …
· i) Contractions
1. As bikepacks go, this one’s near perfect
3. ...but I can’t get far enough to photograph it
6. ...the youngest female holds our fingers in a tight grip while she eats, ensuring we don't get away.
· ii) Colloquial and Figurative Language
1. We
forged on up Mingus Mountain
2. That is why have to take my New York trip in
small bites
4.
And close enough for me to duck back to the hotel for naps
5. It will help you roll with the punches better
6.
…as we woosh around the river’s bends
iii) Humour
1. Some pushing required; just to keep us warm…
3. Check-in ….is simple but made slightly harder by an Amtrak employee who isn’t very happy about life today.
6. The trip up the river took about two hours and was a cross between the boat chase from an Indiana Jones movie, … and a David Attenborough documentary.
