Media text analysis

Linguistic Analysis Linguistic Analysis of of

Media Text Media Text

English for Journalists

Prepared by Maria Ahmad

Objectives of the sessionAfter this session students will be able to:

1.Understand the basic concepts of Grammar in English, which they need to analyse the language used in English print Media.

2.Describe different rhetorical features used in media texts

3.Analyze English different genres of journalistic writing from different English newspapers and from different beats for the use of English Language


Overview of the session1. Discussion on the framework for Text

Analysis

2. Revision of all the grammatical terms and concepts, which students need for the linguistic analysis of the text

3. Discussion over the concept of Rhetorical devices and rhetorical functions in a text


Framework for Text Analysis

Read the Text and Note down the following Features

1. Headline

2.Introduction or Stand-first

3.Genre of journalistic writing

3. Elaboration (What, When, Where, Who, Why)

4. Quotes, pictorial, graphic or statistical support

5. Bias (political, personal, organizational, racial, ethical, religious)

5. Summarise the main points of the text in your own world

6. Identify the tone of the text.

7. State the purpose of the article Explain your choice of purpose by quoting words, phrases from the text to support your choice. To entertain To inform To persuade To examine/explore an issueTo describe/reportTo instruct

8. Linguistic Analysis of the Text


NEWS HEADLINES &

STAND FIRSTS A headline is artful phrasing that informs

and entices in just a few words.

Stand First is a short summary of a newspaper story or an article that appears between the headline and the start of the story or article


ExamplesWills in a wedding snub to the starsPRINCE William and Kate Middleton are to snub celebs hoping for invites to their wedding

Get cabin crew job, blow up B.A. plane

A BRITISH Airways worker was given secret orders from a terror chief urging him to get a cabin crew job so he could blow up a US-bound jet, a court heard yesterday.


Genres in Print Media

1. Books

2. Broadsheets

3. Handbills

4. News books

5. Journals & Magazine

6. Intelligencers

7. Pamphlets

8. Newspapers


Genres in Newspapers1. Hard news stories

2. Columns

3. Features

4. Editorial Page

5. Comics

6. Advertisements

7. Cutlines

8. Letter to the editors

9. Headlines


Main Features of Newspaper writing genres

Hard news stories

1.Inverted pyramid structure; 5 Ws and H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How) in lead, other details in descending order of importance

2.Adheres to accepted grammatical conventions

3.Written by reporters

4.Objective, facts-only reporting

5.Purpose is to inform

Columns1. Personal writing style

2. Uses accepted grammatical conventions except where columnists would find the message more effective otherwise

3. Written by columnists, either newspaper staff or syndicated; usually identified with photograph

4. Purpose is to advise, entertain, analyse, interpret or commentPrepared by Maria Ahmad


Editorial page

1.Written in essay form

2.Adheres to accepted grammatical conventions

3. Written by editorial page staff

4. Presents the opinions of the newspaper’s editorial board

5. Purpose is to persuade, comment and provoke thought

Features1. Personal writing style

2. Adheres to accepted grammatical conventions

3. Written by reporters

4. Reporting of facts, with interpretations often included; result of extensive research; longer than hard news story

5. Purpose is to inform and explain



Comics

1.Very brief, often dialogue only

2. Not necessarily grammatically correct; slang often appears

3. Written by cartoonists from newspapers or syndicates

4. Purpose is to entertain and comment, sometimes on political issues

Advertisements

1. Brief, descriptive

2. Not necessarily grammatically correct

3. Written by professional services or ad staff

4. Purpose is to persuade and inform about services and products



Cutlines

1.Brief; maximum a few sentences

2.Not necessarily grammatically correct

3.Written by copy editors

4.Contain facts related to photos/illustrations or accompanying stories

5. Purpose is to inform

Letters to the editor1. Letter; essay form

2. Should be grammatically correct

3. Written by newspaper readers

4. Reader’s opinion expressed

5. Purpose is to provide forum for readers’ comments



Headlines

1.Brief; descriptive

2.Not complete sentences

3.Written by copy editors

4.Purpose to attract reader and inform


ELABORATION Read the given news and elaborate the information given:

Iraq crisis: 'At least 50 killed' in wave of terrorist attacks across Baghdad At least 50 people have been killed and many wounded in a wave of bomb

attacks on Baghdad bearing the hallmarks of Isis. The Islamist group, which controls several major cities and towns surrounding the Iraqi capital, has claimed responsibility for the most deadly attack in the Dawlai district.

Two car bombs exploded simultaneously in a shopping area, killing between 14 and 16 civilians and wounding more than 30 others, according to varying reports. Also on Thursday, a suicide bomber rammed a car laden with explosives into a police checkpoint in the eastern suburb of Talibiyah at 2.30pm, killing at least 12 people, a police officer said. Seven policemen and five civilians were among those killed, he added, and at least 28 other people were wounded. An hour later, five mortar rounds hit the Shia district of al-Shaoula, killing another five and wounding 21 others.


Read the news and answer the following questions.

1.What was happened?

2.When did it happen?

3.Where did it happen?

4.Who was responsible for this happening?

5.Why did it happen?


Supporting comments, propositions and opinions

1. Quotes

2. Statistical data

3. Pictorial depictions


Britain's migrating birds are declining in number


Facts, opinions and biases


Fact1. Fact is a testable proposition

2. It represents things which actually exist or which have happened in the past; they can be verified as true or false

ex. Wahaj is wearing a hat.


Opinion An opinion is an interpretation, value

judgment, or belief that cannot be proved or disproved. An opinion is created.

Ex. Wahaj is wearing an awkward hat


Fact Vs. Opinion


Bias A bias is when you are partial to something

over something else. When people do not look at both sides of a question, they are considered biased.

Example: Say you like Coke over Pepsi. If you were somewhere, and wanted a soda and they only had Pepsi and you decided to drink water instead you would be showing your bias towards Coke.


An opinion can often be identified because the sentence contains biased words. Biased words express opinions, value judgments, and interpretations. Often they are full of emotion.

awful amazing

bad beautiful

best

better disgusting

exciting favorite

frightful fun

good great

handsome

horrible miserable

more most smart

stupid terrible

unbelievable ugly very


Sometimes an author will use words that qualify an idea. A qualifier may express an absolute, unwavering opinion using words like always or never. Other times a qualifier expresses opinion in the form of a command as in must or should.

all always appear believe

could

likely may

might must it is

believed

never often only

ought to has/have

to

possibly possible probably

seem every

should sometime

s think

usually


Identify Facts and Opinions

1 Alexander III, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, was one of the greatest military leaders in world history. 2 He was born in Pella, Macedonia. 3 The exact date of his birth was probably July 20 or 26, 356 B.C. 4 Shortly before his 33rd birthday, Alexander the Great died. 5 The cause of his death remains unknown.


Biases in Media textMedia is not always completely honest and objective about their depiction of important issues. Certain issues are made to look a certain way to benefit a certain group and influence public opinion.

In media there are many factors that make it bias. These factors are related to:EthnicityRaceSocial classReligion and sect Political views


Types of Biases in Media1. Bias through selection and omission2. Bias through placement3. Bias by Headline4. Bias by Word Choice and Tone5. Bias by Photo, Captions and Camera angles6. Bias through use of names and titles7. Bias through statistics and crowd counts8. Bias by source control


Here are the starting lineups for the Regional basketball championship play-off game between Niagara and Lincoln


Below are some statements about the game at Lincoln. Some are facts - statements that can be proven true. Others are opinions - statements that cannot be proven true.

Can you determine which are facts and which are opinions? Look carefully at the statements and the starting lineups. Write an "F" in front of those statements that are facts. Write an "O" in front of those that are opinion.

___ 1. Bill Mozina is the tallest player in the game.___ 2. Niagara's players are experienced.___ 3. Forwards for the Capitals will be Crich, Tieche and Cuthbert.___ 4. The Freedoms are the greatest!___ 5. The forwards on both teams are taller than the guards.___ 6. Lincoln should have more fans than Niagara.___ 7. Player against player, the Freedoms have the edge.Prepared by Maria Ahmad

Task 1


Identifying Tone of the Text Tone is the author’s attitude toward the topic.

The author’s attitude is expressed through the words and details he or she selects. To determine the author’s tone, you must notice how these words and details are used within the writing.

The objective tone: is matter-of-fact and neutral. It does not show any feelings for or against a topic; therefore, it is unbiased or neutral. Often objective tone uses higher level words and avoids pronouns such as I and you, creating a formal tone.

A subjective tone: uses words that describe feelings, judgments, or opinions. The details are likely to include experiences, senses, feelings, and thoughts, so it is personal, biased, emotional, and often informal.


The following statements each express different attitudes about a shabby apartment. Six different tones are used: optimistic, bitter, tolerant, sentimental, humorous, and objective.

1. This place may be shabby, but since both of my children were born while we lived here, it has a special place in my heart.

The tone is sentimental. “It has a special place in my heart,” expresses tender emotions.

2. This isn’t the greatest apartment in the world, but it’s not really that bad. The tone is tolerant. The words “not really that bad” show that the

writer accepts the situation while recognizing that it could be better.

3. If only there were some decent jobs out there, I wouldn’t be reduced to living in this miserable dump.

The tone is bitter. The writer resents a situation that forces him or her to live in a “miserable dump.” Prepared by Maria Ahmad

4. This place does need some repairs, but I’m sure the landlord will be making improvements sometime soon.

The tone is optimistic. The writer is expecting the apartment to be improved soon.

5. When we move away, we’re planning to release three hundred cockroaches and tow mice, so we can leave the place exactly as we found it.

The tone is humorous. The writer claims to be planning a comic revenge on the landlord by returning the apartment to the terrible condition it was in when the tenants moved in.

6. This is the apartment we live in. It provides shelter. The tone is objective. The writer does not express feelings

about the apartment. He simply states facts


Identifying Purpose of The text

An author writes to share a main idea about a topic. An author’s main idea is directly related to the author’s purpose. One of the three following purposes will drive a main idea: to inform, to entertain, and to persuade.



To find out the author’s purpose, the reader must consider the main idea, thought pattern, and tone. For example:

Topic Sentence: Spanking must be avoided as a way to discipline due to its long-term negative effects on the child.

Consider what the author is going to write about spanking. Is the author going to discuss the disadvantages of spanking? Is the author going to argue against spanking as a means of discipline? Is the author going to make fun of those who use spanking as a means of

discipline? The tone words „must and „negative indicate the author s point of view is ‟ ‟ ‟

against spanking. The phrase “long-term effects” indicates that the details will be organized as a list of effects.

We can conclude that the author is going to argue against spanking as a means of discipline.


Practice Activities


Linguistic Analysis of the Media Text

1. Analysis at Word and phrase level

2. Analysis at Sentence Level

3. Analysis at paragraph Level

4. Analysis for words choice


Analysis at word and phrase level

1. Use of Verb & Verb Phrase

a)Tense b) Aspect c)Voice d)Mood

2. Use of Noun Phrase

3. Use of Adjectives

4. Use of Numerals

5. Use of Foreign Words

6. Use of Idioms and proverbsPrepared by Maria Ahmad

Analysis at Sentence Level1. Sentence Types Used

a)Declarative

b)Interrogative

c)Imperatives

d)Exclamatory

2. Sentence Structures

a)Simple Sentences

b)Complex Sentence

c)Compound Sentence

d)Compound-Complex Sentence

3. Deviation from Grammatical rules


Analysis at Paragraph Level

1. Use of Rhetorical Patterns in Text (Compare/contrast, Cause/effect, Problem/solution, Fact/opinion, Theory/evidence)

2. Intertextuality

3. Use of Rhetorical Devices in Text (Alliteration, Simile, Analogy, Metaphor, Irony etc.)


Analysing the Text for Word Choice

1. Quote 10 words from the text, which are unfamiliar to you. Look for their meaning and usage from dictionary and write.

2. Quote 10 collocations from the text.


Analysis at Word Level


Main Parts Of Speech1. Nouns

2. Articles

3. Adjective

4. Pronouns

5. Verbs

6. Adverbs

7. Preposition

8. Conjunctions

9. interjections


Parts of speech table

part of speech function or "job" example words example sentences

Verb action or state)to) be, have, do, like,

work, sing, can, mustEnglishClub is a web site.I am learning English

Noun thing or personpen, dog, work, music, town, , teacher, John

This is my dog. He lives in my house.

Adjective describes a noun a/an, the, 90, some, good, big, red, well, interesting

My like eating big, red apple

Adverb describes a verb, adjective or adverb

quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really

I eat quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.

Pronoun replaces a noun I, you, he, she, some …is Indian. She is dark.

Preposition links a noun to another word

to, at, after, on, butWe went to school on Monday.

Conjunction joins clauses or sentences or words

and, but, whenI like reading news and articles, but I do not read reviews.

Interjectionshort exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence

oh!, ouch!, hi!, wellOuch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don't know.


http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adverbs.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/pronouns.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/conjunctions.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/interjections.htm

Noun A noun is a word used to name something: a person/animal, a place, a thing, or an idea. For example, all of the following are nouns. Ex. Lara, Adil, Linda, Mahrukh Japan, Venezuela, Atlanta, Kroger, the Gap pencil, store, music, air biology, theory of Relativity, Pythagorean theory Noun can be: 1. Singular or Plural 2. Countable or Uncountable 3. Common or Proper 4. Abstract or Concrete 5. Collective


Verbs Verbs tell what action a subject is

performing

1.Can show physical action (marched, mailed)

2.Can show mental action or ownership (thought, has)

3.Can show an occurrence (became)

4.Can show a state of being (was)


Verb or verb phrases in a sentence Changes to indicate:

1. Either the subject of the verb is singular or plural

2. Either the subject of the verb is doing an action or receiving the action (Voice)

3. The person of the pronoun which is acting as its subject

4. The time of action and patterns of action (Tense and Aspect)

5. Modality ( likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation)


Classification of Verbs

1. Action Verbs2. Helping Verbs3. Linking Verbs4. Verbals


Action Verbs Action verbs tell what action is occurring or have

occurred or will occur. It can show physical or mental action

It answers the question: “What is the subject doing?” Ex. Susan ran the mile in gym. Susan knew she got her best time ever.


Helping Verbs Helping verbs have no meaning by themselves and work

with a main verb to help you understand when and how action is taking place.

There could be up to three helping verbs in a sentence.

Ex.

1. Ali will run the mile in gym.

2. Other migrant birds that spend winter in Africa, such as cuckoos and spotted flycatchers, are being found in the UK.


Common Helping Verbs


Linking Verbs Linking verbs do not show an action or do anything, they

show a relationship. It links the subject of the sentence with a noun or an adjective in the predicate

Ex. 1. Monday Mornings are usually very busy. subject Links adjective

2. He is an intelligent boy


Two Types of Linking verbs

To “be” Linking Verbs

Is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been

Sensory Linking Verbs

Look, smell, sound, taste, feel, appear, become, seem, grow, remain, stay


Gerunds – verbs that end in “ing” but DO NOT function as a verb- function as nouns- example: Senior boys enjoy frightening new seventh graders. (noun as a direct object)

Infinitives- verbs that begin with “to”- function as a nouns, adjectives, or adverbs- example: The classroom is a place students do not want to enter.

Participles- verbs that function as an adjective- example: The screeching lady frightened the mob.

Verbals


Identify the verbals in the given sentences

1. The plan accepted by the mayor involved a tax cut.

2. Pat expected the paper airplane to fly.

3. Feeling dizzy, Hamid stopped and took a break.

4. The weight of the sack made it difficult to carry.

5. My uncle from Michigan enjoys swimming.

6. The squeaking wheel alerted the mechanic to a potential problem.

7. Getting up early in the morning is sometimes a challenge.

8. We bought a new wrench to fix the leaky valve.

9. The forgotten treasure lay at the bottom of the sea for three hundred years.

10. Fascinated, Salman stood and admired the mural for several hours.


Identifying Action Verbs and Linking Verbs. In the following sentences, underline each verb. Then write "A" for action or "L" for linking. Example:

1. Joe cooked dinner for the family. _____ 2. The boy seemed restless after the long program. ______ 3. The popcorn smells good. _____ 4. We stayed quiet for an hour after dinner. _____ 5. The pizza tastes good. _____ 6. Eve was CR of her graduating class. _____ 7. The boys appear calm again after all the excitement. _____ 8. I play the piano an hour every day. _____ 9. The audience grew quiet. _____ 10. The boys feel tired after their long hike. _____


Phrases and Clauses Phrases and clauses are groups of related

words that serve as building blocks of sentences on a larger scale than parts of speech.

A clause contains both a subject and a verb whereas a phrase does not. errors.


Phrases a phrase is a group of closely related words. This group of

words makes some sense together, although it does not express a complete thought.

A phrase is a fragment, or part of a complete thought.

Ex.

1. Our friends have bought a house in the village.

2. Those houses are very expensive.

3. Our closest friends have just bought a new house in the village.


The term noun phrase refers to a group of words which act like a noun. (Noun+modifiers)

Words can go before the noune.g. The great river

e.g man of honour

and/or after the noun.

They modify the meaning of the noun.

Noun Phrase


Verb Phrase Verb phrase carries information about mood, tense, modality,

aspect, and voice The verb phrase has two functional parts, the auxiliary, a grammatical structure carrying information about

mood, tense, modality, and voice the main verb, a structure giving information about the action or

state of the subject


Underline the verb phrase in each sentence. Include main verbs and helping verbs

1. The colonists would build a home as quickly as possible. 2. Wood from nearby forests was used for their homes. 3. In later years, some houses were made of brick. 4. Poor settlers could make their furniture from the many trees of the

forest. 5. Wealthy families could order fancy furniture from England. 6. The colonists may have brought some tools and household items

with them. 7. They did eat some new foods, such as corn. 8. Most colonists would wear rough, homemade clothing called

homespun. 9. Adults and children did like games and contests. 10. Sometimes, they might fly a kite.


Writing Using Verb Phrases Use at least three of the following verb phrases in a story.


Prepositional Phrase a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a

noun, pronoun,gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition. It basically act as an adjective or as an adverb in a sentence.

Common patterns for a prepositional phrase: PREPOSITION + NOUN, PRONOUN, GERUND, OR CLAUSE PREPOSITION + MODIFIER(S) + NOUN, PRONOUN, GERUND, OR

CLAUSE Ex. From my grandmother Under the warm blanket In the weedy, overgrown garden Along the busy, six-lane highway Without excessively worrying


http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/preposition.htm

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/noun.htm

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/pronoun.htm

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/clause.htm

Directions: Circle all the prepositional phrases in the following sentences

1. After the movie the group of teenagers went to McDonalds for a burger.

2. Without sugar the blueberries were too sour for the dinner guests.

3. Sally worked from midnight to noon on her science project.

4. He ate three boxes of popcorn with butter during the movie.

5. Janet took her lunch with her to the seminar..


Appositive Phrase A noun phrase that renames the noun it

follows. Also known as a parenthetical phrase

Example: Brad Ruff, the grammar guru, empowers teachers.

Appositive phrase?

- the grammar guru


Clauses• A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb.

1. since she laughs at the bad jock

2. I despise individuals of low character

3. when the graduates go marching in

4. because he smiled at him.

5. Rabit runs


Types of ClausesThere are two types of clauses:

independent and dependent.

1.An independent clause, or main clause, is a subject/verb combination that makes a complete sentence.

2.A dependent clause cannot stand alone, and must be attached to an independent clause.


A Complete Sentences1. Subject

2. Predicate

3. Punctuation

4. A complete thought

Ex. The College is upgrading to university.

Two major parts of a sentence


Subjects A subject may be

1. A single noun Ex. College is upgrading

2. A noun phrase Ex. The language center will improve your English

3. A pronoun Ex. It is open from Monday to Friday.

4. Two or more nouns, noun phrases or pronouns Ex. Ali, Salman and I will do this tomorrow.

5. A gerund (verb + -ing) Ex. Online learning is a good option.

6. An infinitive (To + verb) Ex. To err is human

7. .


Sample News


Headline

Britain's migrating birds are declining in number


Introduction or Stand-first

Fewer birds, including nightingales and cuckoos, are migrating between Europe and Africa due to combined factors of habitat loss, hunting and climate change


Good Luck with your analysis assignment!!!


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