Task one // factual writing copy
- 1. Factual Writing Copy Richard Burn
- 2. Leaflets Leaflets are used to inform the audience about products or services & can also be used in this way to be advertising. There is a huge range of them. Clarity: it is very clear what this leaflet is for & is shown using a mixture of copy & image. The copy informs you the name of the theme park (Alton Towers Resort), how long they have been a company for (30 years) & the name of a ‘new’ rollercoaster. This front clearly promotes the theme park through image as well, as you can see various rides that can be found in the park, as well as image that promotes the new rollercoaster. I would say that image:copy ratio is 70:30, which works for a cover of a leaflet. Conciseness: This use of image alongside copy allows the leaflet & information to come across as concise. On the inside of the leaflet, the information is split up into different paragraphs, sections & colours which draw attention to different parts & information. The images again work alongside the copy which adds to the conciseness because it explains, in basics, what the section of the leaflet is about which allows the audience to find the information they need easier. Accuracy: Although accuracy with this kind of factual writing copy isn’t as important than others, it still needs the information to be correct & what they claim e.g. ‘ANOTHER WORLD FIRST’, the copywriter needs to fact check this to make sure they are not making claims that are not true. Avoiding Ambiguity: The information is presented very clearly. Although this isn’t a major issue for a leaflet of this kind, it is important that the theme park is shown to be great through copy & image so it looks its best & the audience is only tempted to go to this theme park & not of its competitors. They also need to focus on what they have, not what the don’t have. Bias: When promoting & advertising a place/product, you need to show that what the product/place offers & persuade the audience that this is what they need/want. In other forms of factual writing copy, bias should not be used as this takes away from the factual nature of the writing. The Alton Towers shows you clearly with a large title what ‘Special Events’ the theme park has to offer & rightly does not show what other them parks have to offer. Register: The register in the writing on this leaflet is very basic & uses your standard common English, there is nothing ‘formal’ about the way they write, which works well with the audience. Using more formal words is not needed & could possibly alienate some parts of the audience e.g. children who would look to access the leaflet. Part of the register that makes this less formal is the use of explanation points used throughout, particularly the three used on the end of the large text ‘Escape to the Alton Towers Resort and disappear for days!!!’. Evidence of Argument: There is no need for argument to be included in this leaflet, the aim is for it to look like the best theme park e.g. ‘another world first’. Referencing Sources: A leaflet would have to make sure dates & such are correct on there leaflets, other than that no fact sourcing needs to be done/provided. The map of how to get there is important to get right. Legal Constraints: There are no legal constraints e.g. libel, contempt of court & gagging orders do not come into practice with this kind of leaflet. Codes of Practice: codes like NUJ & trading standards do not link with the leaflet. ASA guidelines do not be looked at as the leaflet is promoting & advertising Alton Towers. As children would be going to the theme park, they have to be careful with what they would include in this.
- 3. Leaflets Leaflets are used to inform the audience about products or services & can also be used in this way to be advertising. There is a huge range of them. Typography; • Typeface: The typeface featured on the leaflet is a simple serif font which only features short extensions allows most of the text to be read simply. The font for the new ride 13 is different & separate to the font used on everything else. This font is a slightly gothic font & works well with the dark colours & dark, scary look of the ride. The audience for the new ride is slightly separate from the rest of the leaflet. • Colour: The colours used throughout the the leaflet is very bright & colourful, like mentioned on the previous slide, the colours separate different sections of the poster & also clash against one another which catches the eyes in different ways. The bright colours used are pink, orange, red & blue, which contrast against the purple background. Purple connotes royalty, which links with the idea of a ‘tower’ (typical of royalty to own). Linking to this, the colour gold is used for trimming on some elements & some writing that has some significance, like the ‘Special Events’. Like mentioned in the previous paragraph, the advertisement for the new ride ‘Thirteen’ is darker & uses different colours to connote different things. The dark colours connote gothic feelings & the unknown, so this works very well with what the ride is all about. • Effects: On some of the text, you will find that they are bolder e.g. the name of the theme park. Different sizes of text dissevers what is more significant. Like with the new ride the words ‘New’ & ‘2010’ are the same size, but the word ‘for’ is smaller in comparison, as it is not the important part of the statement. • Pictures: The pictures involved are s strong representation of what can be found at the theme park, so this is important to show to the audience so they can see what they would be doing at the theme park. The rides are basically collaged together. The Images of the trumpets link well with the theme of royalty & work well with this part of the leaflets as it looks like they are announcing the ‘special events’. • Diagram/illustration: The only diagram that is featured on the leaflet is the map to show how to get to Alton Towers. Pictures are better to use for promoting something like this visually.
- 4. Instructions Instructions are used to show how to do something. They should be clear & concise. Clarity: Instructions have to be very clear to understand for the audience, otherwise they are not doing what they are meant to do. Clarity can be improved by using step-by-step instructions, which breaks up the task for the audience. The instruction sheet you can see on the left has split up the task into 10 different sections, this really adds clarity. The photographs included also add to the clarity. Conciseness: It is a very important to have the information be concise. Conciseness works alongside clarity to produce effective instructions. The instructions on the left does this well, as they clearly title & section off each section so the audience can find what part they may need help with easily. The instructions at most are a short paragraph, which really works to make the instructions concise & shows that the writer hasn’t gone overboard with the text & how much is needed. This clearly shows that the writer knows what they are writing for. Accuracy: It is obviously important to give accurate instructions so that the audience know what they are doing with the product they have purchased. There needs to be no stone left unturned when it comes to instructions as there should be no guess work on the audience members part as this could lead to them building/producing the product in an incorrect way. Avoiding Ambiguity: This links to what was stated in the previous paragraph, you cannot with instructions be left to interpretation as the information needs to be very clear. Bias: Bias isn’t really involved when it comes to instructions. Register: The language used in the instructions is standard English, but no formal words are used. Formal words may have confused the audience, so it makes sense to use ‘regular’ words. This links well with the clarity & conciseness of instructions. The instructions are also clearly for adults so the words do not need to be simplified. whereas if they were for children you can assume different words would be used & the presentation would be different. The register depends on the audience. Evidence of Argument: No argument is needed. Referencing Sources: No referencing is needed, although you could say that the image could be used as a referencing source. Legal Constraints: No legal constraints Codes of Practice: Trading standards may come in to make sure the instructions are safe for the user to use, which really links with if the product is safe or not.
- 5. Instructions Instructions are used to show how to do something. They should be clear & concise. Typography; • Typeface: The type face at the top of the instruction sheet uses different types of type face to separate the different text. These are like separate titles. As the rest of the instructions need to be clear and obvious, so having the design aspect of the instructions to just been in the title allows a little creative flare to show. • Colour: There is no colour featured on this version of the instructions. This would allow costs to be cheaper overall. I believe a full colour version would have looked more professional, even though it is only instructions. Colour may have allowed the images to show what to do better as well. • Effects: Not a lot of effects are used on the typography, within the main body of text. One significant part of the typography is the effect of using white lettering against a black rectangle background ‘ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTION SHEET’. The use of this allows the sheet to be easily identified, as it catches the eye against the usual white background with black lettering. Another simple, yet effective thing they have done is clearly number the instructions with a large (larger than the title of the section & the guidelines) 1. in bold. The title of each section is also in bold, so the audience can easily identify which part of the instructions they should read if they are stuck. • Pictures: There are many pictures used throughout the instructions, which is a usual feature found on instruction manuals/sheets. It allows you to easily see what to do, it works well with the writing to really show the consumer what to do/how to make/build there product. To the left you can see many images that are specific to each section so there is no confusion. • Diagram/illustration: There is a diagram used in the top left corner, that shows you what you will/should find in what you have purchased, which is very useful. This is a typical feature you would find in a instruction manual, as this useful to the consumer just to make sure they have got everything.
- 6. How-to Guides How-to Guides are books/manuals to teach the user how to do something. Some would describe a how-to guide to be a long-form version of instructions. Clarity: For a how-to guide, they need to clear, with individual chapter & sections. The one you can see to the left is one for an iPhone & is an e-book version of the guide. From what you can see, the guide is very clear & east to read & it is important for a how-to guide to have clarity Conciseness: In a how-to guide, you can be less concise than in instructions, but you still need the paragraphs featured to be concise to the point where you’re not writing irrelevant information. The paragraphs to the left tell the user what they can expect from different aspects of the product in a concise way & in more detail that could be seen on a simple instruction sheet. Accuracy: Like with instructions, the accuracy is important so that your consumer isn’t given false information about what the product does. With the diagram of the iPhone 5, the labels have to be accurate & not show something that is not right. If they say the phone does something that it does not, this could be classed as false advertising. The guide does say that the apps featured could depend on your ‘location, language,carrier & model of iPhone’. Avoiding Ambiguity: Avoiding Ambiguity is important for things like instructions & how-to guides as it could lead to the consumer getting confused & they would blame the company for this. Bias: Bias does not come into this how-to guide because it is straight forward & they are not discussing anything that would lead to bias being involved. Register: The language featured in this how-to guide features the standard English you would expect. The words used are linked to the product e.g. carrier & EarPods, they are specific to iPhones & phones in general. You can assume Apple have a diction Evidence of Argument: No argument needed. Referencing Sources: The iPhone is the reference source of all the information & because it is an official guide book, the information should be correct. Legal Constraints: The legal constraints like libel, contempt of court & gagging orders do not apply to this. The legal constraints would be specific to the product & not the how-to guide book. Codes of Practice: None of your typical codes of practice need to be followed, although there will be codes of practise set by the company.
- 7. How-to Guides How-to Guides are books/manuals to teach the user how to do something. Some would describe a how-to guide to be a long-form version of instructions. Typography; • Typeface: The typeface of the the text is very simple so you can read the text easily. The same font is used throughout the guide-book, meaning it is consistent. Sub titles are larger than the main body of text & are in a different colour (below). The title for the chapter is written larger as well. Two words in two separate paragraphs are also in bold ‘Note’ & ‘Apple Headset’. Doing this also draws attention to these sections & lets the user find what they may need. The ‘Note’ is also in italics, so this separates it from the normal bold of the other paragraph. You can assume this typeface is used throughout the guidebook. • Colour: The user-guide is in full colour, unlike the instruction sheet we looked at earlier. it is easier to produce a user-guide of the guide is provided in e-book form (this lowers costs & damage to the environment. The image of the phone is in full colour & the sub titles are in light blue. Blue is a typical colour associated with power & computer products. Colour images make more sense & show more to the user, compared to a black & white image, it also comes across more professional. • Effects: Not many effects are used on the the typography in the iPhone guidebook, this works with the style of apple products in general & is understandable that they have done this. The only noticeable effects like bold, italics & different sized texts are talked about in the first paragraph. • Pictures: On these two pages of the how-to guide, four different photographs are used of the same product. You can see the top, bottom, front & back of the iPhone (which is part of a diagram). This links with what the paragraph below is about & explain the different functions of the iPhone. The photograph is also in full colour, which allows a clear image of what the consumer would be seeing. Black & white could lead to minor confusion. Colour also looks more professional & should be expecting from a company like Apple. • Diagram/illustration: Diagrams & Illustrations (alongside pictures) should be used throughout most how-to guides & instruction sheets. It allows for an easier & visual learning experience for the audience. On the iPhone how-to guide, pictures of the iPhone are used as part of a diagram to explain the overview of the buttons & various other features can be found on the iPhone. The use of a picture for this diagram, instead of an illustration, is better as it is exactly the same as what the consumer would be viewing. Whereas, in the accessories section, two computer generated diagrams have been used to show the ‘EarPods’ & ‘Lightning Cable’. Using an illustration for these is much easier & looks better than a photograph, as it is harder to photograph things like this due to the cables. They also work well with the background & the writing as they are the same colour (the copy & image work well with each other).
- 8. Factual Journalism There is a huge range of factual journalism which can be seen on many different mediums. Clarity: Factual Journalism can get confusing sometimes, especially when the journalist is not actually good at writing or that they are not telling the whole truth/are being bias. You can expect The Independent to have good writers as it is a broad print newspaper with an ABC1 typical audience (who are typically more intelligent). Although it is for a more intelligent target audience, the work still needs to be clear to understand & easy to read. Conciseness: Although you want to be intelligent with your writing, theres no need to use words that are unneeded. I believe the Independent do this very well. They do not dumb-down there writing & do not over articulate there writing. Accuracy: Accuracy is important when you are writing factual journalism. This is due to the fact that there are legal constraints like liable when you are writing factual journalism. There are facts used throughout this article that need to be accurate for the story to be taken seriously. Although you could say this story is not as important or going to offend someone as it is about violins & not about a person, it still needs to be fact checked & researched properly. Avoiding Ambiguity: This again, like accuracy, is important when writing factual journalism. This is important as you don’t want to be vague in what you are saying as you are providing the audience with a story. Again, like with the accuracy, with this article you could say that it is’t as important as other articles to avoid ambiguity as it is only about violins. Bias: The article needs to prove why someone should possibly make money using violins, although the article title doesn’t 100% tell you what the article is going to be about because as it is not persuading you to do this, its telling you the facts. Factual journalism shouldn't be bias, depending on the article, as you are providing information (especially in a newspaper article). You should provided both sides & an argument so the audience can amok their own mind up on the situation. Register: The language in an article depends on the target audience. For The Independent, you can assume the audience is part of the socio-economic status ABC1, so the language used will be standard English. Correct grammar & no song words are used throughout the article & the work is written in paragraphs. Evidence of Argument: I don’t believe there is much argument in the article, but most articles need evidence of argument in them so that there is a balanced argument. Referencing Sources: There are a lot of fact checking that needs to go into writing a factual article, as it is meant to be factual. They referenced where there image they used is from, underneath the photograph & next to the caption. Legal Constraints: There are many legal constraints to follow when writing factual journalism. liable, contempt of court and gagging orders all could apply. Codes of Practice: NUJ & the editors code of practice need to be followed when you are writing factual journalism.
- 9. Factual Journalism There is a huge range of factual journalism which can be seen on many different mediums. Typography; • Typeface: The font used in this article is your standard font found in most broadsheet newspaper articles. It is a classic font which, although is a serif font, it is simple. Serifs like the ones used in the article are linked to writing for an ABC1 audience, who appear to be ‘posher’ & more intelligent. The font of the title of the article & the main body of text appears to be the same font used for the name of the magazine. The only other parts of text that use a ‘modern’ sans serif font is for the date, the name of the journalist, what they write for & the caption of the one photograph used. This separates these from the important parts of the article. • Colour: There is no colour featured in this article. Usually if an article in a newspaper does not feature colour, it isn’t important to need the colour/it isn’t important enough to need colour. The article works without it. Newspapers usually use a mix of colour & black and white in there print, this usually helps to keep costs down. Other types of factual journalism are in full colour, like online articles & magazines. It is not necessary for the photograph featured to be colour as you can clearly depict what is in the image without it. • Effects: You will find the standard effects used in a newspaper article used in this article. For example, the title of the article is in bold. Other writing that is also in bold is the name of the journalist & the caption of the image. The bold in these two examples are used as they are the most important part of there section. The name of the journalist is then followed by what kind of corespondent they are, which is in regular. This is the same with the caption. The caption is in bold but the reference to where they got the image from is in regular. • Pictures: Only one photograph is used in this article. Most articles this size use one photograph/no photographs. If the article was larger, you could expect more photographs to be used. Like mentioned in the colour paragraph, the photograph is in black & white. The photograph links with what the article is about. Sometimes a photograph is used to draw attraction to the article, although I believe this wasn’t the aim with this photograph. • Diagram/illustration: No diagrams/illustrations are used in this article, but they can be used sometimes in the form of graphs and such. This shows information in a clear and concise way. Diagrams & illustrations are not usually used in newspaper articles, compared to photographs.