Comparing presentation

* One way of identifying the purpose of a text is to look at how it has been presented. An advertisement will generally be trying to persuade you to buy a product or use a certain service and will therefore feature writing that aims to persuade. An extract from a novel or short story will be trying to amuse, entertain or describe – depending on its genre, while a non-fiction book is more likely to be factual in nature with the purpose of informing or analysing. Newspaper articles differ in purpose – news stories describe or explain events that have happened, whereas editorials discuss or comment on events.
* Working out what type of text you are reading will help you to establish the purpose of the text, and then look for features that are associated with that purpose. For example, instructions might have sub-headings and bullet points, a persuasive piece of writing would have carefully selected facts and quotations, as well as words with positive connotations.Questions to ask when comparing the presentation of texts include:
* What type of text is this?
* What features does a text like this normally employ to fulfil its purpose?
* How do the features of the presentation (eg headlines, pictures) help the writer to achieve his or her purpose?

Comparing facts and opinions

* The purpose of the text will influence how many facts are contained in relation to opinions. An extract from an encyclopaedia is more likely to contain facts than a short story — this is because an encyclopaedia’s primary purpose is to inform, explain or describe. An editorial, on the other hand, is likely to contain mainly opinions, although these may be based on facts that are presented in a news story elsewhere in the paper. In advertisements, the facts that are given are carefully chosen to present the product on offer in the best possible light, and to persuade the reader to believe that the product is worth having.

Questions to ask when comparing facts and opinions include:

* What facts have been included in this text, and why?
* What opinions have been included in this text, and why?
* Is the author making it clear what his or her opinion is, and how is this done?

Comparing information

* The amount and type of information given will depend on the purpose of the text. In the case of an advertisement or persuasive political leaflet, sometimes only very little information is given with a lot of persuasive devices which try to convince you that this is something that you should believe or support. In other types of texts, such as a pamphlet that explains how to do something or a travel guide, a lot of information is given with far fewer persuasive features.

Questions to ask when comparing information include:
* How does the writer feel about the reader of the text?
* Why has this information been given?
* What is the writer’s purpose in giving this information?

Comparing attitudes

*Sometimes writers are completely neutral towards their subject matter. For example, someone who compiles reference books might not be passionate about the material he or she is handling. But a person writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper, a politician devising a pamphlet full of propaganda or a satirist making fun of recent events, are examples of writers who would feel quite strongly about the subject they are covering in a way that would show in their writing.

* As well as considering whether the writer is neutral or passionate towards the subject matter, you should also consider his or her attitude towards the reader. Is the writer patronising? (Does he or she write as if children were going to read the document?) Is the writer convincing? (Does he or she present an impressive array of reasons that would convince an intelligent reader?).

Questions to ask when comparing the attitudes of writers:

* How strongly does he or she feel about the subject?
* How does he or she feel about the reader of the text?