AQA English Specification B Media Texts

The article regards BA's decision to ditch sandwiches for passengers and questions whether the decision was in it's best interests, whilst remaining impartial and unbiased.

• Lots of expert opinions ("Simon Evan, chief executive of Air Transport Users Council said..."; "Willie Walsh, the chief executive, has said that...") which add weight to the article
• Facts/Statistics ("BA lost £401 million last year")
• Comparitive table - informs the reader
• Headline: "hunger" has a double meaning, it's a pun/hooking device and is intended to be slightly humerous; it gives key information about what the article is about
• Initial paragraph: exhibits cohesion with the healine; gives key information; displays the use of the inverted pyramid (who, what, when, where, why)
• Image which accompanies the article: it's effective because it represents BA sandwiches metaphorically departing
• The phrase "humble cheese sandwich" is effective as it is very British and subsequently relates to the reader

The article attacks vegetarianism and Coren expresses an evident offensive tone throughout, claiming that vegetarianism is a form of eating disorder.

• Very strongly opinionated article and Coren's voice is very dominant throughtout the text
• The language is subtle but provokative and contreversial as Coren attacks the concept of vegetarianism ("To eat no meat is at all is to take an extreme position in an area where extremism is not called for" - this quote is quite ironic as his article is extreme!)
• He is quite offensive which triggers a reaction from the reader and thus engagaes them in the text - "it makes you pale, and flaky, and unbelievably tedious to be around
• He uses a patronising tone which is quite humerous but offensive ("without cow muck to nourish the soil, how are your precious carrots going to grow all big and juicy?")
• Facts/Statistics: "there is not enough land to feed the nine billion people who will be living here by 2020"
• The image which accompanies the article directly links to the headline
• He uses parenthesis to add addtional comments which are somewhat sarcastic and patronising
• He discusses the pros and cons of eating meat to prove his ecological awareness
• He stereotypes teenagers as stupid and thus this portrays his arrogance

The article regards fairtrade food and the benefits it has not only on the people involved in producing and farming it, but also on the consumer.

• Headline refers to the nursery rhyme "Jack Sprat" - the song reflects fairtrade food as there is no wastage / it's balanced
• The healine contains layers of meaning (it "tastes" better both literally and ethically/morally)
• Renton uses powerful verbs and quirky vocabulary - such as "splurging" and "schmaltz" - which engages the reader within the article and presents it in a somewhat informal manner
• He uses first person narrative which makes the article very personal and helps to further promote fairtrade food ("I've meet those someones"; "What I saw there plainly worked...") - he's an advokate for fairtrade
• The strapline includes a rhetorical question, which immedietly engages the reader and gets them thinking ("Why buy fairtrade food?"). He ends the article with a blunt, simple answer: "Fairtrade tastes better - it's as simple as that." This shows cohesion.
• He disguises facts as opinions in order to add weight to his arguement that fairtrade is better: "The food we care about tastes better too"
• He uses facts to aid his point: "It gave many survivors of the genicide 15 years ago the hope and pride that comes with earning a decent living."
• The image which accompanies the article links directly with the headline
• There is a frequent use of parenthesis to add additional information

The article regards the unhealthy eating habits of school children in this country and how even the celebrated television chef, Jamie Oliver, is struggling to implicate a better and healthier approach to eating.

• The headline is a rhetorical question and thus immedietly captures the reader's attention and engages them within the article
• Facts/Statistics: "Sixty percent of primary school children are avoiding school dinners."; In Stocken-on-Tees in the North-east, one in six children starting school is already obese." The statistics are intended to schock the reader and emphasise the point Smith is trying to make
• Employs the use of short sentences for affect ("Junk food is a killer.")
• The last sentence links back to the headline and thus exhibits cohesion ("But if someone as successsful as Jamie Oliver can't persuade people to change their eating habits, I don't know who will.")
• The image displays Jamie Oliver and thus a level of fame is attatched to the image; it's colourful and structured which reflects the healthier approach to eating we should take
• She makes lists to emphasise her point

The article regards irrigation in Uganda, and is a persuasive and emotive text which encourages the reader to emphasise with the people of the counrty, which is expected to experience famine as a result of the back-to-back drought.

• An online article (guardian.co.uk)
• Facts/Statistics: ""of Uganda's estimated 400,000 hectares of irrigable land, barely 5% is under irrigation" (aids in supporting Kavuma's article)
• Very personal (first person narrative): "But what bothers me..."
• Expert voice ("Stephen Ochola, the district chairman")
• Emotive language to encourage the reader to sympathise with the people of Uganda: "One painful thing..."
• Kavuma uses rhetorical questions to engage the reader within the text ("who said saving lives was going to be cheap?")
• The emotive image which accompanies the article is effective as it encourages the reader to empathise with people in Uganda and thus engages them within the article
• "Why, he wondered, can't Uganda start seriously promoting irrigation to supplement the rains when necessary?" The situation seems to defy logic - paradox

 The article regards our nation's unhealthy obsession with high calorific and high fat foods in excess. It also states how experts have found that such foods could also drain our brain power, making us "thicker in more ways than one."

• The powerful verb "bingeing" in the headline engages the reader
• Facts/Statistics: "The number of correct decisions before making a mistake dropped from over six to an average of five to 5.5."
• Expert voice - Andrew Murray, co-author of the study - to add weight to the arguement
• The research is conducted by a study at Oxford University which validates the research and thus supports the arguement
• The use of the word "thicker" in the first paragraph has layers of meaning
• Emotive language: "damaged the rodents'"
• The image which accompanies the article portrays a somewhat grotesque take on our obsession with junk food and exhibits an unhealthy and unstructured approach to eating. It relates to the younger generation, where obesity is becoming an increasingly prominent issue

 The article regards the work of the charity "Mary's Meals" in Nairobi, Kenya; it's a feeding programme for primary school children living in the Mukura Kwa Njenga slum, which aims to aid children in education and provide them with at least one reliable, nutrious meal a day.

• It's an online article (guardian.co.uk)
• There's lots of emotive language in order to encourage the reader to sympathise with the children in the slums ("threaten", "dire", "desperate")
• Facts/Statistics: "as many as one in 10 people are in desperate need of help"; "There are 2,113 children at Njenga primary school"
• The final paragraph gives evidence of the charity's success and thus supports their work and adds weight to the article ("Despite its location in one of Nairobi's most notorious slums, Njenga primary school has some of the best exam results in the country.")
• The images which accompany the article are all emotive as they portray the great poverty within the slum. However, they show the effect the feeding programme has on the children and this emphasises the simplictic hapiness the charity has achieved

The article regards organic food and questions the value of organic.

• The headline is an example of punning as "dig" has layers of meaning and thus the headline immedietly engages the reader within the article
• It's a very balanced article (not biased) and considers both sides of the arguement, including "Pro-organic groups"
• Facts boxes: give clear ideas, key statistics and show the popularity of organic food
• The comparitive table effectively informs the reader of the difference in prices between organic and non-organic food
• Expert opinions add weight to the article ("public health nutritionist, Dr Alan Dangour")
• The image which accompanies the article links directly with the headline and is colurful, natural and unspoiled, thus exhibiting the essence of typical organic food