In the last decade, obesity especially among children has been a rising issue in Europe. Next to following a healthy diet, parents must ensure that their children experience sufficient physical activity from an early age. In 2019, the UK government published and uploaded an infographic, highlighting the importance of regular physical activities for children from birth to five years. Through the use of symbolism and contrasts, the UK Chief Medical Officers are successfully demonstrating the benefits and variety of activities through text and images while appealing to parents with children at different ages.

The infographic is divided into two distinctive parts: the upper third emphasizes the benefits that children would experience later in life with early physical activity such as ‘it improves sleep’. The lower two thirds with the subheadline ‘Every movement counts’ stresses the variety of activities. On the bottom, the slogan ‘Get strong. Move more. Break up inactivity,’ summarises the message of the infographic that urges the target audience to act upon the inactivity of their own children. Additionally, most of the text and images are placed into shapes of rectangles, creating a structured and succinct effect. In contrast, next to the headlines, the only large text without an image is the accumulation ‘Active children are healthy, happy, school ready and sleep better’ which highlights the ultimate benefits of physical activities. Therefore, parents who care about their children’s happiness the most are intrigued by the medical advice and encouraged to closely read the smaller pieces of text.

Through the use of symbolism, the UK government is able to create a double-meaning in regards to the layout. The way that the green blocks are presented remind the audience of stairs while the structure successfully orders the columns in age categories of one year between birth and five, the stairs symbolise a physical activity and appeal an audience to climb until they reach the peak of physical activity and health. Additionally, the blocks that build the stairs contain symbolistic images with a short title, explaining the type of activity. The small and simplistic images create an interesting effect because they remind the audience of simple drawings of children. For example, the ‘messy play’ with the hand prints reminds parents of their creative craft activities with their two-year-old child while the ‘playground’ with the swings appeals to parents that love to spend time with their four-year-old outdoors.

Furthermore, the use of contrasting color and text size enables the officers to catch the attention of the audiences, while demonstrating a thorough consideration of all ages and differentiating between time and activity. This creates an eye-catching and structured effect. In the middle towards the left, an orange clock with the text ‘180 minutes per day’ is depicted using a large text size in relation to the green boxes with the activities. On the one hand, it emphasizes the importance on the minimum amount for physical activity, drawing less attention to the actual type of activity. On the other hand, it shows that all children at those ages except less than one year need at least 180 min of physical activity per day. This common fact appeals to all parents, urging them to start moving regularly. Simultaneously, the parents with newborns are given an additional organe note, indicating that it is recommended to move ‘at least 30 minutes’. This creates authenticity and seriousness because the infographic includes a recommendation for all children between birth and five years.

All in all, the UK government aims at conveying the importance of physical activity for early years. Through the use of symbolism and contrast, text and images interplay and create harmony which ultimately creates authenticity and appeals to multiple audiences. The interesting aspect of this infographic is that the UK government made the choice of including less statistics and numbers but show more visuals and tangible examples. This makes the infographic accessible and comprehensive without overwhelming the audience with information. As a result, more parents will most likely become aware of this important advice by the government and change the lifestyle of their children for the better.

Word Count: 680

The following text can be recognized as an article found on a webpage. The article talks about a typical indian delicacy, Tandoori chicken. The author uses several literary devices to educate the reader of an important part of the indian culture. In the following paragraphs, I will be discussing the purpose(s) of this text and how the author manages to convey them using various techniques and devices.

The article is written in fairly simple language which might suggest that there isn’t exactly a target audience. The article manages to convey its message regardless of the age or gender of the rader. The primary purpose of this article seems to be to spread awareness of an important type of food in India. Food is one of the, if not the nuggets, most prominent part of its culture. Hence, it can be said that the author wants to share the culture of India with their readers.

Even though at first glance it might seem as if the author is merely sharing their fondness or interest of the extravagant parts of Indian culture, there are a couple of implicit messages within the text, disguised as the talk of delicious food. In line 13, the author mentions that Tandoori food is also a part of thePakistani culture. Pakistan and India have always been on ill terms. However, the love for this food is the same in both countries. In line 20, the author states - ‘children and adults alike love its mild herbal flavour’. I’ll explain why this seemingly insignificant line is so important to the message of this text in the coming lines. In paragraph 4, the author describes the class situation of India when tandoori foods were just discovered by the people of India. These foods were shunned by the higher classes because of its ‘nomadic’, ‘open-air’ origins. However, the taste of this food was irresistible by the people of the higher classes and eventually they indulged in it. Regardless of age, gender, race, caste, place of birth etc., people enjoyed tandoori food likewise. Therefore this author could be implying that all humans are equal and the author might have been alluding to a strong message against discrimination.

These messages are effectively conveyed because of the various stylistic choices made by the author. First of all, the title of the text is in the large, bold letters. It is short with minimal use of words to express what the text is about quickly to the readers - ‘Food’ and ‘India’. The use of the picture towards the beginning of the text is used to appeal to the readers and also to show off Indian food. The author uses a combination of long and descriptive, and short sentences. The short sentences allow the author to convey factual information to educate the readers readily. The longer more descriptive sentences make the text feel more personal and allows the readers to empathize and relate to the author. The use of first person further enforces the ‘personal’ feelings of the text. The author also starts off the text by adding a personal story about them enjoying said Tandoori foods. The author uses first person and the register of the text is fairly informal (although not entirely colleqil) which further enforces the ‘personal’ feeling of the text. The article is also segmented in various paragraphs to make it easier for the reader to follow.

Finally, I believe that the author wanted to show off their culture which they are seemingly quite proud of, and also spread a message against discriminaton. Hence, to conclude, the following article educated and spread awareness all while connecting with the readers because of its clever use of literary techniques.

Word Count: 616

In the article ‘FOOD: INDIAS SOUL FOOD’ found in the New York Times Magazine and written by Julie Sahni, the article embeds the culture and its foods upon the Indian lifestyle. Through the use of descriptive language and images, not only does Sahni portray how beautiful the food is, but also shows the food and its effects on and from the Indian culture. An attempt has been made in portraying the Indian culture.

The text / article is divided up into seven unequal paragraphs in terms of word count and length. The header contains the heading of the magazine and the name of the author namely ‘The New York Times Magazine’ and ‘BY Julie Sahnie’, where ‘BY Julie Sahni’ is written in the bottom left corner of the box containing the title too. The box has a fill-color of very pale cherry, and the text is written in black, where the magazine title is written in a large font and in a very old fashioned font style found in the German world of literature back in the 1700s. Three little social media circular icons are found in the bottom right corner namely: Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail. Those three little icons are there to not only spread the article around but to also receive then by subscribing to the NY Times, since all three media platforms have the option to subscribe to something in general. Below the box with the magazine title is the heading of the article: ‘Food: India’s soul Food’. The first paragraph is equally in length as the second and the fifth paragraphs. Paragraph three is the shortest with only two sentences. The general glance reveals three colors: Red, black, and orange, which is the color of typical Indian foods. The glance therefore created by the author creates the impression of looking at an Indian menu. This is the first step in creating an Indian impression.

The image (one and only) in the first paragraph is fairly small, showing some tandoori dish with meat and vegetables. On a very general glance, the dish includes chicken: grilled over a grill equally on both sides, then marinated using some sweet spicy coconut seasoning, some soggy soy beans peeled and randomly sprinkled on top of the chicken, and loads of onions cut into rings, toasted and layed aside, and finally some strips of carrots to give the dish a more sweetish flavor. The background reveals some Indian Naan bread, giving the impression that the dish should be rolled up with the bread similar to a Pita. The image is a close up capture, meaning that only the chicken dish is the center of attention. This is a very linear perspective created by the author, as they show that the entire article is about that one dish and nothing else. Since it is the author’s aim at attempting to create an impression of the Indian culture, this is not very effective based on one dish only. Especially with the missing spices on the dish, and the dish looking generally bland and unseasoned. The colorness of the picture is more of an orange and flat-green, which implies that this dish - and other Indian dishes are all like that, which is not true. Therefore through the choice of imagery, the author locked in perspective. The tandoori dish being only captured from one side without the kitchen or even the chef is not sufficient in creating an Indian atmosphere, since Indian kitchens are also part of the atmosphere if created.

The author may have failed to create an Indian impression with the picture, but the input of descriptive language certainly convinces the reader in thinking to be in an Indian environment. The text is written in first person, and the first five words of the first paragraph are all capitalized: ‘TO AN INDIAN FAMILY, THE…’. The author immediately talks about the Indian family without an introduction shows how eager the author is in explaining the dish by jumping straight to the point. The reader is immediately directed into the text, as it also grabs the attention of people with Indian traits. The ‘I’ perspective talking about ‘remembering’ evokes the feeling of listening to a little bit of history about the dish. The author makes the reader more connected to the tandoori dish, as the ‘I’ perspective resembles a conversation at casual. Strong adjectives such as ‘juicy’ used on the chicken makes the water inside the readers’ mouth come out. A juicy chicken is a successfully grilled masterpiece. A climax is created in the second paragraph where the author describes the processing of the meat: ‘baked, roasted, grilled, and smoked, the meat was tender and moist’. This is very delicious, descriptive writing of the chicken, however not relevant to the aim of the author and the text. Yet it is important to mention this,as it can reveal the reader a pre-taste inside one’s head of the dish. Some very educational facts have been highlighted by the author like ‘the marinade breaks down the protein’ which then ‘reduces cooking time’. The author already describes the dish alike a recipe for people to try out at home, engaging the readers to do the same. Now the author attempts to establish friendship with the reader with the reader through use of a hyperbole ‘never’, which implies casual language. Trust is starting to build up between author and reader in line 34 in paragraph five. The theory of convection is applied from thermal physics where ‘domed lid… reflects heat evenly’ is associated with the cooking process. This shows an attempt in using science skills, which is more trustworthy to the reader. The reason why it only stays an attempt is because of the next flaw explaining that wood charcoal burns hotter than briquettes. The author is showing off, since this claim is a paradox. Briquettes are ‘gem’ shaped, which can store more heat than a thin charcoal stick, hence there is more energy stored and released inside the briquette. The personification of an ‘earthy aroma’ emphasizes the imaginary taste inside the readers mouth. This is what the author aims to achieve and to get the readers engaged. This is also a metaphor adapted from describing tea: ‘flowery, earthy, fruity aroma’, which is also part of the Indian culture. The tea probably suits the dish and is therefore well chosen by the author.

Overall, the text has a negative connotation when linked with the culture. The dish is more explained in terms of how to prepare it and what to watch out for instead of its connection to the Indian culture. A tandoori dish may be made using Indian techniques, however blindly saying is that it is just another way to make chicken taste good. Yet, the author choosing descriptions upon the text shows and reveals a lot about Indian cooking style. The author relies on the fact that imagery from the descriptions should convey the reading into an Indian atmosphere. And from a positive point of view saying, this has been the case, which implies that the author successfully managed to portray an Indian culture through the use of imagery and descriptions.

Word Count: 1191

A: 5

B: 4

C: 5

D: 5

A: 3

B: 4

C: 3

D: 3

A: 1

B: 1

C: 2

D: 2

‘Basic style but mentions GQ’; ‘Tangential, not convincing analysis although the seed of a good idea is obvious; register not appropriate’; ‘Examples? Connections to GQ?’; ‘Little understanding of literal meaning. Analysis is descriptive / tangential. Somewhat organized. Lang is mostly accurate. Register not always appropriate.’

None

‘GQ; description; insightful or inapt? Description… no analysis yet; some analysis here; TF’s and AC’s shaping meaning here; detailed analysis; audience? Detailed analysis with a genuine attempt to answer question; excellent, if pedantic, understanding of AC’s’

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