Twitter Extract Analysis

G - Twitter timeline
R - Informal/colloquial
A - Himself
M - Multimodal
P - Inform and entertain
S - Indie Music, Leeds Utd, Politics

This text contains tweets from multiple different twitter accounts, giving us an idea of what the man's interests may be. From this text we can gather that he is a fan of football, specifically Leeds Utd as he follows an account which informs him of news about this subject. Hashtags specific to this subject are used in the tweets such as #LUFC which show the subject of the tweet.The register in the tweets overall is mainly informal but there are aspects of different registers in each different tweet, which suggests whether the account is an actual person or whether it's a group account. For example, twitter user L33D5 uses colloquialisms such as "b tru" and his tweets have a conversational tone as he says "please make this true", which gives the impression it is a personal account. The RedRobbo account on the other hand doesn't use a conversational tone, it makes more of a statement and includes a link at the end of the tweet to persuade users to sign the petition. The text is multimodal as it includes pictures alongside each tweet and in some cases these support the tweets' subjects. For example, the tweets about Leeds Utd both contain pictures with a football in them which relates to the account.

There is clear evidence of Computer mediated communication in this news feed. Some tweets contain hash tags such as 'nowplaying' or 'batesout' and hash tags are specific to social networks so it shows where the text has been created. Abbreviations like "b tru" are used in a tweet which suggests a teenager is writing the text as colloquial language is more common within teenagers. Only 140 characters are allowed in tweets so the user may have shortened words to fit everything in or it could be used as a way of saving time. There are also aspects of the presentation which show that this is a twitter timeline. Beside each tweet there is a time which shows when the tweet was created and the tweets are laid out in order of creation so the most recent tweet is at the top of the page. Twitter was created to be a constant flow of updates which represent old texting so they limited the character count and this is clear as the tweets in this timeline are short and contain colloquialisms like 'xtra' and 'tru'. Each tweet has a name and an @ username above it which shows the social network being used as this layout is specific to twitter.

Tweets are generally created to be asynchronous and this is shown by the use of retweets. Retweets allow the user to share a tweet they find interesting without requiring them to engage in conversation with the user who created the tweet. Sometimes people tweet with the intention of getting responses from others but it is never an instant response which shows this way of communicating is computer mediated. For example in the tweets on his timeline the tweets are mainly all statements rather than questions that require responses.

Twitter Analysis: Owl City

The context of these tweets has a large impact on the way he uses language. For example Twitter only allows you to use 140 characters as this used to be the standard length of text messages. This means he has to use abbreviations to fit everything he wants to say into a tweet. The use of these abbreviations despite having a large amount of characters left suggests he is using them sarcastically. He is a 27 year old man so it is unlikely that he uses text talk in a serious way. He uses this feature mainly in humorous tweets which suggests it’s used to support the comedic feel of the tweet. Owl City’s main fanbase on twitter is teenage girls so it’s possible that he’s using this language to appeal to his audience as his twitter will be viewed by thousands of people this age.

 A lot of Owl City’s tweets contain sarcasm or humour which gives the impression he uses twitter to entertain his fan base. In these tweets, he generally doesn’t use punctuation at the end of sentences which adds an informal element to them. When asking questions he either doesn’t include question marks or uses multiple question marks at once. The use of multiple question marks has become more common with twitter users as it is used either sarcastically or to emphasise their question.

 There are some aspects of his tweets which make it clear which social network he is using. For example, hashtags are mostly used on twitter as they used to be exclusive to that site. He uses the hashtag ‘owlcity’ when answering questions for fans as it makes it easier for him to find their tweets.

 As well as this, he has included links to pictures in some tweets. Twitter has made it increasingly easy for people to share images so this feature gives a clear idea which social site he’s using. Pictures add interest to tweets and are often humorous.

In one tweet he uses the hashtag ‘#tbt’ which stands for throw back Thursday. Alongside this hashtag he has attached a picture. This tag has become popular among twitter users as it gives them a chance to share funny or interesting childhood pictures so his picture will appeal to his fans as they will be interested in seeing older pictures of him. This tag is exclusive to social networks so gives a clear idea of the effect technology has had on the things he says.

Article Writing - Technology Blog

Article Plan

-Short opening sentence about subject of article

- Give brief explanation of what twitter is

- Write about how it's becoming more popular nowadays & include "there are 100 million active twitter users" quote from PR Daily

TECHNOLOGY BLOG

Twitter's Recent Rise To Fame

As social site Twitter takes its rise to popularity the public begin to question - is Twitter really that essential to our daily lives? Twitter is a social network used by a large percentage of the public which, since it's launch in 2006, has been constantly increasing in popularity. As the "20 Illuminating facts about Twitter:2012 edition" article states, "There are 100 million active Twitter users, 50 percent of which log in every day". The site is a way for users to update their followers on their thoughts, feelings and day-to-day activities, giving the rest of the public the opportunity to retweet or favourite the tweets they find interesting.

Evaluation

What do you still need to find out? I still need to find out who uses twitter, what people use it for/why they use it, people's opinions of it, statistics and facts about twitter.

Are there any other ways you could use some of this information? I could use this information to argue against people's opinions

Can you use even more of the sources to liven your piece up or can you use fewer and include more of your own ideas? I can include more of my ideas about the site and use my own opinions

Analysis

When writing this article introduction I had to take a few things into consideration such as the audience and layout of the piece. I kept the writing fairly formal as the purpose is to inform rather than to entertain. As well as this, I included a quote from another blog and referenced which blog it came from. This adds background information to the piece and shows the readers where the original quote came from incase they want to look into the story more. I included an introductory sentence explaining the basics of what the article is about and also included a rhetorical question as people will stop and consider the question which was asked. This makes the reader think and encourages them to read the rest of the article. I kept the introductory paragraph fairly short as it is only used to explain the purpose of the piece and give a brief definition of the subject matter.

Film Review

Review Plan

Intro - Brief plot of the film

Paragraph 1 - Inform reader of the director and give short opinion

Paragraph 2 - Explain a few features of the film

Paragraph 3 - Continue to explain film features/actors

Paragraph 4 - Flaws in the film

Paragraph 5 - Give Verdict of the film


Review

Plot

As Bilbo Baggins nears his 111th birthday, he recaps on the adventures he experienced 60 years ago in a book to pass on to his nephew Frodo. The Hobbit delves into his past and uncovers the story of his big adventure involving a wizard, a dwarf army, and a group of unsuspecting trolls.

Review

9 years after the last Lord Of The Rings film was released, director Peter Jackson finally succumbed to the public's needs and released a prequel to the trilogy, turning the 30s book into a fantasy film. The tale of little Hobbit Bilbo Baggins holds a place in the audiences' hearts as he follows his unusually-named dwarf friends into an adventure full of excitement, discovering that his small stature doesn't prevent him from being a hero in his own right.

Alongside producers Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh and Zane Weiner, Peter has created a contemporary addition to the LOTR franchise while keeping the addictive, fantasy feel which all the other films contain. With impeccable casting, Peter Jackson has managed to reel previous Lord of the Rings actors Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee and Elijah Wood into starring in the new movie. Thankfully for him the 3 actors appear to have access to the fountain of youth and haven't aged a bit since the previous films, making them perfect for this prequel. 

From epic battle scenes to scenes that will bring a tear to your eye, this film has it all. There are a few minor flaws which could be questioned though, such as the dwarves feeling the need to burst into song more often than is needed in true High School Musical style. If they spent as much time fighting as they did singing, their quest probably would have been finished by now. Alongside this the actual adventure itself begins around 43 minutes into the film, meaning nearly a third of the screen time is taken up watching a build up to an adventure which in some people’s eyes may be a complete anti-climax. These are only minor flaws though, the film as a whole will grasp fantasy fans’ attention from start to finish, sending you through an emotional rollercoaster you wouldn’t expect from a story about a vertically challenged character who lives in a hole in the ground.

Despite a few flaws here and there, the first film in this trilogy was gripping and a great addition to the franchise. Even though die-hard lord of the rings fans will swear nothing can ever live up to the 2001 trilogy, this film is an amazing follow-up to the books.

Persuasive Speech on The Topic of Education

For the majority of a student's school life they are required to wear a specific uniform and look a certain way so they blend in with the rest of the school, but how is preventing them from expressing themselves benefiting their education? I can confidently say I am not alone in believing that children should be given permission to express themselves through their style and would strongly encourage them to be able to look how they want to look.

Self expression plays a big part in a persons life and having the chance to be their own person is being restricted for all of their school years because of schools banning students from wearing their own clothes and choosing how they want to look. You spend your time teaching children to be themselves, to be confident with their style, to not be afraid to look different from others, yet as soon as they walk through the school doors you make them change anything which makes them stand out. I believe all students should be allowed to wear whatever they're comfortable in, not uniforms which they have been forced to wear. The main point of school is to make sure students get an education and have a good time, and I think getting rid of uniform would make their school lives happier. As many people mention, there is a risk of people getting bullied because of their style, and although I agree with this there is still a large amount of bullying in schools even with uniform. Most schools have non school uniform days at some point and there is never an increase in bullying just because students are wearing their own clothes. I don't think the amount of bullying in schools would change much just because of uniform changing. 

One of the main reasons teachers are unhappy with students wearing their own uniform is because they believe school is for learning and not for dressing up, but giving students the chance to wear their own uniform isn't going to restrict their learning in any way. In college all students can wear their own clothes and there is no evidence to suggest that their learning is any worse off because of it. Teachers make students change their hair colour or remove piercings because they believe they will be a 'distraction to other students' but the fact of the matter is a student's grades are down to how much effort they put in to their learning, not what colour their hair is.

To conclude, I think students should at least be given the chance to wear their own clothes, wear their piercings and have their hair any colour. All students have their own personality, so why shouldn't you let them show it off through their uniform? I hope there are a lot of you who agree with my opinion and I hope those who didn't have been encouraged to question if non-uniform is really that bad. thank you.

Analysis

When writing in this specific genre I had to consider the audience I was aiming my speech at, the level of formality I was using and the different rhetorical devices I needed to make my speech successful. My speech was aimed at adults, so I kept the register formal and didn't add humour as I wanted to get my point across in a serious way. I made sure I kept the sentences fairly simple but added some formal language and varied the length of my sentences to keep it engaging. I structured it so that I had some kind of introduction and conclusion, then planned the two points I was going to make and separated them into different paragraphs. In terms of rhetorical devices, I tried to add a few in but not overload my speech with them. I used rhetorical questions to add effect and variation to my speech, and also added triplets as it is an effective rhetorical device to use because people remember things better in threes. I used synthetic personalisation and pronouns to directly address the audience and give them the impression that I was speaking to them directly.

Rewritten Texts

Text A - Written as formal: 

Steven and I met up today and took a stroll for a short while, joined by my close friend Natasha before proceeding to return to my place of residence. When the time came for Steven to depart, I accompanied him to the bus stop and we shared a kiss despite my lack of feelings for him. This encouraged a sense of guilt within me due to him being such a nice person. Last night I explained how I felt to Steven who thankfully understood my point of view and this Saturday we are sharing a trip to the cinema.

 Aside from this news, we received our results for the French exam which we sat the previous day. I was pleased to witness that I had managed to achieve almost full marks, getting 31 out of a possible 32.

During English today my friend Claire was in great distress and although I was keen to help her feel better, Anthony is the only person who can help her in these situations. 

Register Analysis 

When changing the register of the text I was writing I had to consider changing different aspects of the language such as phonetic spelling, homophonic representation and elision while still keeping the same mode, purpose and subject. The original piece of writing was quite unstructured so I tried to make sure my version was structured well and the different subjects of the text were split into different paragraphs. I had to come up with synonyms to replace the more simple words as some words are more appropriate for different registers, for example I changed 'house' to 'place of residence' as it fits in better with a formal register but would look out of place in a colloquial piece of text. In addition to this, I changed the elisions back into separate words e.g. I changed 'outa' back to 'out of' as it makes the text more formal. Throughout the whole piece of writing I made sure I used standard English without any abbreviations or incorrect grammar.