How does Kat Fletcher’s ‘Indian Ocean Tsunami article’ compare and
contrast with Jessica Reads’ ‘Experience: I survived an earthquake
while scuba diving’?
Pearson Edexcel A Level English Language and Literature
Texts taken from ‘Voices in Speech and Writing: an Anthology’
Component 1
Syllabus 9ELO
Jessica Read (Text A) and Kat Fletcher (Text B) show their past experiences. For example,
Jessica tells her audience the time that she “almost died” while scuba diving in the Philippines
due to a sudden earthquake. She tells her story in the form of a blog published in the online
version of The Guardian Weekend Magazine. She uses personal pronouns and descriptive and
creative language such as the adjectives, “tropical, luminous and languorous” and even the
hyperbole “hypnotic sound” and “underwater bomb”. This is obviously to keep the reader
interested and eager to continue reading her first-hand account. Furthermore, the headline
of her story is powerful as it immediately let’s the reader know what happened. Kat Fletcher
talks about the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami that left many displaced and homeless
across Eastern Asia. He aims at trying to make the British people in general contribute and
donate money to help Sri Lanka and Indonesia recover and get back on their own two feet.
For example, he uses the verb, “suffering” and the nouns, “horror and guilt” to make the
reader feel regretful if they don’t donate for such an important cause. The headline of the
article is also a pun and makes reference to “The First Aid for Life” charity organisation.
The audience at which both of the texts are aimed at and also the texts’ purposes are
different. For example, (Text A) is primarily aimed at a global female audience. This is evident
due to the hyperlink bar at top of the page redirecting the browsers to things about “food,
health, family, women and home&garden”. This therefore implies that the report was
published on the website version of The Guardian. Furthermore, the headline shows that her
story is aimed at people interested in near death encounters or enjoy scuba diving
themselves. It is not necessarily the sort of report that would reach breaking news around the
world. Instead, its main purpose is to entertain and let people know what it is like to witness
an earthquake while underwater. On the other hand, (Text B) is only aimed at the British
public suggesting that Kat Fletcher is nationalistic and patriotic. Throughout his article he
constantly mentions how Britain can help those in need affected by the devastating Tsunami.
Examples of this are, “Britain can make an impact”, “response from the British public has been
overwhelming” and “Britain must find a way”. Nevertheless, people around the world can
also read the article as it is on The Guardian News website. In addition, the article is aimed at
males and females, not like Jessica Reads’. The article’s main purpose is to increase the British
public’s awareness on the topic and also bring them together to raise money and help those
in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Moreover, the repetition of the proper noun, “Britain” makes the
audience also feel proud about their country as it is as if they are the only country helping and
sending aid.
contrast with Jessica Reads’ ‘Experience: I survived an earthquake
while scuba diving’?
Pearson Edexcel A Level English Language and Literature
Texts taken from ‘Voices in Speech and Writing: an Anthology’
Component 1
Syllabus 9ELO
Jessica Read (Text A) and Kat Fletcher (Text B) show their past experiences. For example,
Jessica tells her audience the time that she “almost died” while scuba diving in the Philippines
due to a sudden earthquake. She tells her story in the form of a blog published in the online
version of The Guardian Weekend Magazine. She uses personal pronouns and descriptive and
creative language such as the adjectives, “tropical, luminous and languorous” and even the
hyperbole “hypnotic sound” and “underwater bomb”. This is obviously to keep the reader
interested and eager to continue reading her first-hand account. Furthermore, the headline
of her story is powerful as it immediately let’s the reader know what happened. Kat Fletcher
talks about the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami that left many displaced and homeless
across Eastern Asia. He aims at trying to make the British people in general contribute and
donate money to help Sri Lanka and Indonesia recover and get back on their own two feet.
For example, he uses the verb, “suffering” and the nouns, “horror and guilt” to make the
reader feel regretful if they don’t donate for such an important cause. The headline of the
article is also a pun and makes reference to “The First Aid for Life” charity organisation.
The audience at which both of the texts are aimed at and also the texts’ purposes are
different. For example, (Text A) is primarily aimed at a global female audience. This is evident
due to the hyperlink bar at top of the page redirecting the browsers to things about “food,
health, family, women and home&garden”. This therefore implies that the report was
published on the website version of The Guardian. Furthermore, the headline shows that her
story is aimed at people interested in near death encounters or enjoy scuba diving
themselves. It is not necessarily the sort of report that would reach breaking news around the
world. Instead, its main purpose is to entertain and let people know what it is like to witness
an earthquake while underwater. On the other hand, (Text B) is only aimed at the British
public suggesting that Kat Fletcher is nationalistic and patriotic. Throughout his article he
constantly mentions how Britain can help those in need affected by the devastating Tsunami.
Examples of this are, “Britain can make an impact”, “response from the British public has been
overwhelming” and “Britain must find a way”. Nevertheless, people around the world can
also read the article as it is on The Guardian News website. In addition, the article is aimed at
males and females, not like Jessica Reads’. The article’s main purpose is to increase the British
public’s awareness on the topic and also bring them together to raise money and help those
in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Moreover, the repetition of the proper noun, “Britain” makes the
audience also feel proud about their country as it is as if they are the only country helping and
sending aid.
