Question 5 English Essay Draft.
Annotation Key: terminology. Topic sentence. Point Ideas & perspective
quotation Explanation. Comparison
Compare how the writers present their ideas and perspectives in their respective
speeches.
Both texts are informing their audience of a significant issue, however Benefits Street is far more neutral
than A Passage to Africa. In the third paragraph of Benefits Street, Charlie Brooker conveys his ideas
more neutrally in the style of reportage writing as he says, “Some on the left think it’s an offensive and
misleading example of poverty porn...Some on the right believe it’s a damning indictment of the welfare
state.” He includes both opinions in his writing to be more objective, so it is clear to the reader that he is
just stating the facts. He is trying to bring light upon a problem, whilst going in with a subtle caution and
judicious manner. Conversely, A Passage to Africa does not take this approach and the writer is
extremely critical of his industry. He uses a different option to address the reader, which makes his
writing come across as more of a memoir than reportage writing. Throughout most of the text he uses
the word “I,” which is in the first person, so he can clearly state that it is his opinions that are being
expressed in the text, which adds to his credibility.
Again, both texts have diverse ways of bringing a grave issue to light. There’s Benefit’s Street by Charlie
Brooker which avoids the use of any biases, and is purely written to inform, and there is A Passage to
Africa by George Alagiah, which strings together two issues with a critical agenda. In the third paragraph
of A Passage to Africa George Alagiah creates an analogy, “in the ghoulish manner of journalists on the
hunt...” “Journalists on the hunt” is a predatory metaphor that makes journalists seem animalistic, and
George Alagiah has used this to imply how journalists are like animals when it comes to taking photos,
which suggests they are greedy. Charlie Brooker conveys a more relaxed tone throughout the text. In
paragraph 2 Charlie Brooker says all you must do to watch Benefits street is “hit the 4 button”. This is an
example of colloquial language, and it helps to convey the text more informally and casually, so no
biases are created.
In addition to this, Charlie Brooker is trying to entertain his audience with a great opening, whereas
George Alagiah continues to inform his audience throughout the whole text. In the opening paragraph
Charlie Brooker uses vague language like “concave curves” and this helps to entertain the reader.
George Alagiah uses more precise language than Charlie Brooker like the “tarmac” and the “dirt track.”
These nouns are not too technical for the reader like jargon would, but still paint a clear picture of what
the surroundings are like and ensure accuracy. The structure of this article is also different from Benefits
Street, it follows the usual structure of rising action, climax and falling action. We can see this in the
body of the paragraph. In the opening short sentences are used, in the middle both compound and
complex sentences are used and towards the end compound and short sentences are used. Benefits
street seems to also follow rising action then climax then falling action and this is to entertain the reader
as much as possible so they’re always excited for the next paragraph to come. Therefore, there must
always be some rising action in an entertaining article.
Upon reading the extract From a Passage to Africa it is a struggle to relate to the story. George Alagiah
uses a simile to vilify journalists he says, “The search for the shocking is like the craving for a drug,” most
Annotation Key: terminology. Topic sentence. Point Ideas & perspective
quotation Explanation. Comparison
Compare how the writers present their ideas and perspectives in their respective
speeches.
Both texts are informing their audience of a significant issue, however Benefits Street is far more neutral
than A Passage to Africa. In the third paragraph of Benefits Street, Charlie Brooker conveys his ideas
more neutrally in the style of reportage writing as he says, “Some on the left think it’s an offensive and
misleading example of poverty porn...Some on the right believe it’s a damning indictment of the welfare
state.” He includes both opinions in his writing to be more objective, so it is clear to the reader that he is
just stating the facts. He is trying to bring light upon a problem, whilst going in with a subtle caution and
judicious manner. Conversely, A Passage to Africa does not take this approach and the writer is
extremely critical of his industry. He uses a different option to address the reader, which makes his
writing come across as more of a memoir than reportage writing. Throughout most of the text he uses
the word “I,” which is in the first person, so he can clearly state that it is his opinions that are being
expressed in the text, which adds to his credibility.
Again, both texts have diverse ways of bringing a grave issue to light. There’s Benefit’s Street by Charlie
Brooker which avoids the use of any biases, and is purely written to inform, and there is A Passage to
Africa by George Alagiah, which strings together two issues with a critical agenda. In the third paragraph
of A Passage to Africa George Alagiah creates an analogy, “in the ghoulish manner of journalists on the
hunt...” “Journalists on the hunt” is a predatory metaphor that makes journalists seem animalistic, and
George Alagiah has used this to imply how journalists are like animals when it comes to taking photos,
which suggests they are greedy. Charlie Brooker conveys a more relaxed tone throughout the text. In
paragraph 2 Charlie Brooker says all you must do to watch Benefits street is “hit the 4 button”. This is an
example of colloquial language, and it helps to convey the text more informally and casually, so no
biases are created.
In addition to this, Charlie Brooker is trying to entertain his audience with a great opening, whereas
George Alagiah continues to inform his audience throughout the whole text. In the opening paragraph
Charlie Brooker uses vague language like “concave curves” and this helps to entertain the reader.
George Alagiah uses more precise language than Charlie Brooker like the “tarmac” and the “dirt track.”
These nouns are not too technical for the reader like jargon would, but still paint a clear picture of what
the surroundings are like and ensure accuracy. The structure of this article is also different from Benefits
Street, it follows the usual structure of rising action, climax and falling action. We can see this in the
body of the paragraph. In the opening short sentences are used, in the middle both compound and
complex sentences are used and towards the end compound and short sentences are used. Benefits
street seems to also follow rising action then climax then falling action and this is to entertain the reader
as much as possible so they’re always excited for the next paragraph to come. Therefore, there must
always be some rising action in an entertaining article.
Upon reading the extract From a Passage to Africa it is a struggle to relate to the story. George Alagiah
uses a simile to vilify journalists he says, “The search for the shocking is like the craving for a drug,” most
