Undersea walking in Mauritius
The article is about Undersea walking in Mauritius, and has been written for a travel supplement for The Daily Telegraph. It is based on the style model “Guatelama shows its true colours” – a travel review from this newspaper. Its purpose is to inform and entertain, and the target demographic is the middle class family seeking an exotic destination.
Titled “Under the Sea,” most will immediately notice the intertextual reference to a song from the famous Disney movie “The Little Mermaid.” This suggests not only that the article will be related to the sea, but also that the activity will be suitable for children, because of the Disney film connotations. The title’s aim is also to give a summary of the main lexical fields covered in the article, the sea, swimming and wildlife. Other lexical fields include advice and safety; however, although these are important they are not very exciting, and so are not in any way suggested by the title.
In conjunction with my style model, photos are placed in between paragraphs, which graph logically help the reader to establish a rough idea of the subject matter, and demonstrate the progression of the text, i.e. The first image shows a person getting into the water, and the next actually shows the people submerged. The small blue text box at the bottom of the second page connotes water, the sea and tranquillity, creating cohesion with the rest of the article.
The article is stylistically informal, achieved by the first person narrator disclosing their feelings and emotions. By using personal pronouns such as “you,” the reader feels more involved in the article, as they are being addressed directly. Idioms are also used, such as “what on earth” and “let’s face it,” giving the text a more conversational and relaxed feel. A dysphemism (“dumped under the sea”) in the first paragraph further helps the reader to identify with the writer’s emotions, making the text entertaining.
The penultimate paragraph is designed to inform people of the benefits of an undersea walk as an introduction to diving. It does this by frequently using modal verbs, for example “would”, increasing the writer’s certainty and the reader’s confidence in the advice given. However, it also uses the modal verb “may,” which while indicating that an undersea walk “may be a good predecessor to their first dive,” it also covers the possibility that it may not.
Throughout the article, periodic sentences are used, to keep the reader engaged as well as to create suspense. An example of this is in the first paragraph – “fair enough, it was a once in a life time opportunity, but then, as I stared down into the deep expanse of water, I began to doubt my decision.” The reader feels compelled to finish reading the sentence, as the main point is not reached until the end. This therefore, encourages the reader to read on, whilst also ending the paragraph dramatically.
