Factual writing types

Emily Pinder

Factual Writing Research

Leaflet• This leaflet has been created by Chadwell Primary

school to help promote healthy eating at school. The texts used in this leaflet are very basic and have a straight, structural look. They also have a small white outline to make them stand out from other elements on the page. The most important words are also large and bold.

• The colour of the text is very plain but bold making it stand out the audience. There is however lots of colour on the leaflet on the pictures that accompany the text. The images are very simplistic and easy to understand what they show, making this leaflet more appealing to children.

• The text style is also very friendly and has an informal register to make the leaflet easy to read and more enjoyable. For example the word “Veggies” is used instead of vegetables to create a happy, easy tone to the leaflet.

http://www.chadwellprimaryschool.co.uk/Healthy-eating.html




Leaflet• The text has been arranged into a grid format, to

represent a lunch box. This does however help to keep the sections of texts individual and easier to focus on.

• The text itself is very easy to understand and is clear in the purpose as it is encouraging parents and children to have more healthy lunchboxes. This is very clear for the title but also the pictures sued and how the text has been arranged into a lunchbox. The text is also very concise as it uses as little words as possible while getting as much information across as possible. Using abbreviations of words also helps to shorten the length of the text.

• The information presented is accurate and basic when it comes to having a healthy diet. It also offer alternatives to help keep children's diets as healthy as possible. The information is very clear and not vague in anyway as it uses verbs to direct the reader on how to create a healthy lunchbox.





Leaflet• The text is bias towards having a healthy diet that

involves fruits and vegetables but it does not talk about the different foods groups and how they are also important to have a healthy diet. I know that this leaflet is aimed at children but is more likely to be read by adults so the information included could be more scientific, factual and in depth.

• The sources used to create this leaflet are referenced as the children conducted surveys and questionnaires to find out information they needed to create this leaflet.

• I personally like this poster as it has a very simple theme and style but still conveys important information to its intended audience. I also like the bright colours and layout of the leaflet as it makes the information more aesthetically pleasing and interesting.





Batman Manual• This instruction manual is how

assemble and operate a Batman Bat mobile toy. The text used throughout the manual has a very specific style and fits in well with the theme of the product. The patchy effect gives the illusion of an older, classic instruction booklet that helps to reflect the style of the product. The colour of the text is also a slight grey/brown colour which helps to make the harsh text look softer and easier to read. It also works well with the yellow toned background. The use of drop character on the numbers helps them to stand out and draws in the readers eye. The smaller, less important information is also in a smaller text that is much harder to read.

Batman Manual• The information is very clear and easy to

understand as the words used are simple. The verbs are also very clear on how operate the different function on the toy. As well as the text instructions, labeled diagrams are used to show the reader what are the specific parts of the toy and where to find them.

• I do not feel the text is very concise as there is a lot more complex words used rather than their simplest form. For example, the specialist terms such as “Fender blasters” and “Turbo missile” are used which is appropriate for the target audience as they will have prior knowledge of the subject.

• The information on the manual is accurate as it will have been tested thoroughly before being sold commercially. The information is very clear and accurate.

• There are no sources referenced for this manual. However, the brand and companies that own the rights to the products are listed.

Batman Manual• I personally, really like this

instruction manual as it has a very clean layout that is also more interesting with the use of hand draw diagrams. The colour and font schemes are also very individual which helps to make the information memorable. It is also very easy to understand what the manual is talking about and which parts do what.

Nerf gun Instructions • The use of colour is the biggest part of

these instructions as they help to make the product stand out but it is also used to indicate the part of the product that is being explained. Yellow and red are gender neutral colours that helps to make the product more appealing to both genders. They also contrast well to make the logo stand out at the top of the page.

• The text used has a rounded style that give it an electronic, futuristic feel that fits with the theme of the product. The text also has shadows and outlines to make it stand out as well as boxes.

Nerf gun Instructions • The instructions are clear and easy to understand

but the simplistic language used, coloured diagrams and numbered steps. The specialist terminology is also highlighted with capital letters and bolder, bigger text. The instructions are concise and straight forward on how to fix any jams that the product may have.

• The information on how to use the product is very accurate. As well as the warnings about the batteries that operate the product. The dangers of the product are also highlighted. It is made clear what not to do with the product as the cautions are in bold capitals. Red boxes and caution signs are also used to help highlight any safety issues and how to avoid them. There is also no room for interpretation of the text as the diagram makes it very clear what is meant by the text.

• The companies and brands are also featured on the leaflet.

How to fix iMessage• This is an online how to guide fix common iMessage problems. As this is an

online guide, the presentation and colour scheme is not as relevant than other physical how to guides. However, it still follows some basic rules to help make the article appealing to the audience. The use of headers is present throughout the article to help the reader to find specific parts of the guide quickly and easily. Images are also used to help explain what the text is talking about. Bolder text is used to help signal different parts of the guide as well as being a lot darker than the rest of the text. There is also links present throughout the guide to reference others sources or guides that can help, these are highlighted in green.

• This guide is reasonably easy to understand as I already have pragmatic knowledge of the subject. However, I feel this guide would not be very easy to understand if you did not know anything about the subject. A lot of technical words are used throughout the piece which may not make sense to a reader who does not have an iPhone, For example “IOS device” and “iMessage”.

• The guide is also not very concise as there is a lot of words and paragraphs that I feel are very long winded. The guide is also quite informal and chatty towards the reader. This is to make the article much easier to read for the audience. The use of punctuation is also used to replace words for example “Settings>messages” is easy to understand and eliminates the sue of unnecessary extra words.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-fix-the-most-common-imessage-problems-1577447675




How to fix iMessage• I believe that the instructions that are written will accurate for

some people however, I do not feel it will be a solution for everyone depending on the problem with the mobile phone. However, The writer will have first hand experience with this issue and is able to write from this perspective. I do feel that the how to guide is quite vague as there is a few different options that may or may not work to fix your iMessage. I do fell the text is slightly bias towards iMessage and apple compared to other devices but it makes its clear that it is not without its problems.

• The different sources that have helped to create the facts and advice in this how to are referenced by hyperlinking parts of a sentence to other sites such as apple, showing their guide of how to fix problems with your phone.

• I feel that is article is a bit heavy and has a lot of information to read. It could be broke up into separate articles or reduce the amount of chatty irrelevant language that is used to make this guide more helpful to the audience.





Factual Journalism• As this article about health is on a BBC website, the layout

and typographic is less important compared to a printed physical version. The article follows a very simplistic style with the use of a white background and black text. Images are also used to make the article look more interesting and only slightly relates to the article.

• The text is laid out with lots of negative space to help break up the article and make it much easier to read. Headings and important information is in bold throughout the article. Links to other sources are also hyperlinked. A video also accompanies the article to give extra information about the subject.

• I feel the article is very easy to understand as it is explained very clearly and uses rhetorical questions to help keep the audiences attention. The chatty, informal language used make this article a very easy read and seems to be very concise while including important facts that supports both sides of the argument.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35150598




Factual Journalism• The article is accurate and written

correctly, addressing quote and statistics easily, making them part of the text. It is also very clear about both sides of the argument and has a personal opinion at the end which is non biased to either side. Evidence is included from both sides of the argument to let the reader decide their view on the subject.

• It does learn slightly towards eating breakfast is better for you than skipping breakfast but offers valid arguments from both sides and explains the findings.





Factual Journalism• Legal constraints are not very

important in this article as all arguments are backed up with facts and statistic from reliable sources. Codes of practice such as NUJ codes and editors code of practice are followed throughout this article but are not very relevant to this article style.





Education

Factual writing types