Introduction

INTRODUCTION – Reflect on what we have already learnt. What do you understand from it? 10 elements

The introduction in stage 1 includes these 10 elements such as topic of the articles, content, source, audience, the rhetorical function, purpose, perspective, positioning, impact and visual literacy. Topic should be a statement of what the articles is generally about, it’s main focus. The one sentence is enough. Besides the content should be a brief summary of the articles, which would give the reader an accurate understanding of the main points, without having to read the whole articles. In source, it must include all the reference details necessary to locate the text. For examples, ‘where might we expect to find a text like this?’ Maybe it is in daily newspaper or in the journals.

The forth elements is audience. This should be answer the question ‘who is the article written for?’ with audience to justify the student’s opinion. Rhetorical function is should identify which speech acts to apply to the article as defined such as informing, warning, advising and etc. the purpose takes rhetorical function further by saying what effect the identified speech act are intended to have on certain groups/ individuals. Purpose = rhetorical function+ audience+ topic. Besides, perspective is the writer opinion or idea. It is a basic tenet of critical literacy that every text has a particularly stance taken in the text by the writer towards the topic from positive to negative. Students must give evidence from the text to support their assertions. For positioning, its follows logically from perspective. It has to do with the way in which participants are constructed through the text at certain roles are given by the writer to the participants.

The effect of the text on the audience is called impact. The last 10 elements is visual literacy. This refers to the use of image in the text as well as the typeface in the use of headline and spacing anything that creates a visual effect.