1.2 Ian Birrell Flashcards
Genre / mode?
Topical and informative opinion piece / online newspaper article
Audience?
Readers of I newspaper, fans of Birrell, journalists / campaigners, interest in African culture / current affairs / topical issues, disabled / gay people
Purpose?
Express an opinions, inform and raise an issue
Ambitious vocab for voice?
Slighted, frustrated, educated, annoyed, critical, urgent
Published in…
2012 when gay marriage was first legalised in the UK
Has a daughter…
Who is significantly disabled
‘With more spending cuts looming, are we content to leave one minority locked out of society as second-class citizens? Analysis (6)
Plural, community with reader; rhetorical question; threatening lexis; LLL repetition; metaphor; emotive language and imagery
‘Almost two-thirds of those who develop a disability have lost their job within two years.’ Analysis (4)
Statistics and numerical lexis, knowledge; creates distance from disabled community, advocates but is not a member / does not speak for them; focus on how sudden the development of a disability can be; objective and sombre
‘Befuddled British embarrassment at best, coldness at worst,’ analysis (5)
Plosives, show frustration; references cultural context of article; noun phrase; parentheses, subordinate clause; superlatives, used in parallel for effect
Impact on reader?
Creates guilt and a desire to help the disabled
‘Might include you,whatever your colour, gender or sexuality.’ Analysis (4)
Creates urgency at end; direct address, accountability; tripling; anaphoric reference to beginning of article
‘The idea of seeking a seat in Parliament is a joke […] people who struggle to obtain a seat on the bus.’ Analysis
Emphasis on unreality; quest lexis, implies impossibility; Parliament connotes power and wealth, juxtaposes bus; parallel pleasing; joke, familiar collocation, contrast to subject matter; struggle, draws attention to issue; obtain connotes illicit activities, shocking; seat is normal and easy, subverts expectations
