Paper 1 Exemplar

The two texts are united under a common theme of father-daughter relationships and the issue of the father’s role and responsibilities in the upbringing of a child.  Text C is an article adapted from the newspaper “The Guardian” written on Saturday 10^th December 2011.  The audience of this text can range from British people who read the newspaper daily to any other parents, specifically fathers, or adults who are about to become fathers.  Since “The Guardian” is also an online newspaper company, online users around the world may come across this text as well.  Text D is a text from a website called the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2011, the same year as text C.  Being an online article, Text D is multi-modal in nature and targets people around the globe, as well as other people who may encounter this website unintentionally.  By the context of the article, this website seems to be based in America, and hence may have an American contexts and audience, as well as other parents, and again, especially fathers.  Both texts engage their readers with their respective text type, visuals, and dictions to get their purpose or raising awareness across.

Firstly, the two texts seem to share many similarities.  Both texts aim to raise awareness of child education and they do this through their respective means.  Text C reveals a personal experience about “a generous billionaire father,” Bernie Ecclestone speaking candidly about his “daughter Tamara’s TV show and daughter Petra’s wedding.”  The text points out that the two daughters spend money on “completely unnecessary” objects such as “shows and bloody clothes.”  Ecclestone also states that his wife has control over the money, but the “idea was that the daughters would buy property that would be long term,” not the way the daughters are spending now.  This implies that perhaps there was a mistake in Eccestone’s method of nurture, and shouldn’t have spoiled the daughters providing them with financial security.  Text D is similar to text C “to improve the well-being of children” and educate the fathers.  Through a short anecdotal account about the “deposits” in the father-daughter “bank accounts,” Text D also implies the lack of deposits from the father was perhaps the mistake and an important feature for a healthy relationship.  Hence, the two texts share similarities in the theme and purpose.

In contrast, although the central ideas of the two texts are similar, the two texts utilize differing text type and structure to convey the expected role of an ideal father.  Text C – being an article – has some formality in its structure and layout.  The text is arranged in two sections, with the starting headline at the top and supporting details at the bottom written in three columns.  The headline “My girls and me” is big and bold capturing the readers’ attentions.  Text D also cleverly structures the website logo and title at the top with a box boarder, and the text is organized into sub-sections.  Although not as big and catchy as Text C, the sub-headings of Text D are in capitals and bolded to appeal to the readers, such as “NFI MISSION & STRATEGY.”  One major difference as a result of different text type is the use of hyperlinks in Text D.  At the top right hand corner, there is a list of hyperlinks that the readers can explore further ranging from “donate,” “about” for information and “get involved” and “subscribe” for more interaction. 

Moreover, Text D also uses tags at the end of the text, which is a typical feature of an online article, and allows for further exploration for the readers.  Interestingly, Text C has more emphasis visuals compared to Text D, and uses two relatively big photos.  Both are black and white, but it is enough to capture the details.  In fact, being a black and white photograph, the simplicity captures the audiences more.  One photograph is of the father in a simple white shirt with glasses and white hair, in a plain background, while the other photograph of the two daughters is in contrast with the daughter’s wearing fancy and luxurious dresses, with fully done hair and make up, as well as the presence of expensive purses and jewelry.  The white hair and glasses on the father may suggest the amount of stress and hardships the father experienced in his billionaire career and perhaps his irritation for lack of control over the money.  The photograph of the daughters goes hand in hand with the text and acts as a visual representation of the attitudes of the daughters.  Though to a lesser extent and much smaller in size, Text D also uses a small illustration at the top left hand corner next to the name of the website.  The photograph seems to indicate two hands, the father’s and the child’s, held together, but the lack of firmness in the hands may imply a lack of a strong relationship between the two, which links to the purpose of the text of the potential harm in neglecting your daughter.  With differing text types, structure, and layout, the two texts still portray their respective purposes.

Lastly, the use of diction and dialogue is clearly distinct in the two texts.  Text C contains prose that is highly informative and conversational in time.  The paragraphs are relatively short, with short syntax of sometimes two works for a sentence such as “Didn’t happen” or “Completely unnecessary.”  There is also a use of repetition in the quotations by Ecclestone saying “I’m a…I’m rich…I’m rich” in the form of listing.  The text as a whole utilizes a format of questions and answers, where hypophora is used, with a question and immediate reply.  Text D on the other hand is an illustration of a scene and hence is structured in a dialogue format.  Similar to Text C, the tone is very conversational and informal with short syntax and lexis.  The difference will be that Text D does not sue any paragraphs in the anecdotal scene, and very short paragraphs are used prior to the scene.  In the short paragraphs above, there is the use of synthetic personalization of “you” having the effect of directly addressing the readers and adding a personal connection.  Furthermore, the tone of the daughter starts more polite, and gradually changes to a more threatening tone.  “Or, do I need to call security” highlights the risks and dangers of the relationship between father and child if there is a lack of “deposits” from the father to the “15 year-old daughter’s heart.”  The lack of authority of the father is depicted through the declarative voice of the daughter, who is the person in charge while the father pleads for a withdrawal that is not possible.  Thus, the National Fatherhood Initiative website uses pathos to provoke fathers of the potential consequences of the breakdown of relationships and united fathers for a “brighter future.”  In both texts, diction, dialogue, and voice plays a fundamental role in raising awareness of the issue of the roles and responsibilities of the father in the household.

As a whole, the two texts portray the common problems facing many households in the current society.  Perhaps the secondary purpose of both texts is to highlight the tiring role of a father to take charge of both financial and emotional matters in the nurturing of a child, rather than the sole purpose to raise awareness and encourage fathers to be more engaging.  As Text C shows, if the family has abundant money, the daughters satisfy themselves with materialistic wants, but it is not the father’s intention and is an undesired outcome.  Likewise, in Text D, if there is a lack of “deposits,” or emotional engagement, the relationship also often struggles.  Finding the balance is indeed difficult, and the two texts perhaps depict the burden of the fathers of the world.