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Factual writing
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- 3. LEAFLETS Leaflets are usedto inform an audience about a product or service a company is providing. It could be used to advertise or simply to provide information, and provide a great deal of more information than a poster. A great variety of organizations use leaflets to do just this, some examples are: colleges, charities, libraries, businesses and health services. Here is an example of a leaflet being used to promote “Action for Blind People”, a charity providing support for blind and partially sighted people: Typography • A rounded sans serif font is used throughout the leaflet this style of font looks friendly and welcoming making someone more likely to pick it up, the font is also very clear and easy to read, a particularly useful point regarding the target audience of this leaflet, who are blind or partially sighted. The font also helps to create a clear and concise layout as it doesn't flow in to the next piece of text helping the reader to differentiate between separate points. • There are three colours used for the text and throughout the leaflet, the text for the main content is either in black or white dependent on the colour of the background. Whereas the headings and important information is either in bright blue or bright pink, the difference in colour helps these parts to stand out and emphasize their importance to the reader. The colours which have been chosen for the leaflet are bright and cheerful this helps the leaflet look welcoming; drawing people in. • The headings and important information are also in bold type this helps to create extra emphasis on them making them stand out and seem more important which has similarly done through the use of colour. • There are minimal images within the booklet as the text is the most important aspect as it is the main source of information for the reader, therefore the lack of images creates more of a focus on the text. There are however a few images included to make the leaflet look more visually interesting and also to provide some more information in a visual context. Communication • Clarity: it is clear on what the intended purpose of this leaflet is as on the cover it has the title “Social Enterprise in Action” with the heading “Action for blind people” this clearly states what information will be included in the leaflet as almost the only information on the cover. There is however an image which reinforces and makes clearer what is meant by social enterprise in action. Throughout the leaflet sections are also separated by boxes and headings yet again increasing the clarity of the information being provided. • Referencing Sources: in this leaflet there are a couple of occasions where information is taken from elsewhere and used to back up points made. This information is taken in the form of quotes. In all of the occasions the information has been correctly attributed by placing the text in quotation marks and stating the person/ place the text has derived from.
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- 5. INSTRUCTION MANUALS Instruction manualsdescribe the process of how to do something, for example how to put together a bike. They are usually laid out in a step by step process, and the text is often accompanied by informative images or diagrams, in order to help people to understand the text. This is an example of an instruction manual providing information on how to work a camcorder: Typography • The font choice for this instruction manual is a simple rounded sans serif font. This font has a calming feel to it as it isn't angular and therefore flows better this is beneficial for the reader as following instructions can be found stressful which this helps to prevent. the serif font also helps to create a neat and more clear layout. As the words don’t flow together as much making each statement more finite, and therefore easier to differentiate between each step. Adding greater ease to the users experience. The simplicity of the font yet again makes the writing easier to read, creating an easier experience for the user of the manual. • Little colour is used within the manual providing a simpler aesthetic making it easier for the reader to follow as there is less for them to look as, the only colour used is a light blue which is a calming colour yet again benefiting the reader. This colour is only used for the title and the numbers on the diagram, its purpose is to emphasize key information within the booklet and draw the readers attention towards it. • Headings and the numbers for lists have be put in a bold type this much like the way colour has been used draws the reader in more to these bits of information and also makes them stand out as different making it easier for the reader to understand the difference in use between the pieces of text the black background used for the titles has a similar effect for a different purpose as this shows that it is the name of a different section. • The images which accompany the text are basic, yet realistic line drawings showing the subject of the manual in a variety of different ways they are very practical as they demonstrate what is being said in the text and provide visual information for the reader making their experience easier as they can gain a greater understanding of what the text is explaining. Communication • Conciseness: the conciseness of the information is evident throughout this manual. Information is stated in clear headings and brief bullet points. This is important for an instruction manual as it needs to get information across as concisely as possible so that the reader can easily follow the instructions of what they are meant to do. Numbers and diagrams also help to add to the conciseness of the manual by providing clear visual information to accompany the text. • Avoiding Ambiguity: the text used in this instruction manual has ensured that there is no room for different interpretation, as clear concise information has been provided. This is very important when writing an instruction manual as if someone is able to misinterpret the information provided they may end up undertaking the wrong task and finish with an incorrect finish product. • Codes of Practice: Trading standards will check this manual in order to make sure the instructions are safe for the user to use, which links with the assessment on whether the product is safe to use or not.
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- 7. HOW TO GUIDES Howto guides are similar to instruction manuals in the sense that they tell you how to do something, however they are different in the fact that rather than telling you information which you need to carry out, they provide advice and tips as well as step by step guides through a variety of tasks such as how to play the piano. Here is an example of a how to guide, from the College of Charleston providing tips on how to “Rock your Finals”: Typography • The fonts used in this how to guide are mostly rounded sans serif fonts, these font area easier to read and separates points better. However, the title of this guide has a jagged style of font, similar to that of a rock band logo. This helps to create emphasis and add meaning to the word “rock” in the title. The variety adds visual interest and helps differentiate between the sections on the page. • There are muted colours used throughout the how-to guide, this is aesthetically pleasing and creates a calming look, which is beneficial, as the guide is most likely to be used by stressed students. There are not many colours used throughout the guide, this is to make it look less visually confusing and simpler to understand. The colours on the guide were used for titles, headers and edges, in order to add emphasis by making them look different. • The headings and titles are in bold text, this is done for similar reasons as the different colours of the text, in order to add extra emphasis and make them stand out as different. • The image included in the title adds reference yet again to the word “rock”, emphasizing yet again, this key theme of the guide. All the images included in this guide are not particularly informative, however they do provide something of visual interest to draw the reader in. Communication • Clarity: this how to guide has great clarity in the layout of its information as each section is clearly separated dependent on content with clear headings defined by the use of colour. The title also creates clarity as it clearly tells the reader what the guide is going to provide information on • Accuracy: there is data included in this guide, it is important that it has been checked to be accurate and correct as if it isn't the it is contradictory as a piece of factual writing. It is important that all information is accurate otherwise confusion could be caused with the reader.
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- 9. FACTUAL JOURNALISM Factual Journalismis a type of writing which informs about events which have happened. There is a great deal of variety in the places which it may appear, such as in newspapers, magazines, or on websites. Although this type of writing is meant to be purely factual there have been instances where fiction is made to seem like fact in these pieces of writing by people who simply want to make their story more interesting. This of course in incorrect and not allowed. Here is an example of a piece of factual writing from the Daily Mail, about the building of new properties in Egypt: Typography • Serif font is used for the majority of the article, this works well with this form of factual writing as there is often a lot of text and it helps it to flow better when reading. A sans serif font is used for the image caption to make it stand out as separate information to the main article a sans serif font also helps to create a more definitive point as the letters don’t flow making it better at getting small pieces of text across to the reader. • There are no colours included in the text of this article as this would make the page too visually complicated as there is already a lot of text and more colour would provide additional unneeded information for the reader to take in. • the title of the article is in a large bold font this is to make it stand out and draw the reader in to the article. The heading of the article is also in a fairly large font (smaller than the title) this is to emphasize its importance and also make it more obvious to the reader. The name in the heading is in bold this is to add extra emphasis as a point of interest related to the article. At the start of the main text the first letter is larger than the rest of the text this is to help make and make obvious to the reader where the article begins. • The images which accompany this article are informative as they provide visual information relating to the article which the reader can pick up on even before they have read any of the article itself. The images also help to beak up the text and make the page more visually interesting as people would be less likely to read an article if it was simply a large block of black and white text. Communication • Avoid Bias: This piece of factual journalism has avoided bias by providing opposing point of views rather than just showing the preferred side of the story. Remaining unbiased is often quite hard for writers of factual journalism as they are likely to have their own opinion, however they must produce a piece of work which doesn't reflect their opinion and show bias. • Register: there is a more formal tone present in this piece of factual writing, this is evident through the use of more complex language. This is fairly common in pieces of factual journalism, however it is also dependent on the source as some media outlets are more formal than others, this is related to demographics. • Evidencing of argument: similarly to avoiding bias this article has provide evidence of both sides of the story resulting in the writing of a better article as it allows the reader to gain a greater amount of information through the variety of points of views. However much like unbiased writing this is not always achieved in factual journalism. • Legal Constraints: There are a number of legal constraints which apply when writing factual journalism example of some of these are liable, contempt of court and gagging orders.