The document compares a sensationalist article from The Sun newspaper about the dangers of falling asleep on a plane to a more factual version. The Sun's article uses attention-grabbing language, fear-mongering claims, and emotive images to exaggerate the risks and instruct readers. In contrast, the factual version provides a brief, objective explanation of the issues and solutions without sensationalism.
6. Before vs. After - Headline
Differences:
• My article doesn’t mention doctors or medical experts. The Sun’s article uses the phrase
“medical reason” because people trust and listen to doctors, and it makes the headline seem
more authoritative.
• My article doesn’t use all caps, exclamation marks or different colours in my headline. The Sun
uses these three things to grab the reader’s attention in the phrase “LISTEN UP!”. This is also a
play on words and a colloquial expression, which gets the reader’s attention even more.
• There are different interpretations of the facts, The Sun’s article says not to fall asleep “before
the plane takes off” but mine says “as the plane takes off”. The Sun uses the word “before”
because it is more fear-mongering, and it makes the audience feel smarter and as if they’re
prepared for danger before it happens.
• The Sun’s article is instructional and telling you what not to do, whereas mine states the facts
and leaves the reader to decide. This is because the Sun’s target audience is C2/D so they are
used to being told what to do by their boss and not question it, rather than being in a
managerial role.
• The Sun also uses the word “never” as this makes it a black and white scenario, the reader
isn’t expected to question this as their C2/D target audience aren’t very well educated so they
just don’t know any better.
7. Before vs. After - Headline
Similarities:
• Both headlines are very long, and a similar length. This is
because the headline needs to be longer to give more detail
about the danger factor. This draws in the reader as they tell you
that falling asleep is dangerous and there is science to back it up,
but you need to read the article to find out what to do.
• Both address the reader, but the Sun does so twice and singles
the reader out. This makes it individual and addresses the reader
directly so they feel like they need to do as the article tells them.
• Some language is the same in both, e.g. “fall(ing) asleep” and
“plane”.
8. Before vs. After - Use of
sensationalist language
• Examples of sensationalist language:
• This language is used to make the article more dramatic
and memorable
Makes it seem like you have to
defend yourself
Correcting the audience, telling them
something they don’t already know
Makes it sound as if the reader will be
better informed after reading this
9. Before vs. After - Use of
sensationalist language
• However, the Sun uses lots of technical language, e.g.
• This is used because it makes the audience feel smart as they
understand this technical language, even if they just guess what it
means from context. But more colloquial language is also used,
e.g.
• This is used because it is words the audience are likely to use
themselves
I also use the words
“ascends”, “descends”,
“altitude” and “air
pressure” in my article.
10. Before vs. After - Use of
sensationalist language
• It is also worth noting that there is a grammatical error in
one of the captions:
• It should be “By staying awake during take-off and
landing, passengers can pop their ears and help to
equalise the air pressure on the ear drums.”
• Another interesting choice of language is that one of their
official sources isn’t a doctor, they’re a pharmacist. A
pharmacist isn’t an ear specialist and they have limited
medical knowledge. The pharmacist also says “try not to
fall asleep” rather than “don’t” as the article makes it out
to be.
11. Before vs. After - Use of
sensationalist language
• In my “dumbed down” version of the article, the language
makes it not memorable at all.
• I simply state the facts and use quotations from others. But
because these quotes were taken directly from The Sun, and
that whole article was copied almost word-for-word from an
Australian news company, and that article was a copy of an
article from the Sunday Express - we don’t know if that’s what
the pharmacist actually said or if her words were changed
slightly or taken out of context to fit the slant of the article.
• My article is very monotone, it’s just a list of symptoms plus
advice.
12. Before vs. After - Images
The Sun’s 1st image:
• It is a man asleep on a plane. This draws the reader in as you want to wake him up to
save his hearing. The man is undesirable as he is sleeping with his mouth open and
probably snoring. The article makes you not want to be him as he is conventionally
unattractive and seems stupid for falling asleep before take-off.
• There are two conventionally attractive women in the background who are awake, they
are showing the reader what you should do.
• The images encourages readers to take The Sun’s advice and not be like him.
The Sun’s 2nd image:
• It is a girl covering her ears and looking distressed.
• This image is obviously posed. It is emotive as it appeals to maternal/paternal instincts
as you want to protect the child.
14. Before vs. After - Images
My 1st image:
• It is a lady on a plane asleep with an eyemask and neck pillow.
• She is conventionally attractive and seems glamorous and relaxed, she is a person the reader will
want to be.
• She seems smart and used to travel as she is well prepared with her accessories.
My 2nd image:
• It is a lady chewing gum.
• She is also conventionally attractive, she has: good skin, make up on, very white teeth, a manicure,
etc.
• She is delicately eating and the photo is obviously posed.
• I chose this image because it gives a solution to the problem and makes it not a big deal.
I chose these pictures because the people in them look like they can take care of themselves and
you’re not emotionally invested like you are with the images in The Sun. The pictures are well lit with
light colours, this connotes more positive feelings, whereas the images in The Sun use dark colours to
make it more sinister. The people in my images look a lot happier, whereas the people in the original
images look worried and uncomfortable.
15. Before vs. After - Core
Content
The Sun:
• Tells you the problems of falling asleep while the plane is taking off
• Uses information from so-called experts (a pharmacist and an online US health advice website)
• Talks you through the stages of a plane flight. This is because many readers of their C2/D
target audience have never been on a plane as they don’t have enough money.
• Explains the medical side of the problem - this is used to back up what they have said in the
article and see this as solid proof of veracity of the statement.
• Lists the symptoms - this makes people nervous and make them jump to conclusions. It
emphasises the severity of falling asleep and makes the reader think any of those symptoms
they had are because they fell asleep. Whereas they might’ve got a nosebleed a week after
flying because they’re prone to nosebleeds, not because they’re going to go deaf.
• Finally the article offers a solution - a link to a whole other article just about how to pop your
ears! Then they give a short list of how to “equalise the pressure”.
16. Before vs. After - Core
Content
My article:
• Explains briefly how falling asleep before a plane takes off
might damage your ears.
• Includes science to back it up using the same sources as
The Sun.
• List of symptoms - however I establish a clear divide
between common and rare consequences.
• How to pop your ears on a flight
17. Before vs. After - Core
Content
Differences:
• In my article, there isn’t much of a story left. The core content of my article is that
your ears become blocked on a plane (which is a well known fact) and you need
to pop them. Needing to pop your ears is a very uncomfortable feeling, so most
people would do so anyway without needing to know that it can damage their
ears.
• My article doesn’t explain the stages of flight
• Mine just uses quotations from others and I don’t comment on them
• I don’t give instructions or judge the reader like The Sun does (e.g. The Sun says
“if you’re not properly prepared to acclimatise…”)
• My article is undramatic and concise - I just give a list of ‘treatment’, not link the
reader to a whole new article.
