Blog analysis of blog on relations between Obama and Pope Francis

This blog is comes from the telegraph and discusses the relations between Barrack Obama and Pope Francis. The blog post begins with a rhetorical question: '...they both get on really well?' The writer then goes on to use what seems to be a filler or language that is from their particular dialect when they say: 'That's sort of just happened on a global scale.' The writer then uses an ellipsis which gives the impression to the reader that it has a more informal, spoken feel which therefore makes the reader feel more comfortable and as if they are being spoken to whilst reading the piece (as opposed to have a formal, written feel) when the writer puts 'This is from the man who brands his opponents as extremists and refuses to negotiate with anyone on anything...'.

The writer then begins the next paragraph with an exclamatory sentence which is what seems like a stark contrast to what the prior paragraph was like when the writer puts: 'What the heck is going on here?!'. In addition to the informal feel because of the spoken feel that the writing has, the writer shortens words such as 'The Prez probably...' (meaning the president) as well as '...Catholicism is incompatible with Obamamania...'. The writer also adds a humorous feel to the blog post by using fairly dry humour. For example, the writer says: '...but the tone implies that Obama believes he's found a new political bedfellow.'

Travel writing analysis

The writer heavily fixes the reader's attention to the fact that the jungle is bursting with life; even when the tired travellers are ready to sleep. He continually describes the ants which are pestering him as he tries to sleep as if they are similar to a liquid (in terms of their movement and sheer volume). '...dark ants poured down...'. The writer says this in hope that it will allow the reader to make sense of how many ants there truly were around the author in this situation. This verb also gives the impression that there were so many ants that the amount of them was comparable to a constantly flowing stream. The writer yet again compares the ants to a liquid when he writes '...I brushed the first wave off...'. This constant comparison allows the reader to deduce that the ants are difficult to get rid of (as is water if one falls into it), as well as that there seems to be a never ending flow of the elephant ants with '...massive pincers...'.

Features of travel writing

• Depicts personal experiences of travel.

• Travel writing is often informative and entertaining.

• It is often used to inform a reader about a place.

Stylistic features of good travel writing;

- It focuses on a specific place and provides the reader with a unique view.

- It has a central theme.

- It is written in the first person.

- It sometimes directly addresses the reader.

- It has an interesting opening paragraph which hooks the reader.

- It aims to involve the reader emotionally through senses.

- Use of exaggeration for effect.

- It can have a spoken feel to it.

Features of a dramatic monologue

• The title is fairly significant (may be ambiguous or humorous).

• Stage directions are used in dramatic monologues to set the scene.

• They often have a narrator (the author must create an individual 'voice' for the narrator.

• The syntax in a dramatic monologue should reflect the style of speech.

• Typical language devices used in dramatic monologues could include;

-Verbal fillers

- Personal idiolect expressions

- Intensifiers

- Euphemisms

- Deliberately vague language

- Unfinished utterances

- Deictic references

- Tag questions

- Contractions

Blog Features

• Can be very ranged in terms of subject; the audience and purpose of each blog vary greatly.

• Can be used to entertain, inform, persuade, advise, etc. They are multi modal.

• Blogs have a wide audience - each blog will have a specific audience that it is directed at.

• Blogs can vary greatly in style - they can be picture or text, formal or informal etc.

• The reader is encouraged to interact with the writer as there are comment sections and the ability to share the post.

• Can often have a spoken feel dependent on the style of the blog itself.