-The
text is an article on an online website written by the humanitarian company
Oxfam International. This can be seen in the fact that there is search bar at
the top of the text, under a banner of the company. The text also shows a “box”
with the word search, which is likely to be an interactive element of the
website that can be used to search other documents in the website. This would
suggest that the company actively publishes articles in their website. The
short paragraphs, the bolded synopsis at the beginning and the single image at
the top are also common conventions of online articles, used by various
publishers, such as online newspapers. The text itself addresses the concern of
Oxfam International of an impending food shortage in various countries of West
and Central Africa. It is meant to inform people with a considerable amount of
education about the issue and Oxfam’s participation in helping those that might
be affected. It aims to make the audience realize the gravity of the situation perhaps
in the hope that the company may receive help from some readers, while at the
same time putting forth a positive image of Oxfam International. The article
also aims at delivering the information in a short and concise manner, but
fails to become attractive enough to appeal to the larger portion of the
population, since its style is too conventional and formal to be actively
grasped by people who are not fully interested in the topic. Overall, the text
aims to be shocking and make the readers worry, but fails to do so because it
lacks relevance.
-The
intended audience of the text is people with at least a moderate level of
education that allows them to read mildly long texts in English and have a
certain degree of awareness of global issues. The readers will be likely to
have a good quality of life, since most English-speaking countries have a high
Human Development Index. The text is also online, meaning that the person must
be able to access a computer. That increases the likelihood that this article
is addressed to overall mildly wealthy people, since people from poorer
countries are unlikely to have this leisure. The article is also most likely
directed at adults, since it is unlikely that someone who is very young would
have the interest of learning about the possible future of a country that is
miles away from their own. The length of the article, however, adapts to the
short attention span of the modern-day human population. The short paragraphs
make it easy to read, and thus it can reach a larger audience. The article aims
to inform people about a possible crisis that may occur in West and Central
African countries in the year 2012. The article also possibly aims to shock the
readers, by using large statistics of how problematic the issue might be. This
would bring more attention to the issue and more supporters to their cause as
well. The article also aims to put forth a good and professional image of Oxfam
International, by using language that is as accurate as possible and by
explaining what Oxfam International is doing to address this issue. By doing
this, the article may be aiming to advertise Oxfam International, in order to
attract people’s support. However, due to the placement of the text, which is
in the Oxfam International website, it is unlikely that a large number of
people will see the text, unless they already know Oxfam International, so the
text might only work to reinforce the knowledge of the company to people that
already know it.
-The
article talks about the possibility of a food crisis in West and Central Africa
in 2012 (the article was written on December of the previous year). It gives an
overview of the possible situation and explains what the origin of the problem
would be. It also talks about what Oxfam International is doing to address the
situation. The article speaks about the specific actions that Oxfam is doing in
certain countries. It mentions that the origin of the problem will be the fact
that these countries are unable to produce their own food and that the solution
would be to provide direct support to these people so that they are able to
produce, rather than just providing them with food when they need it. Oxfam
International claims that this way the problem will not arise ever, because its
cause will no longer be there.
-The
text itself has a very serious and, to some extent, academic tone. It aims to
be as accurate, clear and concise as possible, by stating the blunt facts
without dawdling too much in details. The article even neglects to use
emotional phrases to attempt at making the reader feel empathy for the people
who would be in the described situation, and the single image does not really
relate much to the text, since it only shows a woman on a donkey with a
background of with what seems to be cattle. However, by stating various
statistics with the large amounts of numbers of people that could be affected
by the problem, it the text might evoke a sense of a big impending danger on
the horizon. There is nothing in the image that alludes to the fact that there
might be a food shortage. Some of the themes of the text are poverty and the
current situation of economic inequality around the world, focusing
specifically on West and Central Africa. The text also evokes a feeling of
safety, of solidarity, of knowing that this company will be there to take care
of these kinds of problems when they arise.
-The
text makes heavy use of pathos to have an impact on the reader and persuade the
reader into thinking that there is indeed a big famine on its way to Central
and West Africa. All of the statistics of people who might be affected are a
good example of this, and since most of the numbers are big, they help in
making the audience feel that it is a big problem. The use of Pathos also
strengthens the image of professionalism that the article puts forth of Oxfam
International. This professional image that is put forth of the company also strengthens
the ethos that the company gives the article. That ethos makes the message more
believable, because people are more likely to believe a professional article
supported by a big company like Oxfam International.
-The
overall structure of the text is meant to adapt to the short attention span of
the modern-day population. It has short paragraphs, which allow the reader to
quickly flow through the text and it is less tiring and intimidating to the
eye, which makes people more likely to read it. There are also various sub-headings
in order to help the reader understand the text and also to make it looked more
spaced out, thus making it even less tiring to the eye. The text only has one
image, however for reasons mentioned above the image does not contribute too
much to the text. It does, however, help the reader place the scene in terms of
location and, due to the stereotype of the “poor African farmer” might give the
reader some insight of what the text is about before they start reading.
-This
article may be written by a humanitarian corporation; however, it does little
to help raise awareness about the situation and instead serves as a way to
bolster the image of Oxfam International. This can be seen in the mere fact
that the article does not even deal with a real issue, but rather talks about a
prediction that seems to have no author (the text only says “Recent evaluations
suggest”). With a better placement and more emotional focus on the actual
issue, rather than referring mostly to what Oxfam International’s involvement
is this text could be an effective humanitarian advertisement that would raise
awareness of the food shortages in Central and West Africa, but this text only
makes Oxfam International look good.
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