Examine how the writers shape or craft each text to meet the expectations of their respective audience, purpose and context Excerpt from Weblog and extract from Vernon God Little by DCB Pierre Text B is in the form of a blog, which is an online diary updated regularly by its author. Text C is an extract from the novel Vernon God Little by DCB Pierre. Both authors target a young adult audience through use of a casual tone to engage the reader and gain empathetic response. The weblog writer uses colloquialisms such as ‘gutted’, and elision; ‘Whatcha’

DCB Pierre engages a young audience through use of a teenage protagonist. The weblog starts in medea res with use of the discourse marker ‘So after another... ’ creating an informal ambience. This also suggests that the audience are regular readers of this particular blog, as they are expected to understand what the conversation is referring back to. The writer uses contractions; ‘Isn’t’ which reassures the informal tone. A similar tone is used in Vernon God Little, as the protagonist directly addresses the reader throughout; ‘You’d remember Clarence somebody’. nd uses the present tense to further engage the reader; ‘I sit waiting... ’ The weblog writer uses parenthesis to convey to the reader a further thought on the previous statement; ‘On the plus side (a very small plus size)’ This further engages the reader and makes them feel as though they are directly involved with the writer. The main purpose of both texts is to entertain, however both also inform the reader of the protagonist’s current situation; the weblog writer has just received news informing them that they have not been successful in a job application.

JCB Pierre’s protagonist is currently in prison; ‘I sit waiting between shafts of light from a row of doorways... looks like I’m the only one they rounded up so far’ This suggests that perhaps the protagonist is innocent, or there were more people involved in the crime as he is evidently waiting for them to be arrested. The context of the weblog is that the writer has recently received a job rejection and is reaching out to his readers to gain perhaps sympathy and empathy from them.

The writer uses language such as; ‘Back at square one’ Emphasising to the reader that they are disheartened by the rejection. The simile, ‘Like a punch in the stomach’ reiterates the sadness the writer is feeling and the intention was to possibly gain a sympathetic response from readers to help him feel better about himself. The context of the novel extract is that a fifteen year old Texan boy (the protagonist) has been arrested and is recalling a man who was previously arrested for a similar crime.

It contains slight sarcasm or black humour, as the protagonist mentions the news coverage of the man mentioned previously, lacking any details of the crime he committed; ‘The news said how little he cares about the effects of his crimes. By ‘effects’ I think they meant axe-wounds. ’ This sarcastic humour entertains the reader whilst informing them of events prior to the arrest of the main voice in this story. The narrator’s final sentence is almost foreboding, as he states; ‘They sentenced him to death. ’