Analysis of Online Article

Student Name LING 305W Project #1 Final Draft – Handout 23 February 2012 Genre Analysis of the Online Article, ‘Superfoods’ Everyone Needs Genre: online article Author: Susan Seliger Target Audience: variety of ages; healthy people, healthy cooks, people who want to eat better, people with illnesses, diseases, or other health ailments Article Title: ‘Superfoods’ Everyone Needs Source: www. webmd. com Date: February 2007 Author’s claim: â€Å"A healthy diet incorporating a variety of†¦ superfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer. (para. 4) My analysis tool: COLFV model, which stands for five elements—content, organization, language, format, and values Blueberries—one of the superfoods Seliger describes. Source: www. sciencedaily. com My claim: Using the COLFV model to analyze the genre of this informative online article, I find that Seliger effectively uses organization, language, and values; however, the content and format of the text could be improved. CONTENT: Feature 1 – Percentages * In reference to the outside source, Elizabeth Somer, Seliger includes percentages. I’d say about 50%-70% of suffering could be eliminated by what people eat and how they move: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension can all be impacted. † (para. 3) * By including these percentages, the reader can easily refer to them in the text. * Percentages make the comment more tangible. Feature 2 – Comparisons * The author compares age with calcium levels for adults (para. 12). For example, the author includes: â€Å"Age 9-18 – 1300mg; age 19-50 – 1000mg; age 51 and over – 1200mg,† in bullet point format on separate lines. These comparisons by age and level of calcium help readers find which level fits them. * These comparisons are important, however, the ages are limited to adults. Albeit the first group includes children from ages 9-18 , it can be useful for readers to be informed about the levels for younger children. ORGANIZATION: Feature 1 – Classification * Seliger classifies each highlighted superfood in the subheadings. For example, blueberries are the â€Å"antioxident superfood† (above para. 5) whereas tea lowers cholesterol and inhibits cancer (above para. 1). * These classifications help distinguish the beneficial properties of each superfood. Feature 2 –Expansion * Describing the preferred form of beans to purchase for the superfood, fiber, Seliger cites Dr. Ann Kulze (para. 10). Kulze expands beyond the dried, fresh and frozen form of beans by mentioning that consumers should try to avoid canned beans as they contain high amounts of sodium usually. LANGUAGE: Feature 1 – Informal * The author uses vocabulary like â€Å"guess what? † (para. 1) and â€Å"yummiest† (above para. 3). * Seliger does a great job of connecting to her more general audience by using infor mal vocabulary. This shows readers that an expert, like Seliger, is more similar to them. Feature 2 – Acronyms * â€Å"ECGC† is described as a powerful antioxident by the author (para. 11). * Including acronyms can help reduce reading time for readers. * This particular acronym is not defined by each of its letters. This leaves members of the target audience to search for its definition or to overlook it. FORMAT: Feature 1 – Subheadings â€Å"Soy – Superfood to Lower Cholesterol† (above para. 9) and â€Å"Calcium† (above para. 12) are two of the subheadings used by Seliger. * Subheadings nicely guide the reader to the specific content. Specifically, each superfood receives its own section with a subheading and a paragraph description. Feature 2 – Bullet points * Fourteen items (superfoods) after the fourth paragraph and the comparisons by age after the twelfth paragraph receive their own lines with bullet points. * Bullet points help a reader quickly and easily follow emphasized text. Seliger does a great job of including the fourteen superfoods with bullet points as it resembles a shopping list. In fact, a reader could potentially print this portion of the article and refer to the bulleted items as a shopping list at the supermarket. * The comparisons could be enhanced for better reader interpretation if the content were inserted into a table or graph rather than in bullet points. The reader could refer to a visual such as a table more easily and compare each age group side-by-side. VALUES: Feature 1 – The author and the target audience share the same interest in good health. â€Å"A healthy diet incorporating a variety of the following superfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer. † (para. 4) * For the readers (as described in the target audience on page one of this handout), this line directly connects the benefits of eating superfoods. Feature 2 – The aut hor and the audience share the same understanding that health can be improved. * The author refers to Somer in regards to an additional benefit of Omega 3s being a depression reducer (para. 7). * For the target audience, additional benefits support Seliger’s plea to eat superfoods. Reference Seliger, Susan.