Journalistic Text Analysis Guide

Posted on Oct 27, 2024 in Religion

Journalistic Text Analysis

Is It a Full Text or a Fragment?

Specify whether the text is complete or a fragment and cite the source (journal and author).

Defining the Issue and Argument

Clearly define the central issue and the main argument presented in the text.

Genre Information

Provide a contextual interpretation of the information, going beyond the journalist’s explicit interpretation.

News (Inf)

The foundational journalistic genre, reporting an event or situation concisely.

Item or Editorial Comment (Say)

The author’s subjective viewpoint is central, offering unique insights on a fact.

Chronicle (Hyb)

Interprets events directly, without expressing personal opinions.

Feature (Informal)

An expanded, comprehensive account of an event, providing detailed descriptions to enhance understanding.

Editorial (Say)

Expresses the newspaper’s or periodical’s stance on a social issue, often anonymously.

Letters to the Editor

Provides a platform for reader feedback and diverse perspectives.

Textual Analysis

Exchange, Abstract, Thesis, Structure

Analyze the structural coherence of the text, including the introduction, development, and conclusion.

Topical Issue

  • Is the issue significant enough to warrant an editorial or article?
  • Is it a new problem, or a persistent one?
  • Is it specific to a particular country or a global concern?

Structure

  • Cause and Effect: Analyze the use of causal connectors (because, so, consequently, therefore).
  • Problem-Solution: Identify the proposed solutions and their implementation steps.

Types of Arguments

  • Argument by Analogy: Draws parallels between the argued point and another fact.
  • Argument by Example: Uses anecdotes, stories, or quotations to support the argument.
  • Argument from Authority: Relies on the opinion of an intellectual or social figure.
  • Argument from Probability: Uses statistics or probabilities to support the claim.

Text Cohesion

Explains the relationships between different parts of the text using syntactic and semantic mechanisms.

A) Deixis

Refers to elements within the communicative situation.

  • Personal Deixis: Identifies sender and receiver using pronouns and verb morphemes.
  • Social Deixis: Indicates the relationship between the statement and the speaker using demonstratives and adverbs.
  • Temporal Deixis: Specifies the time of utterance using adverbs and verb morphemes.

B) Anaphora and Cataphora

Anaphora: Refers to a previously mentioned element.

Cataphora: Refers to an element that appears later.

Elements involved include personal pronouns, possessives, demonstratives, and adverbs.

C) Ellipsis

Omission of repeated elements for conciseness, including nominal and verbal ellipsis.

D) Lexical Cohesion

Establishes connections through meaningful relationships between lexical items.

Argumentative Connectors

  • Argumentative: although, in spite of, despite, while, but, however, nevertheless.
  • Consecutive: thus, so, hence, therefore.
  • Additive: also, equally, moreover, on the other hand, furthermore, in addition.

Morphosyntactic Features

  1. Use of interrogative and exclamatory sentences to engage the reader. Example: What happened in Port Hurraco?
  2. First-person pronouns and verb endings to indicate the author’s presence. Example: Possessed by the spirit of Obama, we have made peace with Soraya.
  3. Adversative, causal, consecutive, and conditional clauses. Example: So I understand your temptation to leave.

Lexical-Semantic Features

  1. Religious vocabulary and abstract nouns. Example: Low permissiveness by those responsible for these youth.
  2. Adjectives, adverbs, and evaluative language. Example: Effective, emphatically.
  3. Offensive or impactful nouns. Example: Immaturity, seriously.
  4. Declarative and opinion verbs. Example: Adventure, ironically, to believe.
  5. Stylistic resources like metaphor, hyperbole, and metonymy.

Lexical-Semantic Resources in Journalism

  1. Use of foreign words.
  2. Neologisms for new realities.
  3. Euphemisms to avoid sensitive terms. Example: Collateral damage instead of victims.
  4. Jargon and specific terminology. Example: IBEX 35.
  5. Abbreviations and acronyms. Example: EU, USA, UNICEF.
  6. Rhetorical figures. Example: Balkanization (metaphor), voices (synecdoche).

Student Positioning

Analyze the student’s stance or perspective on the given text.