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Textstobeanalysed:

1. Soccer      2. Golf  

3. Tennis      4.Formula 1 Racing   

5. Athletics   6. Cricket

If you want to look at any other articles, note that they should be reports of a specific match/race etc as in these examples - not just general sports news.

Task: Identifyasmanytypicalfeaturesofthegenreaspossible.Youshouldconsider:

-         visual/layoutfeatures

-         organisational/contentfeatures

-         linguisticfeatures 

You may consider a feature as “typical” if it is found in at least 3 of the texts youconsider. For each feature that you list you should be able to give three examples – each from a differenttext.

NB : In my answer below I have indicated at least three texts which containexamples of each feature specified, but usually given examples from one of thosetexts only. Look at the two others and make sure you can identify a similar example fromeach.

Suggestedanswer:

If there are any linguistic  terms in the following  analysis which you don't fully understand, look them up in the ELT Glossary

A:Visual/LayoutFeatures

1.     Large font headline ... (all texts). Summarises result and grabs attention. Eg Tennis: Raducanu copes with windy conditions to breeze into Nottingham last eight

2.    Headline is followedbyresults/statistics(Tennis/Athletics/Cricket).Summarisesthemost importantinformation. EgCricket: Phil Salt scored a brilliant 87 from 47 balls as England won in St Lucia

3.    This is followedbyphotoofa significantmomentfromthecompetitionoroneofthe protagonists(Golf/Tennis/F1).Gets the reader’sattention.EgGolf: Amy Taylor giving thumbs up sign

B.Layout/ContentFeatures

1.     Text divided into short paragraphs, often with only a single sentence (Football/Golf/F1) whichsummarises the result. Eg Football: Shrewsbury ensured a 10th successive campaign in League One after their 1-1 draw at Charlton.

2.    Description of key moments of the competition (all texts except Athletics). Eg Football: Dan Udoh put Shrewsbury ahead in the 23rd minute with his 11th goal of the season, slotting smartly across Addicks keeper Harry Isted.

C.LanguageFeatures

1.     “Headline” grammar : use of simple present to describe past event (Golf/Tennis/Athletics). Eg Athletics: British student sprinter Louie Hinchliffe shatters 10-second barrier in US

2.    Useofsimplepast in the text to narrate events(alltexts)Eg Football: Charlton levelled almost instantly after the restart.

3.    Useofpastperfectfor“flashbacks”(Tennis/ F1 /Cricket)Eg Tennis: Raducanu had complained strongly about the line calls in her first-round win over Ena Shibahara,

4.    Quotesfromtheprotagonistsindirect speech(all texts except football):EgCricket: ‘That was great fun,’ said Salt.

5. Technical Lexisconnectedwiththespecificsportofthecompetition(alltexts) which may not be understood by those with no knowledge of the sport.Eg Golf: Birdies at the 14th and 16th meant she could afford the bogey she made at the last, 

6. Lexisassociatedwithwar,battlesandfightingusedmetaphorically:eg Football: …but sharing the spoils at The Valley was enough to secure safety;Cricket: The rest of the attack didn’t quite come off: Tennis: ..before wrapping up victory in an hour and 19 minutes.

7. Cardinalandordinalnumbersconnectedwithscores,times,andplayersages (alltexts).Numbers up to (and sometimes including) ten will usually be written as words. Thoseabove ten will generally be written as numbers: eg Golf: She started well, making birdies on the third and fourth holes … Birdies at the 14th and 16th meant… Exceptions to this ruleincludescorestatements: Football: …after their 1-1 draw at Charlton.

     8. Style:frequentuse ofgrammaticalfeaturesconnectedwithwritten style–eg: