Working with a Tourist Publicity Pamphlet

NB: You will need to substitute your own texts for the study texts that are
mentioned in this workshop description.

STEP 1: Getting started

1. Look at the following list of landscape features:

City
Wilderness
Farming country
Town
Crop or fruit-growing country
Choose the landscape feature on the list you most identify with. Then imagine you
are a movie camera slowly moving in from a wide view to a close-up. Aim to arrive
at a close-up of a place that you really like. (For example, a city-dweller might close
in on a suburb, then a shopping center, then a particular street, then an intersection,
then a corner grocery store, then the inside of the grocery store.) Write your closing-
in process as a series of places linked by arrows.

2. Think about the place you ended up at. List the things you like about this place. Are
there things you dont like about this place? What are they?

3. Now list all the texts you can think of that express an attitude to a place. You might
categorize your answer under the following headings.
Oral texts, for example, travel documentaries on radio;
Written texts, for example, travel stories in magazines;
Visual texts, for example, travel brochures.

4. Which of these texts have your read (or skimmed) examples of? What sorts of
attitudes do they express towards the places theyre written about?

STEP 2: Finding a focus

In the last chapter, we broke up our definition of argument into a number of parts. We
said that:
argument is a process;
an argument contains a number of connected statements;
these statements need to be reasoned and supported with evidence;
when we argue we are establishing a position;
when we establish a position we are usually recognizing the existence of other
positions;
argument can take a variety of forms.

In this chapter, we are going to look rather more closely at the language we can use to
establish a position. Our focus is going to be on diction, but we will also be recognizing
that good writing is also about the way we shape sentences (syntax) and about the way
we structure or organize the texts we produce. Putting this in terms of a problem, we
will be asking the question:

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What are the effective language possibilities for establishing our position in an
argument?

This question, we would suggest, generates a number of research tasks.

Task 1: In what ways do the diction and syntax of a text change when the audience
changes?

Task 2: In What ways do the diction and syntax of a text change when the purpose and
function change?

Task 3: How does our command of language choices affect our ability to communicate
our position on something?

This chapter will use a number of different genres to explore these questions.

STEP 3: An experiment

For the purpose of this experiment, you are going to have to complete three pieces of
writing. They dont have to be long pieces, but you will need to think carefully about
the instructions you are given below. The subject of each piece of writing is the special
place you arrived at when doing STEP 1.

Writing instructions:
Magazine article extract: Imagine you are a scientist who is writing an article for a
popular scientific monthly magazine that is mostly read by adults. Write a
description of your chosen place.
Personal letter: Be yourself. Imagine you are writing to a good friend convincing
them about what a great time youd have doing things in your special place.
Ad: Imagine you are a developer or real estate agent. Write the sort of description
of your place that might be included in an advertisement which is selling your place
or the location where your place is to be found. (RESOURCE A might help you
with this.)

RESOURCE A: The diction of real estate classifieds

The following noun phrases we taken rather randomly from a classified ad section of a
daily newspaper:
redecorated, rose filled garden great outdoor living
newly renovated 3-bedroom bungalow attractive home with good floor flow
large wrap around decks captivating gulf and Rangitoto views

Questions for reflection

You might find the tasks below easier if you can find a way of putting your pieces of
writing side by side.
1. At the top of each piece, describe briefly:
the intended audience;
the purpose;
the language function(s).
2. For each piece, circle the words which you consider to be typical of the genre.

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3. Look at the circled words. What do they have in common? For example, are they
from similar word classes (parts of speech)?
4. For each piece, underline syntactical constructions (groups of words that together
make a kind of sense) which you consider to be typical of the genre.
5. Look at your underlined constructions. Are there features that occur a number of
times? What are they?
6. Put a tick above the words or constructions that you think work well, given the
nature of your audience, purpose and function. (You dont have to be modest.)
7. Put a cross above the words or constructions that you think could be improved on.

STEP 4: Working with text

In this section, we will be looking closely at examples of two genres, the lyric poem and
the publicity pamphlet. Each of these examples is about a place. Both clearly adopt a
position with respect to that place. Both examples have as their topic cities in the lower
half of the North Island of New Zealand, Wellington and Porirua.

Text 1: Poem not included in this handout

TEXT 2: The tourist publicity pamphlet

Walk into any travel agent and tourist bureau and you are bound to find a large range of
pamphlets which will tell you about places to visit. Youll find lots of information in
these pamphlets, but youll also find lots of reasons being put forward in an attempt to
persuade you that a particular place is really worth a visit.

In this section we will be looking at a pamphlet produced by the Porirua City Council.

Activity 1: Thinking through audience and purpose

Who is the intended readership for a tourist publicity pamphlet?
What is the purpose of a tourist publicity pamphlet?
What does a tourist publicity pamphlet need to do to succeed with its readership?
(Try to make a list in response to this question. Some of your answers will touch on
the question of language function.)

Activity 2: The shape of a pamphlet

One of the features of a pamphlet is that it is folded. The pamphlet, Porirua, City of
Opportunity is the size of two A4 sheets of paper joined lengthways. It has five vertical
folds.
Take a sheet of A4 paper. How many ways can you fold it to form a pamphlet?
Which of your options is the most interesting?
Which is the most common?
Which is the most practical? Why?

Activity 3: The organization of a pamphlet.

When the pamphlet is folded into twelve sections. We will be referring to a section as a
rectangular part of a pamphlet that is bounded by either a fold or an edge of paper. One
section becomes the front of the pamphlet when it is folded. Another section containing
maps and a council address becomes the back of the pamphlet when it is folded. The

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other sections are combinations of slogans, pictorial graphics and text blocks. Some
graphic and text items extend across more than one section of the pamphlet.

RESOURCE C is the front section of the Porirua pamphlet. This section has three
items: a headline, a cluster of pictorial graphics and a logo.
What is the purpose of the headline?
The headline is also a slogan? Come up with a slogan for your own city or town.
What is your opinion of the overall composition of this section? Why do you think
the items have been organized in this way?
Why do you think the producers of this pamphlet chose the three pictures that they
did?
Comment on the design of the logo. What idea of Porirua does the logo design
communicate?

Activity 4: The language of a text-block

RESOURCE D and E are two inner sections of the Porirua pamphlet. Each of these
sections contains a headline/slogan, a text block and two pictorial graphics.
RESOURCE D also has a caption.
Each text-block begins with a general statement. We value education highly. is
one. What is the general statement in RESOURCE E?
The language of general statements is often abstract. Words like value and
education are abstract because they refer to ideas or concepts. You cant see, hear,
touch, smell or feel ideas and concepts. Find other abstract words.
What follows each general statement are the reasons and examples which are
offered as proof that what the general statement is saying is in fact true. What
evidence is provided that Porirua does in fact value education highly.
When examples are provided, the language often becomes concrete. Concrete
language appeals to our senses because it brings to mind things we can see, hear,
smell, touch and feel. The words waterfowl, dabble and reeds are all
examples of concrete language. Find examples of your own.

Glossary Points:
Slogan: A slogan is a short, catchy verbal formula that is meant to stay in your head,
e.g. Go well, go Shell.
Text-block: A text-block is a distinct, self-contained piece of print text which occurs as
an item alongside other text-blocks and graphic items on a page.
Concrete language presents its subject with striking particularity and sensuous detail. It
relies on images which are words and expressions which appeal to our senses, e.g. the
strident cries of dappled wading birds.
Abstract language is the language of ideas or concepts, e.g. fear, anxiety,
ambition.

STEP 5: Reflection

In both poem and pamphlet, concrete language has an important function? What is the
function? Why is concrete language important in these genres?

STEP 6: Application

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B) Producing a tourist publicity pamphlet.
Publicity pamphlets are usually the product of a team effort. The suggested production
steps set out below would probably be more fun done as a group.
Your brief is to produce a pamphlet publicizing your own town or city.
Decide on your target readership and where your pamphlet will be displayed.
Identify the selling points of your town or city. List these as general statements and
examples.
Structure: Decide on the size of the sheet of paper you will be folding and how you
are going to fold it. How many sections do you want to end up with?
Make a mock-up. Do this by obtaining a sheet of paper the same size as the
pamphlet you are producing, fold it and block out on each section the items you
want to see there (e.g. headings, pictorial graphics, text-blocks, captions, etc).
If you are working as a group, allocate responsibilities. Whos going to do what?
Produce your required copy. This means writing your text-blocks and obtaining
graphic items (such as photographs and a logo). Edit.
Finish your copy after deciding on such things as typeface, style and bordering.
Do your paste-up on a correctly sized and finished sheet of paper. (Or import your
text and graphic items on to a prepared file, if you are using a desk-top publishing
program.)
Publish.

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 WORKSHOP/UNIT SHAPE

1. Orientation

2. Establishing questions

3. Experimenting with language

4. Working with text

5. Reflection: Asking some broad questions

6. Application

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