Text 1 is a newspaper article adapted from the wellness section of Sun-Herald Australia, published in

May 5, 2014. It is written by Angie Kelly, who had been a guest at the Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat.
The text gives readers an insight into the life of Angie Kelly during her stay at Gwinganna and how
she, as a person, transformed herself for good. Undoubtedly, we live in a society that is immensely
fast paced and overloaded with stress at every stage of life. The competition is skyrocketing, and it is
as important as daunting it seems to be at par with the crowd and not fall back. Under such
conditions, it is very plausible to have burnouts and consequently cause harm to your physical and
mental wellbeing. This is where the wellness programs offered at Gwinganna come into picture and
how they help their guests to essentially, take a step back and relax. The article paints a very positive
picture of the wellness programs offered, giving positive publicity, and therefore attracting more
potential guests. Therefore, It is evidently, aimed at the Australian working population, particularly
the socio-economic class. The writer, Angie Kelly has used stylistic devices as well as literary features
to show the excitement of the experience she had while, at the same time, explaining the
importance of well-being. She has utilized the layout, context, style of language, allusions, and tone
in order to achieve this intended purpose.

The writer has used various elements to make the format and structure of the article eye-catching.
For instance, the alliteration used in the title “Push pause and hit refresh” makes the reader to really
ponder about what the article will talk about and to allow himself/herself to stop and reflect back at
one’s journey. Also, “Wellness” written in white with a purple background stands out and as purple
being a color of grandeur and extravagance gives the readers an essence of how their stay at
Gwinganna might be and tempts to imagine themselves living a luxurious lifestyle. Moreover, below
the bold title, Angie Kelly has basically summarized her experience in less than 5 lines. The
placement of these lines in the article easily catches the reader’s attention and provides a sense of
excitement and eagerness in them, and the use of italics in “can’t” adds to this effect. This is great
technique to, in a way, trick the readers’ mind to read further and find an explanation to the
statement made by the writer. The content is neatly divided into 3 columns with each having been
further divided into 2-3 paragraphs. This is a great way to properly structure and divide your article
to keep the readers engaged throughout and not letting their focus mood shift away. The article
ends with the trip notes, displayed in the form of a ticket. This is again done to encourage a visit to
the retreat

The article starts with Angie Kelly complaining about her living conditions in a very humorous and
ironical way which provides a chance for the readers to relate to her and give them a good chuckle.
Moreover, the use of casual language, sentence construction, referring to the readers as “you”
encouraging a visit to the retreat by making the guests seem “special” (high achievers) and yet
“ordinary” (dealing with loss or just needing to lose weight). This informal approach used by her is
very unique and encourages the reader to stay on as it feels like a friend recounting an experience
and not just any other articles you find in newspapers. She used the technique of listing at several
places throughout the article. This is done to give the readers specific and enticing details about the
stay and put a level to their expectations. Moving on, Angie continues writing the article from sceptic
point of view, as she says “The very people who can think of nothing worse than… are the ones who
would probably benefit most from the chance to push the pause button and focus on their health”.

By using strong but familiar vocabulary and by expressing her opinions, Angie sets an ironic but
humorous tone. In the beginning, she uses words such as seductive and luscious. She uses imagery
here as it paints a picture in the readers’ mind of how their living condition will be and the various
other facilities she describes further. The use of phrases such as “junkie” “sassy” and “going cold
turkey” further adds on to the humorous tone and also appeals to the contemporary audience.
Later, in the article, she leads into an argument that gradually integrates the positives of the
experience and offers a positive conclusion. The transition in her tones from distress to doubtful and
finally grateful provides a touch of realism to the article as it shows how one is so quick to judge
things and form opinions on, thus giving the readers a chance to connect to the writer and relate.
Eventually, Angie goes on to describe what an ideal day of the Wellness weekend program at
Gwinganna looks like, starting off with a Qigong session early in the morning and ending with spa
treatments or having a chat over herbal tea. This provides the readers to get a gist of their stay over
at Gwinganna and live it virtually. She ends with a phrase “ …it’s impossible to leave Gwinganna
without feeling hopeful and healthier.” This statement really provides the readers an surety that
their experience will be worthwhile and they will be “refreshed”, better than ever, and ready to take
on life from a new perspective.