Language Analysis

Local newspaper advert taken from The Bath Chronicle

This local newspaper article, taken from The Bath Chronicle, is a factual and informative  article written about a car accident in the area. In the sentence "killing 18 year old Alex" the gerund 'killing' and the passive voice makes this an objective article. In this article it is revealed that the perpetrator was under influence and also had possession of an illegal drug and therefore has put a direct blame onto someone. In terms of this being in a local area, it will be comforting to hear that there was a direct reason why someone was killed and not just a common occurrence or someone intending to kill people. The leading, active verb 'crash' in the headline draws the reader in and and words 'man charged' will also attract readers who may have been following the story and were seeking a conclusion or justice. In this story, the reader has been positioned as an onlooker in the case and as it is written from an objective point of view it almost puts the reader in the position of the jury in court. From regularly looking at local newspapers myself, I have found that it is common for a story to position the reader at some point in the story to make them feel more involved.