Essay - Bishop Waltham's fight against Sainsbury's

The text I am analysing is a leaflet, produced by a local protest group (Bishops Waltham Action Group), its purpose is to persuade the reader to give support for a campaign against the construction of a new Sainsbury’s superstore. It is aimed at all local residents (of Bishops Waltham) and the local council. As a result it is of a higher register than a normal leaflet.

To begin, the most noticeable part of the leaflet is the picture/heading at the top. There is a big clock and next to it reads ‘Time’s running out… write a letter today.’ The large size of this picture is to draw the attention of the reader, once grasping their attention it dwells on the concept of time. This is to emphasise the urgency and desperation felt by the action group. They are pushing the locals to act fast. This idea of time running out also has connotations of a bomb – once time has run out, there will be an explosion or, in this case, there town will be destroyed. Building upon the use of graphology, at the very bottom, there is a statement, ‘Love Bishops Waltham’, partly surrounded by a heart. This heart expresses the care and desire of this action group, to save their town. They are also attempting to convey this love onto the reader, striving for a reaction of sympathy.

The leaflet is written in the form of a letter, ‘Dear Resident’. The purpose of this is to make the leaflet more personal. Letters are usually addressed to one specific person, so this method is to try to make the reader feel as though this is written for them. Also the use of a singular noun demonstrates this point even further, as it seems to be addressed to each individual resident who reads it, rather than all of the residents collectively.

Moving on, the writer of this leaflet has used several lexis in the semantic field of war. This is to make it seem as though their fight with Sainsbury’s is much more significant than one may see it; as though they will lose everything if the ‘war’ is lost. Sainsbury’s is described as a ‘corporate juggernaut’ to build a physical image of just how powerful and destructive the multi-millionaire company is. This indestructible illustration of Sainsbury’s also creates a David-and-Goliath-like situation; the tiny town of Bishops Waltham representing a defenceless David. Other lexis, such as ‘destroy’, ‘diminished’ and ‘battle’ exaggerate the all-or-nothing fight to an even further point.

Throughout this text the writer has used imperative sentences, ‘write a letter today’, to develop his point urgency. Imperative sentences are commands, the writer is not asking the reader to do something but telling them. This is to make the reader feel as if they have no options other than to take action but also giving them motivation to make a difference. This motivational concept is then backed by the occasional feature of exclamatory sentences and deontic verbs. Sentences such as ‘This is where the real fight starts!’ is a statement that creates a sense of urgency, but can also highlight important information. Deontic verbs, like ‘will’, express certainty and give the reader hope that something will be done and their contribution will make a difference.

                              Pronouns have a huge significance in the persuasive nature of this text. The constant use of the words ‘you’ and ‘we’ have great effect. 2^nd Person pronouns like ‘you’ give involvement to the reader, it makes them feel as though they are a part of it and the leaflet is directed towards them. Collective pronouns like ‘we’ emphasise the importance of their community sticking together – suggesting that Sainsbury’s can only be brought down if everyone contributes.

In large, bold font stands the interrogative sentence ‘IS THIS A CHANCE WORTH TAKING?’ This is a rhetorical question but makes the reader believe they are causing more damage and taking a greater risk if they take no action.

Overall, the writer has used a great combination of language techniques, in an attempt to manipulate the audience’s thoughts and persuade them to take stand against Sainbury's