Comparison of Two Blogs

A Comparison between two blogs:

Lucy Robinson - I may be a knob but I ain't stupid 
http://lucy-robinson.co.uk/i-may-be-a-knob-but-i-aint-stupid/

Charlie Brooker - The Voice: not just a talent contest – you can watch it while waiting to die

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/31/voice-not-just-talent-contest

                                                       Charlie Brooker                          Lucy Robinson

What is the PURPOSE of the blog? Debate? Offering comment or opinion? Persuasion? Reflecting on a personal experience? Etc.	Brooker is offering his opinion on the TV show ‘The Voice’ and he how he believes there is no point watching it.	Robinson is telling a story and reflecting on how it made her feel and using this experience to educate the reader.
Who is the AUDIENCE for the blog? What effect does the blog intend to have on the audience/receiver?	Written for younger people in the ‘opinion’ section of an online article. Revolves around a television show that is primarily targeted at a younger audience. Means the article is more informal and relatable.	Younger, educated readers who enjoy reading and writing. Older than teenagers because of taboo language.
What is the TONE of the blog? Relaxed and conversational? Formal and sophisticated? Descriptive or reflective? Etc.	Condescending and disapproving but still conversational, almost like he is having an angry rant with the reader.	Mostly relaxed and calm, with a bit of humour but there are more intense moments when she describes an emotional experience. Informal.
Lexis and semantics – find examples of how the blogger uses words for effect (adjectives, verbs, pronouns, colloquial lexis etc.). Think about the connotations of words. Consider what response they are trying to provoke from the audience.	‘All modern talent shows feel the need’- suggests that he is frustrated with the way modern shows are run and that they intentionally do things to annoy him and wind him up more so he can rant to the reader. The phrases ‘Wikipedia's Danny O'Donoghue’ and ‘my epic struggle to uncover his identity’ are mocking of the way no one knows who Danny is, the adjective ‘epic’ is a hyperbole intended to add humour and make fun of the judge. This is then taken further with the hyperbole ‘until I fearlessly looked it up on YouTube and discovered I'd already heard it 150,000 times’, this is an even bigger hyperbole which the adverb ‘fearlessly’ that suggests he was very surprised by what he found.	‘God forbid – have opinions on what I was reading’, the expression at the start of the phrase ‘God forbid’ causes the reader to share in Robinson’s apparent surprise and the italics on ‘opinions’ exaggerate how strong this is. This creates an emotional bond between Robinson and the reader and makes them laugh. The anecdote ‘hell’ is used in the phrase ‘plunged back into University hell’ to humorously compare education to a place evil people go and cause the reader to relate. Robinson is also flitting between past and present to use her past experiences to educate her current self and encourage the reader to do the same.
Grammar – explore the use of sentence functions, types, ellipsis, fronted conjunctions and listing. Consider audience response and purpose.	Long, complex sentences that make the text more informative but also more fast-paced as there are less pauses and breaks. This could potentially be read as angry typing as Brooker is so aggravated at the text it makes his writing and typing style more intense. This is both humorous and serious as it completely warns the reader off the show that Brooker watched but also conjures up an image of him being frustrated at a television to make readers smirk.	‘I was invited to join a book club in Bristol this week. The Man and I are hoping to move here some time soonish. It made sense.’ Series of simple sentences that keep the text fast-paced and interesting, almost like Robinson and the reader are having a conversation. Makes the text more relaxing and relatable so the reader feels the emotions whilst Robinson does. ‘But I had opinions! And ideas! I was reading again!’ Exclamation marks convey extreme excitement and surprise that Robinson wants to share, self-deprecating but also funny. Almost encourages the reader to do the same as she did because it made her so happy.
Discourse – how is the blog structured? Is it coherent? Does it end in a particular way? Explore the reasons for how the ideas are structured.	The article is made up of a series of paragraphs that are all similar in length and none of which stand out, suggesting that the show does not stand out from other shows. The only exception to this is the final paragraph which is one line long and made up of simple sentences – ‘What I'm saying is I should've watched Holiday on the Buses instead. You know. Like you did.’ This implies that the ending of the show was anti-climactic. He also references a show he mentioned in the first paragraph (‘Holiday on the buses’), bringing the article full circle and constantly maintaining the idea that he shouldn’t have watched the show. This makes his writing consistent and his opinion stronger.	The blog is made up of short paragraphs that don’t take very long to read or understand. This helps it seem chatty and conversational as it flows nicely. The reader is made to think that the blog ends with the two simple sentences ‘So: da da. That’s my blog for today.’ As it draws the blog to a close and well-known and commonly used anecdote ‘da da’ to keep the ending light. However, it is followed by the rhetorical question ‘You know those blogs where the writer is basically conducting a therapy session with themselves . . .?’ This is the writer’s way of looking back on the blog and explaining to the reader how they felt about it. So the reader doesn’t just get to finish it feeling a certain way, they also get to see how the writer feels. In this case, it is slightly humorous and displays how Lucy copes with what recently happened; by writing. It shows that reader that blogging is a good way to conduct ‘self-therapy’.
Any other ideas? Examples of interesting language use?		The use of the adjective ‘mental’ is controversial as, in today’s society; it is frowned upon to talk negatively about people with mental disabilities. The adjective ‘barmy’ is later used which is more appropriate. If the blog was an article published today, the adjective ‘mental’ would probably be removed or replaced.