Newspapers
and reading age:
A
while ago I did a little investigation into just what my students should be
reading. Newspapers are invaluable as a source of information for the student,
but are far more important as a source of argument. Written responses in
examinations will ask for an argument in most essay based subjects. The more
examples of this kind of expression read, the better. There are of course,
different kinds of Newspaper. There is much to be said for the frivolity of the
tabloid paper and I would be remiss if I did not remark upon the skill one has
to use to express complex ideas in such a monosyllabic way, however for the purposes
of the improvement of students education my recommendation has to be with the
broadsheets as were. Students need to be encouraged to take interest in the
world around them and newspapers offer the best way to do this while improving
their reading and use of language. Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, and
Scotsman are the dailies to be recommended. Steer clear of the red tops, Sun,
Star, Mirror and the free rubbish handed out at train stations. Better still
are the Sunday papers. The magazines and features are full of cultural colour
that is hard to find elsewhere for a couple of pounds a week.
Magazines
can be useful also. There are obviously specialist magazines that include the
Economist, new Scientist etc. More likely you will find copies of Heat, Hello
and the usual Bikini fest of Loaded, FHM and
Maxim. Try to steer them on to better quality prose. The reading age of a piece
of text in one of the articles about Girls going wild or latest handbags to die
for is usually about 11-12 years of age. These are not magazines for young
adults, but Vogue or Esquire are suitable substitutes for lifestyle magazines. Children
will be curious about the world and these types of magazines are just one way
for them to explore the world. They will find ways to explore, so curtailing
them is pointless, however bad prose is still bad prose. Just remember, if it
reads like it was written by an idiot, it won’t be enhancing the reader.
The
table below is from a quick look at the papers on March 30 2009. The pages have
been judged by me on what they contain the most of. Some may have thought that
Madonna’s trip to adopt yet another child was news. I did not and have put that
particular story under the showbiz/features column. It is worth noting that the
Telegraph is the only broadsheet proper and the pages of the broadsheet section
were adjudged in this short table to be worth two actual pages. (It is also
worth noting that the front page of the Telegraph contains more words than the
first 3 pages of the mail and the first 5 pages of the Star.)
|
Paper
|
Total Pages
|
News %
|
Sport %
|
Business %
|
Showbiz %
|
|
Times
|
116
|
33.6
|
29.3
|
12.1
|
14.7
|
|
Telegraph
|
98*
|
40.8
|
27.6
|
16.3
|
14.3
|
|
Mail
|
80
|
20
|
20
|
2.5
|
42.5
|
|
Star
|
64
|
4.69
|
37.5
|
0
|
35.9
|
*The number of pages from the main body of the paper were doubled.
This
is a rough guide, but it gives a good enough impression of the value of the
paper in terms of its structure. In terms of the writing the usual form is to
find fewer complex sentences in the Sun/Star etc and more in the
Times/Telegraph. A simple count of words in a selection of sentences has the
Mail on between 15-25 words per sentence, the Star on a paltry 15-20 words per
sentence and the Broadsheets on about 35-40 words per sentence.
Take
these four examples: from each of the editions mentioned above I have taken the
first 150 words from the article outlining Jenson Button’s win at the
Australian Grand Prix. I have reprinted the sections below for comparison. It
is worth just as an exercise seeing the difference between the four articles.
Telegraph:
Long
after the champagne had been sprayed, the podium dismounted and the world’s
press sent off, Jenson Button could still be found in the Brawn GP garage –
right at the far end of the pit-lane – whooping and high fiving his mechanics,
engineers and anyone else lucky enough to cross his path.
Outside
on the fast-cooling Albert Park track, hundreds of fans, many with Union flags,
roared their approval into the Melbourne
The
Preceding hours had seen one of the most spectacular starts to a Formula one
season; a second ever win for Button, a one-two for Brawn GP – the first by a
team on their debut since Mercedes-Benz in 1954 – an incident packed race and a
truly majestic drive from one Lewis Hamilton, who started 18th on
the grid and eventually finished third after a post race penalty meted out to
Toyota’s Jarno Trulli.[i]
Star
Jensen
Button lived out an astonishing “fairy tale” as he cruised to victory in
yesterday’s Australian Grand Prix.
And
Lewis Hamilton was smiling again as the world champion managed to steer his
dodgy new McLaren to a stunning third place against all the odds after starting
last.
But
the day belonged to Button and his amazing, brand-new Brawn GP team, who did
not even exist 24 days ago.
For
not only did Button take the win after leading from start to finish, his experienced
Brazilian team-mate Rubens Barrichello came in second.
That
delighted Ross Brawn, who led a management buy-out of the dead Honda team and
only on Saturday secured sponsorship from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin empire.
It
is the first time since 1954 that a debut team has been first and second.
And
amazingly, it meant Button scored more points in this one race than he managed
in his previous 35 over two years with Honda Racing.[ii]
Times
British
interest in Formula One just gets bigger and better. For the past two drama
filled seasons we have enjoyed the historic achievements and thrilling driving
of Lewis Hamilton. Now, just when the world champion’s career appears to be
stalling thanks to a poor car, up pops the forgotten man in a rocket ship.
Jenson
Button was all washed up a few weeks ago and could have been forgiven for
thinking his career at the highest level. His team were up for sale, no one wanted
to buy them and it looked as though he might not get a drive this season. Who
could have predicted that the very same Button would not only win the
season-opening Australian Grand Prix but win it hands down in a car that has
proved it is capable of propelling him to a world championship, an opportunity
that even he must have doubted would come his way.[iii]
Mail
Jenson
Button raised clenched fists to the heavens and blew kisses from the top step
of the podium as Britain
It
was a symphony of celebration to mark one of sport’s most remarkable comebacks.
Just
three weeks ago, Button’s career appeared over. His Honda team were closing
down with no buyer in sight. He was destined to shut his ledger with just one
victory – at Hungary
Yesterday
– smoothly, ineluctably, gloriously – he steered the nonpareil car of Brawn GP,
the recent reincarnation of his former Japanese employers, to a pole-to-flag
victory.
His
team-mate Rubens Barrichello was second and world champion Lewis Hamilton of
McLaren a wondrous third from 18th on the grid.[iv]
Reading
age
Reading
age is a bone of contention. There are any number of formulae to work out the
supposed reading age of a particular document including the Forecast, FOG and
Flesch methods. To be precise the scores given should not be referred to as
reading ages but as the age for those particular scores. However it is worth
looking at what these four articles produce as a reading age using the formulae. The principles will be explained in the appendix, but in short
the various conversions rely on the numbers of words per sentence, or the occurrence
of single and polysyllabic words. Reading Reading
|
Paper
|
Forecast
|
Fog
|
Flesch
|
Average
|
|
Times
|
15.8
|
14.2
|
13.8
|
14.6
|
|
Telegraph
|
15.5
|
18.5
|
19.5
|
17.8
|
|
Mail
|
16
|
12.2
|
12.7
|
13.6
|
|
Star
|
14.4
|
10.7
|
14.4
|
13.1
|
The
results will always be variable and it should be remembered that this is just
one example, but what is not is the difference between the papers. The simple
fact of it is that improving prose, new vocabulary and grammatical
understanding will not be gained from reading the Star or its tabloid brethren.
Posts
Interesting comparisons - I might use this in my plain English training. Sadly I have to spend much of my professional time teaching colleagues to write in shorter with less complex words. Sometimes this is to legitimately reach a specialist audience. But all too often, people have fallen into the habit of using complicated language, jargon and obtuse, passive sentence structures to make themselves sound official and important. Please make sure your students strike a happy medium and can use the full breadth of the wonderful English language to enhance understanding of their writing, not obstruct it.
ReplyDelete