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Go through the article and number the
paragraphs.
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Look at the source of this article.
What does this suggest about the target readership?
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I love the picture at the top of the
article; the curvature makes it look as if he is diving
into the world. The caption tells the whole story in brief.
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This seems to have limited relevance
to the overall theme, except to show that, because of the
melting ice, something is now possible that should not be
possible, and would not have been a decade ago. I suppose
that the point is that it’s putting a human face and
achievement on a theory – he did it “to highlight
the effects of global warming”. It’s an extreme
publicity stunt.
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In paragraph 1 the phrases “just
one degree” and “not even the polar bears”
highlight the extreme nature of Pugh’s feat. “On
the verge of turning to ice” in paragraph 7 has the
same effect.
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Paragraph 2 contains a mix of facts
– temperatures and statistics- and opinion –
“it is believed to be the coldest water a human
has ever swum in.”
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Emotive but descriptive vocabulary
follows in paragraphs 3 & 4 to chronicle his painful
experience: “agonising” , “excruciating”,
“perished but ecstatic”. Identify and quote
the simile he uses in paragraph 4.
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Paragraph 9 makes use of an authoritative
source. Who?
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The bulk of the article, and the inset
“Record breakers” drop box, focus on Pugh and
his achievement. The swimming records seem to have no relevance
at all to the global warming issue. Since the purpose of
this swim was to highlight the consequences of global warming,
we might ask whether this is an appropriate focus. The end
of the article seems to forget its beginning, though the
final paragraph does acknowledge the involvement of WWF
(not the Worldwide Wrestling Federation!)
