Analysing the text:"Teenagers' Talk" on the web-site for teachers and learners of English as a secondary language from a German point of view
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Analysing a text: Example: "Teenagers' talk"

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1. Kind of text : What sort of text is it? The text "Teenagers' talk" is a report about the situation of British teenagers.
2. Contents: What does the text tell us? It tells us about the life, the personal facts and the opinion of five different teenagers.
3. Setting: Where and when does the action take place? The persons are shown in their everyday situations at home, at school, in their jobs or in their free time.
4. Characters: Who are the main / minor characters? The teenagers are three 16 to 17-year-old girls and two boys of 15 and 17. Linda Gibb and John Brodrick still go to school, but John wants to leave school as early as possible. Paul Grey is unemployed and plays the drums in a group while Brenda Wilson is an apprentice in a hairdressing salon and Vivienne Davis an assistant in a big department store.
5. Plot:  Into how many parts can the text be divided? 

Find a heading to each paragraph.

 The text can be divided into ten parts which follow two different lines: First the person is introduced by some personal facts, then he or she states his or her opinion about his or her situation. We can combine every two parts to one paragraph under the heading of the names of the different teenagers.
 6. Message:

(The author's point of view):

 What are the main points? 

What's the problem? Which solution is suggested or formulated?

 The author wants to show us the different points of view teenagers may have. Brenda complaints about her parents' lack of trust; Linda is fed up with her father's criticism and wants to leave home as early as possible; John is upset by his teacher's bad treatment; Paul doesn't go on well with his parents because they disagree with his outfit and his idea of an ideal job for him; at last Vivienne's statement draws the picture of a brave world, in which everyone can get on with each other if only they'll try and follow certain rules like talking together in the right tone with politeness and respect.
7. Your point of 
     view

(Your opinion)

 What do you think about the text? Give reasons.: 

Which impressions do you have? Give quotations.

 As far as I'm concerned Brenda Wilson's points are those that I can underline. I'm of the opinion that trust is the base of every relationship whether it is the relationship between parents and children or between friends. I think Linda is still a bit childish because she gets upset about her father's criticism. I wonder why she listens to him. It's difficult for me to understand Vivienne's point of view. I can't believe that she is only 16 because I'm convinced that every teenager must fight against adults so that he or she can find himself or herself as an individual of his or her own, different from all parents and teachers. All in all I think that the text is rather realistic and demonstrates some of the conflicts teenagers have.
<Click here and you will always get back to the table of contents>
Table of Contents		 Analysing the text:
"Teenagers' Talk"		 HOMEback to the homepagePAGE to the top back to the previous page back to
Analysing texts		 go on to
Herbert, the boy who
predicted earthquakes		 on to the next page