Instructions:

Analysis:
For each text:

1. Divide the text into clauses by typing out each clause on a separate
line. (Ignore embedded clauses in nominal groups).
2. For each clause identify the Process and Process type. (You can do
this by putting the verbal group realizing the Process into bold and
putting the name of the process type at the end of the clause. see
example text)
3. For each clause identify the Theme. (You can do this by underlining
the Theme.)

Intepretation:
For each text:

4. Describe the social purpose and genre of the text; and the field, tenor
and mode.
5. Describe the experiential meaning of each text. What types of process
types do you find? What types of things are acting as Participants in
the clauses.
6. What types of interpersonal meanings do you find in each text.
7. Describe the patterns of Theme running through the text.

Discussion:

8. Compare the two texts. What are the similarities and differences.
9. Discuss how you could use your knowledge of the relationship between
context and text to assist the student writer of Text A to produce a more
successful text in the future. Imagine you had 15 minutes to spend with
this person. What would you focus on? What would you praise? What
would you try to change? How would you attempt the latter?

Student Text: Text A

[Background: This text was written by a Year 8 Geography student early on during a
unit of work on climate. The topic of the text was meant to be Sydney's climate. The
teacher’s comment to the student on this piece of writing was: “You need to write a
geography paragraph on temperature and rainfall not an English essay!”]

Sydney’s Climate

Sydney is a beautiful place to visit it has one thing I don’t really like that is the
weather. Its climate is always different. One day it could be raining and the
next day it would be so hot you would have to have a cold shower. I like
Sydney’s weather when it is nice and sunny I like Summer that is my favourite
time of the year, because it is mostly sunny. Although this year in Sydney it
wasn’t as sunny as I thought it would be. Because half of Summer it was
either raining or was very windy and very cold.

(Year 8 geography student)

Wikipaedia Text: Text B

[Background: This text is taken from a Wikipaedia (an online encyclopaedia) article.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Sydney>]

Sydney’s Climate

Sydney has an oceanic climate with warm summers and cool winters, with
rainfall spread throughout the year. The weather is moderated by proximity to
the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded in the inland
western suburbs. The warmest month is January, with an average air
temperature range on the coast of 18.6°C – 25.8°C and an average of 14.6
days a year over 30°C. The maximum recorded temperature was 45.3 °C on
January 14, 1939 at the end of a 4 day nationwide heat wave. The winter is
mildly cool, with temperatures rarely dropping below 5°C in coastal areas. The
coldest month is July, with an average range of 8.0°C – 16.2 °C. The lowest
recorded minimum was 2.1°C. Rainfall is fairly evenly divided between
summer and winter, but is slightly higher during the first half of the year, when
easterly winds dominate. The average annual rainfall, with moderate to low
variability, is 1217mm, falling on an average 138 days a year. Snowfall last
occurred in the Sydney City area in the 1830's.