Question

The following are excerpts from two different media sources, both reporting on the opening of a new coffee shop in their town. Read the excerpts and answer the question that follows.

Example 1: Northdale students have a new hangout spot! A new coffee shop called Roast just opened last week on Main Street. When asked about the cool factor of the coffee shop, most students rated it at a ten out of ten. Junior Cassie Brighton said, “Gotta love the free refills on iced coffees!” There’s no doubt that Roast will fill up fast with all the coffee lovers from our school. This writer thinks that the new place is “cool beans”!

Example 2: The local economy received a significant boost last week with the opening of a new coffee shop called Roast. The owners of Roast have three other successful businesses to their name, each with a yearly projected profit of over 34.7%. Roast made over $2,500 in sales during its grand opening celebration, and local economists are anticipating it to continue with the impressive profits.

Comparing the two excerpts above, what are some differences you notice in tone and formality? Why might these differences exist?

Answer 1

They're just talking about a new coffee shop that opened and like every other hipster that goes to Starbucks kids start hanging out there, that's good for business. the tone in the first one is saying that it's this new hip place and everyone should go. the tone of the second one however, is more professional stating facts like making 34.7%+ profit. making over $2,500 its first day open. both are saying its a good coffee shop.

Answer 2

Excerpt 1 uses an informal language and tone, while excerpt 2 uses a rather formal, structured language and tone, which make it more formal than excerpt 1.

This difference could be explained by analyzing the target audience of each text: excerpt 1 is probably aimed at promoting the new coffe shop and making friendly references about the young people who attend there. Excerpt 2, on the other hand, makes emphasis on the business or economic element of the new shop, so it is probably targeted to businessmen or people who are interested in that aspect of the new business.