Contents Analysis

This is a contents page from a gardening magazine.

I think the format that this text is set out in, is very typical of a contents page. It is set out in a simple and organised format which makes the reading of this page much easier and straight forward to follow. It has the obvious sub-headings which are in a larger size that the normal text to show the reader what is in that section. Also each sub-heading has there own side on the page which again makes the contents page much easier to follow and find the page of the magazine that the reader would like to turn to. The genre of this magazine is gardening and the purpose of the text is to inform the reader of what is on what page in the magazine. The unique identity of this text is the typical contents layout and very few images which hint what is inside or what the magazine is about. I think the target audience for this magazine would be of the age of 35-65 as some of the features that are contained inside the magazine consist of; art lessons, organising flowers and garden designs which leads me towards this target audience because this age group is the most likely to participate in these activities and events. The text appeals to the target audience as it provides many tips to gardening and flowers. Also it offers information on different flowers such as; poppies, flame violet etc which some readers will favour as they are popular flowers and any information on them will appeal to the reader. The colours used on the contents page have a very soft and subtle feeling which can represent gardening as many gardeners feel this way when gardening. The colours also put the reader at ease and they are also very carming. The images used also keep the page very simple and advertise the conventions of the genre. The lexis used also conveys the genre as they use many names of flowers and use words such as; bucay and bloom. The text inspires me to keep my contents page simple yet effective for the consumer to enjoy. Also it makes me want to get the right colours for my magazine correct to put across the correct representations.