Answering Analysis Questions

 How does sentence structure in lines emphasise the variety and quality of the takeaway sector?

 The takeaway sector has diversified greatly.  It is no longer simply dominated by large chains pushing unhealthy foods.  There is an increasing amount of healthy food available.

 It is not that fast-food culture is on the wane – far from it. In fact, the takeaway sector generally continues to grow. But as it expands, it is also diversifying. These days, in the clusters of fast-food outlets in major cities, we are starting to find, dotted along the big names in burgers, chicken and pizza, some genuine alternatives: the big name coffee shops of course, but also juice bars, sushi restaurants, fruit and nut stands, bagel bars, pastry parlours, soup and salad takeaways – and even the occasional burger joint. Taking the fast food sector as a whole, the possibility of an encounter with what we might call ‘real food’ is definitely on the up.

 It is not that fast-food culture is on the wane – far from it. In fact, the takeaway sector generally continues to grow. But as it expands, it is also diversifying. These days, in the clusters of fast-food outlets in major cities, we are starting to find, dotted along the big names in burgers, chicken and pizza, some genuine alternatives: the big name coffee shops of course, but also juice bars, sushi restaurants, fruit and nut stands, bagel bars, pastry parlours, soup and salad takeaways – and even the occasional organic burger joint. Taking the fast food sector as a whole, the possibility of an encounter with what we might call ‘real food’ is definitely on the up.

 Dash – far from it (line 11) – creates a pause, which adds emphasis to the following statement about the continued strength of fast food.  A colon is used to introduce a lengthy list of fast- food outlets which are very different from the traditional outlets, such as McDonalds. The number of outlets mentioned gives the impression of an endless stream of different kinds of attractive, healthy outlets.

The dash (line 17) and the following statement – saves the most unusual fast food outlet to the last, thus creating an effective climax. This helps to highlight how varied the industry has become and again reinforces the healthy options which are now available. The use of inverted commas around ‘real food’ – serves to distinguish between the healthy food- now being offered by the new, less traditional fast-food outlets- and the food offered by the big chains which he implies is ‘not real food’.

Increasingly, the predominant thing that you and I do is shop and plan our lives around things we have to pay for: clothes,jewellery, cars, houses, holidays, restaurants and gadgets that make us what we are. Once we were a society of producers, knowing ourselves and each other by what we did and what we made. Not any more. Today we understand ourselves and project the image we want others to see through what we buy. Q) Show how the writer uses sentence structure to make clear how the importance of shopping in our lives has changed.

 Key words- sentence structure; how the importance of shopping in our lives has changed  What is being said- What we made and did used to be important to us. Now, what we buy and consume is what we use to give meaning to our lives.  Techniques-colon, list, short/ incomplete sentence.

 Two mark question.  No marks will be given for identification of a technique alone; there must be an explanation of its effect which is relevant to the question.  Two marks will be given for a sophisticated explanation; one mark will be given for a less insightful comment.