Edexcel English IGCSE: Your Guide to Beach Safety by V Denman

Although this leaflet delivers serious warnings about the dangers of the sea, it is important that it is appealing to read, so that people will pick up the leaflet and take its warnings seriously.

The leaflet’s layout makes it easy to read, meaning that people are more likely to take in the information contained in the leaflet. The headings are very large, which draws the reader’s attention and allows them to go straight to sections they feel are relevant to them. Bright primary colours make the leaflet attractive and cheerful. However, these colours have the dual meaning of danger. The use of these colours make people likely to pick  up the leaflet and read it: it is bright, so will stand out amongst other leaflets, and also has the appearance of something giving important warnings.

Advice and instructions to the reader are presented in an attractive way, to make the reader more likely to read and follow them. The use of bullet points makes the information easy and quick to read. People rarely read every word of a leaflet, so it is important that information is portrayed briefly and clearly. Furthermore, the bullet points are in the shape of stars, which makes the information look attractive. This also creates a lighter tone than the content of the leaflet would suggest; using stars to provide life-saving instructions avoids a ‘preachy’ and over-serious tone. The diagrams of the man caught in a rip are askew, and have the appearance of having been pasted onto the leaflet. This makes it look informal and fun, preventing the tone becoming too instructive and grave.

Another way in which the leaflet appeals to the reader is through emotional engagement with the content. This occurs mainly in the “True Story”, in which a mother recounts an experience in which her sons nearly drowned. The use of emotional vocabulary such as “terrifying” and “relieved” appeals to the reader’s sympathy and encourages them to consider how they would react in such circumstances. The writer creates tension and drama, for example in the alliteration used to describe the boys’ reaction: they were “shaking with shock”. The story has a happy ending, in which the boys are rescued. This is probably because this leaflet could be attractive for children, and it would be inappropriate to narrate a story with a tragic ending. The story also serves as a creative way in which to portray the life-saving activities of lifeguards. It ends with a poignant and reflective tone, created with the use of the conditional: “my boys would have drowned.” The first person possessive pronoun here reminds the reader of the terrible personal impact that such an outcome would have had.

This leaflet, despite containing life-saving content, is appealing to the reader. Its appearance makes people likely to pick up and read it, and the engagement with the reader’s emotions makes them more likely to follow its important instructions.

Edexcel English IGCSE: Your Guide to Beach Safety by V Denman

In this leaflet, the writer does not aim to frighten the reader away from the beach, but must nevertheless portray its potential dangers effectively. The writer successfully strikes the delicate balance between emphasising danger and fun.

The appearance of the leaflet is attractive, whilst also highlighting the dangers of the beach. The picture on the front cover captures both fun and danger in one image. The children are screaming, clearly in play, but it provides a subtle reminder of how things could go wrong. A lifeguard is in the background, looking ready to take action, showing that if something did go wrong, help would be at hand. When providing important advice and information, the writer avoids a threatening tone by using attractive presentational features, such as stars as bullet points, and cartoon-like images of flags. This important balance allows the reader to recognise that the beach is a place for leisure and enjoyment, whilst still providing potentially life-saving information.

Lifeguards are portrayed as a necessity, showing that the beach can be safe, so long as lifeguards are present. In the “True Story”, the reader learns how a fun day out can become sinister. The image of the family “relaxing on the beach” is familiar, but this quickly turns into a life-threatening situation, which was “terrifying” for the boys’ mother. Such emotive language encourages the reader to consider the impact on their own family if a similar thing happened to them. This portrays vividly how easily a fun day out can become highly dangerous. Importantly, though, the story has a happy ending, with the boys being rescued, and still returning to the beach to have fun, so long as the beach is patrolled by lifeguards. This story cleverly combines the danger of the sea with the opportunities for safety offered by the comforting presence of lifeguards.

The beach activities described in the leaflet are acknowledged to be fun, but requiring certain skills and knowledge to be safe. The writer uses superlatives and alliteration to emphasise the enjoyable nature of water activities: “swimming is one of the best all-round activities” and “surfing and bodyboarding are the most fantastic fun”. However, this praise is quickly qualified with a reminder of the potential dangers of these activities. In this section, the writer provides very clear instructions, using the absolute terms “always” and “never”, showing that there should be no compromise on these rules. In the background of this section is an attractive image of someone walking with a surfboard, showing that, whilst direct and important, these instructions should not discourage people from taking part in water-based activities.

The priority of this leaflet is to make people aware of the potential dangers relating to the beach. However, the writer also succeeds in presenting the beach as a fun and safe place, if the advice in the leaflet is followed.

Edexcel English IGCSE: Your Guide to Beach Safety by V Denman

In this leaflet, the beach and sea are portrayed as fun places to visit, which can nevertheless be fraught with life-threatening dangers. Lifeguards ensure that visitors’ time on the beach is both fun and safe.

The appearance of the leaflet reflects the writer’s portrayal of the beach as both fun and potentially dangerous. The picture on the front cover shows two young children playing happily in the sea, which shows how fun the beach can be when people are safe. There is a lifeguard on a jet-ski in the background, showing that he can respond quickly to any dangerous situations and reminding the reader that things can go wrong. The leaflet uses bright primary colours; whilst these colours are associated with childhood and fun, they are also colours of danger and warning, reflecting the fun but dangerous nature of the beach. Information about how to stay safe is presented in an attractive way. For example, in the section about ‘Rips’, the writer is describing a potentially life-threatening situation. However, the bullet points are stars, and the pictures seem stuck in like a scrap-book. This gives the information a non-threatening appearance, reflecting that the beach can be fun if certain rules are followed.

The beach activities described in the leaflet are presented as enjoyable, but sometimes unsafe. In the section entitled “Swimming, Surfing & Bodyboarding”, the same structure is used to open the first two paragraphs. The activity is first described in positive terms: swimming is described as “one of the best all-round activities”, and surfing and bodyboarding are described with alliterative enthusiasm as “fantastic fun”. Following this positive description is a clause beginning “but”, which then describes the potential dangers of the activity. The writer does not intend to discourage people from enjoying water activities, but still wants them to be aware of what can go wrong.

Lifeguards are presented as vitally important in ensuring that the beach is a fun and safe place to visit. In the “True Story”, the necessity of lifeguards is shown through a description of an event in which two boys would have drowned if a lifeguard hadn’t helped them. The story is dramatic, with the use of language techniques such as alliteration to highlight the impact of their experience: the two big teenagers were “shaking with shock”. Importantly, Carolyne and her sons have not been put off going to beaches, but they will “certainly always” go to beaches where lifeguards are present. Again, this shows that the beach is fun and can be safe, but only when lifeguards are there to help in emergencies.

This leaflet does not attempt to scare people or suggest that the beach is too dangerous to enjoy. However, it describes the things that can go wrong, so that people are aware of the potential threats to their safety.

Edexcel English IGCSE: Your Guide to Beach Safety by V Denman

By showing that lifeguards are essential in the potentially dangerous environment of the beach, this leaflet persuades the reader to donate to the lifeguard charity.

Throughout the leaflet, the sea is portrayed as dangerous, showing that lifeguards are necessary on Britain’s beaches. The leaflet aims to encourage visitors to the beach to be aware of its potential dangers. The appearance of the leaflet reflects this warning. For example, the use of bright yellow triangular symbols reminds the reader of warning signs on the roads, reminding them that the sea can be a dangerous place. The leaflet offers lots of direct instructions, using absolute terms such as “always” and “never”. This shows how important it is for the reader to follow these instructions. Accompanying such instructions, the lifeguard is presented as a comforting presence on the beach; the main advice throughout the leaflet is to find a lifeguard if someone is in trouble.

Lifeguards are presented as preservers of life, which is clearly an extremely important job. In the “True Story”, the lifeguard that helped the boys is a lifesaving heroine. The description of the rescue is simple and quick, reflecting the speed and ease with which the lifeguard saved the boys. The drama of this story is in Carolyne Yard’s gratefulness that lifeguards were present, and the haunting possibility of what could have happened, had the lifeguards not been there: “my boys would have drowned.” This emotive reflection concludes the story, leaving the reader with a poignant reminder of the importance of lifeguards. The “True Story” reminds the reader that this situation could happen to anyone, making them more likely to want to donate money to the charity, so that lifeguards can be present on as many beaches as possible.

The final page of the leaflet uses a number of techniques to directly persuade the reader to donate. The use of statistics shows the scale of their operations, and by referring to the charitable and voluntary nature of the organisation, the writer surprises the reader with the fact that such a crucial service is reliant on donations. This page repeatedly uses the second person pronoun, which creates a sense of teamwork between the lifeguards and the reader. One section is named “Funded by you”, suddenly involving the reader and invoking a sense of personal responsibility for the charity’s lifesaving work. Having built up a sense of the lifeguards’ importance throughout the leaflet, the reader is now asked to consider their role in allowing this vital service to continue.

The sea is presented in the leaflet as a dangerous place, and thus lifeguards are shown to offer a vital, lifesaving service. The back page of the leaflet might surprise readers in stating that such a service depends on donations, and thus encourages them to donate.

Edexcel English IGCSE: Your Guide to Beach Safety by V Denman

This leaflet shows how important the lifeguards are for the safety of visitors to the beach. The potential dangers of the sea are highlighted, and the ways in which lifeguards can help are described throughout the leaflet. On the back page, lifeguards are described as vital lifesavers.

Various features of the leaflet characterise the sea as a dangerous place, which positions lifeguards as essential. The bright red and yellow colours act as warning signals; the colours alert the reader of potential dangers. The “True Story” vividly describes how dangerous the sea can be. The language used in the story is relatively simple, stating outright the terror caused by the experience: “seriously wrong” and “terrifying”, for example. The use of the conditional at the end of the story – “my boys would have drowned” – creates a strong emotional impact, and shows the potentially devastating consequences, had the lifeguards not been present. The emphasis throughout the leaflet on the dangers of the sea show that lifeguards are necessary, because things can very easily go wrong.

Throughout the leaflet, the essential role of lifeguards is described. The slogan displayed on the front and back pages emphasise the lifeguards’ crucial role: “RNLI Lifeboats, Lifeguards, Life First” plays on the word “life”, showing that the role of lifeguards is to preserve life and therefore protect people. Although there is advice about how to stay safe in the sea, the main message of the leaflet is that if someone is in trouble, you should find a lifeguard to help. At the bottom of the pages ‘Know Your Flags’ and ‘Swimming, Surfing & Bodyboarding’, there are darker coloured boxes which stand out, particularly with the triangular warning signs. These boxes advise the reader to contact lifeguards in an emergency, or to make themselves visible so a lifeguard can help. The presentational features of these boxes make them prominent, showing that they are important sources of advice.

On the back page on the leaflet, there is lots of information about how vital lifeguards are. Statistics are used to show the lifeguards’ importance: they have “saved more than 137,000 lives”. The word “life” is repeated many times – for example “save lives”, “lifesavers” and “Life first” – which emphasises the lifeguards’ role as lifesavers. The image supports this impression, showing lifeguards pulling a weak-looking man out of the water. Emotive language is used to play on people’s fear of the sea: “seconds count” show how quickly disaster can strike, and the image of “a child swept out to sea” appeals to people’s sympathy. By presenting the lifeguards as savers of lives, the leaflet shows just how important they are.

Lifeguards in the leaflet are presented as vital lifesavers in a potentially life-threatening context. Although the leaflet tells people how they can help themselves, the overall message is that lifeguards are absolutely necessary on beaches.