Instructional/Group - How To Make a Camera Lucida

 

The instructional text How To Make a Camera Lucida by Tim Hunkin does not provide the reader with useful instructions. Even though the author complies with a number of rules for instructional texts, such as making use of the imperative as well as writing short and simple sentences, the way the instructions are presented is neither clear nor logical. Looking at the sentences, it is extremely confusing for the reader to figure out the order of the steps since they are not numbered. Most of the steps are not written down explicitly but need to be figured out with the help of the images. This, however, is not the purpose of illustrations in instructional texts, instead they should be used to support the individual steps rather than to do the explaining. Moreover, there is no list of the materials needed to build the camera, there are no warnings or helpful tips, nor does the text say anything about the estimated time required. The usage of the camera lucida for drawing is mentioned within the instructions. However, it would have been helpful to know more about the camera from the start and an introduction should have been provided at the beginning. To put it in a nutshell, this piece of instruction clearly lacks organisation and logic.

[215 words]

Descriptive/group: The Migrant Mother

The photo of the Migrant Mother is a black and white photograph, taken in 1936, during the Great Depression, by Dorothea Lange. It depicts a woman in her 30s with her three children, one baby and two toddlers. Taking a closer look at her face, you notice that her hair is unkempt and her brows are knit together. Her wrinkled, sun-tanned face looks careworn and sombre and her hunched posture seems to express her wish to protect her children. The mother’s right hand is propped up against her chin, while her left hand is cradling the baby which is swaddled in a dirty blanket and appears to be sleeping. The children lean against their mother’s shoulder, facing away from the camera. Their dishevelled pageboy hairstyles and their slight bodies exacerbate the already present melancholic atmosphere. The family is poor as can be seen by their dirty and threadbare clothes. The overall impression is one of desperation and the quiet determination to carry on living.

[163 words]

A day in the life of...Monika

Unlike most days, I find myself being not entirely reluctant to the idea of waking up at this early time in the morning, even though I know I have a long day ahead of me. I stay in bed for a few more minutes to soak in the warmth of the sun that shines through the windows before I finally get up and ready to leave for university. It is such a beautiful sunny day that I decide to pass on the tram and continue by foot instead. Luckily, I arrive just in time for my first class and cannot help but notice that most of my fellow students seem to be in a good mood this day as well. 

The nearly eight hours pass quicker than I thought and I am faced with two options: Either going back to an empty apartment and getting some work done or taking a friend up on his offer to give me a ride to my family home in Vienna. Spontaneously, I choose to go with the latter, head home and pack a few things to hit the road. 

After a fun ride with my good friend, I am happy to finally be home and to find my sister about to make one of my favorite desserts: pancakes with ice and fruits.