As per my brief, I am now going to look at multiple magazine’s front covers, page layouts and examples of the writing style in each. This will help me learn conventions of magazines and give me an insight how to make my own stand out.

Example 1: English Review. (2017). English review, (Volume 27), pp. Front cover, pages 2-4.

First off, by analysing the picture in the front cover, it’s clear to see it’s a film poster from the movie the headline article is about. Even with no knowledge of the movie, it’s clear it’s a poster based on the centring of a main character and the overall symmetry of the picture, a very common trope in modern poster. Overall the front cover is very central, as the text runs down the middle with each of its main points.

The main audience based on looking at the cover alone is College and 6 th form students, an obvious observation as its main selling point in the top of the cover is ‘A-level English Literature’, but there are other tells on the overall theme, such as the movie itself being a relatively newer movie with a theme that a majority of that age bracket can enjoy while also relating to English literature, being based on the book Pride and Prejudice. The other tells are the minimalistic style of font on the whole thing, it’s not trying to entice readers with anything flashy or bold, as the reader base is just reading it for its information and tips.

The main theme I see here is being upfront, like I said, it’s not claiming to change anyone’s life, it’s simply there to give tips for revision while trying to give examples that its target audience can recognize.

This trend continues into its inner page layout, as, relatively speaking, it’s bare bones, but that’s the strength of minimalism, it again gets straight to the point, not trying to do anything other than provide revision for students. Again it has a promotional shot from the movie, again the symmetry and central look is a dead giveaway. It splits its main points into headlined paragraphs as to be easily digested by readers while giving detailed points for actual revision.

‘Jane Austen’s published works are a small and perfectly formed cluster of novels, with Pride and Prejudice (1813) the standout classic in terms of popularity and global reach. Zombies, vampires and werewolves have recently been built into Austen’s original narrative. Marvel Comics’ Pride and

Prejudice (2011) realised the adventures of the Bennet sisters in graphic novel form. The 2008 mini-series Lost in Austen (directed by Dan Zeff) explored a ‘what if?’ scenario. What if a young, lonely, twenty first century woman called Amanda travelled into the fictional world of Pride and Prejudice to swap places with Elizabeth Bennet? Much confusion, postmodern romance and humour ensue.’

This is the first paragraph of that same two page spread. This paragraph sums up the main basis of the article in a short cluster, as it is supposed to. The language used continues the straight to the point trend, by quickly running through the list of different adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. This again appeals to its target audience, as I will say again, who just want the main points and to be able to use these magazines to gather notes and revision for their A-level English.

Another point to link it to its target audience is its availability, as you can access it on an online platform, as most students have a ready access to the internet it’s easily accessible for them.

Overall this magazine caters to its audience well and it is clear to see who said audience it.

Example 2: RS review. (2017). RS review, (Volume 15), pp. Front cover, Pages 2-5.

This magazine again has a clear target audience, shown by the main points in bold, religious people, every title and heading has something linking back to Christianity, trying to teach the believers the ways to be closer to god. Based on the imagery used and again, lettering of the page, I would say it would again be late teens to young adults for its age bracket. The imagery shows a person’s face being formed from different colours and shapes on a black background. This appeals to the younger audience as its more ‘artsy’ so to say, as it’s very possible to pull all sorts of meaning from this photo

when none may exist, other than to project the ambiguity, this works because the readers can see whatever message they like in the cover meaning they will most likely pick it up to find out what message it is trying to portray.

This magazine also adapts the minimalistic style, which strengths I have previously mentioned, that with the religious imagery dotted about again appeals to the younger religious audience, as it’s giving the main points they need to know to be a ‘good’ Christian and to follow the path of god according to this magazine. As the styles are so similar, its clear magazines aimed towards younger audiences go for the minimalist approach to appeal to said audience as like I say, gets straight to the point.

‘The Bible states that God ordained marriage as the means by which a husband and wife make a commitment to an exclusive and binding relationship that will last until the death of one of the partners…’

The language used here is a lot more serious than the previous magazine, this relates to its religious themes, especially Christianity as there are clear cut rules Christians follow and are a lot more disciplined than the audience of the previous magazine.

Overall, the layout and visuals are very similar to the first magazine, however the content and the way it’s expressed is very different. This again is due to the difference in audiences between the two.

Example 3 Dogs Monthly. (2017). Dogs Monthly, pp. Front Cover, Pages 2-5.

This magazines cover is clearly catering for a different audience, based on the headlines alone I’d say it’s more for the middle aged female audience, as they talk about more middle aged issues, like how to balance a dog with a family and kids.

The imagery on display here shows a centred photo of the presumably main topic of this issue, the beagle with a pun at the bottom, this softer form of imagery again resonates well with the target audience, supporting what I had stated.

The text on show indicates each article will go into detail about each topic, as even on the cover the descriptions are in depth.

The layout here is very different from the previous, ditching the minimalist look, it goes for again, a more softer style of layout to apply to previously explained audience, and as I said, has a lot of information regarding the topic at hand, however, unlike the previous, it does not cut up the different points into headlined paragraphs, instead opting for a full 2 page article. This again can trace back to the intended audience, as when you are at that age, it’s nice to sit down with something to read and relax for a little while.

‘The first time Graham Smith met Beverley Cuddy, one of the things they noticed was a shared love of big cats: the both drove Jaguar cars. They soon discovered more common ground - they both loved running their own business, they’d found themselves single with young boys, and they shared a love of dogs. Bother were recently dogless, too. Beverly was still getting over losing Sally, a fawn Bearded Collie that she has nursed through parvovirus as a puppy and many other problems’

This style of writing matches the soft theme that has been running in the magazine as it’s more of a heartfelt anecdote than an actual article. This will resonate with the target audience of middle age mothers who are trying to balance looking after their dog and kids and also having a social life.

The lettering in this section is a font that is seen more as a formal style. This again relates to the older audiences as they would be wanting to read more sophisticated and mature things.

Again, the target audience and styles are clear to see, deviating massively from the previous two as it caters to a much older audience, but similarly had a symmetrical theme for its front cover as the first one did.

Example 3 Health and Fitness. (2017). Health and Fitness, pp.Front cover, Pages 1-5.

The target audience for this one is right on the front page, backed up by it’s articles, it’s clear the target audience is for women in their mid-twenties and early thirties. Like I said, the articles and headlines really back this up as it talks about keeping younger for longer, which is a worry this age group starts getting as they grow older.

The language in the articles is very positive, promising fitness and beauty, which again appeals to the target audience.

Again the image in this cover is centralized, with all the text surrounding said image.

This spread stands out from the others as it’s one of the only ones to include colour with a similar style of font to the magazine just before. This relates to the audience as it still has elements of fun in the pages, yet tries also to be mature and sophisticated, which is similar to how the audience will feel, maintaining their youth, while also becoming more mature as they grow older.

The actual layout stands out more too, as it has a lot more going on with different photos and tangents. A lot of information is being laid out in front of the reader at once, this again can relate to the younger audience as it gives the reader all the information upfront and out there.

‘When you’re single, it can be tough trying to find the time to exercise in between seeing friends, working dating and staying on top of life. But it’s no easier when you’re in a couple – your To Do list

seems to double; you have to see his family and yours! But making time for fitness in a busy schedule can work wonders for your love life, whatever stage you’re at.’

The style of writing here perfectly sums up what this audience finds most important and plays on it brilliantly. If nothing else showed who this magazine was aimed for, this would be the definite clue. The semi informal style imitates the way the audience talks to each other while the font style again is like the first magazine, relating to the younger side of the audience.

Overall, each of these magazines have things in common, from the centralized images and main headlines for the covers and surrounding smaller articles. I also now know what appeals to different age demographics, Straight to the point writing for student age readers, more anecdotal and softer articles for middle age audiences and a mixture of both for 20/30 audiences. As I will probably try to cater to an audience similar to myself this has helped me understand how to do so effectively.