Textual analysis 1

I have started to look at existing student magazines, analysing and evaluating them, so that i can get a feel for what i want to include on my front cover.


The first magazine i have decided to analyse is a Ludlow college student magazine from last year. To start with there is a brand identity, 'Ludlow college student magazine' and this distinguishes it from other magazines and enables the target audience to recognise it easily.


Cover lines such as 'Fashion with Lizzie' , 'Art Show Preview', ' Exam stress sorted' and 'Olympic controversy' are used to draw in the audience, and let them know a bit about what is included in the magazine. They are near the bottom of the page, and this makes it easier to read because its set out in little summaries.


The Masthead is 'Student ID' and this relates to students, and portrays the fact that the magazine is aimed towards students. The masthead is bold, and bigger than the other text on the page. This draws the audiences attention to the magazine, and intrigues them to buy the magazine because it looks exciting and interesting.


The headline is 'Spotted!! Bash Photos'. This is near the top of the page, just underneath the masthead, and it is also surrounded by photos of students at the bash. This makes the magazine look more interesting and it gives the impression that it is full of information and photos that students will be interested in. It draws your eyes to the magazine because it is in bold font, and looks important.


The magazine is a hybrid and includes different genres such as:

• The bash



• Exams



• Young enterprise



• World issues



• Art



• Fashion



• Careers

The layout of the front page makes it look quite fun, and gives the impression that the magazine is packed with lots of different information, that would appeal to students. However i feel that the layout is a bit childish because all the photos are wonky, and it could have been made more sophisticated, whilst still appealing to students at the same time.

A lure is used and this is 'The Young Enterprise team win a prize!'. This makes the audience want to know more about that story, who won, what they won and how they won it.

The magazine is aimed a teenage students that would generally be interested in the main topics such as the bash, exam stress, careers and so on. The mode of address is a fun theme, and it speaks to the audience in an interesting and student like manner.