Paper 1 Question 2: Richard Branson

 The text written is a letter to a “Stranger” which makes the audience quite unspecific and very broad. The letter's purpose is to give the audience advice on how to live a happier life. To achieve this, the letter gives advice to the reader throughout the entirety of it and makes good use of personal anecdotes which summarize where most of the advice the writer Richard Branson is giving comes from. Beyond the personal anecdotes he gives like saying, “I’ve cheated death on many adventures, seen loved ones pass away…” He also gives advice that isn’t exactly derived from him. An example of this is in his writing saying, “Be healthy.” This simplistic advice although not very personal, still would speak volumes, especially in the contextual sense in which it’s presented.

    As for the form in which this letter is written. Richard Branson makes use of the common components a letter would have, following suit using an address to the readers saying, “Dear Stranger” and a complimentary close at the end writing, “Happy regards, Richard Branson” making the author of the letter clear. One peculiarity about this format of letter writing is that Richard Branson doesn’t date his letter. This potentially could be purposeful, in that, by not dating the letter, there is no value of time given to this letter. It shouldn’t be looked at as old or new advice necessarily. Otherwise, the writer follows the common format for writing the letter.

    In regards to the structure of the letter, the author uses a lot of short paragraphs to organize his text. With a little variance in length, most of these paragraphs just end in different strings of thought, almost like a conversation would. Changing topic by paragraph is a beneficial way to organize this text since advice can sometimes be conflicting and confusing if represented incorrectly. The 12 short paragraphs flow well together and are once again, reminiscent of a conversation. Within these paragraphs were various types of sentences, some with the inclusion of lengthy and complex sentences filled with more explanative advice, whereas others were short and simple advice like, “Stop and breathe.” This simplicity although short in length is still acceptable in inclusion and gets the point across.

    There are also many linguistic features spread throughout the letter. For instance, the author’s use of rhetorical questions entices the reader to question themselves by reading it. We read this in the fifth paragraph when Branson writes, “‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’” This, along with the informalities throughout the letter make this more personal despite the unspecificity of the letter addressing. We see this comfortable informal language in writing, “It’s OK to be stressed…” This abbreviation “OK” keeps his advice simple and clear. This is specifically helpful in the context presented where advice can be overwhelming if not kept simple. Along with this, Branson can kill two birds with one stone, by becoming more relatable to the reader. Advice is personal, if not presented in a relatable and personal way, it can be misconceived.

    With the tone of the letter being quite uplifting and positive, it is quite simple to pin this on the use of advice. However, looking beyond the context, we can read into certain lexical choices he uses like in writing words like, “appreciate” and “memorable.” These lexical choices promote the optimistic thoughts presented in the writer’s message. Reading even further into the lexical choice, we can see how Branson addresses the reader of the letter in the second person saying, “Be healthy… Be around… Be there… for you.” With repetition of the word “be”, he is indirectly encouraging the reader to take action. He also makes use of the personal pronoun “you” to address the reader directly.