TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF COLLEGE MAGAZINE.

The college magazine I have chosen consists of a medium long shot colour image taken at eye level in which people are posing for the picture. Thanks to the anchorage we know that this picture illustrates the visit of the Local MP. The expressions on their faces connote that they are happy and gives the impression that the event was a joyful experience. On the image at the bottom left corner there are coverlines with the font in white with the background black. This separates the coverlines with the image and adds detail to the topic informing the audience more letting them know what this particular story will be about.

The front cover also has other images that are much smaller which act as illustrations explaining the anchorage given.

In this issue there are two mastheads, ‘TT 08’ and ‘The Termtimes’. Since there are two mastheads people that may not be familiar with this publication could be misled as they may think that the 'TT 08' is the name when in fact it is ‘The Termtimes’. The audience might be misled because usually on a magazine the main masthead is the largest piece of text on the publication but this is not the case.

The mastheads are positioned above the main image with the masthead ‘TT 08’ placed on a diagonal framed in an irregular shape. This could add some interest through the layout as it is not the usual plain old arrangement. Also with the use of the complementary colours (blues and grey) the writing stands out and is bold.

Usually on a magazine, as part of the forms and conventions, the date and barcode is shown but this magazine does not have a barcode and from research I have seen that not many college magazines do. Also the date is generally displayed near the masthead as a separate item however instead we see the date apart of the masthead ‘TT 08’ telling the audience that the magazine was out in 2008. The issue number is positioned under the masthead.

Since the purpose of the college magazine is to inform about the college and to generally discuss popular college topics, the cover lines should do just this. Though in the cover lines, the magazine does not address such important issues they do advertise events and competitions that may interest the audience, for example with basketball games and a chance to win a digital camera.

The cover lines are straightforward but informative with the text wrapping around the smaller images.The cover lines are bordered in rectangles separating the large image with the smaller stories breaking up the different stories.

The fact that this magazine does not have intense college topics could connote that this is a more a light read that is just used to entertain.

The chosen colour scheme is quite calm, using colours like blues and greys. This could connote that the magazine is going for a more sophisticated and mature feel and trying to target the college audience of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College.