AllABroad

‘AllAbroad’

The web page appearing on the website ‘AllAbroad’ promotes the benefits of a gap year for students completing Year 12. The writer of the web page uses a mostly enthusiastic and impassioned tone to endorse the benefits of travelling between the completion of year twelve and starting university or a career, often employing language that appeals directly to their target market of teenaged school leavers. The thrill and excitement of exploring the world, as well as the fear of unemployment after leaving the security of school, are some of the feelings exploited by the web page. However, the web page does at times seem to exaggerate facts, as ‘AllAbroad’ is a company with a vested interest in attracting customers, and therefore does not present a balanced view of some of the potential dangers and expenses involved, instead making the gap year sound like a holiday in some wonderful “exotic locations”.

By appealing to the readers’ sense of excitement and adventure, the writer is directly exploiting the natural teenage instinct to leave home and travel. Loaded language such as “feats of wild adventure” and the “dream of a lifetime” create a feeling of excitement and anticipation, potentially making some school leavers feel as though they are missing out on an opportunity that will never return. The anecdotal evidence provided in the testimony by Hayley contributes to this, as she discusses “navigating remote magical jungles” in the same tone that might be used in a travel brochure. The writer further uses loaded language to twice say “congratulations” to the reader for taking “the first step” simply by reading the web page. This is a common technique used by many advertisers to create a sense of accomplishment, making readers feel good about having already achieved something positive when in fact they have not. Together with the thrill of adventure, school leavers are also offered the opportunity to “meet new friends”, appealing directly to the desire of young people to be socially active. This is reinforced with the expression “the real social networking”, encouraging readers to make an association between the gap year program and social networking sites that are possibly already an important part of their lives.

The web page also makes strong appeals to a sense of goodwill and morality by emphasising the rewarding nature of working in underprivileged countries. The writer uses repetition of the word “good” to reinforce how students may feel if they take part in the program; “good about the choice you’ve made, good about your contribution to the global community, good about yourself.” The writer also provides specific examples of possible rewards, such as “an overwhelmed teacher who can now conduct lessons indoors” in order to help readers visualise the people they may be helping, almost leading readers to feel guilty if they do not consider it. By drawing comparisons to the goodwill of Australians during natural disasters of recent years, the writer also appeals to a sense of patriotism, implying that it may be un-Australian not to help those in need.

Another strong emotional appeal is made to a sense of fear. One of the common anxieties of school leavers can often be that of finding a job and establishing financial independence in the real world. The writer exploits this by providing an expert opinion and statistics to suggest that getting a job in today’s economic climate is difficult. Melbourne Institute employment specialist Mark Wooden quotes “youth unemployment has risen from 15.8% to 16.5% over the past year.” This provides weight to the writer’s argument, however it could also be considered alarmist, as a rise of 0.7% is not overly critical and could be attributed to a variety of causes. Also, there is no evidence provided to support the claim that students who take a gap year have a better chance of finding employment when they return, which would have been more convincing.

The web page includes three visual images, including two pictures and a company logo. The logo for AllAbroad (the company name itself is a pun leading school leavers to feel as though this is a popular venture that may be departing without them) features an Australian flag as a background, reinforcing the appeal to patriotism. The two pictures depict volunteers working with children in under privileged communities. Naturally, all volunteers and children are smiling and looking highly satisfied with their lives and achievements under the gap year program. Overall, the web page appearing on the website for AllAbroad employs some strong emotive appeals that directly target the intended audience of teenaged school leavers. Appeals to a sense of adventure, goodwill and patriotism, making new friends and a fear of unemployment beyond school, combine to create the image of an appealing option that is the gap year. The web page, however, is not balanced in its portrayal of the gap year program, being alarmist and employing hyperbole in many places. It provides only a positive view of the program without providing young people with the broad, unbiased view that would be most beneficial to them.

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