The Stationary Show

Higher Close Reading

Easter School 2014

http://www.stationeryshow.co.uk/

Now who loves stationary?• I can’t be the only one who loves a nice

notepad.

• The UK stationary industry is apparently a very lucrative one!

• Who loves a trip into Paperchase?

Question 1• What is the writer suggesting about National

Stationary Week in the opening paragraph? 2E

• That a stationary show isn’t something everyone would know about or even consider important.

• Use of rhetorical questions shows that of course people have used pens and paper this week. However, he answers these by suggesting that people are only using these because the show is on but really they’d be using them anyway.

Question 2

• Why might the writer feel “a bit funny” when facing a great deal of stationary?1E

• Reminds him of school/college/work

• Implies there is a lot of hard work ahead of him.

Question 3

• How effective do you find the writer’s use of imagery in paragraph 2? 3A/E

• “that holy grail of regular employment” - Metaphor

• Just as the Holy Grail is something mythical and often sought after, so too is a permanent job.

• The writer is implying that there are so few permanent jobs available and so many people are after them that the office stationary cupboard is a sight that not many people see very often due to this.

Question 4

• Why is this an important year for Uniball? 1U

• They are having a special anniversary after achieving success for so long

Question 5• Explain what tone is created in paragraph 5 and how 4A

• Mocking• “important journalism for a national newspaper” – as he

is at a stationary show, he is clearly not doing “important journalism” – important journalism would involve reporting on politics or the like

• “This is the one for me”• He has been handed a “Reporter’s notebook” simply

because he writes for a newspaper and he is highlighting the stupidity of the sales clerk as there is nothing special or reporter-like about this pad, it simply says reporter on it and that is his job.

• “Today is already brilliant”• Hyperbole – he is over-exaggerating how good his day

has been after being simply handed a notepad

Question 6

• What is implied about Munki’s gender politics in paragraph 6? 2E

• They are sexist• “Some of the "female" ones, Druman shows me, have

owls on the front.” – writer shows that he agrees with this by putting “female” into inverted commas to make clear that he does not believe that these notepads are for a particular gender.

• Also when the writer points out that simply putting birds on it does not make them for women, the sales clerk points out that they are also in different colours.

• It is sexist that the company is implying that women would not by the standard version of their product and need it to be “prettier”.

Question 7a

• What is a Jackpen? 2U

• A writing implement that can be attached to a phone

Question 7b• Read paragraphs 7-9. What effect is created by including this

story about the Jackpen? 4E

• It highlights the ridiculousness of the staff at these shows – i.e. claiming that using German ink is better just because it’s German.

• Shows writer’s embarrassment that he was drawn into this kind of attitude.– Use of bad pun – “it ticks lots of boxes”

• Imagery highlights how awful the writer felt after this “creating a comedic black hole so immense that I have no option but to leave the scene immediately”

• “comedic black hole” – Just as a black hole swallows everything in its path and destroys it, so too has this joke sucked all of the humour out of the situation

• “leave the scene” – implies that the joke was so bad that it felt like a crime the writer had just committed and he no longer wanted to admit to what he had done.

Question 8

• Why has the writer been offered a place as a judge? 1U

• Because he works for a newspaper

Question 9

• How effective is the writer’s use of pun in paragraph 11? 3A/E

• Very effective as it is used to create humour• “independent company Paperwaits (which was founded

by John – wait for it – Wait)”• First of all the company name is a pun – Paperwaits – a

play on “paperweights” which a stationer may sell and the man who runs it is called John Wait

• The writer pushes this even further by including the fact about the company’s owner in parenthesis. The use of “wait for it” as a drags out this reveal suggests how silly he thinks this name is.

Question 10

• What is implied about the writer’s opinion of the other judges in paragraph 12? 2E

• He thinks they are a little too into stationary• Talking about a large convention that he doesn’t

know about• “I’m out of my depth”• The woman is easily pleased when he says he

likes writing with a quality pen.

Question 11

• What is ironic about paragraph 13? 1E

• He hasn’t brought a pen to judge a stationary contest

Question 12

• How does the writer use language in order to show that things are looking good for the stationary business in paragraph 14? 4A

• Use of promising statistics – “73% own more than 15 pens” – show that people are buying lots of pens

• Parenthesis to present the winner• “most innovative product” – shows that pens can

be progressive and modern

Question 13• “When I mention this to Chris, the mood shifts in a way I haven't

experienced since the time I told Lady Gaga that one of her songs sounded a bit like Madonna.” Explain what tone is created here and how the writer has created it. 2A

• Humorous/Embarrassed/Humiliated• Reference to an embarrassing incident (use of anecdote)• To most people, all pop music sounds the same. However, to the

artists, they probably think they are creating something new and unique so would be offended when told they sound the same as someone else

• For the stationary industry, who are not as prominent as they once were, it would be offensive to hear that they are not needed as much as they used to be. Even though this is the case, they are reluctant to hear it.

Question 14

• Why does the judge consider it “convenient” for papers to say people don’t write anymore? What makes this an ironic statement?3E

• He is looking for excuses to help himself cope with the problems his industry is facing – “It’s a convenient headline” – he believes newspapers are just making this up in order to sell more papers – paper which a stationary company will be providing.

• It is not convenient for newspapers to report on this as their journalists will use stationary all the time

Question 15

• In what ways has “hysteria set in” in paragraph 16? 4U

• He is trying to create drama – cause trouble between the companies that sell more expensive items

• Spends long periods of time talking about boring things

• People are lying to themselves in order to make their items seem better

• People do not want to be associated with their own product.

Question 16

• In what ways was it a successful show for the Munki team?2U

• They sold their product

• Made new contacts

Question 17

• What tone is created in the final paragraph of the article?4A

• Pity• He feels sorry for these people – “for the sake of

everyone I’ve met” – these were clearly nice people and even though some of them seem hopeless, he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to them or their companies

• “hoping” – “I vow” – the writer is attempting to convince himself that he will do something to help the stationary industry in the future.

Question 18

• Consider the article as a whole. How has the writer managed to show that “But stationery, even with owls on it, really is an exciting business”? 5E