Anthology Part 1: Ralston and Morris, adventure and risk

Form: autobiography. In 2003 Ralston was trapped alone in a narrow canyon in Utah when a boulder moved and pinned his hand. Days later he freed himself by amputating his own arm.
The extract focuses on the accident itself: the boulder slipping, the moment he is trapped, and his first desperate attempts to free himself.
Methods: the present tense and first person create tension, even though we know he survived; technical climbing vocabulary shows his expertise; precise physical detail and forceful verbs slow time down; short sentences mark moments of shock.

Form: a newspaper article from The Guardian.
Content: it reports on two British adventurers whose helicopter ditched in the icy sea near Antarctica, and who had to be rescued.
Viewpoint: the headline itself questions whether they are brave explorers or reckless 'boys', and points to the cost of the rescue for the public. The article mixes facts about the rescue with the men's own comments and a sceptical tone.
Methods: a provocative headline, reporting of facts and quotations, subtle mockery and loaded word choices, short paragraphs typical of journalism.