Beside the young tree

Text: an original contemporary neighbourhood-report-style practice extract.

The new tree arrived with two wooden stakes and a label promising a spreading crown. On the first morning, its branches seemed too thin to hold such a future. People on the pavement stepped around the planted square as though it were chiefly an obstacle with leaves.

A maintenance worker came to check the support ties. She loosened one and wrote a note on her clipboard. I asked why the tree still needed so much attention after it had been planted. She pointed to the dry edge of the soil and a damaged strip beside the paving. Putting something in the ground had not finished the job.

Months later, the label had gone and several branches reached farther over the square. The stakes remained. I no longer mistook them for packaging someone had forgotten to remove. They belonged to a period of care that a photograph of the planting ceremony could not show. The promised crown was still a future, but it now had a present full of small tasks.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

In your answer, consider:

• language features and techniques
• structural techniques
• the effect on the reader.

Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.