Beyond the sky and the earth: a journey into Bhutan and 10 amazing & impressive experiences to have in Thimphu, Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa and Jessie, respectively, have various similarities and differences in language and structure.

The technique of imagery is used in both texts to describe scenes in Bhutan. In text 1, the author puts that the houses “all have the same pitched roof … beams painted with lotus flowers, jewels, and cloud”, whereas the second text describes artifacts in the museum including “a 150-year-old water mill, bamboo mats for drying grains … to life”. The “same” houses in Bhutan show a collaborative culture that people lived in similar places and probably close and had similar lifestyles. The beams painted with lotus flowers, jewels, and clouds are also a symbol of tradition, which are different from the modernized buildings we are used to living, showing the unique rustic and beautiful culture of Bhutan. In comparison, text 2 creates an imagery by listing exhibitions in the museum. The “150-years old water mill” and “bamboo mats for drying grains” are traditional equipment with long history and are different from modernized machinery in industries. The imagery of houses and museum exhibits is shown in both texts, and it shows the history of Bhutan and its traditional culture. Such warmth and beauty attract readers to agree with their further emotions and perspectives.

Languages used in both texts are different. Text 1 shows emotions and text 2 offers information. In text one, Zeppa lists a series of positive words to describe the Bhutan people, including “dignity, unselfconsciousness, good humor, grace”, because she can “find no word” for all that she’s “full of admiration”. These vocabularies show how much she like Bhutan. Her languages convey to readers that Bhutan is indeed great, which successfully reaches the author’s purpose of describing her experiences and feelings at that moment. In text 2, language is more informative due to the difference in purpose. Data are frequently used to explain the largest Buddha statue, such as “bronze and glided gold at 169 tall”, “over 200 feet”, etc. The use of specific numbers provides more information for readers than subjective views and makes the article more authorized. The languages used in text 2 help reach the purpose as a travel guide which is to introduce Bhutan to readers and attract them to come and travel. Therefore, there is much difference in language of both texts - text one shows emotions and text 2 gives information, and this serves their different purposes.

Different structures of paragraphs are also used in the two texts. Long and complete paragraphs are used in text 1, while subtitles with serial numbers are used in text two, such as “1. See one of the world’s largest Bhutan” and “2. Glimpse the…”. Complete paragraphs in text 1 make the content more continuous and help explain the author’s experiences and emotions so readers can feel the author’s changing perspectives. Whereas in text 2, subtitles divide the passage into individual sections, and work as conclusions for each section. This method helps readers find their interested sections more easily. This difference in structure between the two texts meet different needs. Travel writing is intended to share authors’ experiences and express their emotions, while the travel guide focuses more on providing information.