VCE English Unit 3 Fitzroy High 2008

Writing
Styles of Writing       

  Writing in Context provides you with the opportunity to explore a variety of writing styles. In
approaching the task, you are to write in an expository, persuasive and imaginative style.
Within each style of writing there is a wide range of forms.

Persuasive texts

 Sets out to argue and prove a case

 Aims to convince targeted audience of the validity of a viewpoint on an issue by
presenting logical argument
 Presents ideas that follow in logical progression
 Anticipates and answers possible objections or opposing arguments
 Presents well researched evidence to support the case
 Provides facts from reputable authorities and research to prove, or disapprove, a position
 Written with precision and authority

Example Criteria
Editorial  Typically works towards the contention rather than stating this explicitly at
the beginning of the editorial
 Contention is sometimes be stated in the headline or sub-headline
 Includes background to the issue
 Presents key arguments for both sides
 Works towards a strong recommendation or contention that may not be
explicitly stated until the very last sentence
 Tone is usually objective and authoritative
 Represents the official view of the newspaper and speaks on its behalf
Language and style is formal and measured
 Uses inclusive language such as "our view", "we feel"
 Paragraphing can vary; often three large paragraphs are appropriate

Letters to the Editor  Like opinion texts, letters to the editor vary significantly in style and structure
 Some commence with an anecdote and then move to a discussion of the issue;
others are more logical and structured like an essay
 States the context of the issue
 Often responds to other letters, editorials or opinion texts from the newspaper
 Present a clear viewpoint of the issue
 Some personalise their response to the issue through use of anecdote or by
writing in the first-person
 End with name and suburb beneath the letter

Opinion Articles  Opinion texts are similar to persuasive arguments

 The writer takes a position
 Gives background information
 Targets the piece at a specific audience
 Often uses a “hook” to capture the audience in the first paragraph. Many journalists
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use an anecdote to open an opinion text

 Uses current events or topical information specific to the audience addressed
 Uses concrete examples to support the writer's opinion and often uses brief
quotations from experts in the field
 Avoids lengthy or obscure quotations
 Sample opinion pieces can be found in the Print Media section of the Texts page and
of course, the opinion section in any daily newspaper
Feature Articles  Feature articles range from articles on issues in the news through human interest
stories to special subject features on life-style.
 Consider a variety of opinions on a particular issue
 Differ from opinion pieces in that they take in a number of different views and then
evaluate them for the reader
 The use of anecdotes and expert opinion
 An interesting beginning is essential to engage the reader quickly — often an
anecdote
 Many incorporate interviews with people relevant to the issue
 Most feature articles include a selection of photographs
 Sample feature articles can be found in daily newspapers and magazines
Interviews  Records everything that is said by both the interviewer and the interviewee
 Structured around the questions that the interviewer asks
 Good interviews pick up on something the interviewee has said, and develop
that idea in subsequent questions
 Good interviews reveal something significant about the interviewee, such as
their drives and motivations, or their fears and insecurities
 Interviews are usually conducted for television and radio interviews (e.g.
Andrew Denton's Enough Rope)

Incorporating interviews into an article

 Interviews for published magazines and newspapers are rewritten as feature

articles where the questions and the interviewee's responses are integrated
into the “story”
 Frame the interview with opening paragraphs that state the background of
the subject
 Establish time and place
 Provide an overview of the interviewee and their relevance to the subject or
issue
 Incorporate the interviewee's responses into the “story” —both as direct
quotes and paraphrase

Speech  Acknowledges the audience, at the beginning and at regular intervals

throughout the speech
 Strategies to demonstrate on-going awareness of the audience — e.g. address
them directly using second-person (“You”), appeal for their support and
understanding
 Opening is designed to grab and engage audience a challenging question or
emotive anecdote
 Clear contention emerges at an early part of the speech
 Clear signposting signals the structure to the audience
 Simple, clear sentences that flag the line of reasoning helps audience to follow
the thread of argument
 Uses persuasive strategies such as repetition, rhetorical questions, inclusive
VCE English Unit 3 Fitzroy High 2008

language, humour and irony

 Tone and language must be appropriate to the issue and audience
 Powerful conclusion or punch-line that leaves audience thinking

Submissions

 Presented to a body of people or an individual who have a vested interest in

the issue
 Uses a main heading to indicate subject and audience
 Summarises objective in a short sentence
 States the main contention in the introduction
 Outlines the parameters of the argument in the first paragraph, avoiding
personal anecdotes
 Tackles the issue in the second paragraph, stating the problems it presents
 Presents a set of recommendations for solving the problem in the form of
brief dot points in the third paragraph
 Provides evidence, and records facts and figures accurately
 Sums up the problem and the recommendations in the conclusion
 Presents each section in a logical way
 Uses objective and formal language
 Provides real solutions
 Defines technical terms

Expository texts

 The intention is to explain, describe or interpret a situation, issue or event.

 It explains, it does not present an argument
 Considers all aspects of an issue without taking a side or setting out to prove a case
 For example if you wrote an expository account of an issue and then tried to demonstrate
the benefits over the disadvantages, you would be adding argument; an expository text
would explore both without showing preference
 Feature articles and detailed reports are usually expository in nature

Example Criteria
Analytical essays  Use a formal style in a close study of the subject matter (e.g.
analytical essay on a novel)
 Writer's viewpoint or interpretation is presented through the third-
person (“We”, “the reader”)
Reflective essays  Personal and often uses the first-person (“I”) to present the
writer's thoughts and ideas
 Less formal style
 Includes anecdotes, personal experiences and elements of humour
News reports  Use an impersonal, detached tone to state facts as objectively as
possible
 Vocabulary is suited to a wide, general readership
Research essays  Serious tone, scholarly style and technical language relevant to
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the subject
 Refers to previously published work and considers theories and
different viewpoints
 Is well referenced with footnotes and a bibliography

Letters  Personal letters reveal a character's thoughts, feelings and reactions to

events
 Often contain questions the character would like answered, reflecting
issues and ideas that are important to the writer
 Style can be informal and conversational, but this will depend on the
writer's purpose and audience (a letter to a Minister or would be formal in
language and structure)
 Letters can convey information in an expository style, or they can
seek to influence or change the reader's viewpoint in a persuasive style
 Letters can also be imaginative in style and can be expository or
persuasive (or a combination of both) depending on the purpose of the
writer, such as a character writing to another character about a significant
event or issue
Submissions, See previous criteria
Interviews,
Speeches,
Autobiographies &
Biographies

Imaginative texts

 Creative in nature
 The intention is to present ideas, issues and arguments in a creative and credible way
through description, characters, settings, figurative language, five senses, etc.
 While a work of imaginative fiction, it should be credible and plausible
 Conveys information through description and figurative language
 Engage audience when there is an element of credibility involved: the reader needs to
believe, in some way, in the 'world'that has been created.
 Show don't tell — narrate and describe events, characters, situations (e.g. “Sam felt tired”
is telling; whereas “Sam studied the clock through half-closed” shows that Sam feels
tired).

Example Criteria
Short Story • Concisely written and tightly structured and has these common elements:
Theme:
—what is the main message of your story?
Setting:
—in which period and place is your story set?
—what words and expressions will create mood and atmosphere?
Characters:
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—who will people your story?

—what will their manner, behaviour, personality be like?
—what role will they play in the unfolding action?
—what happens to the characters?
—how will they develop the plot and overall theme of the story?
Plot / Action:
—what will your story be about?
—how will events take shape?
—what nouns, verbs, and adverbs will make your description effective?
Conflict:
—what conflicts, problems, dilemmas will the characters face?
   e.g. will it be a conflict between good and evil?
   e.g. will it be about a character(s) who has a conscience conflict?
—what is it that happens to the main characters?
Climax:
—what is the most important or exciting part of your story?
—where will you put the climax (towards the end? at the end?)
—will the climax be a surprise or not?
Resolution:
—how will your story end?
   e.g. will it be a happy or sad ending?
   e.g. will a character change take place (for better or worse)?
   e.g. will all problems and conflicts be solved?
   e.g. will the ending be open-ended?
Narrator:
—who will be telling the story?
   e.g. will it be a third-person point of view (he, she, they) who sees all?
   e.g. will it be a first person (I) told from one of the character's point of view?
Narrative Techniques:
—what techniques will you use?
   e.g. foreshadowing, flashback, ironic twists, parallel plots?
Exchange of Letters  Personal letters reveal a character's thoughts, feelings and reactions to
events
 Often contain questions the character would like answered, reflecting
issues and ideas that are important to the writer
 Style can be informal and conversational, but this will depend on the
writer's purpose and audience (a letter to a Minister or would be formal in
language and structure)
 Letters can convey information in an expository style, or they can
seek to influence or change the reader's viewpoint in a persuasive style
 Letters can also be imaginative in style and can be expository or
persuasive (or a combination of both) depending on the purpose of the
writer, such as a character writing to another character about a significant
event or issue
Diary entries  Contain intimate details of an individual's life — thoughts,
feelings, aspirations, fears and hopes
 Uses a less formal, stream-of-consciousness style
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 Based on events of the day, or the significant experiences of the

character writing the entry
 Contain the individual's unspoken or publicly unacknowledged
feelings about a certain matter, such as a relationship break-up or
a forthcoming challenge
 The Journal is somewhat different to the diary which is usually a
record of a writer's exploits, such as an explorer who is recording
his findings or a scientist who is detailing each step of an
experiment.

Monologues  Confessional in nature where the character reveals something

about their life, attitudes or actions that they have previously
ignored or hidden from others
 the character is usually unaware of how much they are revealing
about themselves
 The audience learns more about the character than they intend to
reveal
Robert Browning's poem “My Last Duchess” is a fine example of
a dramatic monologue
 Soliloquies, such as in Shakespeare's plays, can also be seen as
monologues
 Usually written like a play script and includes stage directions,
sound effects, scenery and props
 Monologues are usually delivered to an audience either to another
character or to a theatre audience
 Monologues can also be a series of introspective reflections

Fables  Short stories with a moral or didactic purpose (e.g. “money can't
buy happiness”)
 The moral is revealed in the conclusion of the story
Main characters are humans or animals or natural forces that take
on human qualities
 Succinct, straightforward language
 Often begin with “Once upon a time…”
 Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?