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Blog Key Features

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18 views

Blog Key Features

Uploaded by

razankareem123
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BLOG KEY FEATURES

context, audience, purpose -

* the context will usually be set out in the question e.g. the issue which is to
inspire the blog entry

* the audience may be assumed to be people interested in the subject matter


OR (youngish?) internet-interested people

* the generic purpose of blogs is to interest / entertain / amuse / be


provocative & stimulating - in general, NOT solemn

register and tone -

* will use a semi-formal to informal register

* the usual tone will be personal - chatty, direct and unpretentious

conventions -

* will include first person statement and/or narration

* will seek to engage the reader, eg through direct address, a lively and
interesting style etc

* will use 'typical blog techniques' e.g. a provocative closing statement,


leading to an invitation to comment / response

* will have an interesting, catchy title for the entry

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Appropriate?

A blog will be appropriate if the task requires you to present a set of your
personal ideas in a lively entertaining way to a general, undefined audience.
You don't know who might find your blog on the internet, but you want
them to be hooked by your interesting, even provocative, opinions and
experiences.

Not to be confused with...

'article' or 'opinion column' or 'essay' ... an 'article' is intended to present


detailed and interesting information about a defined subject to a general
audience; and the information should be explained in a clear, fair and
reasonably objective way (the journalist has a 'duty to inform'). An 'opinion
column' will usually be focused on one particular issue, which should be
explained convincingly and your final opinion argued reasonably, even if it
is a very subjective point of view. An 'essay' is supposed to be a methodical
and objective review of arguments, based on solid factual evidence, and
reaching a logical conclusion (which is not the same as just a quick
opinion).

In addition, both 'opinion column' and 'essay' are likely to have more
defined audiences - 'opinion column' = the audience of the publication in
which it appears; 'essay' = thoughtful, educated people, rather than just
anybody.

2
But what exactly is a 'blog'?

While the diary is a text type which has been around forever, the blog is an
extremely recent type of text. To be more precise, the Wikipedia 'diary'
entry claims that Marcus Aurelius' 'Meditations' (second century AD) is the
first recognisable diary - while Wikipedia on 'online diaries' cites Claudio
Pinhanez's "Open Diary" as the first blog in 1994.

But is a blog the same thing as a diary ? A distinction: both text types
typically present personal experience and comment, but a blog is more of
a public statement, whereas a diary is more of a private reflection.

Beyond that, there is a problem: are there conventions for the relatively
new blog - or for the anarchically personal diary ?

3
Format and Approach discussed

Basic Format

- Heading : a Blog will have a title (perhaps quirky, witty) - there will be a
title for the blog as a whole, but also (more significantly) a title for the
individual entry

- Conclusion : a Blog will usually end with a request for comment /


responses from the readers ; Diary - nothing conventional (possibly
something along the lines of "more tomorrow"?)

- Lucid paragraphing : While one can think of real examples of blogs


which ignore basic paragraphing, students writing an exam script should be
expected to show that they understand that sensible paragraphing aids
clarity.

Approach

> address : blogs set out to have regular readers, so are likely to have
touches of direct address ("As you regular readers know ...")

> register : informality enriched with sophistication - if both text types are
personal, some informality can be expected in register and rhetoric, but
higher marks will go to exam scripts which combine colloquialism with
dashes of complex phrasing and effects.

4
> Organisation - What should govern the effective organisation of a blog?

- if a blog is a 'public statement', ideas can be expected to be organised to


show some evident + consistent purpose

> since blogs very often present an opinion or an argument, the ideas should
be (reasonably) methodically organised

> where the opinion is based on an anecdote or experience, this should be


narrated clearly

> style - the three aspects described above all add up to the notion that a
good blog should have a recognisable and expressive personal style. Put
another way, this means a recognisable and engaging 'voice'

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