english media texts

people right media texts for a number of reasons and each reason changes the way you right your text.

• argue
• advice
• persuade
• analyse
• review
• comment

you could be asked to write an arguement in the form of a letter, a report, a speech or an article.

means putting across your point of the view about a topic.

its important to show youve considered other points of view- do this by describing them and saying whats wrong about them.

techiques- emotive language, rhetorical questions, irony, facts and statisitcs, counter-arguements, different tenses, quoting authorities, repetition, generalisations, personal anecdotes.use pee

you can make up facts and statistics as well as the quotes from proffesionals as long as they are believeable

before writing decide on your arguement- are you for or against?

jot down a few points for both for and against, then decide the order. remember whichever side you are on you can still use the other sides points for counter- argueing.

there are different types of advice: you may may be asked to write a leaflet, a magazine article, a speech or a magazine feature

• needs to be reassuring,
• make sure its clear what the advice is about
• needs to suggest what action to take,
• use present tense
• use headings and bullet points
• use do and dont and if or unless
• say when, where, how and why

techniques-2nd person, informal ,soft tone, use if, sequenced logical order, model verbs(might, may, could, should)

you can also use persuasive techniques as you are trying to persuade the person to take your advice

you could be asked to write a letter, a speech or an advertisement

persuasive techniques-alliteration ,facts ,opinion ,repitition ,emotive language ,statistics ,three (rule of) ,argue about their point of view, flattery, exaggeration, questions

• structure- intro- set out main topic
• early middle bit- build up on the opening statements
• later middle bit- suggest what you want readers to do and why
• conclusion- strong final section to reinforce main points

keep it clean and clear

think about headings.

break down into key parts

examine and annalyse individual meaning or qualities

see how all these parts work together

think about the writer and why they did that

audiences reaction

what would happen if it was different

usually in the form of an argumentative essay

look for techniques

a review can be for all sorts of things such as music, a film, a magazine, a book or a game

you should write about: strengths, weaknesses, suitability, facts- title, author etc, present tense, 3rd person, formal,questions

• break down topic into the important parts
• talk about the purpose of the writing and the audiences needs
• show good judgement and careful consideration
• look at the themes in the piece instead of just each paragraph
• use subheadings to break it down

• more personal and opinionated
• use first person
• analyse but put more of your opinion in it

tells the reader the facts

you may be asked to write a magazine article, a personal account, a leaflet or a letter

• use subheadings to direct the reader through the piece
• bullet points and numbered lists to seperate points
• organise info clearly
• youve got to be convincing
• go into detail
• link paragraphs together
• writing should be clearly organised

tell the audience five things: the what... the how... the where... the when... and the why..

• break down the detail so it is clear
• subheadings
• use humour if appropriate
• use examples to support your writing
• make connections within your writing
• build up your explanation

imagine making a film of that scene

you could think about how the scene would look at different times of day or in different seasons of the year. you can use this to show contrast.

or you could zoom in or out of your scene describing things as you go.

• dont state the obvious
• think about the viewpoint
• use senses to improve discription
• use imagery
• use different sentence lengths
• be imaginative

their are many different forms of media text

• speech
• letter
• newspaper
• factsheet
• report

may have to write a speech or a radio script

structure it to give it dramatic impact- start with simple issues then build up untill you are giving emotional issues.

• imagine speaking outloud to predict the audiences response.
• use a range of sentence structures so it sounds like it is spoken.
• use exclamations, questions adn contractions.
• talk directly to your audience- use plenty of personal pronouns
• anticipate audiences response
• dont set out writing like a play script
• organise into clear paragraphs

• put your address in the top right hand corner
• put the address just under here
• put the person your writing to's address in the top left hand corner
• in a formal letter:
• if you begin with dear sir or madam end with yours faithfully
• if you begin with the name end with yours sincerely
• in an informal letter:
• start with dear mum and you can end with best wishes

like a leaflet

mainly used for persuasive or informative purposes

• use bullet points and short paragraphs
• keep it clean and clear
• use fairly simple language

you may draw a box on the factsheet where you wish there to be a picture and write in the box saying what the picture may be of

like an essay

• open the topic your writing about
• develop views about this topic as you write
• allow the reader to interpret parts by themselves
• be un biased
• use lots of facts

your text changes depending on whether you are writing formally of informally.

you may change your language, sentence length or even how you approach your piece.

for example:

if you were writing to someone with alot of power such as a police officer or a head teacher you would be very formal and use more sophisticated language.

however if you were writing to a teenager you would remain quite informal and use more colloquialisms

the audiene for your media text can change it a lot.

• young or old
• specific or general
• someone you know or not
• someone in authority- formal, proffesional
• an equal or a subordinate

if it doesnt tell you who the audience is simply write as if you are writing it for the examiner

if there is more than one audience simply take both into account.

you may also have to write in the character of someone.

underline key words- what the purpose is, what the form is and who your audience is.

spend 5 mins putting ideas together- think about language techniques and content

• can write your plan in note form
• can use a spider diagram
• decide the order of your points before you start
• remember your intro and conclusion aswell.
• choose your structure- might want more detail on certain points or create a certain effect.
• spend about 25 mins on your piece
• use a suitable language style all the way through

take 5 mins at the end to check your work, look at spelling, punctuation, that your opening is strong and you have a proper conclusion, add more interesting words in if possible.

write words you struggle to spell on here so you can memorize them