Starter: Vary your sentences How many types can you name? Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Answers Simple Compound Complex Minor Questions, especially rhetorical Rule of three. For example: young, slim and pretty Commands (Imperatives) Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Aims To explore argue/persuade / advise writing tasks To revise sentence types To consider tone To practise exam skills Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Argue/Persuade/Advise Lesson 3 If you’re asked to argue, persuade or advise, you will be asked to write about a subject you’ll know something about, and will, as usual, be given a few prompts to get you going. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

A clear, strong introduction to your subject, perhaps including some background or history; One paragraph for each new argument, topic or piece of advice; Evidence or reasons for every argument you make; A clear, strong conclusion which leaves the reader with a definite picture of your opinions. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Imagine you overhear the following statement: 'We're always hearing about Girl Power and Independent Women these days, but all I see female stars doing is strutting around, looking good, posing for the cameras, making loads of money and bad-mouthing boys. What about making your own decisions and controlling your own life?’ Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk Write an article for your school magazine arguing EITHER that today's female stars are strong role models and examples of Girl Power, OR that they are sexist and just obsessed with image and money.

Layout Do remember that you should NOT waste time on layout features such as big headings, columns or pictures. The most important thing is the quality of your writing. If you want to, you can use short subheadings between the paragraphs of a magazine article to signal to the reader what each section will cover, such as 'Girl Power – The Facts'. Sometimes these work well if you write them as questions, such as 'Rubbish or Reality?’’ Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Other Views As with Analyse/Review/Comment texts, it’s often useful to mention the opposite side’s views early on in your text and then use your arguments to prove them wrong ! Of course, if you’re persuading, you shouldn’t go into much detail about other people’s views – you’re trying to convince people to agree with you, so you don’t need to be as balanced as you do when analysing. Don’t rubbish others’ views, though – your audience will just switch off! Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Example: We see so many films and music videos which tell girls that being strong is all about being rich, thin, pretty and wearing almost nothing. Since when was that powerful? I’m not suggesting we should all walk around in sacks, but what about what’s inside? Not all of us are rich, and not all of us fit in with the music video image of 'thin' or 'pretty'. Surely brains, creativity or a sense of humour are more important? Life won’t be much fun or very interesting if we’re all too worried about breaking a nail to try anything new.

Tone and Style Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk Although you need to use a formal, impersonal tone overall, you should also make your writing lively and engaging. Persuasive texts often sound more convincing if you actually do use a more personal tone from time to time, including phrases like 'as we all know', 'I can hardly believe' or 'no doubt you’ve often wondered' to involve and convince your audience. Attract and hold their attention!

Ending for Impact In any piece of writing, but especially when you are arguing, persuading or advising, you need to leave the audience with an impression which will last. For example: So next time you hear someone talk about Girl Power, ask yourself who the 'really' powerful women are. or Girl Power is in the head, not in front of a camera. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Task Working in groups, write a plan and an opening for the article on GIRL POWER. Homework – complete the piece in neat books. Spend a maximum of 30 minutes at home. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Year 10 Assignment Writing to Analyse Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Assignment Task: Write an article for a teenage magazine analysing two still images, including any text, showing how women are represented in the media You may use the image you used in your presentation, plus one other, possibly the one you used for the homework. Hand the second image in with the assignment. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Writing for teenagers You will need a crisp and exciting headline – NOT the assignment title! You should find an exciting way in. Use language appropriate for teenagers, with moderation! Any technical language must be explained, but in a non-patronising way. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Target Audience It will help you if you have a specific magazine in mind for your piece, such as Sugar, Bliss etc. Try to write in the house style. Within the teenage bracket, decide on a specific age – 13, 14, etc. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Questions 1 The following questions may help you with your planning: What is the purpose and audience for your chosen images? Are they negative or positive images? How has this influenced representation? Do different audiences respond differently? Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Questions 2 How is the picture anchored? If the anchor line reads ‘Beautiful babes’ the women in the picture are no longer women, they are ‘babes’. How does the mise-en-scene add to the representation? A woman in a sharp suit on a podium gives a different message to one in a bikini lying on a beach. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Questions 3 What do we imagine the values of the women in the images to be? What makes us think this? Colours – what are the connotations? Five colour rule followed? Finally, detailed analysis of the language – font size and positioning, as well as language devices such as alliteration etc. Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

Organising your text You can work through these questions for each image or compare images together by having a paragraph on each area for analysis. Your article should be lively and interesting as well as easy to follow, e.e. in a logical order. This assignment will be handwritten in controlled conditions, all done in class! Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk