Section B (Writing) Secondary 6 Magazine Articles Section B (Writing) Secondary 6

Introduction Today, you will… Learn about the format of a magazine article Learn about the language used in a magazine article Take a look at a sample of a magazine article Work on some pre-writing exercises

Content and Organziation Write about a particular subject, person or event Give personal opinions or offer suggestions for the topic Include a headline for the article Purpose: let the readers know what the article is about Keep it short and eye-catching (e.g. My Life in England) Formal or semi-formal language (depending on the subject and the target group of reader)

Content and Organization Serious subject: formal language Amusing subject: semi-formal language Short phrases and short sentences: to keep the ideas clear and to-the-point Direct speech: more real to life Reported speech: a sense of objectivity

Language: Tenses Simple present tense: describe the current issue or to present your viewpoints in writing articles. It seems that gambling is a major problem. (Current issue) There are no solutions to remedy the situation. (Personal viewpoints)

Language: Headline Headlines: not always complete sentences Consists of noun phrases Consists of a string of three to four nouns More Tax Cuts Hair Salon Opening Ceremony

Language: Headline Headlines often leave out articles (a, an the) and the verb to be. Thief Enters Royal Palace Pianist Performing at Town Hall

Language: Headline Simple present tense: headlines for both present and past events Blind Man Catches Thief Infinitives: headlines to refer to the future. Museum to Build Next Year

Language A colon (:) : to separate the subject of a headline from the details Structure = Headline : Details Plane Crash: No Survivors Book Exhibition: 10,000 Books Sold

Organization: Introduction Usually shorter than the other paragraphs Introduces the theme of the article, which the other paragraphs will develop Give an outline of your points made in the article

Organization: Introduction You can make your introduction interesting by: Start with a story Refer to the quotation of famous person Put forward a rhetorical question

Organization: Body In the body paragraphs, provide support to your ideas by: Giving details (e.g. examples, figures, statistics or personal experience) Showing similarities or differences (e.g. The Chinatown in San Francisco in many ways: business among Chinese is conducted in Cantonese. There are also hawkers at the road side.) Describing a process (in the order of their occurrence)

Organization: Transition Markers To show contrast: Though Although Even though On the contrary Yet However Nevertheless In contrast To show results : So Hence Consequently Thus Therefore As a result

Organization: Transition Marker To add ideas: As well Moreover In addition Besides Likewise Furthermore

Organization: Conclusion Summarize the points made in the article Provide the result of the discussion in the body paragraphs Forward-looking statements: Show our hope for the future development of the case e.g. With your help, we will have a cleaner planet to live in.

Language: Body Use simple past tense for actions completed at a definite time in the past, with the following adverbials: A bank was robbed in Shatin yesterday [afternoon / evening / morning] / last [night / week / Monday].

Language: Body Sentences in active voice: to make them more direct Use the passive voice: not so important who performed the action Two men were arrested after the robbery. The suspect is believed to be an illegal immigrant. Three people are thought to have died in the accident.

Language: Body Use non-defining clauses: to add extra information about the subject Mr. Chan, who is in his early-thirties, was admitted to the hospital.

Sample Writing Sample Writing: ..\..\S4_English\Reading & Writing_Sem 2\Lesson 9 - My Life in England.doc

Get ready for your writing assignment!