11T English Creative Response Assessment

Feature Articles

Instructions?Part 1:

You are to create an original response to the play you have been studying in class.

A creative response is an original and unique piece of creative work. It should not involve description or straight imitation of the text studied in class. It should focus on one or two related aspects of the text (such as characterisation, techniques, themes, purposes), and demonstrate a thorough understanding and analysis of it/them.

Clear parallels should be evident between your response and the text. Your response should convey your understanding of the text in a fresh, original way.

Invent a fictional situation that relates to either a theme or character from your play, and explore your focus using the form and style of a magazine feature article.

800-1000 words

Feature Article Guidelines

See ‘Writing a Feature Article’

Let’s have a look at some examples..

Sandall, E 2015, 'Girt by sea', Dance Australia, April/May/197, pp. 42-44

Sifferlin, A 2015, 'The next best thing to a cure', Time, 9 February, pp. 34-8.

Read the title, subtitle, introduction and conclusion (might be more than para) CAREFULLY.

Skim read the body to get the gist.

Let’s have a look at some examples…

GENERAL CONTENT1. What is the article’s focus? What is it’s

message?2. How does it deal with the focus?

Generally? Through personal stories? Is it biased or unbiased?

3. What background information is provided?

4. Who is the target audience? How do we see this reflected in the example?

Structure1. What is the lead? How does the author

hook the audience in?2. What is the connection between the

subtitle and title?3. What does the conclusion focus on?

How many paragraphs is it?

TechniquesYou will be divided into small groups and assigned a technique. You need to look for and compare the use of that technique in both articles.

1. Interviews, indirect speech and direct quotations2. Anecdotes3. Thread 4. Arguments and counter-arguments5. Sub-headings6. Facts, statistics, tables diagrams, graphs or other

images 7. Paragraphing 8. Transitions 9. Diction (to establish tone)10. Relevant jargon or technical vocabulary11. Manipulation of tense

Practice… Welcome to your first day as a journalist!

You have a acquired a freelance job to write a feature article about transitioning into Gungahlin College from high school.

Three groups will each be assigned a different audience: Current Year 10 students Teachers at Gungahlin College Parents of current Year 10 students…

Your task…

Plan what you would be writing about, what material you would include

You have been given your focus – but what is your message about that focus?

Choose one small section and write a couple of paragraphs, keeping in mind your aim