DIGITAL LITERACIES

Discussion Writing

You must tell both sides of the story.

Writing a discussion Text can be a very challenging task at times as we are asked to report on an issue fairly from both sides without bias. This can be tough if there is an issue you have strong views on such as.

Hunting animals for Sport and Recreation The amount of homework students are doing. Unhealthy food being banned from school canteens.

So What is Bias?

Bias

In simple terms bias is when you judge something based on what you think of it, not how it actually is. like a boy might be biased against something pink just because they think it's for girls when really it's not.

At a more serious level you might automatically dislike what a person says or does simply because of the way they dress or even where they come from.

The number one challenge for a high quality reporter is to present an unbiased account of the facts. This is also your challenge for this task.

Let’s read some examples first. Visit Jenny Eather’s Writingfun.com and

go to the discussion text section. Down the bottom you will see 6 examples of discussion texts from differing ages. Read all of these and ask yourself if they provided an unbiased account.

Whilst you are at writingfun be sure to visit the text organizer to see how to layout and plan a discussion text.

Your First Task

You are going to revisit the classical fairytale ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and read it thoroughly. Here is a great animated version for you to view. Then you need to write a discussion text on the following.

Was Goldilocks a criminal? This task does not have to be a long piece of writing. In fact it should be short and sharp with a for and against statement and a conclusion.

Your second task.

Visit an online news site such as the Age or Herald Sun. Find a news report that interests you and write a discussion piece on it.

Once again refer to the first slide and writingfun for assistance in laying it out.