Blog

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

Unit 1.9 Blogs 

pg 52 Ex 9.1 (adapted)

Blogs 

Research the blog sites given. 

What are the conventions of a blog?

Construct a table in Word  - see example. 

Copy your table into your class notebook. 

Conventions	The Huffington Post	Boing Boing	Perez Hilon	The Tree Hugger
Diction
Register
Structure
Use of Rhetorical Devices
Other
Other
Use of Images

The Huffington Post

This is indeed a collection of blogs (though many people mistakenly take it for an online newspaper). Those who blog on Ms Huffington's site include the rich, famous and politically influential. While some investigative journalism is done for this site, most entries are clearly opinion pieces, which are all rather left-wing. 

 Boing Boing

This is a collection of random and very quirky blogs on anything and everything from Darth Vader tea towelsto the latest graphic novel. It is loved by those who are proud of the title 'geek'. 

 Perez Hilton

This is the online equivalent of a juicy tabloid magazine on Hollywood actors and lifestyle. Literally hundreds of thousands of viewers check out this website everyday for the latest gossip. 

 Tree Hugger

This blog is focused on the topic of saving the environment and reducing carbon emissions. Most posts report on the latest advances and developments in this field, much of which contains opinion and commentary. Some 'how to' pages can also be found. 

https:

https:

https:

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Blogs 

Using the adjective list to describe diction in Teams' files. 

Write a compare and contrast paragraph comparing the diction of two of the blogs. Use (embedded) evidence and describe the type of diction being used. Link this to audience and purpose. 

Unit 1.9 Blogs 

pg 53 ex 9.4 

Write the sentence on the next slide. 

pg 55 ex a, b,c & e ex 9.5 

write your answers in your class notebook = paper 1 

One sentence that captures the author's main message.

Blogs 

Using the Padlet shared with you, research the text type given to you. 

Note the conventions, similarities and differences to a blog post. 

Goals for today 

Consider the conventions of blogs 

Consider the conventions of other similar texts 

Write a paper 1 (1 hour & 7 minutes) with graphic organiser 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Aberration 

Word of the day

Aberration (n) - a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving; a change from what is typical or usual, especially a temporary change

Write three synonyms for the word aberration. 

The police described the outbreak of violence in the area as an aberration. It was not the norm in that neighbourhood. 

deviaton, difference, departure from, peculiarity, oddity, quirk, irregularity 

Blogs 

definition a regular record of your thoughts, opinions, or experiences that you put on the internet for other people to read. 

Source: Cambridge dictionary 

What are the conventions of a blog? 

How are blogs different or similar to these text types?

Diary

Essay

Opinion column 

News report 

Review 

Journal 

Facebook post 

Press releases 

Tweet 

In your pairs, research the text type assigned to you. Find and share this information: 

1. the conventions for your text type

2. How it is different and/or similar to a blog

3. An example of your text type 

How are blogs similar to these text types? How are blogs different?

Diary 

Similarities: Both are linear. Entries are archived. One writes about the 'here' and the 'now', to have a record for future reference.

Differences: Blogs are very public, while diaries are very private.

Essay 

Similarities: Both tend to be persuasive. A claim is supported with several examples so that the audience is persuaded. 

Differences: Blogs do not have to be persuasive or academic in any way. Whereas essays are often read for study purposes, blogs try to capture a larger audience.

How are blogs similar to these text types? How are blogs different?

Opinion column 

Similarities: Both contain anecdote, newsworthiness, an appeal to a specific target audience. They have so much in common that one could argue that blogs are the new columns.

Differences: Whereas columnists usually have a readership, blogs may not be frequented regularly. They may be specific to a particular topic which is relevant to those who search for such information.

News report 

Similarities: Many good blog posts attempt to be newsworthy to some extent. In other words, both readers want to know what is happening in a particular world.

Differences: News reports simply report. They do not offer opinion or reflection upon events like blogs tend to do.

How are blogs similar to these text types? How are blogs different?

Review 

Similarities: Both texts reflect on something. A journalistic review may comment on a performance, a new book or a movie. Many blogs fulfil this role as well. 

Differences: A blog may have a broader scope than reviewing performances, books or movies. A blog may focus on a particular topic, such as young adult literature and review a recent publication on this topic.

Journal (UK usage)

Similarities: Journals, unlike diaries, are kept as a record of a particular topic. This is true of many blogs as well. People may blog about the UN's Millennium Goals, for example, keeping track of successes and failures, just as a scientist might keep a journal on the behaviour of a particular species.

How are blogs similar to these text types? How are blogs different?

Journal (UK usage)

Differences: Journals are not always public. They are kept for the sake of research. 

Website 

Similarities: The term 'website', like 'blog' or 'book' could mean anything. Some websites are a collection of blogs, such as Wired.com, where blog entries are a bit like magazine articles. 

Differences: Because websites can be so diverse, not all contain blogs. Think of online stores for example. Many websites are like brochures online.

Facebook post 

Similarities: both are public and express a personal opinion. Both have interactivity with their audiences and aim to engage or entertain that audience

How are blogs similar to these text types? How are blogs different?

Facebook post 

Differences: Blogs are usually available to all users of the internet, whereas Facebook posts can be made only accessible to chosen 'friends'. Facebook posts are usually shorter than blogs and may only contain images without text.

Press release 

Similarities: In the past, a large corporation would send the media a 'press release', which they could then edit or insert into a news item or radio broadcast. These days, corporations, both large and small, can speak directly to a large public by posting news announcements on their website or blog on that website. 

Press release 

Differences: Press releases are very much 'for your information' (FYI). Blogs tend to reflect, comment on or persuade.

Tweet 

Similarities: One could say that tweets are mini-blogs. Both are streams of information. In fact many tweets link to blog posts.

Differences: Blogs tend to be longer than 280 characters. They offer more depth and breadth. 

In Teams => paper 1 

Use the graphic organiser "Analyse non-literary texts", which is in Teams => paper 1, to investigate this text. 

Goals for today 

Reconsider your paper 1 response to a blog

Consider the examiners guidelines

Consider a response and rewrite a body paragraph 

Consider a response and formulate how the responses were different

Consider a different non-literary text type 

root of the day 

Lum, luc, lus & lun =  come from Latin and all have the meaning "light". For example in the word Luminous which means full of light or brilliant.

He had a luminous idea that had all his contemporaries gasping with astonishment. 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Elucidate

Word of the day

Elucidate (v) - to explain something or make something clear

Turn to your neighbour and elucidate the word elucidate. 

The reasons for the change in weather conditions have been elucidated by several scientists.

continue, accept, embrace, encourage, use, want, meet, face 

• Present tense 
  
• Personification - bicycle, pavements 
  
• Sensory imagery (Visual and auditory)
  
• Juxtaposition of terms and imagery
  
• Colloquialism
  
• Diction choice 
  
• Tone = self-deprecating, downbeat, humorous, ironic

• Adjectives & adverbs 
• Metaphors 
  
• Oxymoron 
  
• Internal dialogue 
  
• Characterisation of narrator through tone 
  
• Visual features on webpage 
  

Text

Read the example response. This is a student response to the travel blog that you wrote your paper 1 on. 

1. For each assessment criteria, discuss with your partner what score you would give and why. 

2. Be prepared to defend your choices with examples.

3. The assessment criteria is in Teams => paper 1 

to argue

to explain 

to evaluate 

to instruct 

to inform 

to analyse 

 to explain

to entertain

to describe

 to recount

to persuade 

• Criterion A: Understanding and interpretation (5 marks) 
• To what extent does the student show an understanding of the text? What inferences can the student reasonably make?
  
• To what extent does the student support their claims with references to the text?
  

• 2 out of 5: When applying the marking criteria, you start at the bottom and move your way up. For this response, it’s better than “little understanding” of the text, or a 1 out of 5. The next band states, “The response demonstrates some understanding”. This is accurate (a 2 out of 5), but let’s make sure it doesn’t deserve more. Band 3 says there is a “satisfactory interpretation of some of the implications.” That’s just not true in this case. The interpretation is quite generalized and limited. It's just not there yet. As such, a 2 out of 5 is awarded in understanding and interpretation. 
  

Response 3 travel blog 

• Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (5 marks)
• How well does the student does the student evaluate the ways in which language and style establish meaning and effect?
• 2 out of 5: The marking criteria for band 1 out of 5 says “little relevant analysis of textual features.” Let’s hold that thought. Band 2 out of 5 says that there is “some appropriate analysis of textual features…but is reliant on description.” That description fits this response. While there are points of analysis here and there (see tone, narrative voice, time…) it is too descriptive to move up a band. 
  

• Criterion C: Focus and organisation (5 marks)
• How effectively does the student structure and present their ideas?
  
• How balanced and focused is the response?
• 3 out of 5: This is a response that falls perhaps between two bands. Some might argue that there is “little focus in the analysis” in relation to the guiding question. That’s a fair criticism of the response. However, it seems more appropriate to say that there is “some focus” as attempts are made to answer the guiding question in relation to the narrative voice and immediacy. Similarly, is there “some organization” or is it “adequately organized in a generally coherent manner”? There’s enough coherency (just!) in the response to move it into the 3 band.     
  

• Criterion D: Language (5 marks)
• How clear, varied, and accurate is the student’s language?
  
• To what extent is the student’s choice of register, style, and terminology appropriate?
• 3 out of 5: Yes, there are errors, but the register and style are mostly appropriate to the task. The student writes in an academic tone suited to the style of a Paper 1, for the most part, which is what this band describes. And “despite some lapses,” there is an “adequate degree of accuracy.”  
• Total 10/20 = 4
  

1. Re-write one body paragraph, from this response, so that the score is increased for that paragraph in criterion A & B. You must increase the interpretation, understanding, referencing, analysis and evaluation (effect of authorial choices) 

2. Post the improved paragraph in your Teams notebook in the paper 1 tab. 

Include all of these AWL words in your new paragraph: 

approach 

consist 

create 

Read the example response. This is a student response to the travel blog that you wrote your paper 1 on. 

1. For each assessment criteria, discuss with your partner what score you would give and why. 

2. Be prepared to defend your choices with examples.

3. The assessment criteria is in Teams => paper 1 

• Criterion A: Understanding and interpretation (5 marks) 
• To what extent does the student show an understanding of the text? What inferences can the student reasonably make?
  
• To what extent does the student support their claims with references to the text?
• 5 out of 5: The response shows a thorough and perceptive understanding of the blog, especially the humor, a difficult thing for students to do in an exam. References are well-chosen and effectively support the candidate's argument. Big picture, the student "gets" it in terms of understanding and interpretation.   
  

Response 3 travel blog 

• Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (5 marks)
• How well does the student does the student evaluate the ways in which language and style establish meaning and effect?
• 4 out of 5: More close language analysis is needed to move up a band on this criterion. The analysis is appropriate and sometimes insightful, but there is just not enough depth. To do better, the candidate would need to more fully unpack all the evidence/quotations. However, this is no standard response and it is beyond satisfactory without a doubt.      
  

• Criterion C: Focus and organisation (5 marks)
• How effectively does the student structure and present their ideas?
  
• How balanced and focused is the response?
• 4 out of 5: There is a clear focus on the guiding question and the response is mostly coherent. It's not yet effective nor well-focused in terms of the organizational structure (level 5). 
  

• Criterion D: Language (5 marks)
• How clear, varied, and accurate is the student’s language?
  
• To what extent is the student’s choice of register, style, and terminology appropriate?
•  4 out of 5: The language is clear and carefully chosen, but the vocabulary and the sentence structure is not yet sophisticated enough to be awarded the next band. It's solid, but not precise and effective.    
• 17/20 = 6 

• Criterion A: Understanding and interpretation (5 marks) 
• To what extent does the student show an understanding of the text? What inferences can the student reasonably make?
  
• To what extent does the student support their claims with references to the text?
• 3 out of 5: The candidate understands the point of a blog post – the text type. While not a requirement, it does show knowledge and understanding in relation to the question and the text itself. References generally support the candidate’s ideas, but the understanding/interpretation of narrative voice is often too implicit. As well, the understanding/interpretation of “sense of immediacy” and “involve the reader” is general at times. Satisfactory interpretation of some of the implications of the text best sums up this response.  

Response 2 travel blog 

• Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (5 marks)
• How well does the student does the student evaluate the ways in which language and style establish meaning and effect?
•  3 out of 5: The candidate discusses narrative voice, somewhat successfully, but not always. They also deal with imagery, narrative structure, and humor to name a few other choices. However, too much is left unsaid. There needs to be more analysis of the language (and images) in the text. As such, this sits clearly in the 3 band.  
  

• Criterion C: Focus and organisation (5 marks)
• How effectively does the student structure and present their ideas?
  
• How balanced and focused is the response?
• 3 out of 5: There is some focus on the guiding question; it’s not well-organized around the question though. Taken as a whole, the response is generally coherent and so a 3 is awarded in this criterion.

• Criterion D: Language (5 marks)
• How clear, varied, and accurate is the student’s language?
  
• To what extent is the student’s choice of register, style, and terminology appropriate?
•  4 out of 5: Register and style are consistently appropriate to the task. There is a good degree of accuracy and the language is clear.   
• 13/20 = 5