Transcript School Magazine Articles

School Magazine Articles
Source: Alison Digger’sI GCSE as a Second Language: Focus on Writing
Writing tips for content, organization, and question types for
the IGCSE Second Language Exam
Format of a school magazine article
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Title
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Make it interesting and Capitalize the Title!
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Contrast Opposite Images:
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Which is more interesting: How to Prepare for Exams OR Exam Nerves
Cure
Summer Holidays Loom
Play with Punctuation:
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TV: The Teenager’s Viewpoint
TV—A Teenage View
Format of a school magazine article
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Introduction: Create interest and make it personal!
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Start one of three ways:
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Question: Are you one of the many students with exam nerves?
Quotation: Alec Bourne once said, “It is possible to store the mind
with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.”
Broad Statement: Many students are self-confessed couch
potatoes!
Let’s try to come up with (many) topics for these
Introductory Sentences
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Are you so busy working that you have no time for sport?
Are you dreading the thought of the long, boring holiday?
Are you fed up with all the arguments you have heard against
television?
After your intro sentence, you need to move into the topic and focus your paper. This
sentence should help set the tone for the paper (formal/informal). Let’s match the
introductory sentences to the transition sentences and decide the article’s topic
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Introduction
Look, no stress!! Don’t we all wish
we could say this every day of our
lives—and mean it?
Looking dull and stressed? Well
don’t worry.
Want to experience the joys of
the countryside?
There is no law that prohibits
driving while fatigued,
What does the term ‘working
woman’ evoke? Are women’s
attitudes changing, Is feminism
outdated?
stress
Health/
beauty
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holidays
Transition Sentence
You need not spend the entire
evening in the bathroom.
But should we take the risk?
Two studies highlight the issues at
stake and the changing role of
today’s women.
Nowadays stress seems to be the
one word that’s on everybody’s
mind.
There’s nothing to beat a canal
holiday to take you closer to
nature.
Two
studies
Road
safety
Example of Introduction
Write an article for your school magazine about a school trip you went on
recently
Let’s discuss the different parts of this introduction and why it is good
Year 11 Trip to Manton Theme Park
After a month of boring revision, followed by another moth
of tough exams, I can say that most of us needed a good
day out. We were lucky because the weather on that day
was really hot and sunny. After a very long and sticky
coach journey, 32 excited pupils and four anxious
teachers finally arrived at the theme park.
Format of a school magazine article
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The ending has three purposes
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To summarize the article
To express your own opinion
To leave the reader with something to think about
Connect the ending to the introduction by
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Using the same tone
Making it direct and personal, so you involve the reader again
Example of Ending
Write an article for your school magazine about a school trip you went on
recently
Let’s discuss how the ending connects to the introduction and leaves the
reader satisfied.
After half an hour, the coach left for London with 32
exhausted pupils and four relieved teachers, after a really
good day out.
Content of a school magazine article
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Many types of exam questions
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Giving your view or opinion/putting forward arguments for and
against
Dealing with problems and solutions
Giving advice/making suggestions
Narrative—an account
Example: Write an article for your school magazine about the
effects of tourism on your country, putting forward your ideas
and arguments
We are going to use the views and arguments composition (notes)—the content of body paragraphs
change based on the genre of writing
Content of a school magazine article
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First Body Paragraph: general introduction
explaining the importance of the subject. Include the
following
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Time Fixers
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Nowadays/these days/until now/in the past/twenty years ago/in the
last five years
Generalizations
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Nearly all/many/a large number of/several
Content of a school magazine article
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Second Body Paragraph: Address one side
of the issue (an effect)
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Views and arguments phrases
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Joining Points—addition
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One of the main arguments in favor of….is that
Some people (would) argue that…
It is a fact that…
Furthermore/Moreover/What is more/Besides
Support Phrases
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Which/this/which means that/this means that/as a result/consequently
Content of a school magazine article
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Third Body Paragraph: Address the other
side of the issue (an effect)
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Joining Points—contrast
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Views and arguments phrases
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One of the main arguments against….is that
It can be argued that…
It has been said that…
Joining Points—addition
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On the other hand/However/Nevertheless
Furthermore/Moreover/What is more/Besides
Support Phrases
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Which/this/which means that/this means that/as a result/consequently
Let’s look at an example of this
form of argumentative writing