INFORMATIVE WRITINGS The purpose of an informative essay, sometimes called an expository essay, is to educate on a certain topic. It is not for giving an opinion or convincing someone to do something or change his beliefs. The primary purpose of informative/explanatory writing is to increase the understanding of the reader. Informative/explanatory writing might include any or all of the following: –Providing new knowledge –Explaining a process –Developing a concept Informative/explanatory writing might focus on any of the following: –Enumerating and clarifying different types –Defining –Detailing components –Explaining behavior or function –Providing explanations of why Structure of an Informative Essay The basic structure of an informative essay is very simple. It needs to have a beginning, middle, and end. •The beginning needs to present the topic and grab the attention of the audience. It needs to include the focus sentence for the entire essay. •The middle will be the main bulk of the essay and it will contain all the important facts that you are covering. This is where the audience will get their questions answered. Remember to answer these questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. •The end is a conclusion where you will summarize the essay. It should spur the reader or listener to learn more about the topic. Steps in Creating an Informative Essay Most of the work on an informative essay is done before you actually sit down to type. Here are the general steps to take: 1.After you have chosen the topic, you will need to research and gather all the pertinent details on that subject. You need to ascertain what you already know about the subject and then decide what you would like to know. 2. You will need to make a list of the important facts and then list the main steps in your paper. Make sure all your facts are accurate. You will need to write a topic sentence for each fact and write a focus sentence (thesis statement) for the entire essay. 3. Create an outline that will organize your facts in a logical way. Then you will be ready to make your first draft. 4. Editing is an important step for any writing project. Reading your essay out loud will help you notice places where the writing is awkward or unclear. If possible, have someone else read it and give you their ideas for improvement. Of course, you will need to pay attention for grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and other errors. INFORMATIVE ESSAY JOURNALISTIC WRITING Journalism and Journalistic Writing Why is it that mass media outlets feature particular news stories prominently while others receive little, if any, coverage? Although every outlet is different, mass media gatekeepers have traditionally relied on some predictable values to evaluate the newsworthiness of a story. Their decision might impact how the story is covered, including how many resources are spent following the story, and how prominently the story is featured. In the present era of audience fragmentation, individual audience members increasingly choose what kind of news content they receive, yet traditional news values often still govern how deeply a news story permeates a community. Gatlung and Ruge, 1973 • Relevance • Timeliness • Simplification • Predictability • Unexpectedness • Continuity • Composition • Elite People • Elite Countries • Negativity Shoemaimker et al., 1987 • • • • • • • • Timeliness Proximity Importance, impact, or consequence Interest Conflict or Controversy Sensationalism Prominence Novelty, oddity, or the unusual Conclusion • Every news outlet has a different protocol for selecting which stories to run, but some traditional values often determine the “newsworthiness” of a story. The more of these news values a story satisfies, the more likely you are to see it prominently featured in mass media outlets. LITERARY WRITING The term 'literary writing' calls to mind works by writers such as Shakespeare, Milton, or Wordsworth; definitive examples of all that the term implies. We instinctively associate the term with characteristics such as artistic merit, creative genius, and the expression of mankind's noblest qualities. In this essay I will explore some of the characteristics of this kind of writing. Literary works are primarily distinguishable from other pieces of writing by their creative, or artistic intent. • In fundamental terms literature is 'an expression of life through the medium of language' , but language used more profoundly than when used simply to convey information. • Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life; what they have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us. • All fiction is a kind of magic and trickery, a confidence trick, trying to make people believe something is true that isn't. • Literature is a process of communication, it 'helps us to understand life'.
