Writing an Editorial!

Year 13

Year 13

What to do!๏  Write a commentary or opinion

piece suitable for publication in the

opinions pages of a school

newspaper. !

๏  You should choose a topic that will

be relevant and interesting to young

people. !

๏  You should build on a single idea or

theme that is reflected in some way

in the title of your piece. !

READ Links to NZ Herald!

Link to a rambling blog about parenting!

Link to an America's Cup editorial !

Link to a sports editorial !

Year 13

What to include !

To create a sense of coherence you

might integrate a motif or other

linking device through your writing.

You can be witty, satirical, serious,

self deprecating, even provocative,

but you will be expected to write in a

controlled way and use language

techniques skilfully to create

deliberate effects. !

Year 13

The marking!You will be assessed on your ability

to: !

• develop and sustain one or more

central ideas on your selected topic

throughout the column !

• craft your writing to achieve a

stylistic coherence throughout the

piece through your deliberate use of a

range of language techniques !

• structure the piece clearly and

effectively !

• use writing conventions accurately. !

!

Year 13

How much to write!

Your column will be at least 600 words long. It

should be appropriate for a readership of your

peers and your English teacher, as well as suitable

for publication in a school newspaper. !

Year 13

Heading!• irony. !

• parody or satire !

• self deprecation!

• personal anecdotes !

• deliberate exaggeration or understatement!

• allusions !

• puns, eg: a word play in the title!

• contrasting language registers, eg: combining colloquial with

formal language !

• deliberate use of irregular sentence structures, eg a minor

sentence placed for impact after a complex sentence. !