return to Writing: Practice and Context
Ideas online and presenting research: practical tasks
Practical work 1 (Pairs) Analysis
Use the Checklist for Applications of Writing: Language in Context to analyse one of the blogs, bearing in mind issues of class, race and gender.
Practical work 2 (Individual) Setting up your own blog
Who's it for? What's it about? What other decisions do you need to take as regards style, register, form etc?
See Technical notes
NB we need to have all blogger addresses to share at the end of the session
Practical work 3 (Group) Blogging, sharing blogs and commenting
(Out of class, over 2 weeks)
Try and write at least 3 or 4 blog entries yourself.
Also look at your fellow students' blogs. There is normally an automatic comment function. Writing a strong pithy constructive comment is also a skill. Practise writing 2 kinds of comment:
1. on the topic
2. on the effectiveness of the writing (drawing on the key aspects of language in context)
Practical work 4 (Group analysis)
How do writers adapt their language and style for different purposes?
Compare the features of academic writing with those of the blog format.
Refer to the Checklist for Applications of Writing: Language in Context
Practical work 5: Write up (some of) the content of your blog in an academic form and style
See basic structure:
(Abstract) Introduction, Literature Survey, (Primary Research), Analysis, Discussion, Conclusion, Bibliography
Use the Harvard system for referencing within the text and for the bibliography
- Individual writing - do it online, in your blog!
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- Share and comment on each other's work (Pairs)
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- Group feedback on the experience. How did it feel? What were you able to achieve in each form?
Practical work 6: Forum discussion: quality and equality on the internet
See the list of further reading
Also see Sokari Ekine (2007) 'Freedom to abuse - choices in the African blogosphere', in Grace, tenacity and eloquence. The struggle for women's rights in Africa, Nairobi: Fahamu
Originally on Pambazuka News
Read, reflect, discuss face to face if you want and then post your comment on http://writingdemo.blogspot.com
You can refer either to the general questions above and / or to other people's comments and / or raise additional questions in relation to the topic.
Think about how to make your comment
- Strong
- Short
- Witty
- Constructive
- Depersonalised (this doesn't mean you can't express your own opinion but it should be talking about the topic not the person)
- Take the argument further
Last updated 14.11.2007