Conventions of writing different Forms of Texts

Characteristic Features:

1. Diary/Journal Entry
❖ A diary is personal record of:
- Things that have happened to the writer.
- The writer’s thoughts and feelings.
- It gives a sense of the writer’s personality and explains his or her changing
emotions.
❖ Focuses on key moments or incidences in the writer’s world.
❖ Provides a sense of time and sequence.
❖ Mainly in continuous prose.
❖ Narrative style – recount of experiences, actions, thoughts and feelings.
❖ Presents private thoughts and feelings
❖ First-person point of view
❖ Conversational tone
❖ Descriptive detail; for example, imagery.
❖ Tenses:
- Mainly written in the past tense as it is a record of what has already
happened.
- The tense shifts to present tense as the character’s current thoughts and
feelings about the past incident are depicted.
- The future tense is used to present future expectations or the next line of
action.
❖ Date
❖ Reference to time – for example, morning, afternoon, evening… etc.

2. News Reports:
Characteristics of News:

• Current (recent)
• Topical (interesting and important today)
• Relevant to the target audience

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 • Proximity (concerns incidents within the audience’s relatable physical distance, for
example, neighbourhood, city or country; or involves someone they know or they
can identify with.)
• Factual – only reports facts. Any opinion provided must be that of an expert, who
must be quoted in the report. The writer cannot give their personal opinion.
• You may also quote eyewitnesses.
• Written in the third person (reported); the writer does not use “I”, neither does he
or she address the reader directly using ‘you’.
• The headline is written in the present tense
• Most verbs in the text, about what happened, are written in the past tense.
Structure of News:

• The introduction (lead) summarizes all the important facts about the incident being
reported, answering the questions, who, what, where, when, why and how.
• The second paragraph provides background of the incident.
• The following paragraphs return to the immediate situation and give more details of
the information highlighted in the introduction paragraph.
• Expert or witness comments are put in direct speech.
• The last paragraph focuses on ‘what next’ - looking to the near future.
Characteristics of a News Headline:

• Brief (up to about 6 words).

• Factual and representative of the content of the report.
• Written in the present tense.
• Catchy – Draws attention easily (choose words that will grab the attention on the
audience).
• Mainly uses nouns and verbs
Example of news headlines:
- Five Die in Road Crash
- Powerful Minister Confesses to Corruption Crime
- Manchester United falls to Arsenal
- 90-Year-old Granny now New Mum

3. Magazine article:
Magazine articles are mainly for information and entertainment. They are also called
feature articles, or human-interest stories. They are like non-fiction short stories.
• Breaks away from Hard-news format – incorporates both facts and opinions,
delivered in a more relaxed tone (a semi-formal tone).
• Examines issues in a more in-depth way.
• Key function is to humanize, to add color, to educate, to entertain, to illuminate,
to amuse, to inspire.
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 • May or may not be tied to a current event
• Will often be longer than a news report
• Adopts a more leisurely pace
• Tells stories in a more creative and compelling way:
May include:
- 1st person narration or 3rd person narration
- Direct address using the 2nd person pronoun, ‘you’
- Figurative use of language
- Descriptive detail
- Direct speech
- Emotive language
- Anecdotes
- Facts and statistics
• Magazine articles are windows into the human experience, giving more detail
and description than a news report.
• They focus on an event, idea or individual, giving the reader a chance to more
fully understand some interesting dimension of that subject.

How do writers use magazine articles?

To:

• Explain, expand and/or analyze previous news stories

• Describe a place, process or idea
• Profile a person
• Document a trend in society
• Create a “how to” guide
• Give advice on a social issue

Structure:
• Introduction:
- Starts by arousing interest, drawing the reader into the story (can
use description or anecdote to set up the story)
- The lead takes two to four paragraphs - delayed lead that unfold
slowly / taking time to tell the story.
- The lead seeks to draw the reader into the story - begins by
setting a scene / painting a picture (in words) of the person or
place
• Body:
- Develops the idea in paragraphs of varying length.

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 - Incorporates direct speech, quoting the person who is the subject
of the text, experts, or others who may have experienced the
issue.
- Includes facts and writer’s opinion.
- Employs descriptive detail.
- May use informal diction.
- Ideas are presented in a leisurely pace.
- May draw comparisons between ideas.
• Conclusion:
- May sum up the article’s main ideas.
- Links to the introduction, creating almost a cyclical structure.
- May include a memorable quote, a rhetorical question, or an
instruction on audiences expected of action.

4. Speech
• It is a spoken text meant for a listening audience, so it utilizes features of spoken
language.
Key Focus in Effective Writing:

• Connect with your audience

• Sustain audience attention
• Meet audience needs and expectations
• Achieve desired outcome (the purpose of the speech)
Key conventions:

• Speaker:
- The singular source of information
- Must Establish Credibility – authority, believability, expertise, experience
- Must identify with the audience, or at least show empathy.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the subject.
- Should be compelling: Be passionate about the topic you’re speaking
about?
- Employ both pathos (emotional appeal) and logos (logical arguments)

• Audience:
- Usually a public audience.
- May be defined by gender, age, profession, religion, political affiliations,
etc.
• Purpose:
- May be to:
o To inform

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 o To persuade
o To entertain
Structure:

• Introduction:
- Grab audience attention
- Establish speaker credibility
- Give the audience a reason to listen
- State the purpose of your speech
- Sign posting (preview main points)

• Body:
- Presents facts and opinions.
- Speech organization may be chronological, spatial, topical, etc.
- Main points are separated in paragraphs, why ensuring that all the points
in the speech unite into a single message.
- Balances main points to ensure all are adequately addressed.
- A logical flow is maintained in the presentation of ideas.
- Weaving facts, stories, humour, together to make an interesting,
effective, and memorable speech.
- The power of The Narrative
- Using sources effectively

• Conclusion:
- Powerful and memorable
o Quote
o Action call
o Question
o Summary of main points (You can use an acronym to summarise
the main points)
Language:
- Personal pronoun – I, you, we
- Contractions
- Emotive language
- Descriptive detail
- Figurative language
- Anecdotes
- Direct speech for quotations

5. Letters
• Written for a private audience

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 • Addresses audience directly
• Formality depends on the relationship between sender and receiver, and the
purpose for writing.
Key features:
- Sender / receiver address
- Date
- Salutation (Dear…)
- Reference / subject line (for formal letters)
- Introduction body and conclusion (content differs in formal and informal
letters)
- Courtesy line (Yours…, Sincerely… Faithfully…)
- Sender’s name (full name and signature for formal letters; one name is
adequate for informal letters).
Formal Letters:
Key features:
- Formal tone and register (no contractions nor colloquialism, sentences
follow complete grammatical structures, vocabulary is formal).
- Personal pronouns
- Address - may not be required in the examination, but ensure to follow
the instructions given:
Sender address

Date (spell the month)

Receiver address (name, title, organization/company, postal and

physical address)

- Salutation - formal:
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Head Teacher,
Dear Managing Director,
Dear Head of Security,
Etc.
- Reference or subject line – It summarises the topic/subject of the letter;
not required to be a complete sentence:
Application for employment
Request for trip approval
After-school clubs
Demand for an apology

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 - Sender signature – courtesy line, full name and signature.
Sincerely,

Eric Johnson.
Structure:
Salutation - formal:
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Head Teacher,
Dear Managing Director,
Dear Head of Security,
Etc.
Reference or subject line:
Application for the position of Deputy Director of Sports
Application for employment
Request for trip approval
After-school clubs
Demand for an apology
Introduction:
o Introduce yourself and clearly state the purpose of writing the
letter.
❖ As a Year 12 student of Crawford International
School, I wish to register my appreciation for the
support we have received from the school in
preparation for the forthcoming Cambridge AS
examinations.

❖ In response to your advertisement on the Daily

Nation newspaper, I hereby present my application
for the position of Deputy Director of Sports at
Crawford International School. I am a qualified
football and basketball coach, and an experienced
sports manager.

Body:
o Present ideas that help you achieve the purpose of writing the
letter.
o One idea per paragraph:
▪ Idea stated in the topic sentence
▪ Idea supported in the body of the paragraph – explain,
provide evidence, etc.
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 ▪ End sentence / linking sentence.
o Ensure logical flow of ideas.
o Use connectives to link ideas.
o Provide both facts and opinion (remember this is non-fiction
writing).
Conclusion:
o Sum up your ideas and restate your opinion (based on the
purpose of writing).
o Motivate your audience to respond:
I look forward to your reply.

I look forward to discussing this issue further with you.

You may reach me on this phone number for further

discussion, +254….

I am certain that you will take appropriate action to

alleviate the suffering of the residents of our great County.

I will be glad to furnish you with further information; you

may reach me through the following email address...

Informal Letters:
- Informal / conversational tone.
- Sender address only (may not be required in the examination).
- May utilize informal diction.
- Informal salutation:
Hi Jill,
Hey Mum,
Dear Grandpa,
Hello Pete,
- Sender signature / end salutation is informal:
Love,
Mum.

Maggie. (name only)

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6. Persuasive Writing
Key Features:
• More personal tone
• Mainly a one-sided argument
• Emphasis on ideas that support writer’s opinion
• Downplaying opposing views (either understate them or ignore them
completely)
• Includes facts and opinions
• Appeal to the heart and the mind (emotional and logical appeal):
- Emotive language
- Logical arguments
• assertion – a point of view expressed as fact
• Use of appealing descriptive language
• Rhetorical devices
• Direct appeal - addressing the reader directly (‘you’)
• Appeal to the senses
• Using intensifiers
• Exaggeration
• Social proof
• Call to action

7. Argumentative Writing
Key Features:
⚫ A less personal tone than persuasive writing.
⚫ A number of facts and opinions, both for and against a subject.
⚫ Well-structured points progressing in a logical order towards a conclusion that
states the writer’s viewpoint.
⚫ A convincing and logical approach.
⚫ Language appropriate to the audience.
⚫ Use of ‘counter argument’ (For example, ‘You could state that …. However, this is
clearly not the case because ….’).
⚫ Tone appropriate for your audience.
⚫ Evidence to support writer’s views.
- Facts or statistics
- ‘Expert or witness comments’
- Personal experience.
Structure:
The Introduction

State the issue, the importance of the topic, main points and state your position
on the issue (writer’s viewpoint/opinion).

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 The Body
- State the ideas for your argument and qualify them with supportive
information
- State alternative views (counterarguments) and counter them (rebut)
- Each idea must be in its own paragraph.
The Conclusion
- Restate your position on the argument
- Summarize the main points.
- You can also state an issue that points towards future developments.

8. Discursive Writing
Key Features:
⚫ A less personal balanced/measured tone.
⚫ Explorative style.
⚫ Explores different points of view on the topic.
⚫ Facts and opinions, both for and against a subject.
⚫ Well-structured points progressing in a logical order towards a conclusion that
invites the audience to make their own decision.
⚫ A convincing and logical approach.
⚫ Evidence to support ideas presented:
- Facts
- Opinion
- Testimonial
- Statistical data
⚫ Language appropriate to the audience.
Structure:
The Introduction
- State the topic and its significance
- Provide definition(s) where necessary
- State the broad views to be discussed and highlight the main points (signposting)
The Body
- Present points in support of the broad views under discussion, ensure to offer
clear explanations, while providing supportive evidence. (Remember: one idea
per paragraph)
- Ensure the ideas presented offer a balanced discussion of the topic (balance the
ideas for and against as much as possible).

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 - Present points in a descending order – following the order of importance
(present the strongest points first).
The Conclusion
- Summarise main ideas.
- You may establish a personal position but you cannot be assertive about it (not
strongly stated). Make it clear to the audience that they are in a position to make
their own choice.
- For example: Clearly the mobile phone can contribute many benefits in classroom
teaching as accessibility to learning materials and efficiency are established. However,
there are evident distractions that may arise, hence inhibiting learning. In view of this
discussion, it seems like using mobile phones in classroom teaching may be a valid
consideration for educators; however, the decision to adopt the tool would be dependent
on individual schools and their unique context.

9. Descriptive Essay
Key reminders:
• Show, do not tell (do not narrate)
• Appeal to multiple senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste)
• You may structure your writing using spatial arrangement (describe each section
of a setting or item in a paragraph of its’ own), or you may use different appeal
to senses to organize the essay – for example, features that appeal to sight in
one paragraph (colours/ shapes/sizes), features that appeal to hearing in
another paragraph (sounds), features that appeal the sense of smell in a
separate paragraph (scents/odours) etc.
• Use imagery to paint vivid mental pictures.
• Use present tense.

10. Narrative
Key Terms:
• Narrator: A person who recounts the events of a story (the voice in the story)
• Characters: A person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a story used by the
writer to perform the actions and speak dialogue, moving the story along a plot
line.
• Setting: Time and place of a story.
• Narrator: A person who recounts the events of a story (the voice in the story)
• Characters: A person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a story used by the
writer to perform the actions and speak dialogue, moving the story along a plot
line.
• Setting: Time and place of a story.
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Voice:
Think of:
❖ Narrator – Person who recounts events
❖ Viewpoint – The way the writer or narrator looks at the world or the issues
expressed in the text, and the opinions he or she expresses.
❖ Perspective – The particular angle from which the writer views or experiences
events (First person or third person).

The mood:
- Is it sad, uncertain, joyful, melancholic, terrifying, somber, etc.?

Types of narrators:
• Omniscient – one who sees and understands everything. Not usually a character
but has an overarching view of everything, sometimes sounding judgmental.
• Limited – One who has knowledge of events, thoughts and feelings, but not
complete understanding. Could be a character in the story who can only
experience what he/she observes but is unaware of parallel stories.
• Fallible – A narrator whose account might be seen as unreliable. They could be
lying, misreading/misjudging a situation or have inconsistent or contradictory
memories.
• Unusual – Any form of narrator who does not fall in the usual categories. For
example, a story told from an animal’s point of view, an object, or a child too
young to speak.

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 Plot Development:

Developing Character:
- Narrate using reported speech (tell their actions, reactions, relationships
and specific behaviour).
- Describe (you may vividly describe their physical appearance, their voice,
their tendencies, etc.)
- Dialogue (use of direct speech – make the characters speak; allow the
audience to hear them directly).
Key Techniques:

• Narrating
• Consistent use of tense
• Describing
• Use of imagery – Simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia
• Using suspense
• Using dialogue

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Structure of dialogue:
- Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. If there is action
involved with a speaking character, keep the description of the action within
the same paragraph as the character's dialogue.
- Remember that punctuation goes inside quotations. This keeps the dialogue
clear and separate from the rest of the narrative. For example: "I can't
believe you just did that!"

Remember:
❖ Write an interesting hook (describe character, setting, create suspense)
❖ Develop characters fully using descriptions, narration, and dialogue.
❖ Use descriptive detail and imagery to make the language of your narrative more
interesting.
❖ Use suspense in the story to give your reader something to look forward to.
❖ Structure dialogue appropriately – start a new paragraph each time a speaker
changes. Remember that punctuation goes inside quotations; for example: "I
can't believe you just did that!"

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