It's a student's life

(by English in Action writer, James Faraday)

They live off other people's money. They don't even know the meaning of the word 'work'. And they contribute nothing at all to society. Who am I talking about? Students, of course.

As far as I am concerned, today's students are lazy, unproductive individuals who do nothing but sit around all day listening to CDs and spending their parents' hard-earned money. Then, when that's all gone, they turn to the taxpayer to support them in their lives of luxury. I wouldn't mind, but they dare to complain that they are overworked and that they suffer from stress. All I can say is that they are going to have a shock when they finally enter the real world. Then they'll realise what work and stress really mean.

I'm sure you'll agree with me that this article is a bit hard on us students. Why don't you write a letter to the editor of English in Action and put him straight? I'd do it myself but I'm revising for exams (something that the writer of this article would not believe!) Anyway, I'm sure you'd do a better job than me. Let me know if you decide to do it…

Answer the questions:

1. What do you have to write?

2. Who are the target readers?

3. How formal does your writing need to be?

4. How will you begin and end your letter?

5. What information will you include in the main body?

6. Think of appropriate topic sentences for your main body paragraphs. How will you support your topic sentences?

• WRITING AN ARTICLE

Study the following recommendations in order to know how to write articles.

Articles are written for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, etc, and use a variety of styles. In general, an article should contain:

• a suitable eye-catching title, followed by an introduction which makes the reader want to read more. Techniques for attracting the reader's attention include using:

• direct address (e.g. If you need help with your studies, look no further.)

• a rhetorical question (e.g. How often do you think about where our food comes from?)

• background information (e.g. In recent months, we have heard a great deal about...)

• A main body, in which you write about the main points in the rubric.

• You should start a new paragraph for each point.

• Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence, followed by explanation(s) or example(s).

• A conclusion, in which you can summarise the main points or re-state your opinion.

The style of writing should be appropriate for the target reader (which in this case is determined by the type of publication).

Most articles are a blend of different types of writing. For example, an article describing a journey you have made is clearly narrative. However, descriptive writing will also be used to describe the scenery, your feelings, atmosphere, etc. If the rubric also includes instructions to ... say what you learned from the experience, then you will need to use discursive writing as well.