Writing To Share, Reflect, and Connect
- These three text types all test whether you can write with authenticity.
- Examiners want to see you understand who you are writing to, why you are writing, and whether you can make the text look and sound like the real thing.
Blogs
Definition
Blog
An online entry written to share personal experiences or opinions with a wider audience.
- Purpose, Audience & Register
- Purpose: Share experiences, reflect, or persuade lightly.
- Audience: classmates, school community, or a wider online audience.
- Register: informal to semi-formal, depending on context.
- Layout & Conventions
- Title and short opening hook.
- Short paragraphs (2–4 lines) with subheadings.
- Ending often encourages the reader to reflect or act.
Key Features
- Tone: Conversational, friendly, often enthusiastic.
- Vocabulary: Everyday verbs, precise nouns, light rhetorical questions, verbs of action such as organise, test, build, reduce.
- Useful stems:
- “Here is what surprised me…”,
- “If you try this, start with…”,
- “What I learned was…”
How to Write a Blog
- Title that signals topic and angle.
- Hook: one or two sentences that set context or provoke a question.
- Body in two or three sections with subheadings; each section gives a point plus a concrete scene.
- Mini takeaways in single lines.
- Close with a nudge: invite a comment, a next step, or a simple challenge.
Diaries
Definition
Diary
A private record of experiences and feelings, usually not meant for others.
- Purpose, Audience & Register
- Purpose: Record events, express feelings, reflect on meaning.
- Audience: Yourself.
- Register: Informal, intimate, honest.
- Layout & Conventions
- Date at the start.
- Written in first person.
- End with a reflection or next step.
