Articles, reviews and speeches · Grade 8
Articles, reviews and speeches are written for real audiences. Before you write, think about FAP: the form (what kind of text), the audience (who will read or hear it) and the purpose (why you are writing). They decide your layout and your tone.
Key facts
- A newspaper report has a short headline, often a standfirst (one sentence under the headline), the key facts (who, what, where, when, why) in the third person, and quotations from witnesses.
- A feature article or blog post can be more personal: a catchy title, subheadings, the first person and a chatty tone for a blog.
- A review names what it is judging, gives a short summary without spoilers, offers an opinion with evidence and ends with a recommendation or a star rating.
- A speech greets the audience (Good morning, everyone), speaks to them directly as you and we, uses rhetorical questions, repetition and a list of three, and ends memorably and with thanks.
- Headlines are short and punchy: strong verbs, the present tense and no small words: Hikers Saved From Fog-Bound Mountain.