INFORMATIONAL WRITING

Informational Portfolio Piece

Speech or Infographic

Mrs. Howard’s Language Arts Class, JCTMS

IMAGERYWhat is an image?

An image is a word or phrase that appeals to one of our

senses.

Imagery helps us to• Create a mental picture• Hear a sound• Feel a texture or temperature• Taste a sweet, salty, or sour flavor

IMAGERY CAN…

Speak to our deepest feelings—joy, sorrow, wonder, love

Emphasize certain qualities of the subject

Create a mood

VOICE IN WRITTEN SPEECHES

Punctuation and text features can be used to enhance a speaker’s meaning and purpose.

Examples???Bold font, underlining, italics, CAPITALIZATION, ellipses…, exclamation point!, dash--, (parentheses), “quotation marks”

EXAM PL ES O F SPO KEN VOICE IN WRIT TE N SPEE CHES

We have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

• Gestures—pointing or hand movements• Facial expressions

The Negro still is not “free!”• Articulation—draw attention to a word by the precision

of its delivery

It came as a JOYOUS daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

• Pitch—change of voice from high to low OR from low to high

EXAM PL ES O F SPO KEN VOICE IN WRIT TE N SPEE CHES

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

• Speed—pacing of 140-160 words a minute is normal.• A short sentence after a series of longer sentences adds

emphasis and dramaAll men are created…equal. OR All men are created—equal.

• Pauses emphasize a certain word or idea.

EXAM PL ES O F SPO KEN VOICE IN WRIT TE N SPEE CHES

FREE AT LAST! Free at last!• Volume—project voice louder or reduce voice to a

whisperLet freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

• Quality—show of emotion or enthusiasm to indicate passion.

Variance—combine all delivery elements in an effective way to maintain variety. Never go more than one paragraph without variance, but don’t overdo it either.

THINGS YOUR AUDIENCE CARES ABOUT

Economics(Cost or Money)

Legality(Is it lawful?)

Safety(Safe or

Dangerous)

Health(Healthy or Unhealthy)

Ethics(Right or Wrong)

Order(Organized or not)

Efficiency & Productivity

Conservation(Environment, Waste)

Justice/Fairness Service/Altruism

WHAT CONCERN ARE WE APPEALING TO?

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

JUSTICE/FAIRNESS

WHAT CONCERN ARE WE APPEALING TO?

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

SAFETY

WHAT CONCERN ARE WE APPEALING TO?

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

ETHICS—RIGHT VS. WRONG

While persuasive writing seeks to present two sides to an argument and prove that one option is better than the other, informative writing focuses on facts and rarely mentions the writer’s opinion. Information must be:

•Accurate—Check your facts and use reliable sources for research.

•Significant—Is it important? Does it make a difference?

•Interpreted fairly—Are there other sides to the issue?

PERSUASIVE VERSUS INFORMATIVE WRITING

WHAT IS INFORMATIONAL WRITING?

Nonfiction text (real, not just “realistic”)

Used to inform or explain something to the reading audience

Many different types…

EXAMPLES:

Newspapers - a daily or

weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements

EXAMPLES:

Biographies – accounts of the series of events of a person’s life (not Bibliographies)

Autobiographies – biographies of yourself

EXAMPLES:

Almanacs - annual

publications of weather forecasts and other information arranged according to the calendar of a given year

EXAMPLES:

NO! …at least not all sections

QUESTION: Are ALL Magazines informational??

Magazines - periodic publications containing pictures, stories, and articles of interest to those who purchase or subscribe to it

HOW IS AN INFORMATIONAL TEXT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER

WRITING?

Informational writing is factual while fiction writing is not.

Informational writing is written to inform or explain something while fictional writing often is a story conveying an authors point of view or is written simply to entertain.

HOW IS INFORMATIONAL TEXT SIMILAR TO OTHER TYPES OF

WRITING?

Just as in fictional writing, it is important to consider your audience

Just as in fictional writing, it is important to have a focused purpose to your writing

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More examples…