IB Docs (2) Team
Blog
Many students want to write blogs as written task 1s. But what is a 'blog' actually? It is a bit like describing a 'book'; it says more about the medium of delivery than the content. Generally speaking, blogs are not the most advisable text type for a written task 1. Nevertheless, it is worth studying this text type for two reasons: 1) Blogging has changed the modern media landscape. And 2) not everyone listens to advice. So if one is to going write a blog for a written task 1 (no matter the advice), then one should at least learn more about the conventions of blogging.
This lesson encourages discussion about blogging as a text type. It provides you with several examples and gives you a few pointers for writing your own blog.
Discussion
Perhaps it is best to define this text type, 'blog', by comparing it to other text types. What does it have in common with these text types and how is it different? Discuss the following table and fill it in together as a class. If you are struggling to fill in the table below, you may want to look ahead to several examples of blogs below.
'Blog' versus other text types
| How are blogs similar to these text types? | How are blogs different? | |
| Diary | Both are linear. Entries are archived. One writes about the 'here' and the 'now', to have a record for future reference. | Blogs are very public, while diaries are very private. |
| Essay | Both tend to be persuasive. A claim is supported with several illustrations. | Blogs do not have to be persuasive or academic in any way. Whereas essays are often read for school purposes, blogs try to capture a larger audience. |
| Opinion column | Both contain anecdote, newsworthiness, an appeal to a specific target audience. They have so much in common that one could argue that blogs are the new columns. | Whereas columnists usually have a readership, blogs may not be frequented regularly. They may be specific to a particular topic which is relevant to those who search for such information. |
| News report | Many good blog posts attempt to be newsworthy to some extent. In other words both readers want to know what is happening in a particular world. | News reports simply report. They do not offer opinion or reflection upon events like blogs tend to do. |
| Review | Both texts reflect on something. A journalistic review may comment on a performance, a new book or a movie. Many blogs fulfil this role as well. | A blog may have a broader scope that reviewing performances, books or movies. A blog may focus on a particular topic, such as Gothic trends, a possibly review a recent publication on this topic. |
| Journal | Journals, unlike diaries, are kept as a record of a particular topic. This is true of many blogs as well. People may blog about the UN's Millenium Goals, for example, keeping track of successes and failures, just as a scientist might keep a journal on the behavior of a particular species. | Journals are not always public. They are kept for the sake of research. |
| Website | The term 'website', like 'blog' or 'book' could mean anything. Some websites are a collection of blogs, such as Wired.com, where blog entries are a bit like magazine articles. | Because websites can be so diverse, not all contain blogs. Think of online stores for example. Many websites are like brochures online. |
| Press release | In the 'olden days', a large coorporation would send the media a 'press release', which they could then edit or insert into a news item or radio broadcast. These days, coorporations (both large and small) can speak directly to a large public by posting news announcements on their website/blog. | Press releases are very much 'for your information' (FYI). Blogs tend to reflect, comment on or persuade. |
| Tweet | One could say that tweets are mini-blogs. Both are streams of information. In fact many tweets link to blog posts. | Blogs tend to be longer than 140 characters. They offer more depth and breadth. |
Examples of blogs
Another way of defining a text type is by exploring several examples of it. Although this collection of blogs is very diverse it is useful to ask yourself what traits they all have in common. You can make a Venn diagram depicting one, two or three different blogs to discuss their similarities and differences.
Several famous blogs
- The Huffington Post
This is indeed a collection of blogs (though many people mistakenly take it for an online newspaper). Those who blog on Ms Huffington's site include the rich, famous and politically influential. While some investigative journalism is done for this site, most entries are clearly opinion pieces, which are all rather left-wing.
- Boing Boing
This is a collection of random and very quirky blogs on anything and everything from Darth Vader tea towelsto the latest graphic novel. It is loved by those who are proud of the title 'geek'.
- Perez Hilton
This is the online equivalent of a juicy tabloid magazine on Hollywood actors and lifestyle. Literally hundreds of thousands of viewers check out this website everyday for the latest gossip.
- Tree Hugger
This blog is focused on the topic of saving the environment and reducing carbon emissions. Most posts report on the latest advances and developments in this field, much of which contains opinion and commentary. Some 'how to' pages can also be found.
Defining characteristics
So what do all blogs have in common? Perhaps the only uniting feature is that they are streams of posts that are logged into digital archives, easily retrievable for anyone looking for anything on any topic. (Remember after all, the term 'blog' comes from 'weblog' - like a log book kept online). If blogging were like cooking, the recipe would read: 'Throw something together and put it in the oven.' Nevertheless, if we were to establish some key ingredients The following MAY be used:
- Personal anecdote - This may offer the audience a little wisdom on a particular topic gained from personal experience.
- Newsworthiness - Blogs often refer to people or events, which many people may find relevant.
- Facts/statistics - Blogs often reiterate a fact or statistic that was recently reported in the news.
- Personal opinion - These are usually statements tat critique, praise or comment on something or someone.
- 'How to' guidance - Blogs can be instructional, offering their audience a kind of step-by-step approach on a particular project.
- Call to action - Bloggers may ask their audience to sign a petition, retweet a tweet or forward a message.
- Review - In response to a book, film or performance, blogs often offer an analysis or opinion.
- Humor - Blogs may have a humorous undertone.
- Description - Bloggers may describe a product, event or phenomenon.
Teacher talk
Blogs as text types raise some interesting questions about the nature of this course, its requirements and student work. How should blogs be taught and what value do they bring to the classroom?
Blogs, the written task and teaching text types
- These are difficult to assess from the examiner's perspective. On criteria C and D for example, it may be argued that a 'chatty' register is very appropriate to the text type. An unorganized and incoherent structure may be typical of blogs, which is again an argument for giving anything with the title 'blog' high marks. Blogs in the real world are not always interesting. Many disappear into the digital oblivion without anyone noticing. Therefore a student can claim that unfocused writing without structural conventions should score well. In fact many blogs have structural features of traditional text types. Some are online reviews. Some are online opinion columns. And some are online instructions. Therefore, if a student really wants to write a blog, it is advisable fashion it after a more traditional text type.
- Question: Why should a student adopt a particular perspective or take on a persona (which is often done in good written tasks), if anyone and everyone can blog in real life? Answer: If the written task blog is to be considered a 'good' blog, it should have a clear target audience. Popular blogs have a following because they target an audience's need for information. It is important to distinguish here between 'blog' and 'blog entry'. We often mean the latter when we say the prior. 'Article' is to 'magazine' as 'blog entry' is to 'blog'. Students often submit a blog entry as a written task and call it a 'blog', but it would be good to learn more about the type of people who follow this blog (online magazine) regularly and faithfully. What characteristics define this target audience (i.e. 'mothers', 'people concerned about the environment', etc.)? If students submit a blog entry as a written task, it is highly recommended that they define target audience carefully in the rationale. It is also recommended to model it after a popular, existing blog and write in the style of a real blogger.
Taking the above into consideration, you may think it wise to avoid blogs all together. On the contrary, studying blogs can be quite fascinating. Comparing a Huffington Post piece to a news article on the same topic in the Guardian could open up a discussion on opinion versus reporting. Blogging as a cultural phenomenon is also worthy of much discussion, as many influential bloggers have changed political landscapes and the world of journalism.
So how does one teach blogs? This lesson has offered a few simple and effective approaches. Trying to come to a collective definition of 'blog' by comparing this text type to others is a start. Comparing and contrasting various blogs is yet another strategies. Finally, you may wish to discuss the following activity below: 'Is this a blog?'
Is this a blog?
The following 'blog' was submitted as a written task 1 (without a rationale). What advice would you give this student? What changes should be made so that it looks and sounds more like a blog? Consider the 'defining characteristics' and sample blogs above as you create a bullet-pointed list of of advice for this student. You may want to concentrate on the following questions as you write some constructive feedback:
- What is the author's purpose?
- Who is going to read this text? Who is the target audience?
- What kinds of structural conventions should be used?
Sample written task 1
I’ll start with my country. Us Portuguese are stereotyped throughout the world. Everyone thinks we all love football and that everyone is a great player. This annoys me. It annoys me because it suggests we don’t do anything else except football. Even, an otherwise great YouTube video, a message from Portugal to Finland, which was intended to convince the Finns to lend us money, we mentioned football three times. We used football to convince a country to lend us financial aid. I have learned to accept this generalisation of the Portuguese people over the years and can tolerate it but the KFC ad I encountered was far too controversial to be ignored.
Once again, I am stuck in a personal dilemma and I feel it is my moral obligation to address this issue. An Australian friend of mine posted on his Facebook wall a KFC commercial that he found hilarious. See for yourself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FftZt-Dw_hQ) and post your thoughts below. Foremost not only I think it was stereotyping the Australian people as racist, in my perspective but it gives the general idea that when an Australian is in the middle of a crowd of black Australians, they feel awkward. And to solve that problem they use fried chicken. Not being an Australian, it made me ashamed for the Australians. This idea that black people love fried chicken, is stereotyping the black community and people, such as me, might it find very offensive. It was a very suggestive commercial but this KFC advert is not the only example where a country was stereotyped.
What about this Pepsi commercial? Is it stereotyping German people? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdZpt1oQsy0). Yes, it is funny. Yes, it amuses football lovers but did you see how Germans were represented? They were shown as like an average German day is Oktoberfest! They are shown as beer loving, clownish and comical figures. They represent men with long white beards who drink beer and have big-breasted women which provide them the drink. Don ‘t misinterpret my criticism as I found the commercial quite amusing but I think the German people were generalised quite too much in this commercial. It is just another example of generalisation of nations in commercials. The question I then put forward to you readers is does stereotyping sell?
I think major Co-operations such as Pepsi and KFC trying to be funny and try to capture the audience by putting their favourite things in front of them. They make specific commercials for specific countries and try to place in the ad what they love most so they can capture their attentions. Also it shows them that big, scary industries care about the people, care about their interests. It gives connection between a person and an international industry. The stereotyping in commercials nowadays has become more obvious and I think it is outrageous. The amount of insinuations and how cultures are represented in certain commercials is ridiculous. Another example is this English commercial which to me is very controversial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9OneW4gMuQ) Yes I had a good laugh watching the ad but they way English people are portrayed is disgusting. And how many commercials are there in the world, which are like this? Thousands! Major industries can get away with nearly everything nowadays just to astonish people and make them talk about the commercial. They don’t care about representing the product in a good way, they just want to shock people. I’m I right? I’m I wrong? I’m I being too over-analytical? Or maybe people just haven’t realized how industries can manipulate a person through stereotyping and by becoming “friendly” with the audience. Don’t let commercials define your nation. Stand by your nation and let your worries be heard. Stereotyping is not ok.
Maybe I’m being too general and I’m having a too narrow view of the situation. I would like to believe that is true because I don’t want to think that a modern world like today is not manipulated by the stereotyping in commercials. But there are just too many examples of nations being ridiculed by companies just so they can sell their product. They use the controversial factor to attract audiences.
Concluding my ranting, I hope you got a less “innocent” view of industries. My rage towards these commercials is how people don’t seem to care on how whole nations and represented and always for the negative! People stand by their principles and not give up to international powers. Next time you watch a commercial, which you think, is offensive, don’t be shy. Warn people. Write about it. Tell me about it!
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