MEC: TY English Workbook 2020 - 2021 | Page 176

Style: Your focus needs to be on facts and statistics. Every point you make should be backed up by a specific example. If you are giving advice, it needs to be specific – think “count your daily fruit and veg intake and try to gradually increase by one a day until you reach your target” rather than the so-vague-as-to-be-almost-completely-useless “eat more healthily”. You can make statistics up, but you’ll have to make them sound believable. One way to do this is to name the source of the statistic – researcher, title & institution e.g. “According to research carried out by Dr. Hazel Nolan, sociology professor at Harvard University, one reason for the increase in smoking amongst teenage girls is because it is perceived as a good way to control weight gain”. However, your statistic must be convincing! Your language must be appropriate to your audience. Reports commissioned by the government or by an organisation such as the Central Statistics Office (CSO) or the Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) adopt a very formal and professional tone and use subject-specific vocabulary. However, a leaflet offering advice to teens on staying safe online would need to adopt a much less formal approach, otherwise the people it’s aimed at (young people) would stop reading. Language of Argument What is it? Writing which offers personal opinions & refutes opposing views logically is argumentative. Examples: Articles, speeches, blogs, debates, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, election material. Layout: The headings and bullet points you used for the language of information are 176