Informative text type

[rirerire]

Anyone have any experience preparing for this text type? How could they possible test this one in the HSC as in how are we supposed to know enough about one topic to write this kind of response?

[angewina_naguen]

Anyone have any experience preparing for this text type? How could they possible test this one in the HSC as in how are we supposed to know enough about one topic to write this kind of response?

Hey, rirerire!

I don't have personal experience with this text type myself but for those interested in engaging with informative writing for the HSC, I usually recommend they combine it with another text type to write a hybrid piece instead. This way, you can prepare information and ideas for a topic which can still be somewhat adaptable and worked with under exam conditions. An example could be to have an informative-creative piece which goes back and forth between two voices. The first speaker could be a professor delivering a lecture in Family Law who is providing facts, studies and statistics about divorce and the other character is a student who is listening in and recalling the events which led up to her parents' own divorce. This could allow you to prepare material to bring into the exam but still be flexible enough to change things if you get a completely unrelated question because you can work with writing a solely creative/discursive/persuasive instead  I highly doubt they will specify for you to write an informative response only in the HSC so hopefully this gives you some options to think about. Feel free to let me know if you have any further questions though!

Angelina 

[rirerire]

Hey, rirerire!

I don't have personal experience with this text type myself but for those interested in engaging with informative writing for the HSC, I usually recommend they combine it with another text type to write a hybrid piece instead. This way, you can prepare information and ideas for a topic which can still be somewhat adaptable and worked with under exam conditions. An example could be to have an informative-creative piece which goes back and forth between two voices. The first speaker could be a professor delivering a lecture in Family Law who is providing facts, studies and statistics about divorce and the other character is a student who is listening in and recalling the events which led up to her parents' own divorce. This could allow you to prepare material to bring into the exam but still be flexible enough to change things if you get a completely unrelated question because you can work with writing a solely creative/discursive/persuasive instead  I highly doubt they will specify for you to write an informative response only in the HSC so hopefully this gives you some options to think about. Feel free to let me know if you have any further questions though!

Angelina 

oooo that is such a cool idea wow
I have a question tho- is it a bad idea to make up stats? especially in your scenario where it is a hybrid text so partially imaginative as well

[angewina_naguen]

oooo that is such a cool idea wow
I have a question tho- is it a bad idea to make up stats? especially in your scenario where it is a hybrid text so partially imaginative as well

Hey, rirerire!

I definitely don't think you should be making up facts, studies and statistics if you're dealing with a discursive or persuasive hybrid because the topics you're exploring are being drawn from real life. This is something you can prepare in advance for by conducting some quick research can help you find what you need to address your ideas in an informed and skilful manner 

However, if you have a certain purpose that you wish to fulfil by making up facts, I think it should work fine in a creative context. For example, for an imaginative hybrid piece set in a dystopic world where the line between fact and fiction is more blurred, you might want to deliberately make up the facts and figures that the leaders in the society are projecting in their propaganda to illustrate the manipulative nature of the society. Perhaps your protagonist discovers a history textbook which contradicts the knowledge they have been surrounded by and understood their whole lives which can develop itself into a strong narrative on how we might distinguish information from misinformation in our current world. Basically, if you choose to make up any facts or figures, it should align with the intended effect you want the piece to have on a reader and serve as a means to achieve it  Hope that helps!

Angelina 

[rirerire]

Hey, rirerire!

I definitely don't think you should be making up facts, studies and statistics if you're dealing with a discursive or persuasive hybrid because the topics you're exploring are being drawn from real life. This is something you can prepare in advance for by conducting some quick research can help you find what you need to address your ideas in an informed and skilful manner 

However, if you have a certain purpose that you wish to fulfil by making up facts, I think it should work fine in a creative context. For example, for an imaginative hybrid piece set in a dystopic world where the line between fact and fiction is more blurred, you might want to deliberately make up the facts and figures that the leaders in the society are projecting in their propaganda to illustrate the manipulative nature of the society. Perhaps your protagonist discovers a history textbook which contradicts the knowledge they have been surrounded by and understood their whole lives which can develop itself into a strong narrative on how we might distinguish information from misinformation in our current world. Basically, if you choose to make up any facts or figures, it should align with the intended effect you want the piece to have on a reader and serve as a means to achieve it  Hope that helps!

Angelina 

yeah you're right  wow though you have so many cool ideas I think I need to start reading more books haha

[angewina_naguen]

yeah you're right  wow though you have so many cool ideas I think I need to start reading more books haha

Hey!

Thank you so much  The story idea I just brainstormed there is very 1984-esque which I have recently just finished rereading. I definitely think creativity is constantly fuelled by things that inspire us so keep reading, watching, listening and exploring all there is out there to find what sparks your own. If you have any particular genres you like, I'm happy to offer some recommendations 

Angelina 

[rirerire]

Hey!

Thank you so much  The story idea I just brainstormed there is very 1984-esque which I have recently just finished rereading. I definitely think creativity is constantly fuelled by things that inspire us so keep reading, watching, listening and exploring all there is out there to find what sparks your own. If you have any particular genres you like, I'm happy to offer some recommendations 

Angelina 

I have another few questions for creatives/mod C- do the responses always need to have like an elaborate plot?? I struggle to come up with unique perspective bending ideas..
my biggest problem though is I can never actually keep the story/discursive/persuasive going for 1000 words or even 500 in an exam  What kind of details should I explore (while staying well away from cliches)

[angewina_naguen]

I have another few questions for creatives/mod C- do the responses always need to have like an elaborate plot?? I struggle to come up with unique perspective bending ideas..
my biggest problem though is I can never actually keep the story/discursive/persuasive going for 1000 words or even 500 in an exam  What kind of details should I explore (while staying well away from cliches)

Hey again!

I find that the best stories can take a simple plot and transform it into something elaborate. You don't need to have an insane number of things occurring for a story to be effective; it just needs to go start, go and arrive somewhere satisfying  One of my favourite short stories of all time is Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour in which all the events within it unfold, as the title suggests, in an hour! You could have a read of it here if you wanted to get inspired!

If you're struggling to lengthen the story, my first tip is to plan out a trajectory for it. When you know whereabouts you want a story to head and the events that will lead up to it, you can gain a greater sense of whether how much you need to write to reach that destination. My second tip is, for creative writing specifically, to work with the five senses. Engaging and detailed descriptions are always ideal but I find that students have a tendency to favour visual imagery which ends up in a lot of "telling", rather than "showing." You want for your character, and reader, to immerse in their setting and interact sensorily with their environment. If you're lacking auditory features, describe some of the sounds they are hearing. If you feel that the character is too stiff, introduce some tactile imagery and textures for them to react to. The stimulus, whether it's a visual or written one, can also be a point of reference for you to draw from. This can help you deepen the story, as well as develop more narrative and plot to work with! My last tip is to practise; if you don't practise writing creatively under exam conditions, it will be far challenging when you actually have to do it. Once you finish a response, figure out how much you've written and ask yourself what else you might have wanted to have added. You'll mentally create for yourself some options to use in the exam itself. After this, you just have to keep going until you can comfortably reach the desired word count you want  Hopefully that helps but feel free to follow up with more questions!

Angelina 

[rirerire]

Hey again!

I find that the best stories can take a simple plot and transform it into something elaborate. You don't need to have an insane number of things occurring for a story to be effective; it just needs to go start, go and arrive somewhere satisfying  One of my favourite short stories of all time is Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour in which all the events within it unfold, as the title suggests, in an hour! You could have a read of it here if you wanted to get inspired!

If you're struggling to lengthen the story, my first tip is to plan out a trajectory for it. When you know whereabouts you want a story to head and the events that will lead up to it, you can gain a greater sense of whether how much you need to write to reach that destination. My second tip is, for creative writing specifically, to work with the five senses. Engaging and detailed descriptions are always ideal but I find that students have a tendency to favour visual imagery which ends up in a lot of "telling", rather than "showing." You want for your character, and reader, to immerse in their setting and interact sensorily with their environment. If you're lacking auditory features, describe some of the sounds they are hearing. If you feel that the character is too stiff, introduce some tactile imagery and textures for them to react to. The stimulus, whether it's a visual or written one, can also be a point of reference for you to draw from. This can help you deepen the story, as well as develop more narrative and plot to work with! My last tip is to practise; if you don't practise writing creatively under exam conditions, it will be far challenging when you actually have to do it. Once you finish a response, figure out how much you've written and ask yourself what else you might have wanted to have added. You'll mentally create for yourself some options to use in the exam itself. After this, you just have to keep going until you can comfortably reach the desired word count you want  Hopefully that helps but feel free to follow up with more questions!

Angelina 

this is super helpful thank you so much!