'The Lot' thread

[Irving4Prez]

Hey guys,

My teacher personally prefers for her students to avoid writing a "straight expository essay" which is understandable because the format choice is subjective to every person. However, from the start of last year I've consolidated my expository essay writing skills and have never wrote an imaginative piece. I confronted my teacher about this issue and she told me to incorporate aspects of an expository into an imaginative. Will writing a newspaper article that alternates between exploring my past experiences and explaining how they link to 'whose reality' be acceptable?

Thanks

[Limista]

Hey guys,

My teacher personally prefers for her students to avoid writing a "straight expository essay" which is understandable because the format choice is subjective to every person. However, from the start of last year I've consolidated my expository essay writing skills and have never wrote an imaginative piece. I confronted my teacher about this issue and she told me to incorporate aspects of an expository into an imaginative. Will writing a newspaper article that alternates between exploring my past experiences and explaining how they link to 'whose reality' be acceptable?

Thanks

The purpose of a newspaper article is to inform. It never has a creative touch to it. A newspaper article is like what you get on the front page of The Age and journalists write newspaper articles.

...so I don't think a newspaper article is the appropriate format or medium for tying the knot between your past experiences and the context.

At the same time, what you're aiming to do wouldn't be a straight expository piece either, since the majority of it will be personal and anecdotal. But this sort of essay would still fall under the category of 'expository', which is perfectly fine!

[literally lauren]

However, if you can manage to write a sort of news feature column eg. like you'd see in The Australian Magaine or maybe in The Review,
this could fulfill the creative element you're teacher is looking for.
<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/how-did-margot-robbies-star-rise-so-quickly/story-e6frg8h6-1226814194675#>
<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/asian-slaves-to-the-australian-sex-industry/story-e6frg8h6-1226814033674>
^Just the first two I came across, both examples of interwoven creative/expository writing.
I agree, a straight up news piece is as detached and expository as it gets, but if you begin with your story/ experiences, then transitioning into a discusion of the context, this would be fine.
Since you've said you're more comfortable with the expository skills you've consolidated, it might not be worth trying something radically different for the sake of one teacher. I'm not doubting her advise, plain expository can be pretty tedious, but it can also be interesting and even enlightening if done right.
There are quite a few ways to weave in some creative threads: You could open with a quote, whether it's from The Lot or somewhere else, and expand upon that, or write 'in character' as someone from the text, eg. a young child seeing the emotionally ambiguous world Leunig portrays through fresh eyes.
So long as your piece is engaging, its form is relatively unimportant. Some assessors can't stand persuasive pieces, others find creatives a little too on-the-nose with the didacticism. Talk to your teacher if you're still undecided

[Irving4Prez]

At the same time, what you're aiming to do wouldn't be a straight expository piece either, since the majority of it will be personal and anecdotal. But this sort of essay would still fall under the category of 'expository', which is perfectly fine!

Are there any other alternatives to a newspaper article? Perhaps a personal reflective that could have have a mixture between expository and creative?

 

I agree, a straight up news piece is as detached and expository as it gets, but if you begin with your story/ experiences, then transitioning into a discusion of the context, this would be fine.
Since you've said you're more comfortable with the expository skills you've consolidated, it might not be worth trying something radically different for the sake of one teacher. I'm not doubting her advise, plain expository can be pretty tedious, but it can also be interesting and even enlightening if done right.
There are quite a few ways to weave in some creative threads: You could open with a quote, whether it's from The Lot or somewhere else, and expand upon that, or write 'in character' as someone from the text, eg. a young child seeing the emotionally ambiguous world Leunig portrays through fresh eyes.
So long as your piece is engaging, its form is relatively unimportant. Some assessors can't stand persuasive pieces, others find creatives a little too on-the-nose with the didacticism. Talk to your teacher if you're still undecided

Thanks for the links to the articles

My teacher wants me to predominantly based my piece on an imaginative form and have minimal expository aspects. She was pretty adamant to move away from expository :/

When I showed her my original expository piece, I started off with an anecdote that entailed my experience regarding how I observed the destitution of a group of people living in poverty. My following paragraph after that was informative and she disliked it quite a bit. Instead, she told me to explore the ideas of my introduction by constructing a creative around the idea and drawing from the ideas of The Lot rather than making implicit references to the types of reality embedded within the text...  (inferring that I stay away from expository). She recommended I presented my piece in the format of a newspaper article where I had flashbacks to my past... I'm quite conflicted to how I'll go about doing this

[literally lauren]

Hmm. Rightio:

For a newspaper article:
A major problem in most expository essays is that they lack strong ideas. They become formulaic, or worse still like a Text Response, and thus don't engage with the context let alone the prompt. Take for example the 2013 Whose reality prompt: 'Losing touch with reality is often dangerous.' My first thought would be dealing with mental illnesses (year 11 psych ftw) like schizophrenia or Depersonalisation Syndrome whereby people's minds are so far detached from the world around them that they become dangers to themselves and others. I might write an article as a journo in an asylum, observing destructive behaviour patterns. This covers all elements of the prompt, but is still a superficial engagement. I haven't dealt with the different ways we can lose touch, whether it's ever in our control, the extent to which it is dangerous, or whether it's even possible to be in touch with reality. Obviously it's impossible to cover everything, but a piece that only explores a single avenue is extremely limiting. Whilst it may be easier to cram more into expository pieces, creative formats can still work. An article allows you to do this provided your linking ability is up to scratch. For instance, your introduction observing a desolate, poverty-stricken area could be the common thread throughout. You might then go on to describe some of the people you meet in this group, how some conform to while others defy stereotypes. Later you return back to Melbourne (or New York, let's glam it up a bit) where you are struck by the monotony of life here; how can these realities coexist? Where some parents starve so that their children may see another day, while here a hundred people can walk past a vagabond without a second thought? (I don't know what your prompt was so I'm just jabbering here.) Your writing doesn't have to become expository, you can expose the ideas without explaining them. Unlike a TR essay you don't have to come to a solid conclusion of interpretation, you just have to say something interesting and relevant.
For other forms: Personal reflections are a tricky area. When you're discussing the grand truths of something as all-encompassing as reality, it can be undermined if you keep harking back to 'this is like that time I had a fight with my friend and our realities of what happened didn't match up.' It's usually the most effective when you're assuming the voice of another. Apart from that, other forms I've read include letters/messages (not recommended given your text, also it's a pretty clunky approach unless you're proficient in it) short stories (though these often lack sophisticated exploration of the prompt) or hybrids. This might be worth experimenting; have a reflection interpolated with an inner monologue for instance, (you interacting with some people living in poverty, and then you back in your sky-rise apartment (cause that's where all journos live) contemplating what you've learned.)
I'd seek further clarification from your teacher though. Obviously she knows you better than me so the format she's suggesting might be perfect once you get your head around it, but if she's pushing you into something you're less than comfortable with, just explain you'd rather find your own writing style and she should understand.
Otherwise there's always the forums

[Limista]

Are there any other alternatives to a newspaper article? Perhaps a personal reflective that could have have a mixture between expository and creative?

 

yeah sure. Hybrid pieces are really interesting if written well 

[Yacoubb]

Hey guys

SO I thought this thread should be resurrected, haha!

I'd like to maybe begin a discussion of Leunig's perspective of the context, and what Leunig believes about the following ideas:
- Fantasy vs. Reality
- Memories and Past Experiences
- Avoiding or Losing Touch with reality
- Objective Realuty vs. Subjective Reality
- Conforming ~ we are all led to believe a particular reality
- Creating a reality for yourself

I think that Leunig tells us a few things:
- We need to embrace 'radical abnormality', and that in doing so, we are developing authenticity in a world conditioned to believe a reality imposed upon us by 'the dictator' (i.e. the media).
- Fantasy is ultimately our imagination - that is, fantasy is based upon no solid foundation. Leunig demonstrates that imagination opens up new realities. It is the key to developing an organic perspective of 'reality'.
- Why? The answer is simple. Leunig reminds us that a 'reality' exists for everyone. BUT, the media conditions all to believe that reality is intricate and difficult to develop. That is, our OWN sense of reality. Instead, we are instructed by the media to believe that we should just conform to the 'reality' created by the media, as it would be much easier.

Memory and Past Experiences:
Memory and past experiences play a paramount role in the development of our 'reality'. Without these experiences and recollections, we are ultimately unable to form a perspective on a given circumstance, event, etc. Leunig indicates that his views are shaped by his persinal experience and expressed in a highly individual way. By evaluating our experiences, we attempt to make sense of the world and thus develop our reality. Isn't this ultimately why conflict occurs? Different realities because of our own subjective realities?
- Our beliefs colour our view of reality.
- We need to embrace the idea of 'peeing on someone's head' and rejecting the notion of 'following school rules'. Of course, metaphorically, he talks about rejecting the notion of following convention. We need to develop autheticity - how? Embrace your imagination.

Conformity:
Taking a look at AFL. Leunig views AFL as a coarse form of mainstream conformity. A 'herd mentality' that lacks in sophistication and authenticity. On the other hand, a mainstream Australian may view AFL as an aspect of Australian culture. The conflicting viewpoints of AFL is because we are all subject to different 'realities'. In saying this however, we must learn to accept the diversity of opinions so that we live in harmony despite our differences.

We need to reflect upon our own view of 'commercial life'. Take a look at art and what Leunig has to say about art. He challenges the whole perception of art as 'orderly and hushed' in art galleries. The 'art priests' deemed Van Gogh an exile because his 'art' did not look like 'true art'. The artwork
'gets depressed' and 'commits suicide' - why does he personify art for? Its really just to allow for a criticism of institutionalised art, and institutionalised everything, really.

THE ROT OF CONFORMITY - we need to develop an alternate reality where we redefine our own 'reality' without being influenced by the 'dictator'.

Organic Reality:
On many occasions, Leunig has gushing descriptions of natural landscapes. Leunig lives in the country, where he is surrounded by the bush. Why? Simply because of his love for all things organic.
- We need to create a reality for ourselves. The 2011 VCAA examination prompt for Whose Reality was Shared experiences does not mean that people see things the same way. Shared experiences - a reference to going through similar or same circumstances. Why is it that we wont 'see things the same way'. Is it because this experience will be perceived differently by us? What factors play a role in 'seeing things' the way we do?
- Our reality must be authentic and organic. We need to go into the country and homeschool our children away from the city (like Leunig has) and we need to surround ourselves with all things organic before we can 'swim against the tide' and be courageous enough to do so.