I have been on an accidental hiatus from the blog. I was still completing the class Professional Writing and wanted to do a catch-up post of weeks five to nine.
Week 5: Obituary Genre
The obituary genre was fascinating. I had not considered how much was involved in writing about the lives of the subjects. The way that the obituary has evolved is also interesting. From the morbid to the celebration of the person’s life.
Week 6: Opinion Piece
Learning about the opinion piece genre, opened my eyes and perspective on a form of writing that I had been judgemental about. I had considered the opinion piece to be subjective and opinionated. While this may be part of the genre, a well-written opinion piece should argue a case and support itself with evidence.
Week 8: Newspaper Report
One particular area of the newspaper report genre that I was intrigued by was the modern use of ‘info-entertainment’ or the way that the news is incorporating subjective language into a field that has been traditionally objective. There is an increasing demand for the journalists to entertain and catch the attention of the reader.
Week 9: Job Cover Letter
The last genre that we looked at was the job cover letter. It is interesting to draw on the context and formality of this style of writing. On the surface, it may seem simple, but there are a lot of variables that come into play. It’s a delicate balance between self-promotion and emotive expression and the professionalism of a formal register.
And that my friends