Tasks to study the genres with the chosen texts 

1.	Editorial: Words, Not Action, From Mr. Trump on Opioids

Skills needed: analysing argumentative texts (rhetorical analysis: thesis, different kinds of arguments, rhetorical figures)

What is the thesis of the text?

Point out the arguments that it is based on. (Choose either the clear or noted version depending on the students’ skills.) 

Assess the arguments: Are they true? Are they appropriate for the topic? Are they convincing? Can they easily be answered with contra-arguments or different kind of views? 

Assess the argumentation as a whole. Is it versatile? Is it adequate and satisfactory? Why or why not? 

2.	Column: The National Crackup

Skills needed: analysing argumentative texts (rhetorical analysis: thesis, different kinds of arguments, rhetorical figures)

Columns are usually written in a personal style and using rhetorical figures. (In the noted version most of them are marked with red - choose either the clear or noted version depending on your students’ skills.)

Find the following rhetorical figures in the text: 

A metaphor
A list of three things
A contradiction
A word with negative connotation
A word with positive connotation
A visioning of the future
A pronoun that brings the writer close to the reader
Irony (?)

What is the meaning of those figures - how do they work in the text?

3.	Reportage: ‘White Lives Matter’ organizers cancel second rally after taunts from counterprotesters

Skills needed: analysing documentary pictures, reading multiple voiced texts

Reportages are usually not openly argumentative, but not as objective as news: the writer’s own view can be seen in the text. Reportages vary from very subjective, personal texts to almost news-like texts (like this). In any case reportage should give a wide view on it’s topic. That’s why it’s necessary to study e.g. which voices there are in the text: reportages should be multiple voiced texts. Another important feature are photos (found from the link, 20 pictures). What kind of a view do they give to the happening? Are there pictures of both sides? Are they neutral or for example make someone look ridiculous? By studying them and the text the reader can interpret the message and the goal of the text. What do you think, what is the goal of this text?

4.	Article: ‘Read me!’: Students race to craft forceful college essays as deadlines near

Skills needed: reading multiple voiced texts, knowing the elements of a journalistic text
http://www.easymedia.in/elements-newspaper/

An article usually aims to give a wide view on a topic and a problem related to it. The problem means that the writer searches answers for some questions. In the beginning of an article the topic is usually introduced and the problem defined. Then the reasons of the problem and also consequences are studied. In addition there might be suggestions to solve the problem or to cope with the topic. The basic organization would thus be the problem-solving organization. The questions in this article are e.g. “What is a good college application essay like?” “Why is it so agonizing for so many applicants?” “What can be done to write a good one?”

Read the article and point out the different parts of organization in the texts.

Point out all the sources that are used in the text. What kind of sources or voices there are? Are they adequate for the topic? What is missing? Does the reader get a large view on the topic based on the multiple voices?

In an article there usually are pictures, subheads and also graphs to visualize the topic. In this article there are pictures and links structuring the main text. What is the meaning of them? How do they structure the text? What kind of graph would also fit in the text?

Describe the style of the article. Where can you hear the writer’s own personal voice? (Page 3.) What kind of language the text is elsewhere?