Now you have found some team-mates, it's time to work on your first article for our magazine!

Go to your team's page to write your article. Each group should choose a different colour to write.

Use also your team's thread in forum #2 to discuss about the writing process with your team-mates. Check it regularly, keep your team-mates updated (what did you do today? what are your plans for next week?) to make sure you are all on the same wavelength and answer your team-mates' posts. Remember: communication is the key to success! :-) Also, you can upload in the forum the illustrations you'd like to use in your article (personal photos / drawings / videos or creative commons only!)

DEADLINES:

- you should finish the article (stages 1, 2, 3 in the grid below) on your team's page by January 22nd at the latest; upload the illustrations (copyright free) into your team's folder in "materials > images" and mention the source!

- stages 4 and 5 (publishing and editing on Madmagz) from January 22nd to February 8th.

Steps to follow:

Pre-writing	Select a topic Brainstorm ideas Share the work within the team Collect resources / information
Drafting	Put ideas on page (team's page) Organize ideas Incorporate resources and information collected
Re-writing	Check coherence of content Re-write for logic and organization (paragraphs) Choose a catchy title, the subtitles, etc.
Editing	Proof-read your article: check spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar
Publishing	Choose the layout and the illustrations and publish on madmagz (choose a person in your team who will be given a login to do this task)

 

Help:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/creativewriting/commissionsrev2.shtml

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/writing-your-article

 

The main purpose is to inform, interest and engage the reader, so there should be some opinions or comments and not only facts about your topic. Do some research on your topic first. Don't forget to cite the sources in your article! You can also create a survey to collect other partners' opinions and later analyse the results.

General structure

1. Give your article a title or headline which makes the subject clear and also catches the reader’s attention.
2. Begin with an interesting introduction – an example, perhaps, or a question. Although you don't know the readers personally, you can address them directly and ask them a rhetorical question. It helps to involve them.
3. Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the argument. Include a topic idea in each paragraph.
4. Give examples where appropriate to bring your article to life.
5. Use a personal or more neutral style, but not formal (you might use contractions).
6. To illustrate your article, include your own photos or images which are copyright free images citing the authors correctly.
7. Give a conclusion or a summary with an overall comment in the last paragraph.

 

Opening to involve the reader

• Did you know …? 
• What would you do if …?
• Do you want to know about …?
• Read this article if you want to find out.
• Have you ever …?
• What do you think about …?
• Are you one of those who thinks that …?
• Are you one of those people who ...?
• What would life be like if...
• Just imagine...
• How would you feel if ...?
• If the answer is … , you should …

Introduction

• Let's start with ...
• To begin with,
• First of all,
• Firstly,
• The first thing to consider is …

Introducing more points

• Another advantage of ...
• Secondly,
• Another thing to consider is …
• Apart from that,
• In addition to this,
• Moreover, …
• Furthermore, …
• So …
• As a result, …
• Therefore, …
• However, …
• On the one hand … on the other hand …

Reporting and giving opinions

• Many people feel that ...  
• It is widely believed that ...   
• It would be ideal if ...
• Another argument in favour is ...
• It is clear from the facts that ...
• The benefits of ... outweigh the disadvantages.
• On the whole, I think ...

Giving opinions

• I / We think that ...
• In my / our opinion ...
• It seems to me that ...
• If you ask me,
• Personally I believe that …
• In my view.
• From my point of view,
• To my mind
• My personal opinion is ..
• I personally feel that ...
• I find it hard to see why ...
• I certainly don't believe that ...
• It is difficult to believe that ...
• I object to the cloning of animals.

Contrasting points

• On the other hand ...
• Other people think ...
• An opposing argument is ...

Making the article lively and interesting

• I was absolutely terrified when I realised...
• More importantly, it was something I...
• Not surprisingly, it's a good way of raising money.
• The tent was worryingly small for three people!
• It was the most amazing experience I have ever had.

Conclusion

• Finally, … 
• To summarise, 
• In conclusion,
• To sum up.