Lesson video

Hello, welcome, and thank you for joining me.

My name's Mrs. Butterworth and I will be taking you through today's English lesson, which is all about using the conventions of website content creatively.

Now, very often we think of writing to inform or informative writing as being quite dull or boring, but actually, we can be just as creative with it as other pieces of writing.

So we're gonna look at some strategies today about how we can make our informative writing and the writing of websites even more interesting.

Sound good? Great! Well, let's get started.

So in this lesson, you will identify the conventions of a website and use them creatively in your own writing.

Now, before we delve into the main part of the lesson, let's look at those all important keywords and remember to keep a lookout through the lesson to see if you can spot them.

These words are layout, apt, inform, and declarative.

Now, layout describes how features such as words, information, and images, are arranged and presented.

So when we're thinking about forms of writing, such as websites and leaflets, actually how they are laid out and how they present the information or the writing is very important.

It needs to be clear, it needs to be engaging.

Now, the word apt means something that is carefully chosen to ensure it is suitable and appropriate.

So we want to make sure that the language we choose is apt.

Now, to inform is writing, if you are writing to inform, it is writing which presents information or facts to your reader.

And then finally, declarative is a statement that expresses a fact or opinion.

So sometimes we also get declarative sentences, which is where the sentence expresses a fact or opinion.

It declares something, okay? Great! So here is the outline of our lesson.

We're going to start by looking at the layout of an informative website before moving in, moving on to thinking about how we can write interesting copy for websites.

So let's start with that layout.

So here, you can see that there are the layouts of different types of writing represented visually.

Now, what do you think the pieces of writing might be? So you may want to pause the videos to give yourself time to identify these and decide what you think they might be.

Off you go.

Okay, so let's see if we came up with similar answers.

So the first one is a letter.

So you can see how we've got the address in the corner, the salutation, the main part, and then the part at the end where you sign off your letter.

The middle one, it says essay here, but it could be maybe a piece of prose.

But I'm thinking of essay here in terms of the introduction, the main part, and the conclusion.

And then finally, with our bullet points and the smaller chunked up pieces of writing, we've got website or leaflets.

And actually, I guess there are many other forms of informative writing that could take on this layout too.

So websites and leaflets are both forms that present information or inform, so inform a reader.

So they need to be crafted and structured to be clear and engaging.

So today, in this lesson, we are going to be considering how websites are crafted.

So it's important to know that the content found in websites is called copy.

So you might hear people say that they write copy for websites.

And today, you'll be asked to create a copy for a website to inform teenagers about the dangers of social media.

Now, websites have many different purposes, so I'm sure we can think of lots together of websites and their purposes.

So therefore, those people that write copy have to be skilled at changing their style to match the purpose and intended audience of the website.

Okay, so like no website is ever exactly the same, is it? They all have different purposes, different audiences.

So we have to adapt the style to suit the copy for that website.

So I want you to think about this a little bit further.

So I'd like you to discuss, think about websites that you have visited.

Why did you go on that site? And what was the purpose and the intended audience? Okay, pause a video to discuss your answers to the question.

Or if you're working on your own, you can think quietly to yourself, or jot down some ideas.

Off you go.

So we have established about websites and their purpose and their different audiences.

So when writing copy for a website, you should consider creating an effective layout to present the information clearly.

So how you present your information is also very important.

So you want like an act and engaging title, something that summarises very succinctly and clearly what the website is and what it aims to do.

You may want to use organisational devices such as subheadings.

You may use things like bullet points to organise information and engage the reader.

And well-sequenced paragraphs.

So you need to make sure that the information that you present is really clear and cohesive and well-sequenced.

So this layout could also be very useful when designing a leaflet or other forms of writing that are about information and presenting that to a reader.

So let's see what you remember.

What is missing from this website layout success criteria? So what is missing there? Okay, who thinks I've got the right answer? Oh good.

Lots of you feeling confident.

Okay, yeah, that's right.

The missing success criteria is the use of bullet points to organise information and engage the reader.

So I want us to think, we thought about layout, I want us to think about this idea of purpose, audience, and form.

So I want you to look at these two tasks, how might you need to adapt your language to suit the purpose, audience and form? So let's look at the first task.

"Social media encourage us to accept the invasion of our privacy.

It is turning us into a spying society." Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement.

And then at task B, "Social media encourages us to accept the invasion of our privacy.

It is turning us into a spying society." So that's the same as the first task.

Write the copy for a website aimed at informing teenagers about how to protect their privacy on social media.

So take time just to pause the video, reread those tasks again, and think about how you might need to adapt your language to suit the purpose, audience, and form.

Off you go.

Thank you for your suggestions, everyone.

So lots of you have noticed that, obviously, the first part of these tasks are exactly the same.

They've both got the same quotes.

It's the second part of the task that's the important part.

So you'll notice here, I've highlighted the bits that linked the idea of purpose, audience, and form.

So in that first task, we know that the form is an article for a broadsheet.

We know that, and that's it's going to appear in a newspaper.

We know that the purpose is to explain your point of view.

So it's to persuade and to argue.

And that the audience will be people that read broadsheet newspapers, or people that are interested in social media.

So if we look at the second task, we know that the form is a website, we know that the purpose is to inform, and that our audience is, our intended audience is teenagers.

So two very different forms, two different audiences, and two different purposes.

So it's important when you are considering these types of tasks that you need to consider what types of language you are going to use, the layout, and all of those sorts of things to make sure that your writing is appropriate for the purpose, audience, and form.

So considering purpose, audience, and form, we know we are focusing on the copy of a website.

So we're going to break that down even further.

We've looked at the layout, the overall layout, now, let's break it down a bit further.

So a website can include an apt title that explains what it is about.

So what does this look like? "Navigating Social Media as a Team: Finding Balance and Well-being." So you can see how that title really clearly shows what the website is about and what it is going to be doing.

Then, we have a short introductory paragraph that can outline key information and hook the reader in.

"Welcome to this guide.

We know social media can feel like an impossible labyrinth.

It's all about making social media work for you while keeping your well-being in check.

We get it, social media is a big deal for us teens, so let's dive in." So you can see how that, again, establishes what the website is about and it adapts language for the audience.

So in this case, teens.

And you may remember at the start of this lesson, I said that very often we think of writing to inform or giving information needs to be not particularly engaging or fun.

But you can see here how this introductory paragraph, the writing has been crafted in an engaging and creative way.

And then bullet points can be used to organise your main ideas.

So we've got some examples here of a bullet point, "Online versus Real Life: Remember that social media often portrays a carefully curated version of reality.

What you see isn't always the full story.

So it's essential not to compare your real life to someone else's online presence." So you can see that use of bullet point there and how that's expanded on underneath.

Here's another bullet point.

"Body Positivity: promotes a healthy body image by following accounts that encourage self-acceptance and positive body image.

Surround yourself with content that uplifts and supports your self-esteem." So again, you can see how it's giving information and guidance, how it's using the layout of an informative website, but also how it is adapting the language to suit the audience and purpose and to make the language creative and engaging.

Another bullet point, "Talk About It: Don't be afraid to share your feelings and experiences with someone you trust.

Talking about your emotions can be a great relief and help you gain perspective." And then finally, you could include a conclusion, and this could summarise key points and leave the reader with the key message.

So again, as I read this, think about how it's been crafted to engage the reader or the audience and also conform to the conventions of the website.

"Social media can be a great way to connect, learn, and express yourself, but it has its challenges too.

Learn the ropes, be smart online, and enjoy the best of both worlds.

You are not alone, help is just a click away." Okay, so true or false time.

The language used in a website for teens is the same as writing an article for a broadsheet newspaper? Is this true or false? Okay, well done to everyone that said false, but you now need to explain why the answer is false.

Okay, so we'll share an answer in a moment.

Off you go.

Okay, so hopefully you came up with something similar.

So the reason it is false that the language is not the same for both of these things is because layout and language should be adapted to suit purpose and form.

So before you begin writing, it's always important to consider the purpose, audience, and form of your writing and how you are going to adapt your language and layout to suit those.

So we have reached the first practise task.

And what I would like you to do is considering everything we have looked at with regards to layout is I would like you to arrange the text so it conforms to the layout of website.

Now, the text can be found on the worksheet and on the next slide.

So should we look at the text together first? So the text that you'll need to rearrange looks like this.

So let's read it through together.

"Guarding Your Privacy on Social Media.

This is your guide to Staying Safe Online.

The internet now exists in our homes, on our phones, everywhere we are.

Not thinking about online safety is like leaving your front door unlocked and your diary wide open.

Let's delve into what we can do to make a difference.

Protect your info with strong passwords and privacy settings.

Think twice before posting personal stuff.

Avoid real-time location sharing.

Recognise online threats, report them and tell a trusted adult, if needed.

Guard your privacy, it is precious.

Defend your online world and learn to protect it for safe and smart social media use." So you can see here in this text, it's all laid out into two paragraphs, but we want the layout to resemble that of an informative website.

So let's go back to the task.

So we've now looked at that text.

So you are going to arrange the text so it conforms to the layout of the website and you're going to maybe you may wish to include the following, an apt and engaging title, organisational devices such as subheadings, use of bullet points to organise information and engage the reader, and an introduction and conclusion.

Okay, so when you are ready, pause the video and rearrange the text so it looks like the layout of a website.

Off you go.

Thank you, everyone, and well done for transforming those that text into the layout of an informative website.

So we're just going to have a look at an example of how the task could have been completed.

You may have approached this slightly differently, which is fine, but now's a good time to compare what you, the choices that you have made.

So here is that text.

So we can see how it has been transformed from those two paragraphs into something that looks like this.

So we've got our title, we have a short introductory paragraph.

This example is also used some organisational features.

So those bullet points there to organise the information.

And then finally, a conclusion.

So you can see how this looks.

This layout looks very different to how this text started out.

So I'd like you please to discuss, how has this met the success criteria for the layout of a website? You may also want to consider your own answers to this task and how you have met the success criteria for the layout of a website.

Pause the video till you've got time to think about this.

Off you go.

We have considered the layout of an informative website.

So now we're going to move on to think about how we can write interesting copy for websites.

Let's keep going.

So we have considered layouts, but we now need to think about how we can wake our website copy engaging.

So even though the primary purpose of the website is to inform, we still want to hook the reader in.

We want them to read our information, we want them to be able to access the information.

So for that, we still need to make it as interesting as possible.

So I'd like you to discuss, please, what rhetorical devices could we possibly use to engage the video? So thinking about all of the rhetorical devices that you know, which would be the most apt and appropriate to engage the reader in this type of writing? So pause the video so you've got time to discuss the question.

Or if you're working by yourself, you can sit quietly, think to yourself, or jot some ideas down.

Okay, pause the video and off you go.

Okay, so lots and lots of ideas there and they are all great.

But today, we are going to focus on just a few of those.

So we are going to explore similes, rhetorical questions, and statistics.

Let's look at some ways that we can improve our informative writing or our informative websites using some of those rhetorical devices.

So let's read through this example here.

"There is no denying that the internet is a big part of our lives.

Ignoring online safety is a dangerous choice.

This website is all about how we can protect ourselves online.

So, let's look at some simple things you can do to make your online life safer." Now, this is a perfectly acceptable way to write for a website.

However, we want to make it even better and even more engaging.

So, let's look at some examples of how we can do that.

So one way is to use a declarative followed by a simile.

So let's look at how this changes that.

"The internet is firmly embedded in our lives.

Like jumping outta a plane without a parachute, ignoring online safety is a reckless move." So you can see how it's transformed it.

It's much more engaging and interesting.

You could also use a rhetorical question to hook your reader in.

"The internet is a big part of our lives, but are we underestimating the risks it poses?" So again, we're moving away from just writing information if you like, and just making it more engaging and really hooking our readers in.

The other thing that you can do is use statistics, which can add interest and also make your writing authoritative and credible.

So here we've got some statistics.

"With 3.

7 million incidents of online fraud a year, you can't afford to be careless with your security." So you can see from that first example that we looked at, how just really considering your use of rhetorical devices can just make it so much more interesting for a reader.

And then finally, you can see here in this example, it does also use direct address effectively.

So we've got you, your, we, and you.

So again, this creates a rapport with your reader.

So it's likely to engage them because they feel like they're, you are almost speaking to them directly.

So true or false.

You should not use rhetorical devices when writing copy for a website.

Is that true or false? Well done to everyone that said false.

But you now have to explain why the answer is false.

So, hopefully, you came up with something like this, that rhetorical devices are an effective way to present information in an engaging and interesting way, okay? So even if we are writing to inform, we can still use those rhetorical devices.

So here is a really good example of website copy using bullet points and subheadings.

So we were thinking earlier about the layout of our website, but now, we can look at how we can combine layouts and language to make the content of our website accessible and interesting.

So we've got our bullet point here, "Secure Your Account:," so you can see that use of colon, "use strong passwords and adjust your privacy settings to protect your online profile.

Think Before You Share: Be careful when sharing personal information online.

Once it's out there, you take it back.

Watch for Online Dangers: Be on the lookout for problems like cyberbullying and scams. Don't be afraid to tell someone you trust if you are worried." So you can see here that the subheadings have been made even more impactful by using anaphora, okay? So I've highlighted some words there.

So reread those bullet points, and I want you to see if you can come up with a definition of what you think anaphora might be.

So re-read the bullet points and discuss what do you think anaphora might be? Pause the video to give yourself time to come up with your answer.

Off you go.

Okay.

Great! So well done to those that guess correctly, or perhaps you already knew that anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

So here, the word protect is repeated, protect your password, protect your personal information, protect yourself.

So it really emphasises the message or the information that you are trying to put out there.

So you can see how these bullet points have been structured, not just for clarity but also for interest.

So those short, those short clauses, those short sentences followed by that colon, and then developed a little bit further.

And these here are another example of bullet points and how we can make them more interesting.

So let's read them through, and then you might notice what they link.

So, "Lock down your security: Use strong passwords and adjust your privacy settings to protect your online profile.

Use the keys of caution: Be careful when sharing personal information online.

Once it's out there, you can't take it back.

Lock out bullies: Be on the lookout for problems like cyberbullying and scams. Don't be afraid to tell someone you trust if you are worried." So whereas our other headings made use of the anaphora, that repetition of words and phrases, this one is actually used a motif.

So it's used the motif of keys and security to make the subheadings more interesting.

So you can almost see this appearing in the type of website that it provides information and guidance.

So that's another effective way of combining layout, language, and structure to make a really effective, to make, to write really effective copy for an informative website.

Okay, so which of these would not be considered a useful structural feature when writing copy for websites? Is it A, simile, B, motif, or C, anaphora? Okay, well done to everyone that said simile.

That's right.

Because all those simile is what we think of with a language feature.

We don't tend to think of it as a structural feature.

Motif and anaphora, what we have been looking at today.

So over to you for the second practise task.

So what I would like you to do is I would like you to improve the model website copy by including more interesting rhetorical and structural devices.

Now, this model website can be found on the worksheet and the following slide.

So should we read it through together first? Okay, let's read it through together.

So this is what you will be improving in a moment.

"Stay Safe Online, Social media is a great way to connect, but it's important to protect your privacy.

Here are straightforward steps to keep your online life secure.

Guard your Personal Information: Think before sharing personal details.

Only share what you are comfortable with.

Adjust your privacy settings to control who can see your posts and information.

Strong Passwords Matter: Create strong unique passwords for your accounts.

Enable two-factor authentication for added security." And the next part, "Be Cautious with Your Location: Limit location sharing to people you trust.

Turn off location settings when you are not using them.

By following these steps, you'll be in control of your online safety.

Don't let social media jeopardise your privacy.

Stay safe and enjoy connecting with your friends and family!" So let's now go back to the task.

So we've looked at the model website copy and you are going to improve it, and you may wish to improve it by including the following.

So I want you to include at least one rhetorical and one structural device.

So this could include a declarative, followed by a simile, rhetorical questions, statistics, anaphora, or motif, okay? So pause the video so you've got plenty of time to improve that model website copy.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Off you go.

Okay, thank you so much for your hard work.

What I would like you to do now is just to self-assess your own writing using the checklist.

So I just want you to check through your work and your improved paragraph and check that you have included at least one rhetorical device and one structural device.

You may have included more, which is fantastic, but you need at least one rhetorical and one structural device.

So use the checklist to help you self-assess your work and pause the video to do that now.

Okay, well done, everyone.

Hopefully you are now convinced that writing to inform or writing copy for an informative website does not need to be boring.

We've got all of those lovely structural rhetorical devices that we can use to engage and interest our readers.

So let's just remind ourselves of everything that we have learn this lesson.

We know that heading, subheadings, and bullet points can all be identified as the conventions of a website layout and also layouts for things like web leaflets.

Language should be adapted to conform to the conventions of website copy.

Rhetorical devices such as declaratives, similes, rhetorical questions, and statistics can be used to make website copy interesting and hook the reader in.

And that structural devices such as anaphora and motif can be used to emphasise key information and make website copy engaging.

A very well done, everyone.

Please do join me again for another English lesson.

I will see you then.

Goodbye!.