Non-Fiction Writing Lesson 9

Leisure, Lifestyle and

Travel
 Learning Objective
To analyse styles of writing with a dual purpose.

Success Criteria
• To differentiate between objective and subjective.
• To differentiate between information and entertainment.
• To blend the features into our own writing.
 Objectively Speaking
Identify whether the sentences below are written in an objective or
subjective voice.
1. MI6 is recruiting teenagers to help it keep ahead in the global technology
race.
2. Almost half of GPs remain opposed to a change in the law on assisted
dying, a survey found.
3. I am sipping vino in a monastery and feeling a bit naughty about it.
4. Oxfordshire aims to be the first tobacco-free county.
5. I hated the idea of getting old, and felt stuck and lonely in my marriage.
6. Well-established shrubs can be difficult to move and I wouldn’t advise it.
7. Escaping from our dreary winter in Britain, I welcome the hot and humid
climate in January.
8. Sentencing of police attackers branded a disgrace.
9. Harris, who wore a black suit, spoke quietly as he entered his guilty plea.
10.Some people don’t like it grilled but, objectively speaking, it makes no
difference whether you grill or fry.
 Me, Myself and I
1. MI6 is recruiting teenagers to help it keep ahead in the global technology race.
2. Almost half of GPs remain opposed to a change in the law on assisted dying, a
survey found.
3. I am sipping vino in a monastery and feeling a bit naughty about it.
4. Oxfordshire aims to be the first tobacco-free county.
5. I hated the idea of getting old, and felt stuck and lonely in my marriage.
6. Well-established shrubs can be difficult to move and I wouldn’t advise it.
7. Escaping from our dreary winter in Britain, I welcome the hot and humid
climate in January.
8. Sentencing of police attackers branded a disgrace.
9. Harris, who wore a black suit, spoke quietly as he entered his guilty plea.
10. Some people don’t like it grilled but, objectively speaking, it makes no
difference whether you grill or fry.

Pause for Thought Provides veneer of

Leisure, lifestyle and travel tends to be objectivity – inserting ‘I’
a feature of weekend newspapers and breaks this veneer, which is
magazine supplements. Why do you why reporters of all types
think this might be? often refrain from using it.
 Balancing Act Pause for Thought
What are the purposes of
When writing about leisure, lifestyle and travel, autobiographical writing?
journalists often place themselves at the
centre of the story; their experience shapes
the narrative.

Even though autobiographical and

magazine-style writing is more narrative and
descriptive, when it is part of news media it
still has a duty to remain fair and balanced.
The writers are therefore a bit like the
documentary personalities Louis Theroux
and Stacey Dooley: they set out to provide
information on a topic but also offer a
personal viewpoint through their reactions
to what they show us. In this clip:
• what are the documentary elements, i.e.
how does it appear real and truthful in
its reporting?
• how does Dooley communicate her
personal thoughts and feelings to the
audience?
 Postcards from America
Bill Bryson is an author who was born in the US but has spent most of his adult life in
the UK. His observations of Britain, Notes from a Small Island, is his best-known book.
Below is an excerpt from his exploration of the US, Notes from a Big Country.
One of the pleasures of living in a small, old-fashioned New England town is that it generally
includes a small, old-fashioned post office. Ours is particularly agreeable. It's in an attractive
Federal-style brick building, confident but not flashy, that looks like a post office ought to. It even
smells nice--a combination of gum adhesive and old central heating turned up a little too high.
The counter employees are always cheerful, helpful and efficient, and pleased to give you an
extra piece of tape if it looks as if your envelope flap might peel open. Moreover, post offices
here by and large deal only with postal matters. They don't concern themselves with pension
payments, car tax, TV licenses, lottery tickets, savings accounts, or any of the hundred and one
other things that make a visit to any British post office such a popular, all-day event and provide a
fulfilling and reliable diversion for chatty people who enjoy nothing so much as a good long hunt
in their purses and handbags for exact change. Here there are never any long lines and you are
in and out in minutes.

Personal viewpoints can be informative – there is always a lot to learn from the person
next to us. However, it requires skill to separate the objective from the subjective,
opinion from fact. Consideration of purpose and tone can help an audience to do this.

• Identify where/how Bryson is informative. Some parts

• Identify where/how Bryson is entertaining. could be both!
 My Travelogue
What is the most interesting
journey you have ever been on?

Write a snippet of it. This could be taken

from any time between planning and
arrival home.
Your writing must include both:
• informative elements, e.g. 5Ws, facts
• entertaining elements, e.g. anecdote,
Swap work with a partner.
wordplay, crafted narrative, hyperbole, Perform the same analysis
emotive language on your partner’s work as
you did on Bryson’s:
Remember your audience – • what is informative?
what makes your journey of • what is entertaining?
interest to other people? Why?
 Shared Experiences
A Commissioning Editor either tells people what to write about or gives the
go-ahead to journalists’ own ideas.

Leisure Lifestyle Travel

hobbies, interests, activities home, health, beauty tourism, transport, adventure

List at least three ideas for each section. Personal experience can help but
it isn’t a necessity; it might be a far-flung pursuit, as long as there’s a point of
interest for a prospective audience.
• Now, pick one idea and develop it into a plan.
You can use your travelogue if you wish.
 What are your key points?  What’s the main purpose of writing?
 Who is your audience?  What tone best fits?
 Give feedback as a
Commissioning Editor
Elevator Pitch might:
• Is it interesting?
If planned well, you can pack a lot in
to a short journey. • Do you agree on the
audience appeal?
The concept of an elevator pitch is that
you sell your idea in the space of time it • What suggestions can you
takes to travel a few floors in an elevator. give for the write-up?
• Use your plan to pitch your idea to a
partner.
You have sixty seconds. Start Timer

Time’s
Up
 Takeaways
What is your main takeaway from this lesson?
Write it on your Tracking Sheet and grade your level of
knowledge and understanding.
Then share your takeaway with the person on either side of you.
Are they the same? Explain your reasoning to each other.