Generally, it should have an introduction which identifies the important points. Then comes body outline which discusses the ideas and issues in detail. And lastly, there will be a conclusion in which you summarize your analysis of the content. While doing this, you have to take care that your discussions are focused on the subject matter and the message underlined and not on the author of the text. It is vital to be critical but at the same time, you have to be unbiased with the work of the author.

  • Tackle these points specifically, giving as much clear guidance as you can.
  • Instant access to millions of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, podcasts and more.
  • You may want to relate it to your cultural or religious background.
  • “Controversial” is a common word in the critical language of this literature as it is, say, in the language of the TV producer.

However rigorous it may be though, the pressure and expectations are reflective of a future career and help prepare young adults for these challenges. Strong conclusion.Consolidate your position in the conclusions. Paraphrase your main idea to finish the comment nicely.

Commentary Type: Personal Reaction using the what and why method

The “what and why” method is the best way to provide sound analysis. Topics may be different, but argumentative essays with pieces of evidence are the prevalent paper type. There are several ways of writing a commentary, and we will examine all of the major ones. Depending on the subject and the requirements, you might write your commentary in the form of a separate paper with its own characteristics , a literary analysis, and data commentary. One of the most basic confusions for our students about commentary is the fact that different teachers call it different things. For example, I call it commentary while another teacher may call it analysis and still other teachers may refer to it as explanation or elaboration.

writing commentary

This type would suit argumentative essays with evidence-based statistics and numbers. Likewise, the “what and why” strategy would be the best for this and succeeding types. This approach stands for “Literary Elements and Techniques,” which helps determine components used within the section and explains how such techniques correlate with the thesis statement.

Steps to write the commentary

Think about the rhythm and pacing of the piece–go back and forth between moments you can describe to bring us into your life and analysis of why these events are important to your issue. Write from your own point of view and draw on your personal, lived experience with plenty of detail. We’ve updated our privacy policy so that we are compliant with changing global privacy regulations and to provide you with insight into the limited ways in which we use your data. To receive regular updates about English language support services and resources, please join our mailing list. Find weaker verbs by checking for synonyms in a learner’s dictionary or published papers and noting how these verbs alter the meaning in sentences. Including words like “generally” or “may” introduces probability into a statement. First, you can fix phrases such as “the author uses” by strengthening your word choice.

Data commentary with strong claims can be attractive to readers. Data commentary with strong claims are attractive to readers. Read each word carefully and try to understand what the writer is trying to say. Depending on your assignment, choose the types of commentary that best fits your argument.

What Is Commentary?

As an English teacher, I have focused on teaching my students how to craft their writing into powerful essays. And I have worked to develop strategies for enabling students to avoid plot summary while taking their commentary to a deeper, more meaningful level. I have developed two key strategies for enabling students to expand their commentary and explain their textual evidence in a way that will help them write with more confidence. This one simply means to walk through the piece, comprehend it, and give the audience a short thought on the subject.

Let me begin with some words about the man who, by reputation at least, is the writer of the age. The response of college students to the works of J. The Catcher in the Rye and the recent stories in the New Yorker having to do with the Glass family surely take place in the social here and now.

What is a commentary?

It is sometimes useful to point out what is unusual or what is standard, what is distinctive or what is cliché, what is central or what is peripheral, interesting word order, or striking word choice. In addition to translating a poem for your Stephen Spender Prize entry, we also ask you to write a short commentary ofno more than 300 words. Be sure to clearly identify any direct quotes you use from the feature articles by enclosing them in quotation marks. Your commentary should be 2,500–3,000 words long. This word count roughly equates to 9–12 double-spaced pages in Word in 12-point Times New Roman font—the preferred formatting for manuscript submissions.

This shows that the author breaks free from the captivity of problems runs away from everything. The essay commentary aims to analyze the text read. You can write a comment on how the plot of the novel reveals the social situation of the era or how the author’s life is evidenced in the text. The commentary can be based on one element of a literary work or analyze general features. The choice will depend on the author of the essay. A commentary essay as a separate assignment is widely used among academic institutions.

Here are a few different methods for writing commentary:

Strong topic sentences will ensure that today’s busy readers can skim what you read, using their quick scan to zero in on the content that most interests them. Teachers and teacher educators will appreciate the Goldstein’s thorough and well-grounded analysis. Although second language writing instructors know that providing effective written feedback is essential to any good composition course, beginning and seasoned teachers alike struggle with this challenging task. In Teacher Written writing commentary Commentary in Second Language Writing Classrooms , Lynn M. Goldstein uses ample research and experiential evidence to explain both how and why teachers should comment on their students’ writing assignments. In just this small excerpt, you can see how different elements of the rhetorical situation are being addressed. When you are writing your own body paragraphs, it may be helpful to color-code the different elements of the rhetorical situation and identify them in your writing.

You may use up to three levels of headings to structure your commentary. It is hardly news that in best-sellerdom we frequently wind up with the hero coming to terms and settling down in Scarsdale, or wherever, how to shorten your essay knowing himself. And on Broadway, in the third act, someone says, “Look, why don’t you just love each other? ” and the protagonist, throwing his hand to his forehead, cries, “Oh God, why didn’t / think of that!

Writing Commentary

It can be descriptive, argumentative, narrative, or expository. A commentary essay is a written piece that provides an opinion on a particular subject. This type of essay is usually written in response to another piece, such as a blog post, article, or book passage. In a commentary essay, the writer will typically offer their own take on the situation, using evidence and examples to support their claims. While the “This Shows That” Method for writing commentary is an excellent tool for avoiding plot summary, it still relies upon students knowing how to explain the evidence. In this way, the “This Shows That” Method is limited, so I have developed a secondary method called the “LET” Method for writing commentary. This method helps guide students by giving them options for what to write about in their commentary sentences.

One of the first lessons in teaching commentary should be to dispel any confusion over the terminology so that students can all be on “the same page” while working on this writing skill. In brief, the commentary part of the essay is the part where the writer explains how the evidence proves the thesis.

Should EFL teachers really use L1 in EFL classes? A personal stance of a middle school EFL teacher

Meredith enjoys life with her husband, daughter, and sweet pups. Go back and look at step two of writing details from last week’s blog. Look at the commentary you wrote and update it to fit into the “what and why” method using some of the above types of commentary. If you did not do that step last week, go ahead and use the worksheet found here. The concept of four cells.You can use one of the interesting methods of text analysis. This method involves dividing a sheet of paper into four equal parts. Place a topic sentence and a quote in the top two cells.

Essentially, “LET” stands for “Literary Elements and Techniques,” and the mini-lesson takes students step-by-step through writing commentary based upon literary devices. When students are able to recognize that every single quotation contains hidden messages about theme and that those messages come through literary devices, they are able to find the pathway to writing effective commentary. Students often think they’ve written commentary when, in fact, they’ve only written a plot summary. In my mini-lesson, I give examples of how and where students can go wrong. A paragraph with textual evidence can still be merely plot summary, and it’s important to show students examples of this trap so that they can avoid it in their writing. For several weeks now, we have been identifying the essential elements of essays and learning how to incorporate these effectively and successfully. Today we are going to take a look at the other extremely important factor in writing a well-thought out essay.