Written Task English A2 Editorial, Opinion Column & Manifesto

[lia]

Hey guys,

my second written task is due soon and I have just been told yesterday that it has to be from a different "area of communication".

First I thought about writing a speech, but that did not work out. I was thinking about writing something about Child Soldiers,

either an Opinion Column/Editorial (What exactly is the difference?) by a reporter who maybe traveled there, or a Manifesto by

a group that uses children as soldiers.

My problem is, that I don´t know how to write these kind of things, as up until now, I have only been writing things like poetry or

"really" creative stuff. Can anyone help me by giving me an idea how these things have to be structured?

And which of the types of text would you think most adequate?

lia

[Ex-IB Student]

Unfortunately I can't help you. I have the same problem myself

I have only a couple of days to finish both my written tasks and I have no idea what I am going to do :|

I really need to hand in a good written task,because I am not that good at writing essays or comparative commentary's

[Proletariat]

I fear this comment may be too late for lia, but maybe it'll help Saaraah?

Opinion columns and editorials don't have much difference content-wise nor structurally. However, opinion columns are usually written by individual journalists working for the publication, while editorials are written by senior members who sit on the publication's editorial board; they are essentially the official "voice" or stance of the publication. For example, a Left newspaper may have mostly left-leaning columnists with a few rightists as well, but its editorials would be expected to be Left-leaning almost always. In short, a column is the opinion of the individual, while an editorial is the opinion of the publication. I don't think the two would be much different if you're writing fictitious ones for school, but the difference is there.

A Manifesto is written by an identifiable group/individual with a recognized agenda, or goal to accomplish. The Manifesto is meant to outline the rationale for the group/individual and the reasons behind his/her/their beliefs, and also possibly to say exactly what he/she/they intend to do to achieve their aims. It is also usually heavily politicized, and often extreme (both far-Right and far-Left Manifestos exist); you don't really see any Centrist or Moderate Manifestos floating around.

A Manifesto is definitely a harder voice/tone to capture than a column, but if you write one well it is also much more impressive.

[Stanislaw]

I'm also writing a manifesto for this.

Depending on what the manifesto is for, the general structure / tone will definitely change. A communist manifesto will be much different than a post-modernist manifesto