GENRE

SPOOF

Penguin In The Park
Orientation
Once a man was walking in a park when he came across a penguin.
Event 1
He took him to a policeman and said, “I have just found this penguin. What should I do?” The policeman replied, “take him to the zoo.”
Event 2
The next day the policeman saw the same man in the same park and the man was still carrying the penguin with him. The policeman was rather surprised and walked up to the man and asked, “Why are you still carrying that penguin about? Didn’t you take it to the zoo?” “I certainly did” replied the man.
Twist
And it was a great idea because he really enjoyed it, so today I’m taking him to the movie!
Note that the ‘twist’ in this particular text is related to the circumstances of place the penguin is taken to and to the man’s misinterpretation of the policeman’s (unspoken) reason for taking the penguin to the zoo.

RECOUNTS

Earthquake
Orientation
I was driving along the coast road when the car suddenly lurched to one side.
Event 1
At first I thought a tyre had gone but then I saw telegraph poles collapsing like matchsticks.
Event 2
The rocks came tumbling across the road and I had to abandon the car.
Reorientation
When I got back to town, well, as I said, there wasn’t much left.
Note that young writers often indicate temporal sequence with ‘and then. And then, and then’. Alternatives can be modeled and used when the teacher and students jointly construct Recounts.

REPORTS

Whales
General Classification
Whales are sea living mammals.
Description: (behaviors, qualities, parts)
They therefore breathe air but cannot survive on land. Some species are very large indeed and the blue whale, which can exceed 30m in length, is the largest animal to have lived on earth. Superficially, the whale looks rather like a fish, but there are important differences in its external structure, its tail consists of a pair of broad, flat, horizontal paddles (the tail of a fish is vertical) and is has a single nostril on top of its large, broad head. The skin is smooth and shiny and beneath it lies a layer of fat (blubber). This is up to 30 cm in thickness and serves to conserve heat and body fluids.

ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION

Thesis: Position
In Australia there are three levels of government, the federal government, state government and local government. All of these levels of government are necessary. This is so for a number of reasons.
Argument 1
Point
First, the federal government is necessary for the big things.
Elaboration
They keep the economy in order and look after things like defence.
Argument 2
Point
Similarly, the state governments look after the middle sized things.
Elaboration
For example they look after law and order, preventing things like vandalism in schools.
Argument 3
Point
Finally, local governments look after the small things.
Elaboration
They look after things like collecting rubbish, otherwise everyone would have diseases.
Conclusion
Thus, for the reasons above we can conclude that the three levels of government are necessary.

NEWS ITEM

Town ‘Contaminated’
Newsworthy Events
Moscow – A Russian journalist has uncovered evidence of another Soviet nuclear catastrophe, which killed 10 sailors and contaminated an entire town.
Background Events
Yelena Vazishavskya is the first journalist to speak to people who witnessed the explosion of a nuclear submarine at the naval base of Shkotovo 22 near Vladivostock.
The accident, which occurred 13 months before the Chernobyl disaster, spread radioactive fallout over the base and nearby town, but was covered up by officials of the Soviet Union. Residents were told the explosion in the reactor of the Victor-class submarine during a refit had been a ‘thermal’ and not a nuclear explosion. And these involved in the clean up operation to remove more than 600 tones of contaminated material were sworn to secrecy.
Sources
A board of investigators was later to describe it as the worst accident in the history of the Soviet Navy.

ANECDOTE

Snake in the Bath
Abstract
How would you like to find a snake in your bath?
A nasty one too!
Orientation
We had just moved into a new home, which had been empty for so long that everything was in a terrible mess. Anna and I decided we would clean the bath first, we set to, and turned on the tap.
Crisis
Suddenly to my horror, a snake’s head appeared in the plug-hole. Then out slithered the rest of his long thin body. He twisted and turned on the slippery bottom of the bath, spitting and hissing at us.
Incident
For an instant I stood there quite paralyzed. Then I yelled for my husband, who luckily came running and killed the snake with the handle of a broom. Anna, who was only there at the time, was quite interested in the whole business. Indeed I had to pull her out of the way or she’d probably have leant over the bath to get a better look!
Coda
We found out later that it was a black mamba, a poisonous kind of snake. It had obviously been fast asleep, curled up at the bottom of the nice warm water-pipe. It must have had an awful shock when the cold water came trickling down! But nothing to the shock I got! Ever since then I’ve always put the plug in firmly before running the bath water.

NARRATIVE

Snow White
Orientation
Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Snow White. She lived with her Aunt and Uncle because her parents were dead.
Major Complication
One day she heard her Uncle and Aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the castle because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough money to take Snow White.
Resolution
Snow White did not want her Uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she run away. The next morning she ran away from home when her Aunt and Uncle were having breakfast, she ran away into the woods.
Complication
She was very tired and hungry.
Resolution
Then she saw this little cottage, she knocked but no one answered so she went inside and fell asleep.
Complication
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw the dwarfs. The dwarfs said, ‘ what is your name?’ Snow White said, ‘My name is Snow White’.
Major Resolution
Dwarfs said, ‘If you wish, you may live here with us’, Snow White said, ‘Oh could I? Thank you’. Then Snow White told the dwarfs the whole story and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs lived happily ever after.

PROCEDURE

The Hole Game
Materials needed
Two players
One marble per person
A hole in ground
A line (distance) to start from
Method (Steps)
First you must dub (click marbles together)
Then you must check that the marbles are in good condition and are nearly worth the same value.
Next you must dig a hole in the ground and draw a line a fair distance away from the hole.
The first player carefully throws his or her marble towards the hole.
Then the second player tries to throw his or her marble closer to the hole than his or her opponent.
The player whose marble is closest to the hole tries to flick his or her marble into the hole. If successful, this player tries to flick his or her opponent’s marble into the hole.
The person flicking the last marble into the hole wins and gets to keep both marble.

DESCRIPTIVE

Natural Bridge National Park
Identification
Natural Bridge National Park is a luscious tropical rainforest.
Description
It is located 110 kilometers south of Brisbane and is reached by following the Pacific Highway to Nerang and then by travelling through the Numinbah Valley. This scenic roadway lies in the shadow of the Lamington National Park.
The phenomenon of the rock formed into a natural ‘arch’ and the cave through which a waterfall cascades is a short 1 kilometer walk below a dense rainforest canopy from the main picnic area. Swimming is permitted in the rock pools. Night-time visitors to the cave will discover the unique feature of the glow worms.
Picnic areas offer toilets, barbecues, shelter sheds, water and fireplaces, however, overnight camping is not permitted.

HORTATORY EXPOSITION

Country Concern
Thesis
In all the discussion over the removal of lead from petrol (and the atmosphere) there doesn’t seem to have been any mention of the difference between driving in the city and the country.
Argument
While I realize my leaded petrol car is polluting the air wherever I drive. I feel that when you travel through the country, where you only see another car every five to ten minutes, the problem is not as severe as when traffic is concentrated on city roads.
Argument
Those who want to penalize older, leaded petrol vehicles and their owners don’t seem to appreciate that, in the country there is no public transport to fall back upon and one’s own vehicle is the only way to get about.
Recommendation
I feel that country people, who often have to travel huge distances to the nearest town and who already spend a great deal of money on petrol, should be treated differently to the people who live in the city.

EXPLANATION

A Brief Summary of Speech Production
General Statement to Position the Reader
Speech production is made possible by the specialized movements of our vocal organs that generate speech sounds waves.
Explanation
Like all sound production, speech production requires a source of energy. The source of energy for speech production is the steady stream of air that comes from the lungs as we exhale. When we brathe normally, the air stream is mandible to become audible, the air stream must vibrate rapidly. The vocal cords cause the air stream to vibrate.
Explanation
As we talk, the vocal cords open and close rapidly, chopping up the steady air stream into a series of puffs. These puffs are heard as a buzz. But this buzz is still not speech.
Explanation
To produce speech sounds, the vocal tract must change shape. During speech we continually alter the shape of the vocal tract by moving the tongue and lips, etc. these movement change the acoustic properties of the vocal tract, which in turn produce the different sounds of speech.

DISCUSSION

Gene Splicing
Issue
Genetic research has produced both exciting and frightening possibilities. Scientists are now able to create new forms of life in the laboratory due to the development of gene splicing.
Argument for
On the one hand, the ability to create life in the laboratory could greatly benefit mankind.
Elaboration
For example, because it is very expensive to obtain insulin from natural sources, scientists have developed a method to manufacture it inexpensively in the laboratory.
Point
Another beneficial application of gene splicing is in a agriculture.
Elaboration
Scientists foresee the day when new plants will be developed using nitrogen from the air instead of from fertilizer. Therefore food production could be increased. In addition, entirely new plants could be developed to feed the world’s hungry people.
Argument against
Point
Not everyone is excited about gene splicing, however. Some people feel that it could have terrible consequences.
Elaboration
A laboratory accident, for example, might cause an epidemic of an unknown disease that could wipe out humanity.
Conclusion
As a result of this controversy, the government has made rules to control genetic experiments. While some members of the scientific community feel that these rules are too strict, many other people feel that they are still not strict enough.

REVIEWS

Private Lives Sparkle
Orientation
Since the first production of ‘Private Lives’ in 1930, with the theatre’s two leading sophisticates Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the leads, the play has tended to be seen as a vehicle for stars.
Evaluation
QUT Academy of the Arts’ production boasted no ‘stars’, but certainly fielded potential stars in a sparkling performance that brought out just how fine a piece of craftsmanship Coward’s play is.
Evaluation
More than 60 years later, what new could be deduced from so familiar a theme?
Director Rod Wissler’s highly perceptive approach went beyond the glittery surface of Witty banter to the darker implications beneath.
Interpretative Recount
With the shifting of attitudes to social values, it became clear that Victor and Sibyl were potentially the more admirable of the couples, with standards better adjusted than the volatile and self-indulgent Elyot and Amanda.
Evaluation
The wit was there, dexterously ping-ponged to and fro by a vibrant Amanda (Catherine Jenes) and a suave Elyot (Daniel Kealy)
Evaluation
Julie Eckersley’s Sibyl was a delightful creation, and Phillip Cameron-Smith’s more serious playing was just right for Victor, Jodie Levesconte was a superb French maid. James Maclean’s set captured the Thirties atmosphere with many subtle toaches.
Evaluative Summation
All involved deserve the highest praise.