Commentary

Video Example

https://youtu.be/DnpO_RTSNmQ?t=2m

Donald Trump: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Two Sides of the Same Political Coin

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/5/what-if-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-share-the-sam

Two Sides to the Same Political Coin: The Washington Times

Activity #1
Free writing about the
election.
What do you know about it?
What are the big ideas?
Form an opinion.

Lets Share!

Create a Definition

Similarities?
Common elements?

y
r
a
n
o
i
t
c
Di
Author:

Motifs?

You

Characteristics of Commentaries

Reactive
Opinionated
(Biased)

Analytical
Framing
the Issue
Doorway to
authors mind

(Trimbur 299)

Reactive

Something happened to spur this

commentary. What was it?

WOW!

Topic Framing

Focused on a certain idea, event, or larger

conversation
Dominant theory
Sets up authors thoughts
(Trimbur 304) (Hartman 262)

Opinion-based Writing

What do you think makes this up?

Personal views/bias
Cannot be taught

Authors Point of View

Everyone has a unique POV

Author speaks their mind
1 Author, 1 Opinion

Analysis

Extract meaning
Describe trends
Help the reader understand

Characteristics of Commentaries
Reactive
Something happened to spur this
commentary. What was it?

About a certain
topic
It will be focused on a certain
idea, event, or larger
conversation.

Opinionated
Usually, the author or presenter
will share their own opinion
about this topic.

Bias

What they think

Analysis

Because it is opinionated, a bias

view is almost always going to
be part of a commentary.

Some commentaries will only

have a singular author, which
rules out the publics stance on
the topic.

A commentary will always try to

pick apart a topic, talking about
as much of it as possible, or
going into as much detail as
possible.

(Trimbur 301)

Formal Definition

A genre of writing that describes patterns in

events in ideas using analysis and interpretation
of subject matter. (University of Bristol)

A Genre of Writing

There is no mysticism, only irony, in the fact that literary

commentary today is creating texts - a literature - of its
own. (Parisi)

Subject

Subject
Commentary
+
Commentary

(Hartman 189)

Activity #2
Revise your original piece
Use the themes that we
discussed
Try to create a formal
commentary

Changes?

How did your writing change?

What did you add?
What did you take out?

1.

2.

How to Write
a Commentary
Because politics and writing are everyones two favorite things.

DONT
PANIC

Organization of a Commentary

1. Introduction and Context

a. Relevant background information
b. Describe sides

2. Body
a. Analysis - Structure, content, form, and style.
b. Opinion with evidence

3. Conclusion
a. Consequences
b. Take action
(University of Bristol)

Audience

Audience is variable
Dependant on subgenre

Know your audience

Use the audience to your
advantage

Opinion based writing

Persuasive
http://i3.cpcache.com/product_zoom/1075402004/
ghost_comedian_no_text_drinking_glass.jpg
(Audience Analysis 2016)

Aim

What are some of the things you can

convince your audience of?

(Trimbur 303)

Why Commentary?

Purpose
Introduce varying
opinions
Bring other related
issues to light
Challenge
Elaborate
Reflect

http://www.the-platform.org.uk/wp-content/themes/Nuke/timthumb.
php?src=http://www.the-platform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/
11/Armchair002.jpg&w=520&h=250&zc=1

(Commentary Guidelines 2016)

Examples of Commentary
Opinion Section of NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/opinion/shameful-silence-on-do
nald-trumps-lies-about-vote-rigging.html?ref=opinion

Reactive
Bias
Analyzes the situation
Uses terms such as shameful
and bogus
Audience - voting public
Purpose - to call out the
Republican Party

Examples of Commentary
How are PSAs also Commentary?
- Reactive
- Takes one side - bias
- Targets specific audience

http://nomore.org/public-service-announcements/nomoreexcuse
spsas/print-ads/

(Writing Public Service Announcements 2016)

26

Multimodal Commentaries

http://api.theweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2.%2081_17
3742.jpg?itok=KoIv14cW

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/
564x/2e/cb/f6/2ecbf6512b66cd9f360b
6cabad9941d0.jpg

(Yaacob 2)

MAKE
CHANGE

Video Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5rul6EdF0

Bonus Video : Adam Ruins Everything - Why Rigging Elections Is

Completely Legal

Works Cited

"Audience Analysis". faculty.washington.edu. 2016. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. http://faculty.washington.edu/ezent/aaaa.htm

"Bristol University - School Of Modern Languages - Commentary Writing Guidelines". Bristol.ac.uk. N. p., 2016. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sml/undergraduates/stuinfo/comment.html
"Commentary Guidelines." SIOP. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
http://www.siop.org/journal/Commentary_Guidelines.aspx
Hartman, Geoffrey. Criticism in the Wilderness: The Study of Literature Today. Yale University Press, 1980. Print. 10 Oct. 2016.
Hartman, Geoffrey. "Crossing Over: Literary Commentary as Literature." Comparative Literature 28.3 (1976): 257-76. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.neu.edu/stable/1769221?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
HBO. "Donald Trump: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). YouTube. YouTube, 09 Nov. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpO_RTSNmQ
Jensen, Elizabeth. "'A Weekly Pattern Of Unfairness': Political Commentary On NPR." NPR. NPR, 5 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/2016/10/05/495505995/a-weekly-pattern-of-unfairness-political-commentary-on-npr
Mcsorley, Brittany. "Literary Analysis Example: Exploring a Novel." Udemy Blog. Udemy, Inc., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
https://blog.udemy.com/literary-analysis-example/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/movies/ryan-reynolds-finds-a-niche-or-a-spring
board-as-a-mouthy-superantihero.html
Napolitano, Andrew P. "Two Sides of the Same Political Coin." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 5 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Oct.
2016. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/5/what-if-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-share-the-sam
The Editorial Board. "Shameful Silence on Donald Trumps Lies About Vote-Rigging." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Oct.
2016. Web. 19 Oct.
2016.http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/opinion/shameful-silence-on-donald-trumps-lies-about-vote-rigging.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
Trimbur, John. The Call to Write, Brief Edition. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
TruTVnetwork. "Adam Ruins Everything - Why Rigging Elections Is Completely Legal." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Nov. 2015. Web. 15 Oct.
2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5rul6EdF0
"Writing Public Service Announcements". understandmedia.com. 2016. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
http://www.understandmedia.com/topics/media-production/106-writing-public-service-announcements
Yaacob, Husaini, Mustaffa Azahari, and Adzrool Idzwan Ismail. "Visual Social Communication Through Photographic Images." The Asian
Conference on Media and Mass Communication 2013 (n.d.): n. pag. Www.iafor.org. The International Academic Forum, 2013. Web. 10
Oct. 2016. http://iafor.org/archives/offprints/mediasia2013-offprints/MediAsia2013_0159.pdf