The blog
Personal voice, invite interaction
Layout
Do’s and don’ts
Do
- Write in a personal, engaging voice
- Share personal experiences and opinions freely
- Address the reader directly ("you")
- Encourage readers to comment (blog post)
- Reference the original post in your opening (blog comment)
- Contractions are OK (don't, I'm, it's)
- Be original and show personality
- Shorter paragraphs work well here
Don’t
- Don't write like a report (too formal)
- Don't forget to invite comments (blog post)
- Don't forget to reference the original post (blog comment)
- Don't be rude or offensive – remember it's public
- Don't use academic phrases like "It is widely believed that…"
Weaker
“One should carefully consider the various advantages before deciding to take a gap year.”
Stronger
“I used to think a gap year was just an expensive way to put off real life. Then I took one, and it changed my mind.”
Why it matters: A blog needs a personal, informal voice, with contractions and a short story. A formal phrase like "one should consider" belongs in a different text type.
Practise this text type
Pick a task, write it, then let the self-check look at your draft. The task bank has 4 blog tasks.
You write a personal blog about your experiences as a young Austrian. You have just returned from volunteering abroad.
Write a blog post (around 250 words) about the experience. Give your post a title.
- explain why you decided to go
- describe the challenges you faced
- tell readers what the experience taught you
You blog about sustainable living. Your family gave up its car for a year.
Write a blog post (around 400 words) about the experience. Give your post a title.
- describe how the experiment started
- explain what was harder and easier than expected
- invite readers to share their views
You follow a popular education blog and want to react to its latest post.
"Teenagers' body clocks simply aren't made for 8 a.m. lessons. Research keeps telling us that adolescents need more sleep and perform better later in the day, yet schools keep dragging students out of bed at dawn. Start at 10, finish at 5, and everyone wins: better grades, better moods, fewer zombies in first period. Am I wrong?"
Write a comment (around 250 words) responding to Jamie's post. Do not give your comment a title.
- react to the original post
- share your own experience with early school starts
- state what you think schools should do