Assignment task: Write an article for a popular publication to educate a non-specialist
audience about an issue, debate, or future prediction pertaining to the economics of the
retail petrol market.
Although a publication like a tabloid newspaper may not include sources ‘in real life’,
your submission still needs to. At least 7 academic sources are required, and should be
referenced properly in the form of a bibliography using a recognised academic style
guide such as CMS or APA. You may also employ data or statistics that you have
gathered as part of your research for this unit (referencing data sources as appropriate).
A strong submission will take a clear stance and/or pose a clear argument related to
some dimension of the economics of the retail petrol market.
Your article should use language appropriate to a non-specialist audience, and include
thoughtful rhetorical choices designed to engage and educate them.
Please specify who your intended audience are, including a brief indication of their
interests and assumed knowledge. Please also note the publication you are writing for,
and anything you would like to specify about style. For example, ‘I am writing for people
who are increasingly concerned about how much they pay for their weekly tank of fuel. I
am writing for The Daily Telegraph using an accessible tone so that people can quickly
absorb my message on a daily commute or similar’. This information should be placed
before the heading of your main text to avoid confusion.
Ideas for possible text types
◦Magazine article
◦Newspaper op-ed
There are other possibilities, so just ask if there’s a different text type that might
interest you
You are not writing
◦A report for the government
◦An academic essay
Required Components
◦Indication of Audience and Publication: To be placed at the start of the assessment
(more details on next slide).
Required Content
◦Text that will educate a non-specialist audience about an issue, debate, or future
prediction pertaining to economics of petrol pricing in some way.
◦A clear stance and/or discussion a clear argument related to petrol pricing.
◦Language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
Specify your intended audience. Who are they? What are their interests or motivations?
How much do they already know about this topic?
Specify exactly where your text would be published or broadcast. How has this impacted
your style and delivery?
◦You should also consider how you present your data to an audience. While drafting
isn’t as important for numbers, the visual presentation is.
◦A good author of visual texts thinks about who they are addressing and what data that
person needs. What trends are important to show? What kind of graph or chart is best
to this end?
If the subject you wish to explore seems too vast, then it’s a good idea to break it down
into a more digestible topic. For example, ‘climate change’ is a subject. ‘Arguments
against fossil fuel as a power source’ is a topic. ‘Social media’ is a subject, while
‘investment plans for Facebook’ is a topic.
What do regular Australians care about?
◦Difference between city and regional prices
◦Changes to cost of produce
◦Problems with lifestyles including heavy petrol usage – like living in a motorhome ◦War
in Ukraine
◦Who might win or lose an election because of petrol prices