Today you start planning a short piece giving your own views on something that matters in your life. You will publish it over the next few lessons. By the end of today, you will have a plan and the first entry in a research log, which is a record of how you made your piece.
The Student Project at the end of the course is bigger. You will finish this piece in this unit.
A research log records your decisions, what you looked up and where it came from, and any help you used, including AI.
| A log entry has four parts | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date and label | When, and a short name for what you did. |
| Source or decision | What you found, or what you chose: topic, audience, format. |
| Why it matters | One line on how it changes the piece. |
| Credit trail | Creator, link, and whether you are allowed to use it: a page you may quote with credit, or a photo you need consent for. |
Both entries below are for a post about school menus showing which foods might cause an allergy, a bad reaction to food.
| Entry A (thin) | Entry B (useful) |
|---|---|
| “Looked stuff up about school food. Found a good article. Going to use it.” | 12 March. Audience decision. My audience is other students and the student council, not parents, so the post stays about clear menus for students. This is only a plan decision, so my next entry will name the first page I check. |
A credit trail notes who made your material and where it came from. Consent means permission, which you need for things like a photo of a person.
With a partner, find one thing Entry B does that Entry A does not.
Read this made-up plan and its log entry. They are for a post about keeping the late bus times after 9pm.
| The plan | The log entry that goes with it |
|---|---|
| Working title: Why our town’s buses should keep running after 9pm | Date/label: 14 March. Plan decisions |
| Viewpoint: keep the late buses, because cutting them leaves younger teens stuck or relying on lifts | Source or decision: chose the late buses as my topic, and councillors and other late-bus users as my audience. Checked the bus company's notice about the change. |
| Audience: local councillors and other students who use the last buses | Why it matters: the notice shows the buses after 9pm really are being cut, so the piece argues about a fact, not a rumour |
| Format: short illustrated post, shared to the class publishing space only | Credit trail: the bus company's notice about the change, a public information page, may quote with credit |
Councillors are local leaders chosen by voters. The viewpoint is what the maker wants readers to think.
As a class, answer out loud:
- Who is this for, and what should they understand by the end?
- Why does this format suit them?
- What source or check is still needed?
- If they rush, what could go wrong with permission or the class rules?
Now plan your own short piece, the one you will publish soon.
- School Wi-Fi rules or access
- PE kit rules
- Bus or app times in your area
- How the canteen labels foods that could cause an allergy
- Phone locker rules
You can also use your own idea.
- Choose a topic relevant to your life. Then decide your viewpoint, which is what you want your reader to understand or think about.
- Decide who your audience is and which format you will use, such as a short illustrated post, an audio clip, a video or a simple page. Write one line on why it suits them.
- Write one entry in your research log about these decisions. Use the four parts from the table. If you have not found a source yet, write "none yet" for the credit trail.
You need a topic and viewpoint, an audience and format with a reason, and one log entry with all four parts.
Ask your teacher where plans are saved in this class, and save yours there before the end. A tab left open or a file on a shared device will not be there next time.
When your plan is written, spend two minutes with a partner, who checks that your audience and format really match. Then improve your plan.
A publish plan is not extra paperwork. It is your first safety and honesty check, because it makes you think about who the piece is for, what you will claim, whose consent you need, and how you will show where your material came from.
You start your research log today so you do not have to piece it all together at the end. Next time, when you build the piece, add credits and decisions to the log straight away.
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