Questions 26～30
Extract 1
Simply put, a newspaper editorial is an article that expresses an opinion. While this single sentence may not seem to do justice to defining what an editorial is, think about this brief definition. What other types of article express this defining characteristic What other articles actively promote the expression of an opinion Reviewers may include factual information, so their personal opinions do not totally dominate a review, and news reporters attempt to give "just the facts" about a situation. Editorials are one of the few types of articles that celebrate the expression of opinion; they are wholly centred on the opinion being presented by the writer and the debate and discussion that the opinion incites.
That said, an editorial writer often attempts to the best of his or her own ability to defend the opinion that is being presented against potential counterarguments—a good editorial does not appear in a vacuum; this defence employs argument, logic, and other appeals to readers in an attempt to achieve a desired effect. The purpose of any given editorial is entirely directed by its writer. Most often, however, editorial writers seek to prove the validity of an opinion through argument, point out something that has been ignored, or simply create discussion about a topic. In sum, most editorials will inevitably involve the defence of an opinion in the hopes of advancing some goal that the writer has in mind.
Extract 2
If you want to become a music journalist, there are several starting points. One is to have a good knowledge of the greats, because when you write you have to put today’s music into context. It isn’t enough simply to be familiar with the music of the last five years. Another way is to specialize in a particular type of music, such as folk, country or techno. And the third starting point is to be a musician. This opens doors to the magazines targeted specifically at musicians rather than a more general readership. There may be opportunities if you don’t fit any of those three categories, but it’s a competitive marketplace so it’s important that in some way you meet the sometimes quite specific needs of the music magazines.
Staff jobs do get advertised from time to time, but your best approach might be to work freelance. This way you can do non-music writing as well, if necessary, to add to your income, and equally importantly, you’ll have greater creative freedom by writing for different music magazines. In general they make sure they meet their readers’ very specific expectations, and so you may find writing just for one is limiting.
Extract 3
This book was published before under a different title and the material has been reissued in the A Very Short Introduction... series of titles which aim to give readers a brief, colourful insight into a subject and ignite a passion for further learning and discovery. The series is an alternative to the Introducing... series of yesteryear, which briefly introduced readers to people, topics and ideas. Journalism: A Very Short Introduction suffers where the Introducing... titles excelled. Humour was used by the Introducing... series to great effect to draw the reader in and make the subject covered that much more interesting. So much rests on how a subject is taught, and being likened to a textbook, which is a real risk in the present case, would be the kiss of death for a title such as this.
In the second paragraph of Extract 2, the writer says that each music magazine tends to
A. publish pieces that fit within a relatively narrow range
B. encourage writers to find out what readers expect
C. publish pieces that will develop their readers’ tastes
D. encourage writers to deal with a variety of topics