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There’s a new band in town

Cover your ears. Bigfoot Bill, Astro-Joe and Cinders have started a band… Cinders and the Ugly Sisters!

But like any new band, they need fans.

To let as many people as possible know about their first gig, they made a really sensible choice and decided to create a poster to advertise it.

They even had some very good ideas (eventually) as to how best lay it out, with Joe suggesting; “How about the name of the band in BIG letters at the top, to really grab people’s attention, then the picture of US, and then the venue and the time at the bottom?”.

What makes a good poster?

If you have ever seen or created your own, you will know that a good poster needs:

• short, snappy sentences
• an eye catching layout
• pictures that grab your attention
• clear information about the product or event.

It is fair to say that the gang did a great job!

What makes a good newspaper article?

As writers, there are so many different genres to choose from and layouts to explore, especially within non-fiction.

After such an ‘interesting’ first concert, Cinders and the Ugly Sisters will no doubt want to read all about it in the local newspaper. The headline, ‘All Picture, No Sound!’ almost writes itself and would certainly grab the attention of everyone who sees it.

A good newspaper article will always contain an interestingheadline and a subheading to sum up what the story is about. The story will be divided into columns, containing facts and quotes throughout. There may also be a photograph to go alongside it.

A non-chronological report

However, after such a disastrous start to their musical career, surely the band will want to do some research about what it takes to become successful in the industry.

By setting out the information they find in a non-chronological report (events are not arranged in order of time), with an overall heading and sub-headings for each paragraph, everyone will be able to easily follow and understand what they need to do to improve.

Learning some songs might be a start!

An autobiography

Becoming successful is surely their destiny though.

Cinders will need to write her autobiography soon, just like every other famous person.

This is a chronological report (events are arranged in order of time), written in the past tense, that gives details about a person’s life, family, early memories and personal opinions.

It can be broken up into chapters, each dealing with a different theme.

Have a go!

A poster, a newspaper article, a non-chronological report and an autobiography - these are just some examples of different ways writers, like you, can experiment with layouts and genres to achieve different results.

From diaries to instructions, there is a style for every task!