Next steps for the feature article task

Once you have chosen your poem/song and you have completed the proposal questions, you should work through a SPECS and SLIMS analysis on your poem/song. This analysis will become quite useful when you begin writing your feature article. It will also need to be submitted with the final copy of your assignment to demonstrate your planning.

Remember, SPECS and SLIMS requires you to do the following things:

Subject Matter - You are giving a basic overview of what the poem/song is focusing on

Purpose - Based on what you read in the poem/song, why do you think the poet/songwriter wrote this piece? What were they trying to achieve? Where they maybe trying to tell a story (either their personal story or someone else's), educate people, change their perspective on war/conflict, share their opinion on war/conflict, etc.)?

Emotion - As you read the piece, are their certain emotions present within the words? Do you get a sense of how the writer may have felt? Do you think the audience is being positioned to feel a certain way when the read/hear this piece?

Craftsmanship - Remember this part focuses on how the poet/songwriter has constructed the piece. You use SLIMS to do this bit.

Structure - This section allows you to think about whether the poem has been written in a certain style, e.g. Ode or Ballad, etc. Is the poem separated into stanzas for a clear reason? You can also consider whether there are verses or choruses repeated for certain effect if it is a song. This section is only important if you think the writer has made structural choices for a really specific effect.

Language - What kind of language choices has the writer used for certain effects? Have their used first or second person for a reason? Have they used words that have strong emotional links for the audience? Have they chosen words that help the reader to understand the situation by appealing to their five senses? Is it written in a formal or casual style for a particular reason?

Imagery - Are there examples of metaphors, similes, personification, symbolism, etc? Has the writer created really vivid images in what they say to help you picture what they are describing?

Movement - Is there a rhyming pattern or a sense of rhythm in the poem or song that helps to reinforce the message or make it easy to remember, etc? Like structure, this is only important if you think the writer has made a choice for a very deliberate reason.

Sound - Are there examples of alliteration, assonance or onomatopoeia? Again, only important if they have been used for a really strong reason - e.g. Mimicking the sound of gunfire, etc.

Summary - Once you have finished your notes, this is your chance to link it back to what the task is asking. The summary allows you to make some specific notes that can compare your chosen poem/song to the themes, etc. that you saw in 'Maus'.