1. Researching, Writing and Presenting Information - A How To Guide: Writing a Rationale

A rationale is a set of reasons or an explanation for a course of action or beliefs. Sometimes it is referred to as a statement of intent. In a school context, it is most often required to explain your creative choices in response to a task. In English, the purpose of a rationale is to link your creative response to the text studied and the prompt.

It should be written in formal English and structured in logical paragraphs. The rationale should be an integrated discussion of ideas and language choices, rather than a list of techniques. Use F-CLAP to help you with the content of your Rationale.

Form: Why have I chosen to use this form? (Eg: poetry, painting, narrative)

Context: What is the broader context of the piece? (Eg: social & historical context)

Language: What language choices have I made? How have the language choices of author's studied influenced my decisions? (Eg: structures, features, devices etc.)

Audience: Who am I writing/creating for? (consider age, gender, cultural & religious background, biases etc. )

Purpose: Why am I writing/creating this piece?

Always refer to your Assessment task outline for specific details to writing your rationale.

Click on the image below to access the fillable guided brainstorm sheet.

Rationales vary depending on the nature of the task. Please read task instructions carefully and seek clarification from your teacher about what is required. An example of a suggested structure is provided below.

Part A: Comment on the text to which you are responding.

• Give an introductory explanation of the aspect(s) of the text/stimulus material that inspired your response.

Part B: Explain the purpose/aim of your response.

• Provide a clear explanation of your intention in the response. For example, you may be focussing on a particular issue or character. You may wish to elicit an emotional response from the reader or state a philosophical view point.

Part C: Discuss your choice of medium/approach to the task Explain your choice of medium.

• For example if your response is non-written such as a poster, collage or an electronic image(s), justify your use of colour, texture, symbolism, and composition. If your response is a story you could discuss your choice of setting, characterisation and dialogue. You may have used a particular narrative structure that requires explanation
• Explain any unusual/particular features of your response. How do they enhance your response?

Your rationale should include relevant references (examples/quotations) where appropriate.