Writing with Purpose

Student activity
Task No. 1

Writing with photographs

View ‘Demos’ in Chapter 3 of Coming Out in the 70s, read the information and scroll through the photographs. Choose a photograph from Chapter 3 of Coming Out in the 70s and use it as the stimulus for a piece of imaginative writing. You should plan your ideas carefully before you begin and consider the following:

  • Perspective and point of view
  • Setting
  • Character
  • Relevant historical information you will need to include
Task No. 2

A letter from the future

View the interview with Garry Wotherspoon about CAMP.

Write a letter to send back in time to the young Gary Wotherspoon. What would your letter from the current time say about the impact of the gay rights movement 50 years on?

Consider the changes in attitudes towards people with same sex orientation since the 1970s.

View the campaign wrap video at voteyes.org.au for inspiration on what you will tell Gary about the current situation for the LGBTIQ+ community.

You might like to reassure Gary that change will occur; or encourage him to keep going with his activism.

Task No. 3

Pinpointing purpose

After viewing select chapters of the online exhibition comment on the following features:

  • Voice and perspective
  • Tone and modality
  • Images
  • Colour and symbolism
  • Headings and subheadings
  • Collection items used

Write a short review for your school newsletter in which you evaluate the purpose of the online exhibition and how this purpose is achieved. In order to do so, you may need to view other chapters of the exhibition.