Y09W36WR How a Bill Becomes a Law
Part 1
How to Write
An informative piece shares knowledge or experience on a topic with readers who need clear, practical understanding. It is written for an audience who expects the writer to know the subject and present it helpfully. The tone is knowledgeable, direct and accessible — not academic or detached.
- Ideas & content: Choose what is most useful for your reader. If drawing on personal experience, focus on what is specific and real rather than general observations.
- Structure & cohesion: Organise ideas into a clear flow — an opening that establishes the topic, a middle that develops it with specific detail, and a close that leaves the reader with something useful.
- Voice & audience: Write as someone who genuinely knows this topic. Stay consistent in tone — confident but not preachy, clear but not simplistic.
- Language choices: Use vocabulary that is precise without being unnecessarily formal. Write in the present tense for ongoing truths and anchor abstract ideas with specific examples.
- Conventions: Spell key terms accurately. Use punctuation to control sentence rhythm — commas and full stops are your most useful tools.
Common pitfalls: Staying too general — specific detail is what makes an informative piece actually useful. Repeating the same point in different words rather than adding new information.
Part 2
Your Task Plan for Today
Question: Write a three-paragraph informative piece explaining how a bill becomes a law in Australia’s federal parliament, what role each house plays and what checks exist in the process. Select the most relevant material from the notes, organise it clearly and write entirely in your own words. You will need to decide what to leave out.
Stimulus: The following notes have been gathered from various sources about how Australia’s federal parliament makes laws. They are unorganised and contain more information than you will need.
- Australia has a federal system of government with both state and federal parliaments.
- The federal parliament consists of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- The House of Representatives has 151 members elected from single-member electorates.
- The Senate has 76 senators - twelve from each state and two from each territory.
- A bill is a proposed law.
- Most bills are introduced in the House of Representatives.
- A bill must pass both houses to become law.
- Bills go through several readings in each house - a first reading, a second reading debate, a committee stage and a third reading.
- The committee stage allows detailed examination and amendment.
- If the Senate proposes amendments the House of Representatives must agree to them.
- The Governor-General gives royal assent to bills passed by both houses, which makes them law.
- The Governor-General acts on the advice of the government in almost all cases.
- A double dissolution occurs when the Governor-General dissolves both houses, triggering an election - this can happen if the Senate repeatedly blocks government legislation.
- Referendums are required to change the Australian Constitution.
- Referendums require a double majority - a national majority and a majority in at least four of the six states.
- Australia has held 44 referendums and only eight have passed.
- Citizens can petition parliament but cannot directly propose legislation.
- Parliamentary committees examine proposed laws and government activities in detail.
- Question time in parliament allows opposition members to question ministers about government decisions.
Task Analysis: This task asks you to explain something genuinely — not a textbook summary, but what it actually is or how it genuinely works. Your explanation should be clear, well-organised and accessible to readers who want to understand the topic in depth.
Quick Plan
Before you write, plan:
- Your core explanation — what is the single most important thing readers need to understand?
- 2–3 key points that build on each other logically
- One specific example or case study that makes the explanation concrete
- Your closing synthesis — what readers should take away?
Angle / controlling idea
Decide what aspect of this topic genuinely interests you. An effective explanation has a clear focus — it does not try to cover everything, but instead explains one aspect deeply and clearly.
Paragraph focus
Organise your explanation into clear paragraphs, each with a single idea. Each paragraph should build logically on the one before — readers should be able to follow your thinking step by step.
Evidence & examples
Use specific, concrete detail to make your explanation clear. If you are explaining a concept, give a worked example. If you are explaining a process, walk through the actual steps. Make the abstract concrete.
Key terms
If you use technical terms, define them clearly the first time you use them. Your readers may not have background knowledge — explain as if writing for someone intelligent but unfamiliar with the topic.
Tone & voice
Write as a clear, knowledgeable explainer — someone who understands the topic and can make it accessible. Avoid sounding like a textbook or talking down to readers. Be genuine and direct.
Ending strategy
Close by returning to your core idea and showing how all the pieces fit together. Your final paragraph should give readers a sense of completion — they understand what you were explaining and why it matters.
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