Software Institute

Part 3:

News writing

John E. Clayton

Nanjung University, Fall, 2004

Syllabus

1 9/21 Introduction; Student photos; Quick review; 2 9/28 Information cards; Paragraphs 10/05 No Class - National Day Holiday 10/12 No Class – Education Conference 3 10/19 News writing 4 10/26 News writing5 11/02 Business letters6 11/09 Business letters/Resumes7 11/16 Resumes8 11/23 Resumes/Final exam

http://software.nju.edu.cn/~clayton/

Basic Questions

Most stories answer a few basic questions

"Sherry Smith won first place in the Cutest Pet contest yesterday at Columbia Mall."

Who?What?When?

Where?Why/How?

Writing the StoryStart with a sentence that grabs your reader and makes him/her want to read more.

Write your story plainly so that everyone can understand it. If possible, use quotes to make it more interesting.

Example -- "The fourth grade class painted one wall of their classroom with a picture so strange that their teacher immediately sent for the principal."

Example -- "The flames were so hot I thought my helmet would melt," the firefighter said.

SampleMissing hiker's body found

The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday.

Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

SampleMissing hiker's body found

The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday.

Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

1. Start off with a headline.

The headline shouldn't be a summarization of the article, but should serve to get the reader's attention.

SampleMissing hiker's body found

The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday.

Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

2. Write the lead paragraph, a summary of the story.

The lead paragraph should include the who, what, when, where, why.

SampleMissing hiker's body found

The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday.

Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

3. Next provide explanation and amplification.

Include details you feel are important, in order of importance from greatest to least.

SampleMissing hiker's body found

The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday.

Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

4. Add background information.

If the average reader will be confused reading the story, fill in the gaps with background information.

SampleMissing hiker's body found

The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday.

Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

5. Add quotes.

When possible, "flavor" the article with relevant quotes.

Rotating Snakes

Johnny Lingo - Setting

Location

A South Pacific Island

Characters

Mahanna………. a young girl

Mo Key ………. Mahanna's father

Johnny Lingo … an island trader

Mr. Harris ……. a shop keeper

Tulo ………….. the shop keeper's helper

Johnny Lingo - Questions1. Describe Mahanna at the beginning of the film2. In her culture, was 19 old to be getting married?3. Why did the people laugh when Mo Key asked for 3 cows?4. What happened when Johnny said he would pay 8 cows? Why?5. Why did Johnny want to buy a beautiful mirror for Mahanna?6. What happened to Mahanna after her marriage?7. What made the difference in Mahanna?8. When Johnny gave Mahanna the mirror, she said that she wished she had a gift for him. Johnny said "your gift to me can be seen by all" What was that gift?9. Describe a time when someone made you feel insignificant.10. Describe some way that you could help someone else feel better about himself?

Homework

Write a news article about some aspect of Johnny Lingo.

Examples:

• “Famous Island Trader Takes a Wife”

• “Man Buys Wife for Incredible 8 Cows”

• “Mokey Now a Rich Man”