http://www.projo.com/words/tip506.htm
The following article is full of more suggestions about how to finish your article. It is about planning ahead.
What do you do when you can't find the ending?
What do you do when you can't find the ending?
Re-read your beginning. Why did you open that way?
Ask yourself what the story is about. What is the last thing you want the reader to remember?
Read through your notes to see if you've included everything of importance. Most news stories don't require a finely crafted ending. Just stop.
Often the best endings bring you back to the beginning. Look for ways to make that work for you.
Write a couple of different versions of the lead. Sometimes, a second-choice lead makes a great ending.
Just stop. Sometimes an abrupt ending is better than three or four aimless paragraphs in search of an ending.
It's there. You've already written it. Go back and find it.
Look to the future. What is happening next in a running story? What can we expect? Choose your ending before you start writing. Your first choice may not be the final one, but the process helps in mapping out the flow and line of the story. Also, it is much easier to change an ending than to search for one.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Student Focus
9G REMINDER: Bring in an English news article for Monday. Use the news sources I listed in this post.
Ece came late to class on the fırst day of school, and I thought, "Oh - so she will be one of those girls." She has come late a few times since then, but she is most definitely NOT "one of those girls." Ece has shown that she likes to think quietly and talk with friends (mostly Aslı) and she has no problem doing both while also getting her work done.
She is deifnitely a good person to become friends with because she is the kind of girl who is able to think for herself and will say things that she means.
Presenting...Ece!
Ece came late to class on the fırst day of school, and I thought, "Oh - so she will be one of those girls." She has come late a few times since then, but she is most definitely NOT "one of those girls." Ece has shown that she likes to think quietly and talk with friends (mostly Aslı) and she has no problem doing both while also getting her work done.
She is deifnitely a good person to become friends with because she is the kind of girl who is able to think for herself and will say things that she means.
Presenting...Ece!
Full Name: Ece Gureylik
What does your name mean?: Queen
Place of Birth: İstanbul – American Hospital
Why were you born there?: My parents have been here for about 20 yrs or something like that.
Age: 14 yrs
Locations you lived: İstanbul. On the Asian side in Suadiye.
What hobbies do you have?: One month ago, I started to ride horses...I was riding horses, but I stopped because of the school, but I just started again.
Where do you want to go to school (university): I am hoping to do the IB program and then go to the US, but I want to go to a “normal” school and then trasfer to an art school. Too many people want to go to university for just art, so I thought it would be better to go to a “normal” school.
Brothers or sisters?: I have a sister. She is 25 yrs old. She is very old. Like, we have 11 yrs between us...almost a generation.
At 8pm at night you are: Usually I am watching television in my home.
Worst habit: I am too talkative.
Embarrassing moment: I don’t have one.
Favorite movie: The Martian Child and The Truman Show.
Favorite Holiday: When I went to Brazil last year because my sister went there for a job with a program. She satyed there for 8 or 9 mths and tried to find sponsors for blind children in Brazil. Brazil has many similarities to Turkey (traffic jams, etc). It was very colorful. There was an ocean. It was the first time I went to the ocean and that’s it. I pretended that it was a normal sea and then a wave came and it was terrible.
World’s worst problem: There are many.
Something people would be surprised to know about you: I have big goals in life and I don’t always share them.
Who is your hero?: No one.
Biggest decision you are thinking about right now: I want to be in the IB program. It is an important thing for me, and if I can I will choose the IB program.
One word that describes you: Annoying.
Who wants to be next weeks interview subject?? Please respond in the comments section if you want to be next and we can meet during one of the lunch periods next week!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A Good Lead
9H REMINDER: Bring in an English news article on Friday so we can dissect it. Use the news sources from this post.
http://www.projo.com/words/20030731_tp.htm
The following article is from a writer who was creating a news story. It describes the process of creating a story and choosing a focus for that story. While you read, ask yourself: What will the focus of your news story from Excursion Day be? How will you decide on a lead?
Time takes over in the quest for the right lead
By Michael P. McKinneyJournal Staff Writer
I'm still not sure the right lead ended up on this story about a barge tanker that spilled thousands of gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay off the Massachusetts coast.
I got back to the office close to 6:30 p.m. with a notebook full of imagery: Oil-covered birds near death on examination tables, oil in the water, men in spacesuits shoveling globs off the beach.
But something nagged at me. During a press conference at the Otis Air Force base, officials said a couple of oil masses in Buzzards Bay resisted efforts by ships to clean up the mess. That seemed like big enough news.
The question was: Use a straight-news lead or an anecdotal beginning about dying birds and globs of oil? For a while, I tried to do both -- in one paragraph. But that didn't work.
In the end, with time running out to write, the straightforward lead won, with birds and spacesuits getting the second paragraph.
At first, reporting the story seemed simple. I observed at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Mass., as men and women dunked birds in buckets of detergent and held the birds down to help them fight the oil. Plenty of drama.
But from there, the story became more difficult. It was a second-day look at the fallout of the spill, yet finding the oil everyone was talking about proved elusive. I went to Horseneck Beach in Westport, Mass. Nothing tangible there, other than people sun-bathing. Then I went to Fairhaven, Mass., where photographer Bob Thayer and I finally tracked down oil globs on the beach.
Meanwhile, I had to be mindful of the clock: A press conference was scheduled for the afternoon at Otis Air Force base over on Cape Cod. One piece of advice: The military doesn't always see time the way we do.
I made it to the gate of the base on time. The guards asked me if I had a pass to get on base. I did not. They directed me -- and some other reporters -- to a sort of impound lane. Time marched on. And on. And on. Finally, one soldier checked out all the cars then sent an escort -- at least a half-hour after the press conference started.
As we arrived, reporters streamed out of the building. That sinking feeling set in. We'd missed it.
Military and marine officials agreed to hold a mini-press conference for us. Then it was time to drive back.
Sitting at the computer, the question, as always, was what was this story about? There's no doubt people were worried about the impact the oil might have on the shellfish industry -- a major business for the region. And if those oil masses could not be contained by ships, it seemed they could become a further threat to the people who benefit from the industry.
Still, even with the debate about the top of the story, I found that the rest of it flowed pretty well. When I came to a section about the doctors trying to rescue oil-covered birds, I found that it helped to blank out the rest of the story and begin as if the birds were the lead of the piece:
``Yesterday was about small moments of heroism. In the quarantine building of Buttonwood Park Zoo, in New Bedford, four people in scrubs and plastic gloves tried to rescue birds at the edge of death. There was no time for names. Each bird had only a number.''
I don't know, maybe some version of that could have been the lead. But the clock hit 8:30 p.m. Time to let go of the story.
http://www.projo.com/words/20030731_tp.htm
The following article is from a writer who was creating a news story. It describes the process of creating a story and choosing a focus for that story. While you read, ask yourself: What will the focus of your news story from Excursion Day be? How will you decide on a lead?
Time takes over in the quest for the right lead
By Michael P. McKinneyJournal Staff Writer
I'm still not sure the right lead ended up on this story about a barge tanker that spilled thousands of gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay off the Massachusetts coast.
I got back to the office close to 6:30 p.m. with a notebook full of imagery: Oil-covered birds near death on examination tables, oil in the water, men in spacesuits shoveling globs off the beach.
But something nagged at me. During a press conference at the Otis Air Force base, officials said a couple of oil masses in Buzzards Bay resisted efforts by ships to clean up the mess. That seemed like big enough news.
The question was: Use a straight-news lead or an anecdotal beginning about dying birds and globs of oil? For a while, I tried to do both -- in one paragraph. But that didn't work.
In the end, with time running out to write, the straightforward lead won, with birds and spacesuits getting the second paragraph.
At first, reporting the story seemed simple. I observed at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Mass., as men and women dunked birds in buckets of detergent and held the birds down to help them fight the oil. Plenty of drama.
But from there, the story became more difficult. It was a second-day look at the fallout of the spill, yet finding the oil everyone was talking about proved elusive. I went to Horseneck Beach in Westport, Mass. Nothing tangible there, other than people sun-bathing. Then I went to Fairhaven, Mass., where photographer Bob Thayer and I finally tracked down oil globs on the beach.
Meanwhile, I had to be mindful of the clock: A press conference was scheduled for the afternoon at Otis Air Force base over on Cape Cod. One piece of advice: The military doesn't always see time the way we do.
I made it to the gate of the base on time. The guards asked me if I had a pass to get on base. I did not. They directed me -- and some other reporters -- to a sort of impound lane. Time marched on. And on. And on. Finally, one soldier checked out all the cars then sent an escort -- at least a half-hour after the press conference started.
As we arrived, reporters streamed out of the building. That sinking feeling set in. We'd missed it.
Military and marine officials agreed to hold a mini-press conference for us. Then it was time to drive back.
Sitting at the computer, the question, as always, was what was this story about? There's no doubt people were worried about the impact the oil might have on the shellfish industry -- a major business for the region. And if those oil masses could not be contained by ships, it seemed they could become a further threat to the people who benefit from the industry.
Still, even with the debate about the top of the story, I found that the rest of it flowed pretty well. When I came to a section about the doctors trying to rescue oil-covered birds, I found that it helped to blank out the rest of the story and begin as if the birds were the lead of the piece:
``Yesterday was about small moments of heroism. In the quarantine building of Buttonwood Park Zoo, in New Bedford, four people in scrubs and plastic gloves tried to rescue birds at the edge of death. There was no time for names. Each bird had only a number.''
I don't know, maybe some version of that could have been the lead. But the clock hit 8:30 p.m. Time to let go of the story.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
What's Up Wednesday
Who is the most responsible character? If we believe that each character has a partial responsibility to "Eva Smith," who did the most damage to cause her downfall? Explain your response and argue against other students who comment.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Büyükada Times
What a beautiful day we had on the island! I started my day with a carriage ride to the top of the island where some colleagues and I had some snacks and some tea and enjoyed the beautiful view. What a great place to be when not many people are there. We saw some horses on the way
and many other carriages and people enjoying themselves! 
My husband and I visited on Children's Day last year, and it was awful. We walked and walked and really went nowhere and then walked and walked some more and got some ice cream and a waffle and left the island. At least we can always end the day with some ice cream and a waffle even when the island is crowded!
I loved seeing all of you enjoying your time together and talking to people in the island. I was happy to see some students immediately plop down next to some of the elderly men who were sitting on the benches on the water's edge. I imagine not many people stop to talk, so it was nice to see young kids talking with older people in such a positive way.
I also thought that it was ingenious of some of you to interview your horse and carriage driver while he drove you to the top of the island. It was very resourceful and a good use of time. I only hope they realized you were sincerely interested in what they had to say.
Good job my little journalists! I hope your articles are as good as they already sound!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Newspaper Writing
What is a lead? Look at my post from two days ago and tell me what you think a lead is.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Type it Up! AND Print it Out!
Make sure you take the information you gathered on Wednesday (Excursion Day) and type it up into a clean format for Monday (both classes!). You can embellish (add to) the responses you got from the person you interviewed.
Many of you had rough notes, so I just want to see it "cleaned up." We will soon be writing newspaper articles using the primary source (the person you interviewed) you have, so keep reading the English news sources I gave you in this post.
Many of you had rough notes, so I just want to see it "cleaned up." We will soon be writing newspaper articles using the primary source (the person you interviewed) you have, so keep reading the English news sources I gave you in this post.
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