Monday, April 24th
Unit 2, Day 10
Check In
Have you:
Overview
Today we will:
Project 2: Let’s REVIEW the Assignment!
Here is a link to the Assignment if you would like to look it over.
In this unit, you will find your own specific beat, a subject where you can showcase your unique experience and knowledge. You will write a well-researched feature article with 3 credible sources for a magazine or newspaper that narrows in on some specific aspect of this subject that is at least 1400 and 1600 words. You’ll tell your audience something they didn’t know before and make them think about the subject in a whole new way!
Project 2: GRADING CRITERIA
AUDIENCE AWARENESS: Who are you trying to reach with this article? Are you using the right diction, publication, sources and arguments to reach this audience?
PURPOSE: Is it clear to your readers what your main point is? Why is it important? Why is it important NOW?
RESEARCH: Even though your beat is your specialty, there is always more to learn– through reading, interviews, walking around the neighborhood, watching YouTube Videos, making phone calls and so on. Having a beat means you know where to look for that research. It means you have connections. It does not mean you just write about your own experience. So, did you dig deep in your research and find relevant and credible sources? Does your research reflect a thorough understanding of the problem you are trying to impact? How were you able to integrate this research into your own article and argument? You must do research in this assignment!
ORGANIZATION AND ANALYSIS: Is the piece well-organized, with clear, thought-out points that are backed up by information and explanation?
SENTENCE-LEVEL: Can your reader understand what you are saying without distraction? Is the writing enjoyable to read?
WORD COUNT: Is your piece between 1400 and 1600 words
Project 2: FORMATTING
The Unit Reflection should be in Times New Roman 12 Point Font and Double Spaced
The Feature Article can be in the font you choose.
YOU MUST HAVE A WORKS CITED PAGE FOR Your Feature Article! You must also use in-text citation. You can either hyperlink the citations OR do the proper MLA in-text citation.
Project 2: HOW To Submit!
Project 2: Sample Cover Page!
Rebekah Coleman
Prof. Coleman
English 1121, Section D426
Project 2 - Feature Article
TITLE
Word Count:
WHAT YOUR FEATURE ARTICLE MUST INCLUDE
INTRODUCTION
BODY
CONCLUSION
Project 2: What your FEATURE ARTICLE MUST INCLUDE
INTRODUCTION
Lede Sentence(s) Your feature articles must have a LEDE (thesis) Introduce and describe your BEAT. Maybe add a story or personal anecdote that explains your connection to the topic.
Nut Graf Paragraph You explain why your topic is worth writing about. Provide the wider context for the feature article (why is this an important topic, how is it relevant in the world today). Who does the topic affect? Why? How? What makes what you are saying unique?
BODY PARAGRAPHS
Explain the beat! Include as much (or little) story as you want. Use research (interviews, texts, site visits, media analysis. Have ONE pain pont per paragraph and make sure there's evidence and analysis. Explain the REASONS WHY the topic is important.
CONCLUSION
Bring it back to the original story. Add a call to action or a memorable statement that leaves your audience thinking. Maybe give advice or tips.
Organizing Your Feature Articles
PARAGRAPH 1
Your feature articles must have a LEDE (thesis) Introduce and describe your BEAT. Maybe add a story or personal anecdote that explains your connection to the topic.
PARAGRAPH 2
Your article Nut Graf Paragraph where you explain why your topic is worth writing about. Provide the wider context for the feature article (why is this an important topic, how is it relevant in the world today). Who does the topic affect? Why? How? What makes what you are saying unique?
PARAGRAPH 3 THROUGH ???
Explain the beat! Include As much (or little) story as you want. Use research (interviews, texts, site visits, media analysis. Have ONE pain pont per paragraph and make sure there's evidence and analysis. Explain the REASONS WHY the topic is important.
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
Bring it back to the original story. Add a call to action or a memorable statement that leaves your audience thinking. Maybe give advice or tips.
Project 2: MOST IMPORTANT!
Your FEATURE ARTICLE must look, sound and feel like a FEATURE ARTICLE.
This is NOT a 5 paragraph essay or a research paper.
How do you do that? Make sure it has all of the elements of a feature article!
From “Master Class”:
A feature article is a news story that goes beyond the facts to weave in a narrative and tell a compelling story. A feature article differs from a hard news story as it offers an in-depth look at a particular subject, current event, or location to audiences. A good feature article will keep the reader’s attention until the end, delivering a fleshed-out narrative and creating a lasting impression.
Project 2: MOST IMPORTANT!
Your FEATURE ARTICLE must look, sound and feel like a FEATURE ARTICLE.
This is NOT a 5 paragraph essay or a research paper.
How do you do that? Make sure it has all of the elements of a feature article!
Elements of a Feature Article!
How DO YOU DO THIS??
To make sure that you are on track, that your feature article actually looks, sounds and feels like a feature article, it is SO SO SO important to use your mentor article.
Choose one of the class articles OR the one you found on your own:
USING THE MENTOR TEXT, ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR FEATURE ARTICLE!
Rhetorical Situation: Do you know the author’s purpose for this piece of writing? Do you know who the intended audience is for this piece of writing? MAKE these choice for your article!
Context: What is the context of the piece and the assignment. How does it fit into the big picture. Make these choices for YOUR article!
Genre: When genre elements of a feature article does your mentor text contain? What will you add to yours? (lede, nut graph paragraph, etc)
Tone: What is the tone of your mentor article? Will you use this same tone? Why or why not?
Structure: How is it organized? Does it have paragraphs with different headings? Does it have a title with a subtitle? Make these Choices for YOUR article.
Style: Does the author use interviews, facts, statistics, research to support their argument? Is it written in the first person (“I”) or third person? Make these Choices for YOUR article.
Revising and Editing
Revising and Editing
We are going to revise and edit our feature articles. We will use this revising and editing checklist to make sure we have all of the required elements.
We will work in partners to read each other’s work and use this KWL Peer Review Handout to help each other make sure that we accomplish each of the required pieces of our feature articles!
Let’s Review! Revising vs. Editing!
REVISING:
TO revising or re-see a text with a specific focus. For example, you might revise your feature article with a focus on adding rhetorical appeals or adding headings / subheadings.
EDITING:
Reading your article with a focus on grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Revising with a focus on audience and purpose
PURPOSE
What is this newsworthy event that you are reporting on? How can you bring the story to life for your readers? How do you hope your readers will respond? How have you made sure your PURPOSE is clear?
AUDIENCE
Who will read your article? How carefully will they read it? Why will they read it? What will they do with the information? What tone (humorous, serious, formal, academic, professional, informal, etc) will the audience best respond to?
Revising with a focus on genre
GENRE
Have you paid attention to your mentor article to find the genre elements of a feature article?
Do you have a lede or strong opening sentence that will rope in the reader? Do you have a nut graf paragraph?
Do you have short body paragraphs that are each on ONE point with a reason and supporting evidence?
Revising with a focus on tone and style
TONE / STYLE
Does your tone match your article genre / audience / purpose?
Do you write in the first person (I) or third person (she, he, they)?
Are you consistent in your tone and style?
Revising with a focus on adding ethos, pathos and logos
How are you appealing to your audience? Which rhetorical appeals do you use?
Ethos: Appear credible (use credible sources, facts, statistics, etc)--Do you appear credible and trustworthy?
Pathos: Appeal to a reader’s emotions, values and feelings (use visuals or stories or anecdotes). Are the values and feelings sincere or manipulative?
Logos: Appeal to a reader’s logic (use logical reasoning, keep piece well-organized, use reliable evidence)--Is the argument logical and reasonable?
Revising with a focus on adding ethos, pathos and logos
Questions to think about:
Revising with a focus on citations!
We use MLA Citations in our class. Here is a link to Perdue Owl citation link. Here is the CityTech Library citation link.
Here is the Works Cited Page Citation for Dan Melzer:
Melzer, Dan. "Understanding Discourse Communities." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 3, 2020.
Here is the In-text citation for Melzer: (Melzer 2)
Just remember, citations are for:
1. Giving credit to others
2. Telling the reader where to find the information!
Check your citations!
QUOTATIONS
PARAPHRASED INFORMATION
SUMMARY OF IDEAS / TEXTS
CHECK YOUR CITATIONS!!!!
Look very, very carefully over your text. Check ALL of your citations. If you have any questions or doubts, add a citation!
Revising with a focus on organization (headings, subheadings, titles)
Is your article logically organized? What does this mean?
Let’s EDIT!
Now, it's time to EDIT our drafts. This means it's time to PROOFREAD for grammatical and spelling errors.
Unit 2 Reflection!
Metacognition and Transfer: A Review
Metacognition is what we call reflection: an awareness of our learning process—both how and what we learn.
Transfer: Is the concept of how we can transfer this knowledge/ awareness/ learning into other aspects of our lives. For example, how can we use this learning in other classes (math classes, architecture classes, fashion classes) or in the world outside of City Tech (our careers, etc).
Let’s now take a moment to reflect on this learning. Jot down some notes (it will help with your Unit 2 reflection!). What is ONE thing you learned during this Unit that you found particularly interesting or helpful?
Unit 2 Reflection
Format:
Write a 250 Word Reflection on Unit 2. Please include the word count on the top of the page. Use Times New Roman 12 point font. Double Space!
Guiding Questions
You do not have to answer each question, but rather use them as a guide or inspiration as you reflect or look back on the unit!
What is the MOST important thing you learned in your Unit Two research? Why? (Write these things down.)
Mentor Authors
Writing Activities and Research / Inquiry Process
Describe what you learned from:
Questions to Consider
Discuss what you learned about yourself as a writer and a reader in the process of researching and writing your article.
For example, what part did you find the most challenging? Or the most successful? Did you try anything new?
Questions to Consider
Which of the readings, if any, influenced you or inspired you?
Explain the influence, USE SPECIFIC examples.
Questions to Consider
The focus of Unit 2 was on research, inquiry and writing a feature article. What did you find interesting? What did you learn? What would you still like to learn more about? What did you learn about the research and inquiry PROCESS (metacognition!)
What is the MOST important thing you learned in your Unit 2 research? Why?
How was the research process? Did you feel that the fieldwork added depth to your feature article? Be specific in answering these questions.
What are your thoughts on the experience in general? Was it a useful learning experience? What specific skills or perspectives did you acquire as a result?
How could you transfer something you learned in this unit to other aspects of your life both in City Tech and outside of City Tech?
Questions to Consider
Is there anything else you want me to know about you as a writer or reader or your work in this class?
Homework
DUE May 1st
Please SUBMIT the documents to this Google Doc folder AND Print out a copy of both to hand in!