Writers be aware,
take notice of your surroundings.
Capture the 5 W’s in your world.
To Write a News Story, Journalists…
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Find drama-heightened emotion, the extraordinary, the community event, the hidden story in a story.
Observe-not just the event but the content, including listening for quotes/dialogue.
Capture the 5 W’s-who, what, where, when, why/how.
Use journalistic tone-concise, 3rd person, dramatic but truthful. Be objective, record facts, accurate,
important details.
Angle the story for social significance-make it matter to the community.
Raise the level with suggestive details, grace notes, delightful jolts, and a unified focus.
Seek related stories that illuminate issues that matter to the writer and the community.
Use narrative craft such as action, dialogue, and setting to reveal central ideas and evoke compassion.
Engage readers’ interest and move them toward a bigger truth, with narrative and information
techniques.
Apprentice to masterful writers by reading their work closely and mimicking their craft and structure.
Deepen readers’ associations and connections with analogies and allusions.
Investigate the bigger story by researching sources.
Conduct primary research such as surveys and interviews.
Cite references clearly and accurately.
Frame evidence from sources by analyzing and explaining their information.
Organize their writing and use sophisticated transitions to lead their readers across the parts of their
piece.
Write conclusions that argue for a call to action.
Copy of Mentor Text to Analyze
Three students were seen fighting in the gym at School for Global
Studies today, over who would be chosen as the center during a class
basketball game. The game was an opportunity for Global’s star players to
shine in gym. That’s not what happened though. Instead, there was
pandemonium.
The students were girls from class 801, and each was a star player.
Sharon was the tallest. Rachel was the fastest. Ruby was the fiercest. Each
wanted that center spot. There's more than one forward in basketball, there's
more than one guard, but there's only one center. To be center is to be a
megastar.
Witnesses at the event saw it go from bad to worse. First the girls
talked about it. Then they jumped for it. Then they shoved for it. Then
suddenly there were girls like puppies rolling on the floor trying to get the
ball. Bystanders were kicked, the circle of girls around the players yelped.
Then Coach Abrams' long arms reached for the back of the girls' jerseys.
Abrams' decision was quick as she threw the girls out of the game. None of
the three would play center today. Those stars had just imploded.
Techniques for Making Short Writing “Powerful”
Journalists “Pack-A-Punch”
• Include specific, vivid physical details. Details that let us have a
picture in our minds, details that make it so we won’t forget this
moment.
EX strong verbs “the players yelped!”
EX simile ‘girls like puppies rolling around on the floor trying to
get the ball.’ Use
• Dare to use a single elegant word-A GRACE NOTE-in other-wise
straightforward prose. Word/phrase that stands out.
EX ‘pandemonium.’
• End the passage with-A DELIGHTFUL-JOLT-a clever ending.
EX ‘The stars had just imploded.’
• Keep it focused-it ALL has to be about what it’s REALLY about.
Journalists Develop a Laser-like Focus
and Reporters Tone
• Being willing to shine a
light on specific
incidents and scenes.
• Forget what you know
about beginning,
middle, end right now.
• Think narrow spotlight.
• Listen to the difference
between a fiction tone
and a news tone
sample from Ms. K
Use Descriptive Language
• Journalists match their vocabulary and their word
choice to the reading audience.
• Choose precise, more descriptive words to set
the mood or tone of the writing. Show it, don’t
tell it. http://www.flocabulary.com/usingdescriptive-language/
The students stood at the sidelines chanting.
The students crowded the sidelines chanting.
• Stood=dull, not revealing how
• crowded=energy, excitement. This word implies
there were so many kids they had to jam
together.
Journalists stay in 3rd person
• Even though you are there to witness the event, you do not
write in first person, like a personal narrative. Create
nonfiction.
• Think about how to start with an interesting lead to grab
your reader’s attention and get them interested in the
facts.
• Next, write out the 5 W’s right away in the 1st paragraph.
• Use journalistic tone- concise, 3rd person, dramatic but
truthful. No fluff and stuff!
• HW 3 more newsworthy observations by Monday. Capture
small moments that can be news. Write 2-3 paragraphs of
what you saw. 5 W’s, laser-like focus, 3rd person tone. No
editing necessary yet.
Let’s hear a sample of POV
• http://www.flocabulary.com/point-of-view/
Write as a Narrator:
Shifting from First to Third Person
• Today in 3rd period gym class, Trevor and I were
fighting over who would be quarterback.
• Today in 3rd period gym class, eighth grader
Trevor and classmate Frank were in an intense
altercation over the position of quarterback.
• Writers live stories from the inside, but
journalists then step outside, and become the
narrator.
Partners Analyze one (1) of the
small moments from HW
• How did the author of the article grab the attention of the
reader? Feelings the reader experiences, support with text
evidence.
• How did the author write the 5 W’s within the 1st paragraph?
What specific phrases flow well?
• Include two (2) quotes from the small moment that SHOWS that
it’s written in 3rd person.
• What is the tone? The author’s voice or attitude? support with
text evidence.
• Include two (2) phrases that include descriptive language.
• Give two (2) helpful additions. Specific words, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs. Ask what you as the reader want to know more about.
Re-write edited small moment
• HW Due Friday Oct 3rd. Rewrite 1st draft of the
small moment you and your partner
discussed.
• Include in this new draft all the suggestions
from the W.S.
• Title, lead, 5 W’s, add words that pack-apunch, partner suggestions.
Academic Vocabulary for Talking Journalism
Words to describe the Parts Words to describe the Message
Lead-the beginning of a news story,
Provocative-stimulate, urge on, prompt or
often consisting of one sentence.
Anecdote-short account of an
interesting, powerful, or humorous
event.
Vignette-any small, pleasing picture
or view.
Closure-bring to an end, conclusion.
Trajectory-flow, movement.
call forth to action, stir up.
Inflammatory-hostility, passion.
Insightful-perceptive, intuitive
understanding.
Discerning-showing good or outstanding
judgment and understanding.
Illuminating-informative, enlightening.
Opaque-hard to understand, not clear, dull.
Journalists Seek to
Convey a Social Significance
• String scenes together to suggest meaning.
• Writing for the community, an issue that affects all of
us. It holds social significance.
• Journalists write one small scene, and have it
demonstrate some small meaning. Then write
another one, and have it add to the same meaning.
• Let’s read a couple of writing pieces together pg. 56
5-1&5-2 and we will read it through two lenses:
• 1st lens- how does the writer string more than one
scene together? 2nd- what effect does that have?
What is the social significance/theme/lesson/moral?
• Now pages 57,58, 59. Same as above.
Last-Minute Editing Checklist
• I checked that the names of people and places are spelled correctly.
• I ran a finger over each sentence to make sure my punctuation is clear
& sensible.
• I looked at my quotes and compared the very specific punctuation to
these models:
A. Introducing the source, then giving the quotation:
According to one witness, “The car came out of nowhere, and so did the
brave bystander.”
B. Tucking a quote into narration/explanation:
A witness first claimed that “The car came out of nowhere,” before
adding, “and so did the brave bystander.”
C. Leading with a quote, then adding narration/explanation:
“The man swept the dog right from under the car’s wheels” was how
witnesses described the incident.
• I indented to paragraph when the setting changes, when time changes,
for a mood change, and expository (explanation) paragraphs-for new
ideas or examples.