The Science and
The Column
Technology
WriterWriter
Directions: Study the learning material. Create an article
using the given topic. Use the mechanics/guidelines and the
fact sheet as you accomplish this activity. Best of luck!
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COLUMN WRITING
What is Column Writing?
A column is not a news article, but it is news. It generally
answers why and how. It often is personal, using the first and
second person (I and you). A column often states an opinion. It is
said to be like writing an open letter. A column also has a
standard head, called a title, and a by-line (name) at the top.
These identify you and your column for the reader.
How to Write a Column Article?
Before writing a column, think about and decide on the
purpose, audience, content and structure.
 Purpose
Why are you writing? Is it to inform the community about an
event? Does the paper's editor, the community or co-workers
want it? Are you entertaining, informing or educating? Do you
seek an identity or exposure?
 Audience
Whom are you trying to reach? Who are you reaching? Decide
on your audience. Write in their language, at their level, about
things the audience needs to know or wants to know.
 Content
What will your column discuss? How will you discuss it?
Answering why and how will help determine what. Remember,
columns should be based on facts and should be accurate.
Names are crucial in a personal column. Personal columns
may be informal; yet accuracy and sourcing material counts.
 Structure
How will your message get to your audience? There are other
types of columns besides the personal column, too. Some of
these cover specific topics or types of information. They can
be "question and answer," "new ideas," "how-to-do-it" pieces
or "calendars" and "coming events."
Personal columns should have many local names. They also
use words like: "I," "we" or "you."
When writing a column, do:
 Give the reader timely, helpful information.
 Develop a structure and keep it. Write on a regular schedule.
 Write simple and short sentences and paragraphs.
 In personal columns, use local names and places.
 Let others speak for you by use of quotes and references.
 Learn the difference between a column and a news story.
When writing a column, don't:
 Use technical or complex words, unless required; then explain
simply.
 Talk in jargon or unfamiliar terms.
 Talk about one topic constantly.
 Include too much detail or material. You should be
stimulating interest, not exhausting a subject.
 Refer to yourself as a third person (this author, your reporter)
or quote yourself (Jimmy Jones said). Instead use mine.
Tips on Column Writing
1. Write the way you talk. But don't discard good English usage
and grammar.
2. Try to uncover a "lead" or opening that will catch the interest of
your readers.
3. Use a variety of material, not just one subject.
4. Write about people. When using subject matter, try to tell the
story through the experiences of local people.
5. Write simply. Avoid technical or difficult words, long sentences,
long paragraphs.
6. Don't weigh your column down with too much detail. Try to
stimulate interest in a subject, but don't exhaust the subject.
7. Jot down ideas, names, figures, impressions, etc., in a note pad
while visiting farms and homes. This provides the very best
column material.
8. Be timely. Keep up with the effect of weather conditions,
seasons, etc., pointing out the significance of these conditions
locally.
9. Remember the people you're talking to and give them
information that will benefit them in a way they can
understand.
10. Always get your column to the editor or publication on
schedule.
Example of a Column:
Don’t waste lessons from Yolanda
Most recollection of the night before Supertyphoon Yolanda
(international name: Haiyan) hit land 10 years ago was
about the fair weather, literally the calm before the storm.
Those in central Philippines — where the storm was
expected to make landfall — were complacent despite
repeated warnings from the weather bureau. A category 5
supertyphoon? “We are used to storms,” they said. This
country is visited by an average of 20 typhoons a year. They
have survived countless storms, this shouldn’t be any
different.
The PAGASA weather bulletin issued at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7,
2013, stated: “Haiyan is expected to affect regions in its
path with very strong, possibly destructive winds, heavy to
intense rainfall and storm surge.” The majority never
imagined the devastating impact of a “storm surge,” an
unfamiliar term even for those who lived by the treacherous
seas. Some stayed put, while those who evacuated thought
it was a pointless precaution. They expected the storm to
pass just like all the others they had survived.
Then it came. Yolanda unleashed winds of up to 315
kilometers per hour. At 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2013, people
in Leyte and Samar woke up to howling winds as the
weather became violent and visibility turned zero. Within an
hour, up to seven meters of storm surges flattened towns
and cities stretching 6,000 kilometers, with Tacloban City
the hardest hit. After six long hours, as a first responder
wrote in a 2013 account, “there was silence.” Silence that
spoke of the 6,300 people dead, 4 million displaced, and
countless other lives upended. Today, thousands are still
missing and many remain unidentified in mass graves.
The bow of the 3,000-ton cargo vessel MV Jocelyn, which
was washed ashore plowing 14 houses and killing 11
people in the process, now stands in a memorial park and
serves as a reminder of the devastation. Yolanda remains a
precautionary tale of how typhoons can wreak havoc and a
stark reminder of how they will be more powerful and
deadly as world temperature increases — a phenomenon
largely driven by human activities.
Undoubtedly, it has educated people about storm categories
and made them more receptive to early warning systems,
which the government has invested in after Yolanda. Preemptive evacuations have become standard practice while
technology has been widely used to spread information —
from identifying potential danger areas to predicting ground
impact including that of storm surges, now a term that
everyone understands with an element of fear, especially for
those who witnessed its destruction in 2013.
But all these should never drive us to complacency. It is
one thing to predict weather more accurately and another
to help people be disaster-proof, an impossible goal because
no one can truly escape nature’s wrath unscathed. Even
ordinary rains could impact lives, much more than a strong
typhoon or earthquake. During Yolanda, even the mayor of
Tacloban found himself clinging to the ceiling to survive. In
a calamity, nature does not discriminate between the haves
and the have-nots, but it is in the aftermath, in the
rebuilding and recovery, where the difference becomes
stark.
As the late Conrado de Quiros, writing about Typhoon
“Mario” (Fung-wong) in his last column for this paper,
(“Elephant in the room,” There’s the Rub, 9/23/14) said:
“[I]t’s the poor who take the brunt of storms, deluge and
other ravaging … [T]here’s much to fear in future
downpours and torrential rains and great floods coming
this way … Which will devastate the poor most of all. Which
will wreak havoc on those who can afford the least havoc in
their lives. Which will leave bereft those who are already
mind-bogglingly bereft. Mahirap ang mahirap.”
The government must keep on ensuring that people don’t
build flimsy dwellings in danger zones and that it builds
sturdier and more permanent evacuation centers
nationwide. The government must ensure that people who
are displaced by calamities are able to live with dignity and
have basic necessities such as water — Yolanda survivors
who have been relocated to public housing still do not have
running water a decade later. It must also build stronger
and more sound infrastructures: as scenes from Davao this
week showed, many roads do not have adequate drainage
systems because they have been built with subpar
materials that even an otherwise regular downpour can
cause floods and landslides.
The forces of nature are beyond our control, but activities
that can help minimize their impact are within ours:
conserve and restore forests and coastal wetlands, use
renewable energy, and reduce emissions. Also, root out
corruption that takes much-needed resources away from
basic public services such as disaster risk mitigation and
management.
Ten years on, Filipinos have a better understanding of
supertyphoons and climate change, and the government
knows what needs to be done. We must never be
complacent, otherwise, the hard lessons we learned from
the death and destruction brought by Yolanda would have
been for nothing.
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References:
https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/cm360
https://opinion.inquirer.net/168052/dont-waste-lessons-from-yolanda
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COLUMN WRITING
.
MECHANICS/GUIDELINES:
1. A column writer often states an opinion regarding a subject.
He/she is not writing a typical news article. A column article
generally answers “why” and “how”. It is often personal, using
the first and second person (I and you). It is said to be like
writing an open letter. Remember: A column also has a
standard head, called a title, and a by-line (name) at the top.
These identify the column writer and the column article for the
reader.
2. The contest is open for BMIS JHS learners only.
3. The column article must be original.
4. The contestant should write his/her column article using the
given topic.
5. The contestant should create an appropriate, catchy and
powerful title for the column article.
6. The contestant should finish his/her column article within the
given time.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING:
A. TECHNICAL (40%)
• The column article does not follow the format of a news article
• The column article has simple and short sentences and
paragraphs
• The column writer observes grammar and syntax rules
B. CONTENT (50%)
• The column article gives the reader timely, helpful information
• The column writer uncovers the “lead” or opening part in a way
that will catch the interests of the readers
• The column writer clearly presents his/her stand regarding the
issue
• The column writer cites facts such as historical references,
statistics, relevant figures to bolster credibility of statements
and/or narratives
• The column writer balances factual details with those of the
writers’ perceptions
C. ETHICS (10%)
• Observe ethical and professional standards for journalism
(fairness, relevance, accuracy and balance)
• Cites sources and observes copyright laws
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TOPIC:
Do CCTV Cameras in Classrooms Violate
Right to Privacy?
Directions:
STEP #1: On a one whole pad paper/yellow paper, write your
complete name, grade level & section.
STEP #2: Create your own title using the given topic.
STEP #3: Write a column (article) using the given topic,
“Installation of CCTVs in the Classrooms”.