2/11/19 Class Blog

Writing for Communication Class Blog from 2/11/19
By Mary Abom

!!! The Story of Adam Newman (But make sure to spell it right: Neuman)

-      DEADLINE: 5 P.M. TOMORROW (Tuesday 2/12) 

Current Events Quiz! 
Tips for improving on Current Event Quiz Scores 

-      Download the Washington Post app

-      Read your emails from Prof. Piacente

-      Pay attention to the clues within the questions 

Joy Baker Story Common Mistakes

-      Commas should be inside the closed quote: “She was my baby,”

-      Need “when” in the lead

-      Don’t restructure a quote, never change anything within the quote 

-      Eliminate any unnecessary words

-      Write in active voice rather than passive

-      Brush up on grammar rules (proper nouns need to be capitalized)

-      If you’re quoting someone and they speak ungrammatically, quote them as they said it. 

Example Lead with the 5 W’s: 

A 10-day-old baby (who) died (what) Monday (when) after her mother left her in a car in frigid temperatures to go gamble at a local casino (why), according to D.C. Police (where, including attribution). 

GSA and usa.gov

What is usa.gov? 

-      Portal of all government information that citizens can use 

A video by the U.S. General Services Administration released a video about the web portal, usa.gov (without informing their communications department) 

-      We watched the video in class and completed questions about it and printed the completed questions and discussed them in class

(Prof. Piacente might send an “early warning” email to bring your attention to the class and to make adjustments)

Grammar Quiz

Stephen King: On Writing 

- read aloud 

Homework

Stephen King “On Writing”

-      Reread the article

Chapter 13 on PR 

-      Top 3 takeaways  

Story of Adam Newman (Neuman)

-      DEADLINE: 5 P.M. TOMORROW (Tuesday 2/12) 

-      Who: A 48-year-old man

-      What: an arrest 

-      When: Monday

-      Where: Washington D.C.

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-      Why: Interfering with official rescuers
T
TThe facts, in case you missed class:

Write a story for tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) newspaper based on the following:

Today, Monday, Adam Neuman, 48, rescued a swimmer caught in the currents of the Potomac River near the Key Bridge in Washington, D.C. He pulled the woman to an island of rocks, and then to shore. When Neuman tried to climb out of the water, a D.C. Police officer arrested him for interfering with official rescuers. “It turned out okay, but Mr. Neuman could have gotten the swimmer and himself killed,” said Officer Vince Pulupa. “Our folks are trained in this sort of thing.” Neuman was allowed to speak to reporters briefly before he was taken to jail. He said, “Between you and me, if I waited for the cops to save that woman, she would’ve drowned.” Katherine Robey is the woman Neuman rescued. She said, “I think it’s outrageous that they arrested him.” Robey said she invited Neuman for a home-cooked dinner this Saturday evening. Robey has one daughter, Evelyn, who plays bass and sings in a punk rock band called Anarchy. 

Class Notes 02/04/19

By Emma Lovato

IMP! Joy Baker story is due at 4 p.m. this Thursday (2/7). There is another grammar quiz next week. We went over print lead rules, the inverted triangle, and common errors from the last assignment. Professor Piacente would like hard copies of all homework, going forward. Handwritten copies are not acceptable.

Here’s what we did:

Current events quiz: Make sure you are reading your emails. Sometimes Professor Piacente sends c-e hints.

Housekeeping: We reviewed the grading scale on the syllabus, as well as how grades are weighted. Pieces that are ready to be published in a college-level organization will receive an A. If your grade on an assignment is lower than a B, you have 48 hours to resubmit the assignment with corrections for the possibility of earning up to a B. Remember that all homework needs to be submitted in the form of a hard copy (this may mean typing up some assignments that you have done in the book). All homework up this point will be due next class (2/11). We also met or class writing tutor, Taylor. Professor Piacente's contact info is on the syllabus, and right here as well!

stevepiacente@gmail.com

301-861-6118

Twitter: @wordsprof

Instagram: stevepiacente

Skype: stevepiacente

Common Errors: Professor Piacente usually puts together a list of “Top Ten” common errors from each writing assignment. The most common ones listed from the new soccer coach story were using opinion words in the story, using redundant information (for example, saying that the coach was announced at a press conference). Make sure when you are adding details you are asking “who would care?” to avoid using unnecessary information.

            A Date & the 5 W’s: This PPT is now available on Blackboard. Important to remember: Don’t bury your lead. Most of the time, news stories are not linear. The reader needs to know the most important information first. The inverted pyramid is a template used to organize news stories.

            Print Lead Rules:

·        Most important info first

·        25 words or less

·        Past tense

·        Don’t reveal personal opinions

·        Always include attribution from an official source (usually at end of lead)

·        Always avoid factual and AP style errors.

Grammar quiz: There will be another one of these next week covering general grammar rules, as well as AP style. There are resources on blackboard to help you study, in addition to a section of the textbook.

Handout: "Trade Secrets" The main summary of this article is that the most important journalistic lessons can’t be taught, they must be learned through experience. Also, you get better at writing by writing - and then receiving constructive feedback.

Next week’s homework:

·        Read all the section front for The Washington Post (Front, Metro, Style, Sports).

·        All homework that has been assigned up to this point will be due next class. The full list is available on the syllabus. Anyone not up to date by next week will lose points.

·        Prepare for the second grammar quiz.

·        The Joy Baker story is due at 4 p.m. this Thursday, you need to submit it as a Word Doc to Professor Piacente’s email.

·        Read chapters 8 & 10 in the textbook and list your top three takeaways from each chapter (these need to be submitted in hard copy, as well).

Class Notes 1/28/2019

By Henri Brink

Action Items

·      Grammar Quiz next week

·      Current Events Quiz next week

·      Class Blog is due at 5pm every Tuesday

Big Lessons

·      Get to the point right away- big takeaway for the class

o   Five Ws and the “leads” and attribution

o   Always answer two questions from the reader’s point of view:

§  1 – Why does it matter?

§  2 – Why should I care?

·      At no point in this semester should you include personal feelings in your stories, or any words or phrases that suggest how you feel

o   Our purpose is to report fairly and in an unbiased fashion the facts of a situation

o   The prof should not be able to tell how you feel about a subject based on what you write

·      Being objective is impossible; every decision is subjective

o   Our goal, then, is to be fair

·      Anything assigned in class supersedes what is assigned on the syllabus

·      Leads will be 25 words or less and contain as many of the 5 Ws as possible

o   Put the most important information first by prioritizing the 5 Ws

·      You cannot put yourself in the story

o   Full attribution on the first citation. After that, you don’t need to reference the exact source every time, unless it is a new

·      Top 10 mistakes sheet

o   Handed out in class, very important document to reference and understand

Washington Post

·      We need to read the section fronts of the A section of the Post

o   Also read the section fronts for metro, style and sports

o   Study tip: Make a list of the major headlines as you read the paper

Writing the News

·      Be concise: Go for the three words

o   The easiest, simplest way to get information to the reader

·      No headlines for our stories throughout the semester (until we get to PR)

·      Attribution

o   Information from an official source

o   ALL stories require attribution

·      “Luckily”

o   Opinion word

o   Do not use opinion words

·      AP Style

o   All stories need to be written in AP style

o   Five-minute stylebook gives you a crash course

Quizstar

·      Starts at approx. 5:35

o   Make sure to get to class on time in order to take the quiz with the rest of the class

Homework Assignments

·      Read ch. 5-7 in Writing for Mass Media

·      Do pg. 11 assignments 1.13 and 1.14 1-5

·      Do pg. 63 assignment 4.1

·      Write top three takeaways for each chapter

·      Read three articles by Michele Davis and prepare two questions about the reading

·      Review assignments from last week