Writing
Interpretive - like at a national park or museum sign, short and concise
http://www.nrsrcaa.org/interp/manual/finalpdfs/Section4revised.PDF
http://www.americantrails.org/resources/wildlife/Interpretive-trail-signs-exhibits.html
http://www.roxburylandtrust.org/MineHillBrochure.pdf
The above link goes with the cold blast furnace sign
http://www.nrsrcaa.org/interp/manual/finalpdfs/Section4revised.PDF
http://www.americantrails.org/resources/wildlife/Interpretive-trail-signs-exhibits.html
http://www.roxburylandtrust.org/MineHillBrochure.pdf
The above link goes with the cold blast furnace sign
Hot Topic Writing
Assignment:
Pick a topic or a few topics that really interest you and that you would like to learn more about.
Examples: Space, Mars, Pluto, mathematicians, scientists, semi-conductors, string theory, microchips, coding, Egypt, trash in the ocean, climate change or local topics like fracking, legalization of marijuana etc….
Possible forms of writing to use:
Poem
Kid’s book
Technical- uses more vocabulary and diagrams that is for a person with some background
Bumper sticker/T-shirt
Editorial- opinions on a topic, persuasive
Journalistic- Just the facts like a report, this is essentially a short report written in a more interesting way. Like in a magazine or newspaper.
Synthesis- Bringing together information from many sources and often drawing a new conclusion or recommendation
http://www.users.drew.edu/~sjamieso/Synthesis.htm
https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/135/Synthesis.html
Sources
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Journalistic
Just the facts like a report, written in third person, the intention of the writer is to inform the readers and to also enlighten them with new information. This is essentially a short report written in a more interesting way. Like in a magazine or newspaper.
Examples:
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/nepal-enlists-mt-everest-climbers-clean-trash-strewn-slopes-n44276
http://www.timeforkids.com/news/debate/149576
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/04/the-guilt-of-the-video-game-millionaires.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2014/04/girl_and_boy_toys_childhood_preferences_for_gendered_toys_are_not_innate.html
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/03/object-of-interest-aereos-tiny-antennas.html
http://www.hcn.org/issues/46.5/a-plague-of-tumbleweeds
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/04/07/enceladus_s_ocean_huge_repository_of_water_detected_under_the_icy_moon_of.html?wpisrc=burger_bar
http://www.hcn.org/wotr/a-little-paddling-wont-hurt-the-yellowstone-experience
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2014/04/14/140414taco_talk_kolbert
How to Write a Literary Journalistic Essay
Unlike the formal essay taught in university history courses or English courses, there is no single way to write a literary journalistic essay. However, the writer does need to follow certain guidelines. For instance, the subject must be well-researched. The essay must include a lead that grabs the reader’s attention and tells the reader what the essay is about. The content of the essay must include interesting and informative facts, information that enlightens the reader about the topic. To close, the writer makes a final point. He/she leaves the reader with one final point about the subject.
Briefly, to write the literary journalistic essay, do the following:
Whether you write about a person, place, event, idea, your story needs a lead that tells the readers the purpose of your essay and why they should read the essay. The lead also needs to persuade the reader to read the essay. So, you must write a hook. It can be a quotation, interesting fact, important point, question, or anecdote. (An anecdote is a short little scene or story taken from a personal experience. Anecdotes can be useful for setting the stage for a speech or personal essay. An anecdote often relays a story that can be used as a theme or lesson.)
In the body of your essay, you can write about the important facts. In addition, you can include personal opinion, thoughts, and feelings. You can also use literary devices, such as imagery, metaphor, and simile. The key point is to remember to inform and enlighten your readers.
In a short essay, you can organize your points in chronological or logical order. In a longer essay, you can organize your ideas by topic. In this case, you can use headings and subheadings.
In closing, you need to leave the reader with an important point. Otherwise, the reader will think: “So what? What was the point of writing the essay?”
Your goal is not to preach or sermonize. Your goals are to entertain, inform and enlighten your reader.
Things to remember:
Content and organization:
Your facts need to be accurate and verifiable, this means you need to cite your sources in your paper and at the end.
You need to have a strong lead and introduction that grabs the reader’s attention but also tells what the article is about. You also need to have a title.
You need to leave out biases but possibly inform from multiple points of view.
The article needs to be written in an order that is easy to understand. Maybe include diagrams, graphs, models, etc. with subtitles.
Style and voice:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Prezi:
Sun Bear Prezi
Inquiry Prezi
Thesis:
The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused argument and give your reader a road map so she/he doesn’t get lost in the sea of points you are about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”
Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument (that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos, or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:
Click on the links below to learn more:
Instruction and Examples
More Examples
Pick a topic or a few topics that really interest you and that you would like to learn more about.
Examples: Space, Mars, Pluto, mathematicians, scientists, semi-conductors, string theory, microchips, coding, Egypt, trash in the ocean, climate change or local topics like fracking, legalization of marijuana etc….
Possible forms of writing to use:
Poem
Kid’s book
Technical- uses more vocabulary and diagrams that is for a person with some background
Bumper sticker/T-shirt
Editorial- opinions on a topic, persuasive
Journalistic- Just the facts like a report, this is essentially a short report written in a more interesting way. Like in a magazine or newspaper.
Synthesis- Bringing together information from many sources and often drawing a new conclusion or recommendation
http://www.users.drew.edu/~sjamieso/Synthesis.htm
https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/135/Synthesis.html
Sources
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Journalistic
Just the facts like a report, written in third person, the intention of the writer is to inform the readers and to also enlighten them with new information. This is essentially a short report written in a more interesting way. Like in a magazine or newspaper.
Examples:
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/nepal-enlists-mt-everest-climbers-clean-trash-strewn-slopes-n44276
http://www.timeforkids.com/news/debate/149576
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/04/the-guilt-of-the-video-game-millionaires.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2014/04/girl_and_boy_toys_childhood_preferences_for_gendered_toys_are_not_innate.html
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/03/object-of-interest-aereos-tiny-antennas.html
http://www.hcn.org/issues/46.5/a-plague-of-tumbleweeds
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/04/07/enceladus_s_ocean_huge_repository_of_water_detected_under_the_icy_moon_of.html?wpisrc=burger_bar
http://www.hcn.org/wotr/a-little-paddling-wont-hurt-the-yellowstone-experience
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2014/04/14/140414taco_talk_kolbert
How to Write a Literary Journalistic Essay
Unlike the formal essay taught in university history courses or English courses, there is no single way to write a literary journalistic essay. However, the writer does need to follow certain guidelines. For instance, the subject must be well-researched. The essay must include a lead that grabs the reader’s attention and tells the reader what the essay is about. The content of the essay must include interesting and informative facts, information that enlightens the reader about the topic. To close, the writer makes a final point. He/she leaves the reader with one final point about the subject.
Briefly, to write the literary journalistic essay, do the following:
- Select a topic.
- Conduct Research.
- Write a dramatic story.
- Include a lead, facts/content, and ending
Whether you write about a person, place, event, idea, your story needs a lead that tells the readers the purpose of your essay and why they should read the essay. The lead also needs to persuade the reader to read the essay. So, you must write a hook. It can be a quotation, interesting fact, important point, question, or anecdote. (An anecdote is a short little scene or story taken from a personal experience. Anecdotes can be useful for setting the stage for a speech or personal essay. An anecdote often relays a story that can be used as a theme or lesson.)
In the body of your essay, you can write about the important facts. In addition, you can include personal opinion, thoughts, and feelings. You can also use literary devices, such as imagery, metaphor, and simile. The key point is to remember to inform and enlighten your readers.
In a short essay, you can organize your points in chronological or logical order. In a longer essay, you can organize your ideas by topic. In this case, you can use headings and subheadings.
In closing, you need to leave the reader with an important point. Otherwise, the reader will think: “So what? What was the point of writing the essay?”
Your goal is not to preach or sermonize. Your goals are to entertain, inform and enlighten your reader.
Things to remember:
Content and organization:
Your facts need to be accurate and verifiable, this means you need to cite your sources in your paper and at the end.
You need to have a strong lead and introduction that grabs the reader’s attention but also tells what the article is about. You also need to have a title.
You need to leave out biases but possibly inform from multiple points of view.
The article needs to be written in an order that is easy to understand. Maybe include diagrams, graphs, models, etc. with subtitles.
Style and voice:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Prezi:
Sun Bear Prezi
Inquiry Prezi
Thesis:
The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused argument and give your reader a road map so she/he doesn’t get lost in the sea of points you are about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”
Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument (that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos, or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:
- Pepper’s and Amante both offer a greater variety of ingredients than other Chapel Hill/Carrboro pizza places (and than any of the national chains), but the funky, lively atmosphere at Pepper’s makes it a better place to give visiting friends and family a taste of local culture.
Click on the links below to learn more:
Instruction and Examples
More Examples