Software Institute

1. Software Institute Part 3: News writing John E. Clayton Nanjung University, Fall, 2004

2. Syllabus 1 9/21 Introduction; Student photos; Quick review; 2 9/28 Information cards; Paragraphs 10/05 No Class - National Day Holiday 10/12 No Class – Education Conference 3 10/19 News writing 4 10/26 News writing 5 11/02 Business letters 6 11/09 Business letters/Resumes 7 11/16 Resumes 8 11/23 Resumes/Final exam http://software.nju.edu.cn/~clayton/

3. Basic Questions Most stories answer a few basic questions Who? "Sherry Smith won first place in the Cutest Pet contest yesterday at Columbia Mall." What? When? Where? Why/How?

4. Writing the Story Start with a sentence that grabs your reader and makes him/her want to read more. Example --"The fourth grade class painted one wall of their classroom with a picture so strange that their teacher immediately sent for the principal." Write your story plainly so that everyone can understand it. If possible, use quotes to make it more interesting. Example --"The flames were so hot I thought my helmet would melt," the firefighter said.

5. Sample Missing hiker's body found The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday. Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said.

6. Sample Missing hiker's body found The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday. Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said. 1. Start off with a headline. The headline shouldn't be a summarization of the article, but should serve to get the reader's attention.

7. Sample Missing hiker's body found The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday. Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said. 2. Write the lead paragraph, a summary of the story. The lead paragraph should include the who, what, when, where, why.

8. Sample Missing hiker's body found The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday. Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said. 3. Next provide explanation and amplification. Include details you feel are important, in order of importance from greatest to least.

9. Sample Missing hiker's body found The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday. Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said. 4. Add background information. If the average reader will be confused reading the story, fill in the gaps with background information.

10. Sample Missing hiker's body found The three-day search for a missing hiker ended Wednesday when search-and-rescue crews found Micah Clark's body a little more than a mile from where he had parked his truck Saturday. Clark, 29, apparently had fallen about 80 feet to his death, said Peggy Faulkener, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Clark's body was found a little more than a mile from the trailhead to Lake Catherine, a popular summertime hike at Alta ski area. "It was really rough there," Faulkner said. 5. Add quotes. When possible, "flavor" the article with relevant quotes.

11. Rotating Snakes

12. Johnny Lingo - Setting Location A South Pacific Island Characters Mahanna………. a young girl Mo Key ………. Mahanna's father Johnny Lingo … an island trader Mr. Harris ……. a shop keeper Tulo ………….. the shop keeper's helper

13. Johnny Lingo - Questions 1. Describe Mahanna at the beginning of the film 2. In her culture, was 19 old to be getting married? 3. Why did the people laugh when Mo Key asked for 3 cows? 4. What happened when Johnny said he would pay 8 cows? Why? 5. Why did Johnny want to buy a beautiful mirror for Mahanna? 6. What happened to Mahanna after her marriage? 7. What made the difference in Mahanna? 8. When Johnny gave Mahanna the mirror, she said that she wished she had a gift for him. Johnny said "your gift to me can be seen by all" What was that gift? 9. Describe a time when someone made you feel insignificant. 10. Describe some way that you could help someone else feel better about himself?

14. Homework • Write a news article about some aspect of Johnny Lingo. • Examples: • “Famous Island Trader Takes a Wife” • “Man Buys Wife for Incredible 8 Cows” • “Mokey Now a Rich Man”