Tomorrow, we will do the in-class, deadline assignment in groups. I've pasted a rubric for the assignment below, along with an example from last semester.
Thursday is when your 1,000-word first draft of the profile is due for peer editing. (Please include the word count.) If you want to email it to me sooner than that, I'll try to take a look at it.
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OCT 3: ****update**** In-class, deadline writing assignment: In your groups, interview 2-4 people EACH on campus on subject TBA; write 500 word story on-deadline with quotes from each of your sources and photos with cutlines. (5 percent of total grade)
OCT 5 - FIRST DRAFT PROFILE DUE (1,000 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT) Peer edit, work on blogs.
- NEXT: Read Chapter 10 on Alternatives to the Inverted Pyramid
- NEXT: Write Feature Pitch for next class.
OCT 10: NO CLASS/FOLLOW MONDAY SCHEDULE
In your groups:
• Interview at least two people EACH, IN PERSON Ask them an initial question on the topic you've selected. Develop a few follow-up questions and engage them in conversation for a few minutes, so you have a meaningful exchange.
• Write down exact quotes, but be prepared to paraphrase most of their responses and just pick the best one or two sentences to directly quote.
• Ask how to spell their names. (Double-check that you wrote it down correctly using UMass.edu Peoplefinder.) Ask them where they are from and what their majors are.
• Try to interview a diverse bunch of people – different majors, different hometowns, different nationalities, gender and race etc
• Ask if you can snap a photo. Use your people skills to encourage them to say yes, but don't be "pushy.".
• When the group re-convenes in the computer lab, talk about the responses everyone got. See if you can make some kind of assertion in your lead BASED ON YOUR REPORTING.
That is, you will probably have some kind of guiding ideas about, for instance, if you were doing a story about what seniors are going to do when graduate whether seniors are likely to know what they are going to do after they graduate.
But DON’T write a lead based on speculation, and DON’T write a generic, non-reported lead like, for instance: As graduation approaches, college seniors face the daunting prospect of figuring out what to do with the rest of their lives.
Instead, review all the responses you got and SYNTHESIZE some of the information. For instance, if you interview 10 people and 8 say they have a job, while 2 say they are going to decide what to do next and where to go the day after graduation, you could say something like: Some UMass seniors have already lined up jobs after graduation, which is a mere six weeks away, but a few are waiting until the day after the graduation festivities to decide their next move.
• After the lead, include a nutgraph saying about how many people were interviewed and characterize the range of their responses. In the body of the paper, mention each of the people you interviewed in a paragraph dedicated to him or her.
• Include photos
Email me your pieces by the end of class. (It would be great to submit one or more to the Collegian or Amherst Wire!)
Example:
Have We Fallen Out of Love with Valentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day may be known for candies, roses, and candlelit dinners spent with that special someone, but to a significant amount of UMass students, this past Tuesday was just another cold winter day filled with classes.
It seems as though the feeling was more passive than passionate this year, especially to the students who spent the day single.
“I don’t celebrate it because I don’t have anybody to love,” said Becca Demedeiros, a junior animal science major from Fairhaven, rather solemnly.
The general sentiment at UMass does not appear to be one of passion, but of apathy. While there were some who opted for a hopeful night out with friends, the vast majority instead went for the bare minimum, and either got small gifts if they were seeing someone, or simply did nothing at all. In the era of hook-ups and casual affairs, the love may be lost, and it seems as though UMass students have dumped Valentine’s Day.
Those who did not partake in the holiday opted for a far different kind of Valentine’s Day than expected. Some were surrounded by chocolates and flowers, while others, like S., opted for other special treats; the marijuana edibles she made with her friends.
S. spent the day with her closest friends getting high. She does not celebrate Valentine’s Day, and even considers herself to be “anti-Valentine.”
“I won’t support a day for love when we should be celebrating love every single day, not just one day in February out of the entire year,” she said.
One of those friends getting high with her had a similar sentiment on the romantic holiday. “I spent the whole day high,” said M. M. considers herself “anti-Valentine “There’s just no point to be honest,” she said.
“I don’t see the point in spending a ton of money on commercial products and chocolates when we could be spending money on more important things to help society,” S said.
Other students see Valentine’s Day as a capitalist scheme as well.
The idea that big businesses and corporations flourish off the purchase of cards and flowers seems too shallow to some people, and often times is the source that turns them away from celebrating this day at all.
Muntaha Elsir, who perhaps rather ironically was campaigning at a heart covered table, filled with free donuts, was blatant about her feelings toward the idea of Valentine’s Day. “I think it’s stupid. I don’t celebrate it because it is purely based off capitalism, not love,” she said.
Elsir (left) sits at a campaigning table in the Student Center
Valentine’s Day comes across as forced for some, and becomes a holiday where expectations are at an all time to high to spoil their significant other.
“In my past relationships it’s been kind of chill,” said Dianna Sorto, a UMass student. She also noted that she spent this past Tuesday in an exam.
Sorto’s boyfriend, Anthony Tejada, a kinesiology major from Somerville sat across from her. “I just go along with it,” he said. “I just gave her some flowers and candy.”
Tejada explains the passiveness of the Holiday. “I think it’s just expected that you have to get them a small gift. It is what it is,” Tejada said.
Donna Sorto (left) and Michael Tejada (right) sit for lunch at Blue Wall
As Valentine’s Day continues to be commercialized, many think the day has lost its luster. However, there are still those out there looking for a romantic rendezvous. Student Erica Luttazi, from Franklin, has not given up on the day just yet.
“It is a bit overdone, but I still went out though.” Luttazi attended a Frat party on Feb. 14 Although this might not be the most ideal place to look for true romantic love, she still gave it the good old college try.
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