Fall 2007 study questions for midterm

Worksheets

JOURN 300/FALL 2017

Chapters 3,4,8,9,10 and 14 worksheets with questions to review for midterm

CHAPTER  3 Interviewing

1. What is the most preferable interview and why - in-person, phone, email?

2. What is a primary source? Secondary source?

3. How should you prepare for an interview?

4. What should you learn about a subject before you interview him/her?

5. What is the aim of a profile, according to the text (42)?

6.What can you do to make it easier to ask an uncomfortable question?

7. Fill in the blank: The accurate of your story is only as good as your ______.

8. What are 3 useful questions to ask in an interview?

9. Should you stop asking questions at the end of an interview?

CHAPTER  4 Quotations and Attributions

1. Is every direct quote a good addition to your story? Explain.

2. Should you relate basic facts (where a person was born, for instance)  in direct quotes or paraphrase them?

3. Should you repeat information in quotes, using similar working that you have already included in the story and in the lead-in to the quote?

4. How do you judge whether something is quotable? (63)

5. Why does the text say that "Now and then even a commencement address can yield a great quote or two"? Wouldn't you EXPECT there to many great quotes in a commencement address?

6. What is a colloquialism? Can it be a good addition to a story?

7. Do you need to include words like "huh," "um," and "you know" in a direct quote?

8. Should you verify that everything that someone has said that you directly quote is accurate?

9. What is pre-publication review?

10. Should you ever alter words in a direct quote?

11. If you are quoting from an interview done by someone else, must you acknowledge this?

12. When is attribution NOT needed? (81)

13. Why do reporters and editors prefer the word "said" to other words like it?

14. What are some reasons you should never use anonymous sources?

15. What does off the record mean? Not for attribution? Background? Deep background?

CHAPTER 8 The Inverted Pyramid

1. What is meant by the term "inverted pyramid"?

2. Explain what the problem is with the following leads:

• "So, how hot was it yesterday?"

• "Amherst residents might be looking forward to warmer weather."

• "Amherst residents warmly greeted spring yesterday."

3. What are some reasons that quote leads are not recommended?

CHAPTER 9 Writing to be Read

1. Give an example of a concrete detail vs an abstraction. (175)

2. Give an example of "showing" vs. "telling."

3. Give an example of jargon.

4. Give an example of a cliche and how you could convey the same meaning using a non-cliche.

5. What is a simile? Give an example.

6. What is a metaphor? Give an example.

7. Give an example of jargon (186).

8. What was possibly wrong with describing Nancy Pelosi as a grandmother when she became the first female speaker of the United States House of Representatives? (187)

9. What is AP Style for "pro-choice" and "pro-life." Explain why.

10. Write a scene with dialogue in it.

11. Give an example of a question you might ask a source that would elicit an anecdote that you could use in your story.

CHAPTER 10 Alternatives to the Inverted Pyramid

1. Should all stories be organized according to chronological order? What kind of a story would be good to organize chronologically?

2. What's the difference between a hard news story and a news narrative or feature?

3. What is meant by the "focus structure"? (207)

4. Give some examples of "service journalism." (213)

CHAPTER 14 Speeches, News Conferences and Meetings

1. Explain how a speech is different from a news conference or a meeting.

2. How should you prepare before attending a speech that you will be reporting on?

3. How can you prepare for a meeting story?

4. If something unusual occurs at a speech event, it's best to just leave it out and focus on the theme of the speech. True or False

5. If the reporter is unsure of the main theme of a speech, what is one way to try to find out what it was?

6. Could an interesting story be written about a dull speech?

7) Is there any reason why you interview someone who wasn't at a meeting for a story about it?

8) Should you include direct quotations from a speech or meeting and, if so, who should you quote?