Reminder

As I mentioned in class, we will not be meeting this week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm expecting to get an e-mail message from each student before our next meeting -- Tuesday, Nov. 28 -- about final projects. Remember to give me a summary of the story in nutgraph form as well as a preliminary list of sources.

Have a good holiday.

Covering a (Real) Fall Tornado

Here are some links to news coverage of a deadly torado that struck part of North Carolina today:

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=535400&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=11/16/2006

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/11/16/severe.weather/index.html

http://www.wnct.com/midatlantic/nct/home.html

Start brainstorming

It's time to start thinking about your final project. It will be a feature story, 5-7 pages in length, on a subject of your choice. Each student should send me an e-mail (ackerink@aol.com) by Thanksgiving weekend with a synopsis. For example, give me the nutgraph or thesis of the piece as well as a list of some of the key sources you will be using. I will be happy to make suggestions for narrowing the focus or finding more sources.

We will be conducting our editing/revision workshop in class on Tuesday, Dec. 5. Be prepared to bring three copies of your rough draft to class that night (one for you, one for a classmate, one for me) The rough draft should be 4-8 stapled pages and must be double-spaced and in a 12-point font.

Assignment 4: Opinion

Not all opinions are created equal; those based on facts, experience and careful reasoning are generally more convincing than those based merely on first impressions or personal tastes. That being said, don't underestimate the potential for style, wit or emotional appeal to bolster an argument.

Choose one of the following two options:

1. Write a persuasive essay explaining and defending your position on any controversial issue in the news this week. You may write the piece in any of several journalistic styles; it may resemble a newspaper editorial, a personal column, a letter to the editor, or any other format commonly seen in the opinion pages of major newspapers (pages sometimes called "Editorial," "Commentary," "Perspectives," "Op/Ed," etc.) If the issue you choose to take on is obscure, you may wish to provide a link to (or clipping of) one or more stories about it for the professor's benefit, but the piece should stand alone so that any reasonably informed reader will be able to follow your argument. Before you start to write your piece, do some reading; see how a range of professional opinion writers craft their arguments. For example, read editorials in the Daily Gazette and The Boston Globe, read columns by George Will and Molly Ivins, read letters to the editor in The New York Times, and observe a few debates by pundits on cable TV news stations such as CNN and MSNBC.

2. Write a review (or a comparable piece of personal commentary) on any new or recent product or performance. Your subject could be a book, a film, a television program, a concert, a video game, a CD, an art exhibit, a consumer product, a play, etc. Be certain to choose a subject about which you are knowledgeable, so the opinion you offer is an informed one. Before you start to write your piece, do some reading; see how a range of professional reviewers write about comparable subjects. For example, if you're going to review a new music CD, read some reviews of other CDs from Rolling Stone, Metroland, the Times Union, the New York Times, National Public Radio, slate.com, and other media outlets.

Whether you choose option 1 or 2, your piece should be the equivalent of 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages. It is due at the start of class on Thursday, Nov. 16.