So, so pretty… And no, I was not inspired by “Wicked” when I approved this. Unless you would adopt it because of that, in which case, I’ll have you know I always sing “Defying Gravity” before I come to work.
With the fourth edition of “Dynamics of Media Writing” set to debut in August, and with the third edition of “Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing” having just published, it seemed like a good time to add some extra value to the books.
The biggest need people tend to express in reviewing textbooks is the need for more exercises. A friend hit me with an email about that just the other week:
Really hoping to find a text that offers enough exercises so we don’t have to require an exercise book.
I get it and that’s one of the reasons why we shifted from the exercise books that accompanied the texts to the blog approach. Kids pay a lot of money for school, so if we can give them everything they need for less, hey, I’m a big fan.
That said, asking for more exercises is a lot like when Amy says, “What are you thinking about for dinner?” I usually have no idea, as she often asks this right after we eat a huge breakfast, and I’m more of a “eat whatever is near me when I’m hungry” type of guy.
So, to better guide the focus of my summer work that will include both learning how to weld sheet metal and creating some more exercises for you all, I need some help. I also figure it’s a good time to ask this now, as most of you have just finished a semester, so the “Holy hell, do these kids need more practice doing XYZ” angst is likely fresh in your minds.
Either post at the end of this post or shoot me a message through the “Contact” page and answer the following questions:
1) What topics are most in need of exercises for your kids? Look at the chapters in either or both books and see what things I’ve written about that your students struggle with the most. That could be broader topics like grammar or interviewing, or it could be more specific things like how to write an obituary or a press release.
2) What format of exercise is most likely going to help you meet those needs? I tend to categorize these things into a few basic areas:
- Memory Exercises: Think multiple choice, true false, pick the right word, matching game etc. This is when you want them to know what FOCII stands for or which ethical paradigm is reflected in the phrase “justice is blind.”
- Explainer Exercises: Think short answer or mini-essays where they have to tell you what they were thinking about and why. That could be something like, “Explain the difference between AI and generative AI” or “List five things that are wrong with this lead.”
- Just Do It Exercises: Think about things where the rubber meets the road and the kid actually has to create something that demonstrates competency at the task. It could be building a press release out of a collection of facts, rewriting a meeting story to better fit the inverted-pyramid format or using press releases to write leads.
Hit me up with this and I’ll add your needs to the pile. Once I get the pile built, I’ll share with the class.
Thanks for this kind offer, Vince. I’m always looking for: fact sheets for basic news stories, exercises that require ALL the elements to complete a story: links, headlines, cutlines, subheads, social media posts, simplified data sets for math and then developing stories from the data. AND updated versions of story production forms (similar to Harrower’s) that get students planning out the story. In my dream world, there will be a handout that has all the required elements for a pitch (evidence of actual pre-reporting) and then adds all the steps and elements to complete a story. Inevitably I forget to tell them something that I just assume. And, writing for broadcast and podcast–especially because good podcasting has some prewriting and planning–it’s not just opening the mic and blabbing. Oh! I should have said this first–sports fact sheets for different sports: volleyball, lacrosse, etc.
Fact sheets to help students learn writing structure (inverted pyramid) before we get into reporting is always a big help. The more work on getting a handle on proper news/press release writing structure the better.
Similarly, fact sheets from which students can build one-sentence summary ledes. Teaching the importance of a clear, concise news lede is so important, and it’s an area students struggle with often. I require all ledes in my classes to be one-sentence ledes. Of course, we all know that sometimes a good two-sentence lede works, but I force them to write one-sentence ledes to get into the habit of writing strong, compact ledes to hook their readers.
Another area of struggle I see if proper use and formatting of direct quotes. They want to bury the quotes inside of long paragraphs with transitions. Also, they often fail to include quote attribution with direct quotes.
Hi Vince,
For my class, I need Just do it type exercises that allow students to practice writing leads and inverted pyramid stories.
The students also struggle with direct quotes, so those exercises would also be helpful.
Thanks for being responsive to the needs of professors.
Gary
Thanks for asking, Vince.
I need exercises in two areas:
lede writing
and
quote selection.
Specifically: show me a news brief and how a lede would like using each of the 5 W’s. Why would each one be the choice? ex: a plane crash. The ‘what’ is likely UNLESS it’s the mayor who is a passenger. Then ‘who’. Right? or ‘when’ if it occurred during Friday’s severe storm that led to significant flooding, outages, etc.
then offer another chunk of text and say, “you try.”
2) show interview transcript and ask writers what they would select as quote-worthy and why.
Have them submit their choices using proper format.
Thanks!