This document contains descriptions of several successful long-form journalism assignments provided by professors. Some of the key assignments described include:
1. Narrative nonfiction pieces of 18-25 pages developed around scenes using a narrative nonfiction guidebook.
2. Essays of various lengths on place, memoir, and satire using a creative nonfiction textbook.
3. Analysis of a book and a series of articles totaling close to 30 pages on a tornado anniversary.
4. Comparative essays of various lengths comparing works by Native American writers and literary journalists.
The State of the Art: Analysis of Survey Responses from Literary Journalism E...Mitzi Lewis
Presentation:
The State of the Art: Analysis of Survey Responses from Literary Journalism Educators
Panel:
Story Talk, Story Craft:
Classroom Challenges of Literary Journalism
May 2015
Conference:
“Literary Journalism: Media, Meaning, Memory”
The Tenth International Conference
for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-10)
21st Century Literary Genres by Calle Friesendarinjohn2
Calle Friesen is a reading/literacy specialist at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. In addition, she is the program coordinator of the Masters in Reading program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
21st Century Literacy Curriculum by Calle Friesendarinjohn2
Calle Friesen is a reading/literacy specialist at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. In addition, she is the program coordinator of the Masters in Reading program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
The State of the Art: Analysis of Survey Responses from Literary Journalism E...Mitzi Lewis
Presentation:
The State of the Art: Analysis of Survey Responses from Literary Journalism Educators
Panel:
Story Talk, Story Craft:
Classroom Challenges of Literary Journalism
May 2015
Conference:
“Literary Journalism: Media, Meaning, Memory”
The Tenth International Conference
for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-10)
21st Century Literary Genres by Calle Friesendarinjohn2
Calle Friesen is a reading/literacy specialist at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. In addition, she is the program coordinator of the Masters in Reading program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
21st Century Literacy Curriculum by Calle Friesendarinjohn2
Calle Friesen is a reading/literacy specialist at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. In addition, she is the program coordinator of the Masters in Reading program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
My creative nonfiction course, Narratives We Think We Know: American Women's Stories through Letters, is now offered with only Open Educational Resources (OERs). I actively sought out two professional development opportunities (IMTL and a Lumen Fellowship) to continue OER development work and design an open forum to allow for students and the public to write their own creative nonfiction responses to the letters we explore in the course. For this presentation, I will share course materials, samples of student work, as well as lessons learned from the OER design process and other research on women’s letter writing.
This version was presented at the Archdiocese of Detroit 2nd Annual In-Service for Teachers and Administration at the University of Detroit Mercy on August 4, 2015. The presentation describes a teaching strategy to boost motivation in male students, specifically in reading but other subjects are presented as well.
A secondary art lesson incorporating the common core standards, Nation Art Standards, and California State Standards. Incorporating Close Reading strategies, and Found Poetry
Together with partners, we develop a technical device that permits independent mobility for people with physical limitations. The presentation gives insight in the project and prototyping a smart mobility assistant.
My creative nonfiction course, Narratives We Think We Know: American Women's Stories through Letters, is now offered with only Open Educational Resources (OERs). I actively sought out two professional development opportunities (IMTL and a Lumen Fellowship) to continue OER development work and design an open forum to allow for students and the public to write their own creative nonfiction responses to the letters we explore in the course. For this presentation, I will share course materials, samples of student work, as well as lessons learned from the OER design process and other research on women’s letter writing.
This version was presented at the Archdiocese of Detroit 2nd Annual In-Service for Teachers and Administration at the University of Detroit Mercy on August 4, 2015. The presentation describes a teaching strategy to boost motivation in male students, specifically in reading but other subjects are presented as well.
A secondary art lesson incorporating the common core standards, Nation Art Standards, and California State Standards. Incorporating Close Reading strategies, and Found Poetry
Together with partners, we develop a technical device that permits independent mobility for people with physical limitations. The presentation gives insight in the project and prototyping a smart mobility assistant.
10 Essential Ingredients for Successful Corporate Coaching Programs Chronus
Learn the 10 essential ingredients to make your corporate coaching recipe a success.
Feel free to share!
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Chronus is the leading provider of mentoring and talent development software. Leveraging the power of learning through others, Chronus creates experiences that drive employee career and leadership development, new hire onboarding, student mentoring, and more. Chronus' mentoring, coaching, and onboarding solutions are used by organizations worldwide.
The 25 award winners selected by the IRA Children's Literature and Reading SIG (Special Interest Group) selection committee for The Notable Books in a Global Society. Books published in 2010.
ENG 30 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE PROF. GENE MCQUILLANSPRTanaMaeskm
ENG 30: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
PROF. GENE MCQUILLAN
SPRING 2021 FINAL EXAM
ALL OF THE QUESTIONS REQUIRE THAT YOU REFER TO
THESE FOUR TEXTS:
=Sherman Alexie, “Superman and Me”
=Isabel Allende, “Reading the History of the World”
=the “Transcript” of the interview between Michiko Kakutani and President Barack Obama
=Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
I expect a QUOTE from each text. Make sure to use the formats we have reviewed! Please write an essay—not a list. As always, please do more than just list examples and then stop—I expect a patient and challenging conclusion to the essay.
Please do NOT refer to any outside sources or to our other readings, such as The Great Gatsby.
There are THREE questions. Choose ONE. Please do not copy the question—just indicate the letter of your choice.
QUESTIONS:
A) In all of these texts, these writers speak of how reading allowed them to claim their identity, to raise their voice, to see their world more clearly, to find the words they had been unable to say. Refer to a specific example of this process from each of the texts. Which readings (or types of readings) are mentioned? What sort of effects did these readings have on the people reading them? What might be significant about the choices they made or the reactions they had?
B) In all of these texts, these writers speak of reading and writing as a social process, one that deeply involves their families. Refer to a specific example of this process from each of the texts. Which readings are chosen and shared? Who shares them with whom? Why and how might these exchanges of texts and ideas matter?
C) In all of these readings, the writers recall that they were very curious about a range of different texts. In what ways were they influenced by “classic literature” and in what ways did they also search for inspiration in texts that might not be considered “literature?” Refer to a specific example of this process from each of the texts. Which readings (or types of readings) are mentioned? What sort of readings seem to have the most profound effects on each author? What might be significant about the types of readings that they chose and considered most influential?
It is worth 8 points (all-or-nothing). It needs to be emailed in a Word file (or just “pasted” into an email), by NOON on Thursday, June 10th.
To get 8 points, you need to:
—Write at least 600 words.
—Refer to ALL four texts.
—Refer to specific and relevant statements. Please include a quote from EACH of the texts, and when you “quote,” follow the formats we’ve reviewed.
—Do more than write a “list” of references. What MATTERS about the statements and texts you chose?
One more key thing>>
Unlike all of our previous assignments, this one will NOT feature the option of sending me a “draft”—you have two weeks to do this, SO GET IT RIGHT!
Reflecting on the fire investigation process in your community, do you believe that it is thorough enough when it comes to determining the causes and ...
12 P a g e English 1B – Essay Two (Poetry – Theme).docxmoggdede
12 | P a g e
English 1B – Essay Two (Poetry – Theme) Length: 6-7 pages Due date: Check Canvas
The Task: Select one of the options from below and write a five to six-page essay that, through
explications of the poems, explores the themes mentioned below.
Option One: Using Elizabeth Bishop’s “Quai D’Orleans” and “One Art,” compose an essay that considers
the ways that Bishop explores the nature of loss and memory. Your discussion and conclusion should
must draw on connections between the two poems. Make sure that you discuss the tone of each poem.
Make sure that you include any literary devices (metaphors, alliteration etc.).
Option Two: Using Seamus Heaney’s “Death of a Naturalist” and “Blackberry Picking” explore the
childhood lessons that the poet illustrates in each poem. What are those lessons? How does the tone of
each poem differ? Focus on the similarities of the poems (the differences should not be your focus). Do
not skip any language of the poem. You must pay careful attention to the tone of each poem—and how
that tone shifts. Make sure that you also pay close attention to the music of the language. Make sure that
you include any literary devices (metaphors, alliteration etc.).
Option Three: Using Seamus Heaney’s “Blackberry Picking” and Galway Kinnell’s “Blackberry Eating”
explore how each poet writes about the pleasures and / or disappointments of gathering and eating
blackberries. Focus on the similarities of the poems (the differences should not be your focus). Do not
skip any language of the poem. You must pay careful attention to the tone of each poem. Make sure that
you also pay close attention to the music of the language. Make sure that you include any literary devices
(metaphors, alliteration etc.).
Option Four: Using Emily Dickinson’s “There’s Been a Death in the Opposite House” and “I Heard a Fly
Buzz When I Died,” explore how Dickinson considers death in both poems.
Option Five: Using Robert Frost’s poems “Bereft” and “Desert Places” consider how Frost explores the
way we project our emotions into how we experience the landscape. Make sure that you discuss the tone
of each poem. Make sure that you include any literary devices (metaphors, alliteration etc.).
Option Six: Using Robert Frost’s poems “Desert Places” and Wallace Stevens’ “The Snow Man” consider
how each poet explores the way we project our emotions onto the winter landscape. Make sure that you
discuss the tone of each poem. Make sure that you include any literary devices (metaphors, alliteration
etc.).
To Prepare: To help you better prepare for the essay, I want you, before you begin, to print out copies of
the poems you are writing about and then, in the margins, summarize, word for word, what the poet is
describing/discussing. I’d also like you to write down your initial reflections and analyses about what you
might infer from the language of the poems. This way, before you begin ...
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Literary Journalism 101: Teaching ToolkitMitzi Lewis
Analysis of survey responsesfrom writing educators presented at the Fourteenth International Conference
for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-14): Literary Journalist as Naturalist: Science, Ecology and the Environment
IALJS-14 Literary Journalism 101: Teaching Toolkit Panel—Successful AssignmentsMitzi Lewis
Responses by educators to the survey question: “What has been your most successful assignment in teaching literary/long form/narrative journalism?” presented at the Fourteenth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-14): Literary Journalist as Naturalist: Science, Ecology and the Environment
IALJS-14 Literary Journalism 101: Teaching Toolkit Panel—Successful TextsMitzi Lewis
Responses from educators to the survey question: “What three texts have been your most successful in teaching literary/long form/narrative journalism?” presented at the Fourteenth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-14): Literary Journalist as Naturalist: Science, Ecology and the Environment
Essentials of the Craft: Providing Effective FeedbackMitzi Lewis
Analysis of survey responses from writing educators presented at the Thirteenth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-13): Literary Journalism: Theory, Practice, Pedagogy
Analysis of Survey Responsesfrom Writing Educators HandoutMitzi Lewis
The Challenges of Writing 101 May 2017 Panel
“Literary Journalism: From the Center, From the Margins”
The Twelfth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-12)
Analysis of Survey Responsesfrom Writing Educators presented at a May 2017 Panel
“Literary Journalism: From the Center, From the Margins”
The Twelfth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-12)
Applying Undergraduate Research: The Texas General Education Communication C...Mitzi Lewis
Presentation by Kelly Calame and Danielle Schwertner at the Southwest Educational Research Association 38th Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, on February 5, 2015.
An Exploration of Massive Open Online Course Adoption Using the Diffusion of ...Mitzi Lewis
A paper presentation for the 35th Annual Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference Pedagogy & Popular Culture 4: New Technologies IV – Digital Footprints Panel
Guidelines for communicating work effectively with PowerPoint and poster presentations, developed for an MSU Undergraduate Opportunities in Summer workshop.
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Francesca Gottschalk - How can education support child empowerment.pptxEduSkills OECD
Francesca Gottschalk from the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation presents at the Ask an Expert Webinar: How can education support child empowerment?
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
1. AEJMC 2016 Long-form Journalism Panel: Successful Assignments
“If you are willing, please share your most successful reading and/or writing assignments. If you would like credit,
please include your name so the assignment can be properly attributed to you.”
(1) Capstone Seminar for undergrads in Professional Writing and Technical Communication: Using Jack Hart's Storycraft: The Complete Guide to
Narrative Nonfiction as principal text, an 18-25 page narrative nonfiction piece developed around scenes. Additional writing (10-12 pages total):
responses to articles on issues in narrative and storytelling. (2) Writing about Place for advanced undergrads and graduate students: Using The
Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers of/on Creative Nonficton, 6th ed., Root and Steinberg as principal text, I assign the following: (1) 8-12 page
essay on a nearby place with significant natural elements; (2) a 12-18 page memoir that emphasizes place; (3) a 4-6 page satirical essay that plays
with place (with readings collected from a variety of contemporary sources plus Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Additional writing: brief responses
to readings (total 6-7 pages)
--Brian Nerney, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN
Analysis of a book of their choosing.
I recently worked with an Honors Program student to produce a series of articles about an anniversary of a tornado tragedy. As a final product, it is
close to 30 typed, double-spaced pages.
Essay 1: Comparative essay of 10-12 pages, double spaced and formatted according to MLA Guidelines. This essay is comparative in scope with a
focus on collective history and autohistory. Discuss how the two Native American writers Thomas King and Linda Hogan approach the telling of
national, tribal, and personal histories and how their storytelling deviates from conventional historiography or the discourse we associate with the
discipline of history. Draw from your annotated bibliography, which you can always expand and modify, for theoretical support of your
interpretation of these texts. Essay 2: Comparative essay of 15-17 pages, double spaced and formatted according to MLA Guidelines. This is the
culmination of your research, essay writing, editing and revising, so take my feedback on Essay 1 as your starting point. The objective of this essay
is to compare Solnit, Meloy’s and Bowden’s approaches to literary journalism and life writing. Carefully select some theme both in terms of social
issues and poetics to construct a coherent comparative reading. You can limit your references to one section from each of the three primary texts in
order to sharpen the focus of your reading. The main topic is the writer’s representation of self in relation to place. You should draw on your
annotated bibliography for relevant theoretical lenses to support your close reading, structural analysis, and critical interpretation of writing
strategies and poetics.
For undergrads: A year-long thesis project. The students choose and develop the topic over two semesters which include applying for grants from
the college and presenting the research at the end of the two semesters. They do an element of their reporting in December at 1800 words and the
full piece at 6,500 to 10,000 words by May. For grad students: "A Lot About a Plot," for which they research a New York property/building back
through its entire history and write the piece, incorporating images of primary documents. These are published each year on Bedford + Bowery, the
New York Magazine's website that covers the East Village, Lower East Side, Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg,
nymag.com/bedfordandbowery. (It is produced in our department.) Grad students have three other assignments in this semester-long course. In
2. Lewis, Hanc, & Reid, page 2
August 4, 2016
both classes, we read and "chart" or "x-ray" seminal works in the 6,000 to 10,000-word length with an emphasis on those that illustrate a variety
superb use of structure and/or writing.
Reading Drum writers of the 1950s in South Africa. Reading New Journalism preface by Tom Wolfe and applying to critique.
Compare and contrast the following two passages from In Cold Blood and Slouching Towards Bethlehem, outlining the principal features that
identify their work as narrative literary journalism and explaining how and to what effect Capote and Didion fuse literary and journalistic
techniques in their writing. You must use secondary references and your essay should be about 2,500 words in length. Capote: When Perry said, ‘I
think there must be something wrong with us,’ he was making a painful admission ‘he hated to make’. After all, it was ‘painful’ to imagine that
one might be ‘not just right’ – particularly if whatever was wrong was not your own fault but ‘maybe a thing you were born with’. Look at his
family! Look at what happened there! His mother, an alcoholic, had strangled to death on her own vomit. Of her children, two sons and two
daughters, only the younger girl, Barbara, had entered ordinary life, married, begun raising a family. Fern, the other daughter, jumped out of a
window of a San Francisco hotel. (Perry had ever since ‘tried to believe she slipped’, for he’d loved Fern. She was ‘such a sweet person’, so
‘artistic’, a ‘terrific’ dancer, and she could sing, too. ‘If she’d ever had any luck at all, with her looks and all, she could have got somewhere, been
somebody.’ It was sad to think of her climbing over a window sill and falling fifteen floors.) And there was Jimmy, the older boy – Jimmy, who
had one day driven his wife to suicide and killed himself the next. Then he heard Dick say, ‘Deal me out, baby. I’m a normal.’ Wasn’t that a
horse’s laugh? But never mind, let it pass. ‘Deep down,’ Perry continued, ‘way, way rock-bottom, I never thought I could do it. A thing like that.
And at once he recognised his error: Dick would, of course, answer by asking, ‘How about the nigger?’ Didion: I ask why they ran away. “My
parents said I had to go to church,” Debbie says. “And they wouldn’t let me dress the way I wanted. In the seventh grade my skirts were longer
than anybody’s—it got better in the eighth grade, but still.” “You mother was kind of a bummer,” Jeff agrees. “They didn’t like Jeff. They didn’t
like my girlfriends. My father thought I was cheap and he told me so. I had a C average and he told me I couldn’t date until I raised it, and that
bugged me too.” “My mother was just a genuine all-American bitch,” Jeff says. She was really troublesome about hair. Also she didn’t like boots.
It was really weird.” “Tell about the chores,” Debbie says. “For example, I had chores. If I didn’t finish ironing my shirts for the week I couldn’t
go out for the weekend. It was weird. Wow.” Debbie giggles and shakes her head. “This year’s gonna be wild.” “We’re just gonna let it all
happen,” Jeff says. “Everything’s in the future, you can’t pre-plan it. First we get jobs, then a place to live. Then, I dunno.”
--Martha Evans
I assign long form feature writing assignments in one unit (2,000 words) with a market report to show awareness of audience; and in another unit I
assign a piece of creative nonfiction (2000 words) followed by an exegetical essay to critically reflect on genre and process (2000 words). This has
worked well.
One interesting writing assignment I do is take an excerpt from a work we are studying (a couple of pages) and get students to analyse it in a small
group (4-5) and then perform it as a spoken "chorus". I ask them to use a range of techniques like: one person beginning a sentence and another
finishing it to emphasise the rhythmic structures; introducing pauses and silences into the text; multiple people reading sections in chorus;
introducing movement into the performance of the text; experimenting with volume and emphasis. This kind of perforative reading is a really
good way of getting students inside the expressive elements of a writer text.
--Dr. Marcus O'Donnell, University of Wollongong
3. Lewis, Hanc, & Reid, page 3
August 4, 2016
Students are assigned to write a feature that is "outside their cultural comfort zone." This has resulted in overage of a local Mexican-American
soccer league, the trade mission project to Honduras by the local Black Chamber of Commerce and many others. Two of my favorites were
written by a Japanese international student who spent a day with a ranch hand hauling hay and a French international student who covered a goat
cook-off.
--Cheryl Bacon, Abilene Christian University
One of the recurring topics of discussion in literary journalism is how an author should manage his or her own presence in a story. As we have seen
with Hunter Thompson, a few literary journalists put themselves at the very center of the story (we will see more of this strategy, in a very different
tone, in Ted Conover’s decision to write about his experience working as a prison guard). Other writers seem to value their distance and
impartiality, and strenuously keep themselves out of the story, remaining nearly invisible. John McPhee is generally thought to be a writer who
keeps the focus on his subjects and does not talk much about himself, except in a small number of occasional essays that are explicitly and
deliberately autobiographical. And yet throughout his work there is evidence of his authorial hand. A careful reading of McPhee always reveals
interesting examples of how he manages his stories, sometimes by making himself a character, but often by subtly shaping the action, as in
Encounters. I want you to write an essay on “The Presence of the Author in John McPhee’s Encounters with the Archdruid.”
THREE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, all fueled by students reading Anne Fadiman's THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU and Bill Cheng's
SOUTHERN CROSS THE DOG. Stories published in Vox, the local city weekly magazine edited at Mizzou:
--Interstate 70, Missouri's Main Street. The freeway was the site of first Interstate project in the U.S. just west of St. Louis. Twelve students were
assigned "beats" on 20.9 miles each, running from the entire stretch from the Illinois line at the Mississippi River to across St. Louis west to
Kansas City and the Missouri River border with Kansas. (Project underway now.)
-- Race on Campus. 14 students spent close to a semester reporting and writing about race relations at Mizzou. They began in August 2015, about
two months before tumult erupted at Mizzou last fall, and then continued reporting, writing and revising as the two top leaders of the university and
university system resigned after a grad student staged a hunger strike that was supported by the football team that also went on strike. Online,
multimedia interviews with the writing class students illuminated what they learned from the project.
--First Generation. Fourteen students wrote stories reflecting the range of undergraduates as the first in their family to attend college--close to one
in four undergraduates at Mizzou fall into this category. Stories included first person by one class member who had a remarkable story growing up
in rural Ozarks town, his ill mother's wish that he go to school even though the family was impoverished due expenses to her cancer treatments.
Then a miraculous donor to paid full tuition for the writer who was valedictorian of his tiny high school. Online multimedia interviews of that
student's story and interviews with other subjects of the stories complemented the print and online text. READING ABOUT RACE, CLASS
AND CULTURE IN LITERATURE OF JOURNALISM GRAD CLASS Includes Ida Barnett-Wells, W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, John Edgar
Wideman & Luis Rodriguez as part of literature of journalism class.
--Berkley Hudson, Associate Professor, Magazine Faculty, Missouri School of Journalism
My students are largely English majors. To help drive home the difference between most of the works they study in the curriculum and what they
read in my course, I contact people who have been subjects in the stories we read. Several years ago, curious about a story Joe Eszterhas published
in Rolling Stone ("Chief Perkins' Fury"), I tracked down one of the marginal characters in the piece. I was curious how closely Eszterhas' highly
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stylized account matched his subject's recollection of events. What followed was an illuminating exchange which underscored some of the license
Eszterhas took with the story (nothing, though, amounting to fabrication) while also giving voice to one of its characters. You can't do that with
Hamlet, I tell the class.
My culminating assignment for the class as a group is the creation of a complex web site centered around a social justice topic. This year's topic is
American Wealth Inequality. Past topics have included Food Insecurity in 2015, Peacebuilding Around the World in 2014, Water Issues in 2013,
The Arab Spring in 2012, Domestic Violence in 2010, Breaking the Chains of Global Poverty in 2009, Activism by Young Adults in 2008, The
Effects of War on the Individual in 2007, Immigration in 2006.
I am still struggling with writing assignments and readings. Ask me next spring 2017.
Heen Garner; David Marr; David Leser; David Foster Wallace; Joan Didion; Hunter S. Thompson; Janet Malcolm; Virginia Woolf; James Joyce
Reading: "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" (Talese) Writing: 1) profile; 2) scene with dialogue
The course is pretty straightforward in its structure. First, students write a summary and critical response essay. Then, they write a textual analysis
essay. Then, they write a rhetorical analysis essay. Finally, they write a source-integration essay. Along the way, they complete smaller writing
assignments. Once exercise asked them to interview three people on campus about how the ongoing "war on terror" has shaped their lives. They
then wrote a short essay using the responses from these primary sources as the material for analysis.
Hiroshima Last American Hero Wireless operator's account of sinking of Titanic In Cold Blood New Yorker stories: Susan Orleans "Her Town"
#1 Not so much a single assignment as it is an approach. Each semester that I taught the LJ course at my previous institution, I used a thematic
approach. The class selected a theme, and each of their writing projects had to focus on the theme in some way. They way the justified the theme in
their piece was left up to them. Some themes I've used include the following: "Fault Lines" - Stories exploring the themes of age, race, gender,
class, geography and how they divide and unite us "Unexamined Lives" - Stories of the unexplored "Think. See. Feel." - The motto for our state's
Humanities Council one year. The times were created either 1) by me, 2) by the class at the start of the semester or 2) by the class at the end of
the semester, for the students enrolled in the course the next year. One thing I thought would be a good idea would be to take a list of yearbook
themes and select a few for the students to choose from as a way to approach their stories. I never got to try that approach out, however.
#2 Story Proposals. Before each assignment, students submit a 2- to 3-page description of their nonfiction narrative piece. It includes the following:
I. A paragraph describing what the student intends to write about. They must review the assignment guide for the assignment. They are to fully
describe their subject, explaining the significance of the topic and how it relates to the semester theme of the course. They must answer the
questions "How is this subject connected to the theme?" "Why is this subject worth exploring?" II. A paragraph explaining what readers will gain
from reading the piece. Readers of literary journalism expect to be informed and surprised. Even if the subject is familiar or mundane, a writer can
still interest readers by presenting it in a way they have never before considered. A student must fully explain what readers should expect to learn
from his or her piece. What understanding about the human condition will readers get from the narrative? III. A paragraph explaining the plan of
action. The writer must discuss how and when he or she plans to observe their subjects in action or and when they plan to in conduct interviews
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with people involved in your observed subject. They are asked to fill in a calendar on and submit with their proposal. IV. A brief annotated
bibliography. The main purpose of observational writing such as literary journalism is to inform readers. They are asked to consult library and
database research and list three to five research sources that you plan to use for background information you will incorporate into your piece. The
sources should be books or other primary research sources. Briefly summarize the document and explain what information it possesses that you
will use in your piece. Use Chicago, MLA, or APA style bibliographic entries for each. After the proposal is submitted, a student has two days to
revise/change his or her subject. After that, time, they will have to find a way to make the make the subject work. Once they proposal has been
submitted and graded, no changes in subject are allowed.
#3 Identifying Details. This is proposed assignment that I thought about after having attended a mystery writer's workshop where we had a session
on point of view. No matter how fine the writing, every detail in a literary journalism piece comes from one of the following sources of
information: -Observation - Watching people do things; hearing them say things over an extended period of time in various situations and
environments -Interviews - Talking with subjects to discuss what you observed, to get a sense of what subjects were thinking and feeling about
what they were doing -Research - Exploring the background -- historical, sociological, or other -- of the subject. The fine writing that is a key
component of literary journalism comes from the writer's unique presentation of the information gathered. Each creative line in a piece of LJ
should be traced to a source of information. There is no "making stuff up." To show this to students, take a section -- a paragraph, a page -- of a
piece and go through each sentence. As you do so, ask students which source of information the writer used to craft the sentence. Which
information source allowed the writer to be able to present this turn of phrase or description or dialogue? Ideally, this should give students an idea
about what kinds of information to collect and suggest possibilities for how they may present the information they collect to write their pieces. It
can also give them a sense of how writers go from information to creative presentation of that information in nonfiction narrative, which will
inform and enhance their own writing. It should lead to good discussion about how a writer came up with a particular detail or insight into a
character's thinking. No need to give my name. I'll likely be in the audience for the presentation, so If you decide that any of these are good ideas to
share, I'll know and speak up.
James Baldwin's 'Notes of a Native Son' is my most recent but I mention it here because it was the one I was most anxious about (American! nearly
a century old! yikes! what relevance down here at the bottom end of Africa??). It turns out to be HUGELY relevant (thanks to Natalie Goldberg's
insights) and at least one student has already responded with a stunning piece about her father and why she hates apartheid. Thank you James
Baldwin.
--I am Gillian Rennie and I teach Writing & Editing in South Africa]
Sad to say, the convergence of our journalism program has effectively squeezed out long-form magazine writing. The longest piece of writing
students produce in any of my classes is 1,200 to 1,500 words, which I would not call long-form. All our journalism students now learn to shoot
and edit still photography and video, to record and edit sound, to package content for various print and digital platforms. This has required new
courses, which has squeezed out courses and squeezed new content into old courses. Several so-called legacy forms have suffered, including long-
form writing. This is true at the undergraduate and graduate (Master's) levels. The best I can do is require students to read a few long-form pieces,
so they at least know what it is and might be inspired to produce work of that sort for our various publications.
--Scott Fosdick, San Jose State University, California
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I have them write a personal experience story that incorporates research and interviews with others who were either present, have had the same sort
of experience, or could serve as authoritative sources on the experience; a long profile of someone, which includes observing the subject of the
profile in various environments and interviewing sources who know the subject; and an enterprise feature about a complex and multi-faceted topic.
Anything by Chris Jones from Esquire is a hit!
Over the years, students love the story "Prairie Fire" from the New Yorker by Eric Konigsberg. It always provokes lively conversation. Another
very successful reading/film is the article "Midnight in the Garden of East Texas" from Texas Monthly by Skip Hollingsworth and the film
"Bernie" that Skip wrote.
David Sedaris essay on giving up smoking, "Letting go", available via New Yorker May 5, 2008, and included in the book collection "When you
are engulfed in flames", is always popular. Sedaris is not a reporter, as such, but his work is full of social detail and the level of craft and story
structure is high. I use it as an example of the personal essay, which can segueway into the personal reported essay.
Setting a journalism piece together with an exegesis (2000 words each) has worked well both in terms of encouraging critical reflection but also
providing feedback to teaching staff.
I have previously submitted one. Here's a rough synopsis of another…Your assignment is to write a 4-5 page interpretive analysis of one of the
journalistic stories below. Calvin Trillin, "It's Just Too Late" from his book on local murders and deaths, called Killings. John Howard Griffin, the
selections from his famous Black Like Me (about a "white" man who posed as an African American); Jon Krakauer, “For the Love of God” about
murder, Mormonism, and kidnapping; Michael Lewis, “Jonathan Lebed’s Extracurricular Activities” (about a kid investigated by the Securities and
Exchange Commission). Ted Conover, from Coyotes, his book about crossing the US-Mexico border (write on Chapter 1, Chapter 2, or both
chapters together). Cristina Rathbone, a chapter from A World Apart, about women in prison. What do I mean by an "interpretive analysis"? Well, I
mean: try to assess the impact of the reporting method, and the style, on the interpretive account your work of journalism makes. By this I mean
therefore: take account of the literary dimensions of what you read (point of view, narrative structure, any “archive” the writer seems to consult;
fold in an understanding of the elements we've talked about (legwork, persona, style, access points, immersion, aporia, “double truths” and so
forth; and--where relevant--the “mapping” of place and space; and then and only then assess how and how well the interpretation inside the
journalistic story comes to term with what it reports on. Be sure to have an intensive look at a passage somewhere in your paper, and be sure, as
well, to balance empathy and critique: your goal (85% of your goal) is to get inside your journalist’s head, methods, and writing style; nevertheless,
sympathy improves if it is matched by critique (the other 15%)
For class assignments, I often ask the students to bring a 'key' or an 'old photo' with them to class, and then ask them to write about the memories
that are invoked by the items. Sometimes, I show silent documentaries and ask the students to write the story.
I have worked with students on long-form, in-depth reporting for projects that turned into published books. They were done through on-demand
publishers under an imprint launched by our department. The books took on cross-cultural topics beginning with the stories of (and surrounding) a
non-profit in Santa Ana that did gang intervention for kids and their families. We did one about Skid Row, about an after-school visual learning
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course in South Central L.A. housing project, and about baseball and young boys in the Dominican Republic. Our most recent was about the fifth
year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake and how education, local business and faith were part of the comeback in that country. It was successful
because it was student-driven. The books grew out of an upper-division course called Media Narrative Project and each semester we broke the
class up into teams of writers, editors, photojournalists and videographers (for a parallel Web site.) We've done literary journalism in a magazine
writing class as well, with each student taking on a topic that turned into a magazine that got printed by the end of the semester.
I assign students a series of short writing assignments. One focuses on setting, one on character, and one on historical background.
Readings: "On duty with Inspector Fields" by Charles Dickens "The Yellow Bus" by Lillian Ross Hiroshima by John Hersey Levels of the Game
by John McPhee
As of now, I use four books edited or written by me. They are a collection of essays about the form, two collections of professional work by many
journalists (including some by me), and a collection of my past student articles that have been previously published. Students do one story on an
ordinary life subject and rewrite and re-report it three times, four if publication is likely. Scores of articles have been published from my class over
the years and many students have won the annual departmental feature article awards and probably a half-dozen have won Hearst feature writing
honors.
--Walt Harrington
The most successful ones are the stories in which I give them little restriction; meaning that it doesn't have to be about something related to our
college, but a subject something true and meaningful in their world.
Difficult to say. I find that certain things hit a chord some years and then flop in others. I keep on changing tactics and responding to different
cohorts of students trying to find ways to connect them and their lives and experiences to the readings and writings they do.
I assign: human experience/personal journalism, profile and sense of place assignments.