Reporting and Writing

1. Reporting and Writing

2. “Make sure that you write about what you have learned, not what you think you know, or someone else told you.”

3. Is Reporting….. • Shouting out “who went to the game on Tuesday” and then asking them questions? • NO!!! • Writing about what happened at the game based off of what you saw or heard people talking about? • NO!!!! • Finding out the background information? • YES!!!

4. Reporting is…. • Finding out the background information. • How have they played in the past years against this team? • Was it a surprise that they lost? Won? • Look at previous yearbooks and find out. • Find out what is new this year? • New uniforms? New Songs? New Costumes? • Who was affected by all of this?

5. Reporting is… • Collecting things • The color, the sights, the sounds, the smells. • Write things down while you are there • Get specific detail • Ex: Dinner Theater • How much were tickets? • How many people attended? • How much money did they raise? • Talk to the people in the audience • Talk to the people in the show / game / activity

6. Reporting is…. • Finding the emotion in the picture. • Making the reader want to read on. • DO NOT TELL THEM WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW!!!

7. REPORTING IS…Telling the story

8. Examples • “Basketball games are exciting” said Jeremy Smith while he sat in the stand. “ I like it when we win” said Coach Mortensen. BORING

9. Help them to see, hear, touch, taste • Remember that the scoreboard can tell the story of the season • Pick a specific person, time, game, injury, win, loss etc. and tell that story.

10. Help them to see, hear, touch, taste.. Falcons and Knights were on their feet as Casey Potter made a shot to tie the game with only 45 seconds remaining. “We haven’t won Kaysville in 6 years” exclaimed Coach Mortensen as he spoke to his players during a time out. The ball was passed in and the falcons raced down the court. Time stopped when the ball flew through the air as Jaxon Smith attempted to make the winning shot. The crowd was silent in anticipation as the ball bounced on the rim deciding if it wanted to go through.

11. How to do it… • NOUNS • Be as specific as possible • A YooHoo is more specific than a soda • An Apple is more specific than a computer • InDesign is more specific than working on a computer program. • Do not go to the Thesaurus and pick a word that you have never used before. • Do not use vague words – Some, many, most, others • Ex: “Some students didn’t mind the homework” This is a very general statement and has no meaning. • “It’s not like I’m some sort of a freak, but I wouldn’t practice if I didn’t have homework to make me do it.” • Notice how the quote doesn’t repeat information, but it give the same information meaning.

12. Finding Nouns • What are some NOUNS that we can use for this picture? • What instrument • What song • What student • Where are they

13. Using Nouns • What nouns can we use about this picture? • What was the name of the character? • Did she like the role? • What did she think about the neck thing? • What is that neck thing called? • Get the full story • She dyed her hair for the part

14. Verbs • Use action verbs that don’t require an adverb to give them strength • Use active voice and active verbs. • Get rid of “to be” verbs • Keep verbs in simple present, past, or future. If your main verb has an –ing, your in the wrong tense.

15. Bad Verbs • This is not badly written, but “to be” verbs weaken the construction. • Thing about the strongest possible descriptive verbs for the action happening. • “Walk” could become “trudged” “sauntered” “strolled” “strutted” “trekked” • The good ol’ boy system was still in tact with administrators at a high school in South Arkansas when I sat down with them one afternoon. The topic of discussion was the lack of qualified bus drivers when I walked into the office after teaching summer school English that August.

16. The re-write • Administrators rooted in the good ol’ boy system complained they didn’t have enough bus drivers. After federal courts combined two rival school systems in the name of desegregation the bus superintendent reconfigured routes for this small Arkansas school district creating a need for even more bus drivers. • The good ol’ boy system was still in tact with administrators at a high school in South Arkansas when I sat down with them one afternoon. The topic of discussion was the lack of qualified bus drivers when I walked into the office after teaching summer school English that August.

17. Finding verbs • What are some verbs that we can use for this picture?

18. Using Verbs • What Verbs can we use about this picture?

19. Adjectives • Some adjectives are opinion and have no place in a story. For example, saying that a girl is “pretty” or “tall” aren’t specific. Eliminate these. • The word VERY. Very is an unnecessary word. • Descriptive adjectives use the five senses to put the reader into the scene.

20. Using Adjectives • The smell of popcorn permeated the air in the halls around the science rooms. • The smell of popcorn was very strong as the science class started.

21. Finding Adjectives • What are some adjectives that we can use for this picture? • What did it sound like? • Was this the first time they had ever played? • What did it feel like?

22. Using adjectives • What adjectives can we use about this picture?

23. Adverbs • Stephen King wrote a book “On Writing” • He said that Adverbs are not your friends • They should be avoided like the plague. • Adverbs modify verbs. Strong verbs don’t need to be modified. • Ex: Breathed heavily • Huffed, puffed, panted, weezed • Eating quickly • Gulped, inhaled, gorged

24. Clichés • These are phrases that are used commonly and have become the easy way to describe something. • E.g. As good as gold • Gave 110 percent • Obviously you don’t change the cliché in a quite, but you should create your own visuals rather than relying on old and tired ones.

25. General Rules for Better Writing • Take the reader into the moment. No broad, general statements about teens, life, society, or the world • No question leads. Instead answer the question. • No quote leads. Rarely is a quote powerful enough to carry the beginning of the story. • Do not make up a scenario or anything else. Your story is about a person. Any detail that is not specifically about your person should be omitted.

26. General Rules for Better Writing • Paragraphs are 1-2 sentences in journalism. Each quote is a new paragraph. • Words and phrases we don’t use: • Very • This year • Suddenly • A lot • Only

27. General Rules for Better Writing • Don’t quote facts • Avoid “There” to begin a sentence • End with a quote • Read your story out loud • “due” means a train or a baby. You usually mean “because” • People use “who” - objects use “that” • If a sentence has “that” in it, read the sentence without it, and if it makes sense, omit it. • DO NOT USE THE WORD “I”