Monday, November 30, 2015

Assignment#9 - A Personal Profile Article


Final Writing Assignment - A Personal Profile Article
You are going to write a story about a classmate.  Try not to make it a simple biographical profile but rather a story about a current passion, a major past life event, or a dream for the future.

Take at least 30 minutes to interview each other.  You can ask the questions below or any others you’d like.  Try to find an interesting ‘angle’ and pursue that by asking lots of follow-up questions.


  1. What’s on your mind these days?
  2. What’s something most people don’t know about you?
  3. What were the most significant events/turning points of your life?
  4. What do you want to be doing in 5, 10, 20 years?
  5. What is your biggest regret?
  6. Who are your heroes and role models?
  7. What are you most proud of so far?
  8. What’s your favorite (book, quote, movie, song, etc..)?  Why?
  9. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
  10. What would you like to change about yourself?
  11. How would you describe yourself?  How would you like to be described?
  12. What have been the highlights and lowlights of your life? time at BUFS? semester?
  13. Tell me about your family.  Close friends.
  14. How would you describe your family culture?
  15. What were you like as a child? teenager?
  16. What was your dream job as a child? What is it now?
  17. How do you spend your free time?
  18. What have been the best and worst parts of your university experience?


Writing a Personal Profile Article

  • How to Write a Profile Feature Article - The New York Times

     Decide on an approach.
     Outlining your story is the best way to start. This means reviewing your notes, marking the most interesting or articulate quotes, making a list of important points, and creating a structure into which you can fit your information. Spend extra time of the beginning of your story. Readers will decide whether to proceed based on the capacity of your lede to grab their interest.
     Focus on what's most compelling. Before you start writing, think through all the information you have and all the points you plan to make. What's surprising? What's important? What's useful?
     Show, don't tell. It is tempting to describe a room as messy or a person as nice. But carefully-observed details and well-chosen verbs make a much stronger impression than adjectives.
    Put your story in context. You must help answer a reader's biggest question about any story: Why should I care?
  • How to Write a Profile Story

    That theme should be introduced in the lead, it should be explored and often it will be returned to at the end of the story. Something of a person’s character, spirit and style will then be revealed through that theme.
    Be Curious: Good reporting skills equal good observation and listening skills. If you don’t understand something, ask the person to explain. Underline or circle all names, ideas, etc you’re unsure of so you can double check them.

  • Seven Tips for Producing Great Profiles

    Avoid Factual Overload

    Too many beginning reporters write profiles that are little more than an accretion of facts about the people they are profiling. But readers don't particularly care when someone was born, or what year they graduated from college. So yes, include some basic biographical information about your subject, but don't overdo it.

    Avoid Chronologies
    Another rookie mistake is to write a profile as a chronological narrative, starting with the person's birth and plodding through their life up to the present. That's boring. Take the good stuff - whatever it is that makes your profile subject interesting - and emphasize that right from the start.

    Make a Point About Your Subject
    Once you've done all your reporting and gotten to know your subject reasonably well, don't be afraid to tell your readers what you've learned. In other words, make a point about what kind of person your subject is. Is your subject shy or aggressive, strong-willed or ineffectual, mild or hot-tempered? If you write a profile that doesn't say something definitive about its subject, then you haven't done the job.

Examples

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Week#12 - Peer Editing & Writing Letters

ASSIGNMENT - November 18

Finish revising your Assignment#6 Google Doc by Thursday, Nov. 19 11:59pm
Check for comments on Sunday and post it on your blog.

Finish the first draft of Assignment#7 (a letter) by Monday, Nov. 23 and bring a printout to class.  



List of Writing Assignments

#1 Get Acquainted Questions
#2 Opinion Essay
#3 Descriptive Writing
#4 Narrative Essay
#5 About Me
#6 Blogger's Choice
#7 Letter Writing


ASSIGNMENT - November 16
Revise your Google Doc.  Post any sentences you're not sure how to correct on the

November 16 Sentence Tweaks Google Doc 

Error Corrections from Wednesday's Class


Letter Writing Resources

Addressing in-class questions
adjective + to /for (e.g. important for me / to me )

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Job Appliation Materials


Resume & Cover Letter Writing Advice
Job Interview Materials from ENG250

Useful words for Resumes and Job Interviews
Job skill collocations (words that go together)

Verbs  that can be used to express responsibilities and tasks performed:

acted
accomplished
adapted
administered
advanced
advised
allocated
analyzed
applied
approved
arbitrated
arranged
assisted
attained
blended
brought
built
carried out
catalogued
changed
classified
collaborated
compared
completed
computed
conceived
conducted
constructed
consulted
contracted
controlled
cooperated
coordinated
corrected
counseled
created
dealt
decided
decreased
defined
delegated
derived
designated
detected
developed
devised
directed
discovered
distributed
documented
doubled
edited
encouraged
engineered
enlarged
escalated
established
estimated
evaluated
examined
expanded
experienced
explored
facilitated
finalized
formulated
founded
functioned
governed
grouped
guided
handled
harmonized
harnessed
headed
identified
implemented
improved
increased
indexed
initiated
inspected
installed
instituted
interpreted
introduced
invented
investigated
justified
led
localized
located
made
managed
maintained
mechanized
merged
moderated
motivated
negotiated
opened
operated
organized
originated
overcame
perceived
performed
pioneered
planned
prepared
presented
presided
processed
programmed
promoted
provided
purchased
raised
recommended
recorded
recruited
rectified
redesigned
repaired
replaced
restored
reversed
reviewed
revised
saved
screened
selected
serviced
set up
solved
sorted
sparked
specified
started
stimulated
strengthened
summarized
supervised
supported
systematized
tested
trained
transacted
transcribed
transformed
tripled
upgraded
validated
varied
verified
vitalized
won
wrote
Words to describe your qualities and skills



accurate
active
adaptable
adept
analytical
broad-minded
competent
conscientious
creative
curious
dependable
detail-oriented
determined
diplomatic
disciplined
discreet
efficient
energetic
enterprising
enthusiastic
experienced
fair
fast learner
firm
genuine
hard-working
honest
innovative
logical
loyal
mature
methodical
motivated
objective
outgoing
passionate
personable
pleasant
positive
practical
problem solver
productive
proficient
punctual
reliable
resourceful
self disciplined
self-starter
sense of humor
sensitive
sincere
studious
successful
tactful
team-player
trustworthy
versatile


Sunday, November 8, 2015

Week#11 - Is Your Writing Making a Good First Impression?



A Warm-up Kahoot - Collocations & Phrasal Verbs

For the remainder of the semester, you will be able to choose the type of writing you do.  You will need to produce at least four more pieces using a total of at least 1000 words. Possible types of writing include….

Blogger's Choice Writing 
Possible types of writing include..


Take a number. While some people complain about the frequency with which bloggers use them, titles featuring numbers do work.  125 Free Blog Topics.

Teach me. How-tos are powerful. One reason people read blogs is to get more and broader information about topics of interest to them. Let readers know that your post is providing a useful mini-lesson. Here’s a good example from this blog, How to Be a Twitter Chat Champion.
Ask a question. This works well because readers subconsciously answer the question and get drawn in. Here’s a title integrated with a personal question: Are You Practicing Spaghetti PR?
Are you talking to me? Make your titles personal. Include the word “you” to pull readers in with the sense that you’re talking directly to them. Here’s an example: Are you Cultivating Your Next Generation of Social Media Super Users?

Just say no. Some of my best performing posts are attributable to telling readers not to do something. No one can resist being told that they can’t do something. It just adds to the allure. Don’t Tweet This.

Take advantage of popular trends. Take your pick of pop culture and leverage it to create a wonderful post. Here’s an example of how to use current events, After Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami, What Matters to You? 

Make an unusual association. Make an unexpected connection that gets readers thinking. For example, What Obama can learn from Sarah Palin

Be a contrarian. Be controversial and go against the majority. Realize that while this is useful for gathering comments, they may be filled with strong emotions. : How to get lurkers to engage.




In-class task
Brainstorm at least three types of writing, topics, and working titles for future blog posts. Share these with your group members and give each other feedback and suggestions.

Assignment Come to class with the topic, title and first sentence for your next piece of writing Wednesday will be a 'Writing Worksihop' Day.