Teaching Informative Writing by Creating a Newspaper

Creating a group is a great way to teach students many skills, such as how to cooperate with classmates and how to write an informative essay. By having the students create a newspaper as a group, and give students some fun and fantastic topics for articles, you can engage them in writing while still teaching them about how to enter quotes, facts, and write in a tone appropriate for a formal published article. This task is the most appropriate for JUNIOR high or early, but can also be used with younger students are just learning to write.

Prepare The Assignment

Separate your students into groups of five. Give them a list of five situations to choose from (a sample list is included below). Each situation must include quotes and two facts that students should put in each essay. Do they start by choosing who is going to write a story. After that, they have decided on a name for the newspaper and started designing the layout. Where the story will go on the front page? Where the story is going to end up the paper? After the layout has been decided, it's time for the students to work individually to write their articles.

The possibility for a situation of News Stories

For younger students, it is important not to give too much freedom with this task. After all, you want them to be sure to include citations and two facts in their articles so that, to avoid using too much time having students create or find their own quotes or facts, you can give them a list. This makes it easier and less time consuming for them to write, and easier for the teacher to check that the skills being executed correctly. Here is a list of possible situations for students to write about:

1) Bigfoot has been seen!

Quote: ". I saw a trail on land was so big, I could lie down in it! "-Bob Noone, townsperson

Fact:

Bigfoot has been seen three times in the last ten years.
No one has ever photographed.

2) opened a new restaurant in the area!

Quote: "we are very excited to be opening our restaurant today is an honor to be a part of this city."-Sheila Crabb, restaurant owner

Fact:

Due to complications, it took three years to build a building for a restaurant.
The restaurant has served more than 300 people on the first day.

3) A sports team has won the championship game!

Quote: "it was the most exciting game I have ever played."-Joe Johnson, sports stars

Fact:

The team has made it to the championship game the sport for four years.
The team just got new jerseys at the start of the season.

4) a celebrity has been spotted!

Quote: "I really hope he becomes higher."-Maggie Sue, people who see the celebrities

Fact:

Celebrity sightings are very rare in this area.
Maggie Sue unfortunately does not have a camera with him to photograph celebrities.

5) volunteers have cleaned up a local park!

Quote: "this really makes me feel good to do something like this for the community."-Donnie Eastman, volunteer

Fact:

Clean-up crews disposing of trash and garbage in thirty recycling two cans.
A set of swing donated to the Park by local charities.

The Assembly of the newspaper

After a draft of all the articles written, have students assemble the newspaper. The title of the newspaper that they decided in advance to be on the front page, and the date and the cost of newspapers. It must also look nice so people will want to buy it. If they then make a final draft of their article in their newspaper format. Each article should also include pictures, like most articles in newspapers do. You can have students assemble the paper by hand, or with a computer if they are available.

Additional Options

If there's time, students may proofread draft articles their newspaper before the creation of the end. Also, if you want to strengthen the skills of oral presentations, each group may present newspapers, with each individual that presents articles he wrote. If you want to emphasize research skills, you can have your students, choose from the list of current events and have them find their own quotes and facts from other articles.

Helping Students Find Their Writing Voices

One of the most frustrating things to writing teacher who read a newspaper that just less style. When all the research has been completed and inserted into the paper correctly and all the sentences that are well structured, but paper doesn't have the pizazz of some, it could be boring class. Similarly, when you know the student has a great personality, but that does not appear in his writings, it can be frustrating to know that your students are able to do so, so much better. If you are looking for ways to help students find their voices, try to step back from the analytical paper. When they write about themselves, sounds students often shine.

Who Are You?

One of the most difficult questions for students to answer is: "who are you?" Of course, they could provide the name, age, date of birth, and all sorts of other relevant biographical information. However, when it gets to the nitty-gritty stuff about what motivates them and make them tick, this can be a difficult question to answer. Ask your students to explore who they are and what makes them unique. In doing this, through writing, students will begin to see their personalities are different and, hopefully, can add a little flair to write them. In addition, you can have your students take different, silly personality in their writing. If they are animals, would they? If they were a book, would they? Doing this can help your students break their comfort zone and think about their personalities are different.

Dear John

Writing a letter is a great way for students to explore the passion of writing them. Do they write for famous people they always admire, and then the one they really hate. Explore how their language has changed between the two letters. Ask them to write to family members or teachers. Talk about what the language differences that they see as a change in their audience. When students know their audience, it is much easier for them to add the type of audience they want to see personalities. When you have them write a term paper, and then, they determine who they write for before they even start. Then, reference letters they wrote to give an idea of what sound to use.

What Matters to you?

When students write about what is most important to them, they will often provide the best writing you will ever see. Responses are typically Passionate response is well written, and you'll get people when you ask a question that hit home. At least, when the students have something to say about a given topic, it can be easier for them to get their ideas down, then work on their writing style.

Get words on paper, and then edit them

The most valuable lesson that students are able to learn to write first, and edit later. Often, students think that, if the words don't come out perfect the first time, then they shouldn't even write it. More dangerous, students sometimes think that whatever comes out on the page for the first time, is the end result of term paper writing. To help with this, ask students to write nonstop for five minutes about their topics. If they can get their ideas down on paper, it's 90% of the battle. After that, have them fix the ideas into the introductory paragraph is really strong. This can help them realize that, once they have the ideas down, the rest is just fine tuning. Once they have mastered this concept, it is very easy for them to start adding their own personal voice to their letters.

The Missing Art Of Traditional Writing

I opened up a facebook page for my group of Medical College and closely see that it expected the Viewer to act on inviting phrases: ' write something '.

Before I answer I happen to play with these words for a while. The phrase seems to be a flaw with the literal for me. It must be said ... ' Type ' of something and not writing. A few years ago when writing with a pen became a habit for most writers (as PCs and laptops that are affordable for most), people often say ' write ' (i.e., using a pen and paper) and say ' type ' when using a typewriter.

Just today I came across an interesting story from the book ' the continent Of Circe ' by Nirad c. Chaudhuri. Once, his friend, the writer Khushwant Singh has lent her new typewriter was a friend, a talented Bengali poor economy. All was good until the name Khushwant Chaudhuri in an interview as one of the writers who like to read. But this is not without salt. He said, "the poor he can't even buy a typewriter,! So I had to lend him one. " Nirad dumbfounded that his country's poverty made into delicious dishes for the readers. So this ' poor ' Benglee his last possessions were stripped of ... his pride and prestige. After reading this story, I realized that the ' writing ' on a typewriter isn't so rare then.

But because the gentlemen who ' write ' (not typed) in the United Kingdom, it may. Vernacular writers I think till date choose to write (literature with pen and paper). But, if we are talking about people in General, in the current time, it is still true because now the term has become a synonym. How many of us actually writing a letter or even a post card with birthday wishes handwriting strokes of our emotions?

Life has come on fast forward mode for the most part, the communications explosion has connected people with the click of a mouse, and one can communicate with the ' number of n '-a desirable desk in a fraction of a second. Of course, it is now customary to invite relatives and friends via mail (via the internet) rather than take trouble completing the long, exhausting, organized way to write dozens of letters to many people, and then fix them with gum (very often we see most of the fixtures barely noticeable at home when needed) before dropping them in the mail a mile away, hoping at least half of them will reach their destination in time. All this suffering has become a thing of the past, thanks to modern technology.

This morning, a Sunday, I had the chance to chat leisurely with 80-year-old who is a good listener. I reveal how the charm of seeing old letters and manuscripts is gradually growing rare and rarely last more than a decade. One can find many hidden gems in the papers ... like the quality of handwriting, mood and character of the person when writing it (whether it's perfect, organized, calming, or vice-versa). In the script of Tagore is usually we see that the author used to convert invalid section of the line, the words or the full column to a variety of people who have a unique art form. It added to the charm of the main stream of his poetic creations and themes. Whether the Tagore sitting with a computer with software to make Bengali poetry Avro (I should know about software from my dear friend Siddhartha I dear m. address as ' Sidhdha Mukh ' and most of all, he doesn't mind it being used and ... can be abused by me), how on earth would this gem fell out of his fingers (instead of ' hand ' ... again, I try to be ' honest ' clinical as we use the entire hand in writing and only the fingers while typing). We will, as a result only get part of it through the genius of modern techniques of ' writing '. It will be an abject-dina products that very 'un-Tagorian '.

The point is, with the all-round construction of us unconsciously accepted typing and writing as a synonym. But in this case the smooth transformation of the norm and practice a lot of the charm has been lost which bore a sense of humanity which includes qualitative dimension of inspiring and thought-provoking (like the colorful Rainbow). What we have to offer in its place is flavorless, dull, stereotyped, charmless, colorless method of expression.

Copy Editor Salary

Copy editing is a much sought-after profession today, thanks to the growth of the online publications. Besides the websites, copy editors today find employment in book publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, advertising firms and production houses. Sometimes, they may be employed by universities, businesses and government agencies as well. Freelance copy editing is taken up by those who want to work on a variety of projects with a number of companies. If you too are contemplating a career in this field, given below is the job description followed by the average salary to expect in this field.

Job Description

Let's start with the job profile of this media job before moving on to know about the copy editor wages. When a writer produces a manuscript, he sends it to a copy editor for checking. Copy editors review the manuscript and look for mistakes in it. Grammar, spelling, facts of the content, punctuation, content clarity - these all are the main things that a copy editor checks amongst many others. There are some basic rules of editing with regards to punctuation, spellings, etc which may vary from one company to another. A copy editor, while doing editing, follows these rules, which are referred to as "house style" in the publishing industry. Thus, the main job of a copy editor is to make corrections and suggest changes in a manuscript so as to improve it's readability.

To get into this profession, a college degree in any of the fields such as English language, communication or journalism is required. However, there is no hard and fast rule for this and it differs from organization to organization. Nevertheless, a strong hold over the language is a pre-requisite, besides good writing and computer skills. You may further go to how to become an editor. These days, due to the Internet, copy editors are able to perform their work from home itself, especially the freelance copy editors. In some work profiles, copy editors may be required to work on weekends or late at night to meet deadlines.

Salary Range

In the year 2011, the copy editor salaries range anywhere between $30, 309 and $ 50, 148. The salary of a copy editor depends upon a number of factors, such as the location of the job, the number of years of experience a person has in this profession as well as the industry a copy editor is employed in. For instance, the salary of a newspaper copy editor will be any day higher than those working for book publishers. If you compare location wise, currently, the newspaper copy editor salaries range from $42, 476 in Dallas, Texas to $ 72, 375 in Manhattan, New York.

The salary of a medical copy editor ranges from approximately $29, 934 to $ 67, 463. Those with less than a year of experience in this field can expect up to $ 48, 980. While those with more than ten years of experience can expect anywhere between $ 45, 125 to $ 67, 463. As for the freelance copy editor, the salary is usually fixed on hourly basis and varies from project to project. For basic freelance copy editing jobs, a person can expect anything from $20 and above. While for jobs such as developmental copy editing or doing layouts for books, a person can expect as high as $ 80-85, per hour. Along with the salary, sometimes copy editors may be given a share in profits as well.

The job of a copy editor has good career prospects as the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecast that it is going to grow by eight percent between 2008 and 2018. As for growth opportunities in this career, a copy editor with experience in original writing can become a newspaper editor or a managing editor.

Publicist Salary

When you think of a celebrity, there is a particular image that comes to your mind. How do you think that a celebrity forms that image? Although a lot of it has to do with his actions and behavior in his private and public life, yet, there are some professionals who are actually hired to build a persona, an image of the celebrity in the people's eyes. These professionals are known as publicists.

Whether it's a famous sports person or a film star, they are a brand as far as the advertisers are concerned! This means that the more positive image this brand has, the more beneficial it is for the celebrities themselves as well as the advertisers. This is where the publicists come in. They use the mass media, be it newspaper, television or Internet, to circulate the latest happenings in a celebrity's life, to keep him in the public eye and to make him likable and popular amongst the public. Scroll down to know in detail what does a publicist do, the qualifications and skills needed to be a success in this profession as well as the average salary.

Job Description
As mentioned earlier, a publicist's primary work is to ensure that his client remains in the public eye for all the right reasons. For this, a publicist performs a number of functions. He writes emails to the journalists about some specific incidents in his client's life. A relationship break-up, a new assignment, celebrity's travels and holidays, the functions and events he attends - all such news are circulated in the media by a publicist.

A publicist is not only hired by celebrities, but by corporates too. A business needs to project a positive image in the public and media as it is goodwill and trust which will strengthen it's customer base in the long run. News about any social service done by the company's executives or the launch of a new product/service in the market or the business's huge profits and turnover - these are all supplied to the media by the company's publicist.

Writing emails to journalists and updating them about some new stories on his clients, arranging for interviews of his clients with the media persons, drafting press releases, building relationships with the journalists, organizing events for his clients or making arrangements for him to be part of a relevant event, managing the fan clubs and fan sites, looking after his client's schedule - these all fall under the purview of the job description. In lieu of all these jobs, the salary of a publicist is quite good.

Average Salary
A publicist is needed in almost all kinds of companies, the most prominent ones being movie production houses, publishing houses, advertising firms, public relations firms and fashion houses. Although, the salaries will vary in accordance to the industry and the city/state where the publicist is employed, on an average, the salary is around $49000 per year in United States today. An experienced publicist can look forward to earn as much as $74000 annually. A new entrant or an associate publicist can earn anywhere between $22000 to $53000 per year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the coming decade, there will be an increase of around eighteen percent in the number of professionals employed in this field.

Education and Skills
To enter this profession, there are no educational pre-requisites, still if a candidate has a college degree in journalism, public relations or related field, it will further his prospects in this profession. The reason behind this is that a publicist drafts press releases and news stories for his clients, he interacts with a number of media persons everyday, this means that both his written as well communication skills should be superb! However, more than any education, a candidate's networking and people's skills will determine how much success he attains in this profession. The ability to handle crises (in case a client goofs up!), a temperament to work long hours (even on weekends and at night), a great sense of humor and oodles of patience to deal with the celebrity's egos, any person entering this field should be prepared for all this.

In today's time, a publicist is required in almost every field, even in non profit organizations! This means that there will never ever be a dearth of jobs for professionals in this field. People who are creative in writing, good at networking and excellent in creating a buzz, are ideal candidates for this profession!

How to Become a Publicist

A career as a publicist is fast-paced, glamorous, challenging and above all exciting. You get to work for the biggest corporate houses and celebrities, and most importantly, get quite a lot of media attention! Publicists act as representatives for their clients and are responsible for ensuring that their clients are in the news for all the good reasons. While the opportunities for rewards and recognitions are immense, there is cut-throat competition in this field.

Educational Requirements

There are no set educational standards to start working as a publicist, but excellent written and oral communication skills enhance the prospects of getting hired. During your college days, it is important that you choose those subjects which involve courses on communications, journalism, digital media and marketing. There are numerous schools which offer diplomas in public relations (PR). Most of the employers are hesitant in hiring a candidate with no prior experience, but getting an internship helps in providing the right kind of exposure. There are numerous institutions which provide internships to students. Let us take a look at some of the best places to study public relations in US.
  1. University of Florida
  2. The University of Texas, Austin
  3. Michigan State University
  4. University of Houston
  5. Temple University
  6. University of North Texas
  7. University of Georgia
  8. San Jose State University
  9. Wayne State University
  10. The University of Tennessee
These were some of the top institutions which offer public relation courses to students. Although completing a program from these reputed institutions adds weight to one's resume, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will be immediately hired as a PR executive. In this field of work, it is the networking and social skills that determine one's success. Doing some freelance work in your college days can help you in understanding the technicalities involved in being a publicist. While becoming a publicist takes considerable time and experience, you can start your career as an entry-level assistant, where your main job would be to answer phone calls and making arrangements for interviews. It is important that you stay patient and focused in your initial days and don't give up easily. Most of the successful publicists of today have had to start from the bottom and work their way up the ladder.

To enhance your prospects of getting hired, you need to keep yourself updated about the latest happenings in the PR industry. To get work experience, you should be ready to work for very little initially as it helps in getting some credit on the resume. Another attribute which is very important for becoming a publicist and being good at it is building relationships with people working in this industry. There are numerous employment opportunities which are available on recommendation basis and this is where your networking skills play an important part. Once a reputed client hires you, your credentials as a publicist improves and people get to know you. From there on, how well you represent your clients plays a major role in your career.

Job Prospects and Salary

It is estimated that the PR industry will grow by 18% till 2016, creating approximately 300,000 jobs. Fortune magazine has listed a career as PR in the list of 20 Fastest-Growing Professional Jobs. As more and more companies are becoming aware about the important role publicists play in brand-building and building strong relationships with clients, new avenues of employment have opened for aspiring publicists.

The average salary of publicists is in the range of $45,000 to $50,000. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago are the best cities to work for publicists as a lot of media companies are headquartered in these cities. PR executives working with high-profile celebrities and politicians earn salaries in excess of $100,000, but it takes a lot of experience to reach that stage.

How to Become an Editor in Chief of a Magazine

A magazine is very different from a newspaper. You cannot judge both by complexity or simplicity, as both require different skills in their editors. Yes, the base qualities in writing and editing are almost the same, but the job as such, is very different. After spending a good time in the industry, a medium level editor might want to become the editor in chief, gradually. If you know how to become the editor in chief, you can probably work your way up, in a better way. An editor in chief, is the top most level position in the entire hierarchy of editors. These editors are mainly responsible for policy making. Every decision or suggestions has to go through the approval of this editor. They are also responsible for performance appraisals and promotions, so always be in their good books!

How Can You Become an Editor in Chief?

The Education
To become an editor, you need to complete your masters. You need to obtain a degree in mass communication or journalism. Some magazines also allow people with a majors in English to apply. A master's degree will give you more advantage over the bachelors. If you are already working with a magazine, you don't have to leave your job to pursue your education. Look for universities that offer long distance programs and apply for those. Certain degrees in media and writing are also acceptable nowadays. To be on the safer side, choose one of the degrees mentioned before. Education will play an equal part in your appraisals and promotions too.

The Qualities
If you want to know how to become an editor in chief of a magazine, it's very important for you to know what is expected out of you apart from your education. Leadership qualities are the extremely vital for an editor in chief. If you are an introvert with communication problems, better start working on those before it is too late. Apart from this, you must know how to multitask and how to meet deadlines. The editor in chief responsibilities also require you to work extra hours at times, so make sure you are used to working late hours. Apart from this, you also need to be a good employee, one that is worth retaining.

The Experience
Experience counts a lot when you talk about this particular position. It is very important to have tons and tons of experience while applying for the post of an editor in chief. From your first job itself, try to find a publication that will let you freelance as well. This will multiply your experience many folds. Buy The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law and read through the entire book. This will add to your experience in a way. If you are only dealing with reporting at the moment, don't let your creative writing take a back seat. It is very important to be able to write in different styles and have enough experience in all of them.

The Salary
The salary range for editors in chief is $36,000 - $131,500 approximately. The average salary of an editor in chief is thus, $83,750 approximately. The salaries of these editors will vary a lot depending upon the location and specially, the publication they work with. They can also earn more by giving guest lectures and writing books too. Most of the books available on journalism and media are written by editors in chiefs.

Now that these tips have told you how to become an editor in chief of a magazine, start preparing yourself with their help. If this is your ultimate goal, start working towards it. In the meantime, read more on different writing and reporting styles around the world. Though The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law will tell you about almost everything, it is your job to see that you don't miss out on anything.

Tips on How to Become a Sports Writer

As a sports writer, you will have to write informative and interesting stories on a regular basis. Fans want to know everything that is happening in the world of sports. With television giving in-depth stories on every aspect of the game, the job of a sports writer today is more challenging than ever. Merely giving scores and statistics is not enough, you are expected to understand the significance of every shot, how changes in the team can affect the performance and so on. Apart from analyzing the team and the matches, you will also be required to give good human interest stories, only then will people want to read instead of watch. If you are willing to work hard, there are many opportunities, you can work with newspapers, magazines, websites, news channels or sport associations.

Tips to Become a Sports Writer

Learn About the Sport
Since you are passionate about sports, this should be exciting for you. Learn everything about the sport, right from the rules to the history of the game and the major tournaments that are held. In addition, keep yourself informed about the trends in the sport and watch all levels of the sport. You should have knowledge about the players, their strengths and weaknesses. As an amateur writer, you will have to write objective articles, but once you become a columnist you will be paid to give your opinion. You can also suggest ways in which a player or a team can improve their performance. Therefore, it is essential that you have a thorough understanding of the sport to be able to write creatively and interestingly about it.

Read Articles Written by Good Sports Writers
Familiarize yourself with the style of sports writing. Analyze articles of good experienced writers and try to figure out why they are so famous. However, avoid copying anyone's style, you will with time develop your own style of writing. Each sport has a distinct style of writing and presentation of scores, which you will need to learn. Reading articles will also give you an idea of what are the different sports articles that can be written. Read different types of sports articles in different newspapers and magazines.

Get a Degree
Firstly, you need to complete high school. While you're in high school, take as many advanced English courses as you can. Get a bachelor's degree in journalism with a majors in sports journalism. You will learn the basic techniques of writing and editing. In addition, you will also learn more about interviewing. Alternately, you can also do your bachelor's in English with journalism as a subject. While you still have the time, learn other things that could add to your resume. Take courses to improve your writing skills, learn photography, you will definitely have better job opportunities as a sports writer cum photojournalist.

Get all the Experience that You Can
Employers prefer hiring someone with experience over a complete fresher. You can start with your college newspaper, write as much as you can, there's no better place to experiment. Once you're confident of your writing skills, apply to a local newspaper as an intern. You might not get paid, but you will get the real picture of how your life will be as a sports journalist. You may not be sent directly to cover a match, so be patient. You will have to start off by covering amateur sports. Create your own portfolio of your best articles, it will be very useful when applying for a job.

Consider Freelancing
You can become a freelance sports writer, till you get a permanent job with a good media company. It will add to your experience and the best thing is that you can do it while you are still in college. Do not leave any opportunity that comes your way, no matter how small it may seem, to show what you're capable of doing and getting into the field of sports writing. Send your resume to editors of different newspapers and magazines, they will hire you on a contract basis to write articles and may even hire you full time, if they like your work.

Start a Blog
Start a blog with the emphasis on sports, it's free and the best way to show off your writing skills. You can do this while you're still in high school and college. Attend college and community sports events and write articles on them. Try to find a different angle to a mundane story, that has been covered by all newspapers and post it on your blog. Write good human interest stories, about local players, it is widely read. This is perhaps the best way to make a name for yourself, you can also make money by placing advertisements on your blog, once it's popular. It will be extremely helpful when you're looking for a job.

Salary of a Sports Writer

Most sportswriters do not get paid a lot. However, they love what they do. The salary range is anywhere from $25,000 to $60,000, till they make a name for themselves. The salary varies depending on the location, company and experience. Larger newspapers and websites pay better, than their lesser known counterparts. On an average, sports journalists get paid around $40,000.

Sports writing can be a very exciting and enriching career, provided you're getting into it for the right reasons. Many people want to enter the profession because they are either looking forward to meeting some personalities that they idolize or they are excited about the freebies. Many are under the impression that if they like watching the game, they will enjoy writing about it as well. Sadly, this is far from being true. Just like not everyone who enjoys reading can write, not every sports fan can become a sports writer. The only reasons you should be becoming a sports writer is if you are passionate about sports and love writing.