1. Today’s goals Introduce Major Essay 2: Write to Inform (WTI) essays
Analyze sample web articles to better understand their genre conventions
Continue discussing fake news and the critical consumption of information

2. Class discussion- web articles
What is a web article?
How is a web article different from print news articles? Consider:
Content
Writing style
Organization
Multimedia
How are web articles related to public space writing?
How do we check for or establish credibility in web articles?

3. Group activity- wti sample analysis
In your unit 2 groups
Read through the sample student web article and answer the questions below
What is the main idea or thesis of the article? Take this directly from the source if possible.
What main sections or elements of a web article can you find in the student’s essay? What elements might be missing?
What supporting evidence is used in the essay? Is it presented credibly? If so, how?
What grades would you give the student based on the scoring criteria from our assignment sheet? Give each a letter grade and a brief explanation.

4. Class discussion- fake news
Take a few minutes to share the fake news articles you brought in for homework
Of these articles, which is the hardest to identify as fake? Why?
Which article is easiest to identify as a fake? Why?
How did the who brought in the article find out it was fake?
If you found these articles on a credible news platform, would you know they were fake?

5. Checking web credibility
Check the company/website name and credibility
If this is brought into question at all, check the other stories on the website
Check the author’s credibility and credentials (on a different website)
If sources are used or links or provided, check them!
If any facts or data seem off to you, verify them with at least one other source on a different website

6. Group activity- Fake news analysis
In your unit 2 groups
Identify the article name, website, and person who brought in each article
Select one article (the most credible seeming) from amongst your group members for more in-depth analysis
Which article have you selected? What “company” published it?
Of the strategies we just discussed, how could you most easily identify this as a fake news story?
If you were able to edit this fake story, how could you make it seem more credible or believable?

7. Informative writing skills
Verify your facts and data
Use specific facts, details, and examples
Make the information interesting
Organize information appropriately
Be concise; do not include unnecessary information

8. Informative writing skills- organization
Two main strategies –
Old to new
General to specific

9. Group Activity- organize informative essays
In your unit 2 groups
Do exercise 8.3 on pages
For each of the two examples, develop a theoretical outline that organizes the information presented according to the strategies in the reading

10. Group activity- In your unit 2 groups Answer questions 1-3 on page 231
Read “The Apple, Alcohol, & Johnny Appleseed” on pg
Answer questions 1-3 on pages

11. homework
Find a news website that you would like to write your informative article for as well as a current event you are interested in learning more about. You will be asked to declare each of these in class on Friday. Maximum of 2 students per publication.