1. Writing for the Newspaper

2. Different Sections, Different Writing Styles
News
Presentation of facts, from most important to least important (inverted pyramid)
Unbiased
Plain, straight forward English
Op/Ed (“Opposite the Editorial,” not “Opinion-Editorial”)
Represents an opinion of an individual or the newspaper staff
Its purpose can vary from entertaining, commending, criticizing or arguing (head-to-head)
If a criticism, it should always offer a solution
Style can more relaxed: may use the first-person (“I”) and/or second person (“you”)
Sports
Tricky in high school newspapers because of timeliness
Best to focus more on players, teams and issues rather than games
Must avoid cheerleading and bias

3. Feature Writing Features Illuminates a facet of the human experience
Has a particular tone: sad, ironic, humorous, etc.
Equal focus on the facts and the creative presentation of the facts (writing style)
Should still eliminate bias and contain many quotes from a plethora of sources
LEAD- Use an anecdote, incident or description to begin
STYLE- Show, don’t tell; keep the story moving with quotes
BODY- Avoid overwhelming the reader with unnecessary facts; reveal details slowly and deliberately
CLOSE- Leave the reader with a reminder of the main point of the piece. Often an appropriate quote is the perfect ending.

4. Nut Graph (nut graf) A contraction of “nutshell paragraph”
A paragraph within that explains the news value of the story, i.e.- what the story is about
NEWS stories will reveal essential facts of the story in the lead (first 1-2 sentences): 5W’s and H as quickly as possible

5. Nut Graph (nut graf), continued…
FEATURE stories will begin in a more narrative manner, setting the scene within the first few paragraphs to hook the reader
TIPS:
There should be a quote by the third paragraph
Then, the nut graf should appear by the approximately the fourth paragraph explaining what the story is about.
The nut graf should include much of the pertinent factual information, but withhold some things to reveal later in the story (to keep the reader interested)

6. Example
Freshman Nikki Spivey’s lunch today consisted of one apple, eight ounces of non-fat peach yogurt and a rice cake. She skipped breakfast and says she’ll probably skip dinner, too. Spivey, who is 5’6”, is on a diet and has been for two months. She says she is trying to lose 20 pounds to get down to 110. “Lower if possible,” she said. “I can’t go out in a swimsuit looking like this.” Like thousands of other teenage girls, Spivey is starving herself in order to fit into society’s cookie-cutter image of what an attractive woman looks like. *Taken from The Radical Write, by Bobby Hawthorne

7. Example
Freshman Nikki Spivey’s lunch today consisted of one apple, eight ounces of non-fat peach yogurt and a rice cake. She skipped breakfast and says she’ll probably skip dinner, too.  lead
Spivey, who is 5’6”, is on a diet and has been for two months. She says she is trying to lose 20 pounds to get down to 110.
“Lower if possible,” she said. “I can’t go out in a swimsuit looking like this.”
Like thousands of other teenage girls, Spivey is starving herself in order to fit into society’s cookie-cutter image of what an attractive woman looks like.
*Taken from The Radical Write, by Bobby Hawthorne

8. Example
Freshman Nikki Spivey’s lunch today consisted of one apple, eight ounces of non-fat peach yogurt and a rice cake. She skipped breakfast and says she’ll probably skip dinner, too.  lead
Spivey, who is 5’6”, is on a diet and has been for two months. She says she is trying to lose 20 pounds to get down to 110.
“Lower if possible,” she said. “I can’t go out in a swimsuit looking like this.”  quote by third paragraph
Like thousands of other teenage girls, Spivey is starving herself in order to fit into society’s cookie-cutter image of what an attractive woman looks like.
*Taken from The Radical Write, by Bobby Hawthorne

9. Example
Freshman Nikki Spivey’s lunch today consisted of one apple, eight ounces of non-fat peach yogurt and a rice cake. She skipped breakfast and says she’ll probably skip dinner, too.  lead
Spivey, who is 5’6”, is on a diet and has been for two months. She says she is trying to lose 20 pounds to get down to 110.
“Lower if possible,” she said. “I can’t go out in a swimsuit looking like this.”  quote by third paragraph
Like thousands of other teenage girls, Spivey is starving herself in order to fit into society’s cookie-cutter image of what an attractive woman looks like.  nutgraf
*Taken from The Radical Write, by Bobby Hawthorne

10. “Everybody Has a Story”
Your job is to FIND it and TELL it.
Examples:
A teacher who is married to an alcoholic, abusive husband.
A swimming coach who makes up times for qualifying meets.
A homeless student who lives in his mom’s car.
A teacher with brain cancer.
A student whose grandparent has Alzheimer’s.
A drug-addicted custodian who steals money from the office wearing rubber gloves.
A student who suffers multiple concussions from playing football.
A student’s family whose home has gone into foreclosure.

11. Finding the Right Angle
EXAMPLE: A student is assigned a features story on the school’s foreign exchange students.
Her interview questions seek the typical information: How old the students are, what countries are they from, what is their impression of the United States; how is school different; food, etc.
But mid-interview, she discovers that the student from Russia actually grew up in an orphanage with her twin sister, eating only one meal a day of oatmeal.
WHAT?! Now, there’s a story.