School is : UNC Charlotte
https://inside.charlotte.edu/news-features link to
School is : UNC Charlotte
https://inside.charlotte.edu/news-features link to UNCC news
This assignment requires you to use what you’ve learned so far to writing a basic hard news story, complete with a headline, byline, lead, and use of inverted pyramid.
For Assignment 2, we will be incorporating all we have learned so far about AP style, grammar, and hard news into your first original, full news story.
You will choose to cover your own campus news event. This can be any topic you’re interested in, as long as it fits the requirements.
Your finished piece should be (1) a hard news story, (2) written in the inverted pyramid, and (3) conform to the specifications of that particular story type (crime, weather, meeting, speech, etc.).
The story you choose to report must pertain to UNC Charlotte as part of a hard news beat. For example, you can write about a sports event happening at UNCC, a meeting or speech you watched on Zoom or attended in person, a recent change to the study abroad program, or a story about a speaker who is coming to the university next month. All reporting/research must be your own and any/all sources must be cited.
Your story should be 250 (minimum) -500 (maximum) words in length and should be formatted as a news story.
EXAMPLES:
Please find examples of hard news stories in your book and in “real” news stories. Examples of reputable hard news sites you can find online for examples include: Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News, the New Republic, Newsday, BBC, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, The Economist, .
What am I looking for and what will you be graded on?
The lead. Is it in correct form: less than 35 words, 4 W’s, etc.? Does it clearly feature the most important aspect of the story? Is it informative and interesting?
2. The inverted pyramid: Does your story move from most important > least important? Does your writing fit the requirements of hard news in style and tone?
3. Did you incorporate the prompt correctly by including the important information and excluding unneeded information? Did you reword and rewrite? If you did your own research, is it comprehensive and appropriate?
4. Did you use correct grammar, spelling, AP Style and punctuation?
5. Did you demonstrate a grasp of the concepts in the class that pertain to hard news writing?
Role: You are taking on the role of a hard news reporter and journalist.
Audience: Your audience is (option 1) a mass audience or (option 2) readers with proximity to Charlotte/UNCC.
Format: This should be written per the class’ written paper requirements (laid out on the homepage and syllabus), and using AP Style.
Submission: .doc or .docx only.
Rubric
Learning Objective: Demonstrate an ability to write and edit a proper, functional basic hard news story. Demonstrate an understanding of how to incorporate the “research” stage of reporting into the “writing” stage. This will mean incorporating the original reporting you did yourself.
Quality of the writing for this assignment is determined and graded as:
1. The headline and the lead (30%): Written in proper headline form. Written in proper lead form. The lead establishes your angle for the article, which you incorporate throughout the piece.
2. Second Paragraph & Body (45%): Second paragraph supports the lead and follows inverted pyramid. The body is written and edited in inverted pyramid. Maintains a clear focus, which you established in the lead. In option 1, anything not fit for print was edited out of the final piece. In option 2, you demonstrated an ability to report and write in a newsworthy manner. Correct word count. Incorporates and correctly cites sources.
3. Grammar/Style (25%): Sentence structure, spelling and punctuation, proper usage, AP Style.