Assignment/Activity
Title—News Writing Year— Sophomore
Skill— Writing Portfolio Category— Social Awareness
For a second quarter assignment in journalism this year, we
had to use what was learned throughout the first semester about news writing
and write a news story on our own. When we first received this assignment, I
was daunted at the idea of writing news on my own. We had to find our own news
story, interview people involved, and write a story that was interesting and
followed the guidelines of news writing. I had never written a news story on my
own, and did not know where to begin. I asked around for current events
happening at Blair, but nothing I found was sufficiently interesting to me, and
I didn’t want to write about it.
One Tuesday afternoon, I decided that I would go to the
Blair Varsity girl’s basketball game, and bring my journal along. I was unsure
if I would write about the game, because I was not a huge fan of basketball and
knew little to nothing about the sport itself, or any of the terminology. As I
watched
the game, I took extensive notes and wrote down everything I saw. By the time I had gotten home, I decided that I would write about the game.
the game, I took extensive notes and wrote down everything I saw. By the time I had gotten home, I decided that I would write about the game.
Writing the story was not as hard as I thought it would be,
and it turned out to be fun. Although I didn’t know much about basketball, I do
enjoy sports and found the topic engaging. After completing the assignment and
receiving an A on it, I feel like I have grown as a writer and have discovered
more about myself. I used to never feel confident in trying to write news, and
I would often look for the easy way out in a news writing assignment. Now, I
know that my news writing skills have strengthened. Over the course of my
sophomore year, I have interviewed many people and I thoroughly understand the
procedures and guidelines of how to interview someone. I have practiced taking
quick notes, and I have learned to challenge myself by writing about topics I
am not an expert in.
As a sophomore, I am aware that within the next two years I
must participate in a class such as yearbook or SilverChips. Before this
assignment, I believed that participating in SilverChips was out of my reach
and would be too hard for me. Now, I have confidence that writing for
SilverChips may be an attainable goal, and that it is something I am looking
into for the future.
This
project opened my eyes to a whole new style of writing that I enjoy, and I am
excited to write more news stories in the future.
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