Expository

EXPOSITORY WRITING is defined as presenting reasons, explanations, or steps in a process. Logical order should be used with appropriate sequencing of ideas or steps in a process. Effective expository writing should contain a main idea, supporting details, and a conclusion.

Reporting

How do you get the facts for your news story? By reporting!

There are three main ways to gather information for a news story or opinion piece:

1. Interviews: Talking with people who know something about the story you are reporting.

2. Observation: Watching and listening where news is taking place.

3. Documents: Reading stories, reports, public records and other printed material.

The people or documents you use when reporting a story are called your “sources.” In your story, you always tell your readers what sources you've used. So you must remember to get the exact spelling of all your sources' names. You want everything in your story to be accurate, including the names of the sources you quote.

Often, a person's name is not enough information to identify them in a news story. Lots of people have the same name, after all. So you will also want to write down your sources' ages, their hometowns, their jobs and any other information about them that is relevant to the story.

Whenever you are interviewing someone, observing something happening or reading about something, you will want to write down the answers to the “Five Ws” about that source:

● Who are they?

● What were they doing?

● Where were they doing it?

● When they do it?

● Why did they do it?

Many good reporters got their start by keeping a diary. Buy a notebook, and start jotting down anything interesting you hear, see or read each day. You might be surprised to discover how many good stories you encounter each week!

Writing

Here are the keys to writing good journalism:

● Get the facts. All the facts you can.

● Tell your readers where you got every bit of information you put in your story.

● Be honest about what you do not know.

● Don't try to write fancy. Keep it clear.

Start your story with the most important thing that happened in your story. This is called your “lead.” It should summarize the whole story in one sentence.

From there, add details that explain or illustrate what's going on. You might need to start with some background or to “set the scene” with details of your observation. Again, write the story like you were telling it to a friend. Start with what's most important, then add background or details as needed.

When you write journalism, your paragraphs will be shorter than you are used to in classroom writing. Each time you introduce a new source, you will start a new paragraph. Each time you bring up a new point, you will start a new paragraph. Again, be sure that you tell the source for each bit of information you add to the story.

Whenever you quote someone's exact words, you will put them within quotation marks and provide “attribution” at the end of the quote.

Here's an example:

“I think Mr. Jones' class is really great, I really wish I was in it!,” twelve-year-old Wortley student Ben G said.

Commas go inside the closing quote mark when you are providing attribution.

Sometimes, you can “paraphrase” what a source says. That means that you do not use the source's exact words, but reword it to make it shorter, or easier to understand. You do not use quote marks around a paraphrase, but you still need to write who said it.

Here's an example:

Even though the class was hard, students really liked it, Wortley seventh-grader Nora Linton expressed.

Conducting an Interview

One of the hardest skills for a young reporter to master is interviewing. It takes preparation and persistence to conduct a good interview. Follow these steps and learn how to interview like a pro!

STEP 1: Research, research, research. Then research some more. The only way to come up with good questions is to know everything there is to know about your subject.

STEP 2: Contact the person you wish to interview. Ask when a good time would be to do the interview. Be polite! Say "please" and "thank you." Try to set up the interview in person. If this isn't possible, then set up a phone interview.

STEP 3: Read over your research and brainstorm a list of 15 questions. The more specific your questions are, the better! And never ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Make your interviewee talk!

Be sure to write all your questions down in a notebook, then practice asking them with a partner. Become very familiar with your questions before you go into the interview.

STEP 4: Come prepared with:

•A pencil

•A notebook

•A list of good questions

•A recording device (always ask permission before recording an interview)

STEP 5: Be on time! Arrive at your interview with plenty of time to spare. If you’ve never been to the place where your interview is taking place, go early and scout it out. There is nothing more unprofessional than a reporter who is late.

You can also use the time you are waiting to make notes about the surroundings. You won’t remember details later, so write them down.

STEP 6: Conduct your interview in an organized, timely manner. During the interview:

•Be courteous to your subject.

•Always take time to ask for an explanation about things you don't understand.

•Don’t be afraid of uncomfortable silences and pauses.

•Let the interview take its natural course.

•Look the person in the eye when asking questions.

•Always listen carefully to the answers. Each answer could lead to more questions or include an answer to a question you haven’t asked yet. Don't ask a question that has already been answered. Your subject will know you weren't listening and be insulted.

•Don't read through your questions one right after another like you can't wait to be finished. Conduct your interview like a conversation. One question should lead naturally into another. If you are LISTENING to the answers this will come naturally!

•Also, take notes on what the person looked like, what the person was wearing, where he or she sat. If the interview is in an office, make notes of what is on the walls and on the desk. The objects people surround themselves with hold important clues to their personalities. Ask about any object that interests you. You’ll find some good stories!

STEP 7: Even if you are recording an interview, take notes. Don't try to write every word said. It will slow down the interview. Just take down the highlights.

After the interview, while the details are still fresh in your mind, write everything down you can remember about the person you interviewed. Don’t forget to make note of the sounds in the background. Take note of what was happening around you. Write it all down as soon as possible. At home, expand your notes by following up on things you learned in your interview with more research!

STEP 8: Review your research and your interview notes. Circle or highlight quotations that you think will be good for your article. Now you're ready to begin writing!