[Come up with three possible article ideas]
-Nutritionally balanced sandwiches for different scenarios.
i.e. The PB & J with more/less protein, turkey sandwiches that pump up the iron, getting more vitamin C with your pastrami on rye.
-Different workout regimens that all target the same muscle group.
-An article that discusses how to help friends and family members who have eating disorders.
Three experiences that could be associated with one of the possible article ideas:
-Sneaking in a quick, nutritionally balanced meal before delivering a successful presentation at work
-Finally being able to bench your goal weight, while someone is watching
-Saving your friend from succumbing to an eating disorder
Using either first person ("I" = writer), second person ("you" = reader), or third person ("he"/"she" = interview subject), recreate this experience in one paragraph
....these ideas are all terrible.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Magazine analysis
[Using a magazine, a website, and writersmarket.com identify the community and self-identity of the magazine's readership and identify a surrogate experience for the magazine.]
Women's Health:
Community: 20- to 50-year-old women, mostly heterosexuals, who enjoy nutrition, health, exercise, and cooking.
Self-identity: These women are independent self-motivators who are interested in exercise and nutrition for the sake of their health.
Surrogate experience: making a great dinner for a significant other, losing weight due to an effective training regimen, getting a sculpted body.
Women's Health:
Community: 20- to 50-year-old women, mostly heterosexuals, who enjoy nutrition, health, exercise, and cooking.
Self-identity: These women are independent self-motivators who are interested in exercise and nutrition for the sake of their health.
Surrogate experience: making a great dinner for a significant other, losing weight due to an effective training regimen, getting a sculpted body.
Project #1 Debrief
Evaluate your final draft. What are the strengths and weaknesses of it? What was difficult? What will you do differently next time?
My final draft was okay. I was pleased with the information given, but I felt the hook was still weak. It didn't really have an angle that was appropriate for Capital Gains; it was more of just a piece about Lansing City Market (LCM). I also had problems organizing the piece. I didn't know how to structure the paragraphs in a logical order, and I couldn't decide which order was most logical or progressive. I should have decided on a more specific angle before going to interview people at LCM, instead of developing a hook based on the information I discovered.
My final draft was okay. I was pleased with the information given, but I felt the hook was still weak. It didn't really have an angle that was appropriate for Capital Gains; it was more of just a piece about Lansing City Market (LCM). I also had problems organizing the piece. I didn't know how to structure the paragraphs in a logical order, and I couldn't decide which order was most logical or progressive. I should have decided on a more specific angle before going to interview people at LCM, instead of developing a hook based on the information I discovered.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Article #1 Prep & Pitch
[The pitch:
1. Summarize the idea in two sentences.
2. Why is it a good fit for Capital Gains?
3. With regard to research, what two people would you talk to? What places or events could you go to? What texts or references could you use?]
Lansing City Market is open year-round as a local place for vendors to provide organic, sustainable produce as well as other specialty items. The local creative class and vendors have worked together to benefit both parties: a fun, all-inclusive, inexpensive way for people to go shopping and support local businesses, and a way for vendors to connect with their community and sell goods.
This article is a good fit for Capital Gains because it focuses on Lansing's creative class, and how Lansing City Market (LCM) impacts their shopping. LCM is a great place for families with kids to go, as the variety of items and size of the market are entertaining for children. The market is also open year-round and is inside, which makes the market available for those with busy schedules [read: the creative class].
To get more information about LCM, I could talk to vendors at the market, customers at the market, and/or Scott Keith, president and CEO of LEPFA. I could research the market prior to interviewing my sources by looking for previous articles about LCM in Capital Gains, The Lansing State Journal, and The State News. I could visit the Lansing City Market, and/or maybe the farm of a vendor.
1. Summarize the idea in two sentences.
2. Why is it a good fit for Capital Gains?
3. With regard to research, what two people would you talk to? What places or events could you go to? What texts or references could you use?]
Lansing City Market is open year-round as a local place for vendors to provide organic, sustainable produce as well as other specialty items. The local creative class and vendors have worked together to benefit both parties: a fun, all-inclusive, inexpensive way for people to go shopping and support local businesses, and a way for vendors to connect with their community and sell goods.
This article is a good fit for Capital Gains because it focuses on Lansing's creative class, and how Lansing City Market (LCM) impacts their shopping. LCM is a great place for families with kids to go, as the variety of items and size of the market are entertaining for children. The market is also open year-round and is inside, which makes the market available for those with busy schedules [read: the creative class].
To get more information about LCM, I could talk to vendors at the market, customers at the market, and/or Scott Keith, president and CEO of LEPFA. I could research the market prior to interviewing my sources by looking for previous articles about LCM in Capital Gains, The Lansing State Journal, and The State News. I could visit the Lansing City Market, and/or maybe the farm of a vendor.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Entry 1: College Bound Teen Pitch
[Answering the questions of (1) What is your idea? and (2) How does it directly connect to the readers and magazine?]
My idea for an article for College Bound Teen magazine is essentially explaining different ideas, tips, and suggestions of how to be successful academically in college. This connects to the magazine and readers because the audience, primarily college-bound teens and their families, are obviously concerned with the student's academic success. The fact that the student is going to college is indicative of their desire to learn and achieve good grades. That said, because collegiate academia is a radical change from high school, acquiring new learning strategies and studying techniques, along with encouraging the student's active involvement in progressing and advancing their own education are essential for academic success in college. College-bound students may or may not know how college courses differ from high school courses, and it's important to have strategies to ensure academic success before even signing up for classes, otherwise the student's first semester at college, the semester that will set the tone for the rest of their college career.
How to schedule your classes
My idea for an article for College Bound Teen magazine is essentially explaining different ideas, tips, and suggestions of how to be successful academically in college. This connects to the magazine and readers because the audience, primarily college-bound teens and their families, are obviously concerned with the student's academic success. The fact that the student is going to college is indicative of their desire to learn and achieve good grades. That said, because collegiate academia is a radical change from high school, acquiring new learning strategies and studying techniques, along with encouraging the student's active involvement in progressing and advancing their own education are essential for academic success in college. College-bound students may or may not know how college courses differ from high school courses, and it's important to have strategies to ensure academic success before even signing up for classes, otherwise the student's first semester at college, the semester that will set the tone for the rest of their college career.
How to schedule your classes
- How many credits to take (around 15)
- Resources for professor reviews
- Paying attention to time between classes: time to study, eat, book it to your next class?
- Where are the classes? Where do you live? How far is A from B?
- Prerequisites
- A note on gen-ed classes and electives for major and career path exploration
- Go to office hours
- Make friends in your classes
- Study groups, both with people in your class, or just getting a group of people together to study
- Review sessions
- Learning styles (auditory, visual, tactile)
- Places to study (coffee shop, dorm room, dorm study lounge, library, common areas in campus buildings)
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