Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Responses to New York Times Articles
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
In an attempt to save paper, I would like you post your responses to the New York Times Magazine articles here. You can still follow the format on the handout I gave you, but save it as a comment here rather than turning in a piece of paper on Jan. 7.
I'm also considering some other changes to the class. Stay tuned for updates. Happy New Year!
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William San Nicolas -New York Times Magazine Analysis: Article
ReplyDeleteTitle: "Who wears the pants in this economy?"
Article Writer: Hanna Rosin
Article Date: September 2, 2012
Section: Page 22 (Undeclared, but reads like a feature)
Brief Summary: The article takes focus on subjects from Alexander City in an analysis on the role reversal of men and women in the home. Women become more often than not the breadwinners of the house as men take a back seat after losing jobs and finding themselves unable to attain the masculine high paying kind they were once used to. This seems to be attributed to more evident flexibility on the women's part in a job hunt as opposed to the men who limit themselves more to the kind of work they got used to over the years they spent in employment.
What parts of the article were most effective? Least effective?: The most effective parts of the article were the instances where the writer managed to work in detailed descriptions of each subject's history on the job market. The least effective parts were perhaps the odd instances of physical descriptions that seemed to interrupt the serious overtones of the article as a whole, but this may be okay as a feature piece.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article?: I managed to learn that the average reporter may have to develop impressive therapeutic speech skills to tackle interviewees on sensitive matters if they expect any useful details for an article.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing?: I could work on keeping a sense of unity despite a merger of different personal stories from needed interviews.
Sounds like a feature, which coincidentally, we will be working on next week.
Delete"Just One More Game"
ReplyDeleteSam Anderson
April 8th, 2012
Pg. 28 (feature? opinion?)
1. Over time, technology has evolved, ultimately presenting us with the invention of the smart phone, an apparatus that allows us to "further waste our time" from just a pocket away.
2. It was most effective when it gave actual examples of games that people play on their phones, because it's true. It was evidence..it was also very informative and entertaining. Nothing really ineffective.
3. I learned to not be so harsh..I initially thought that this was an opinion, due to some diction and whatnot. This was a tad too cynical, in my opinion.
4. I learned that maybe I should try to include facts and evidence that people can automatically relate to, rather than just simply facts that you'd have to research. If you relate to your audience more, you are a more effective writer for it.
-Holly the San Nicolas
Unless it is written in the first person, it is a feature.
DeleteTitle: "Jogging your Brain"
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Gretchen Reynolds
Article Date: April 22, 2012
Section: Page 46 (feature)
Summary: Scientists have been researching whether any type of exercise had any correlation with cognitive abilities. As usual, experiments have been conducted through using mice in different environments. Through humane experiments, it had been proven that not just animals, but humans slow down brain decay through the easiest of exercising (such as walking). The teaser that starts off the gist of the article already explains the great perks of a simple exercise. With fortified cognitive abilities, it had also been proven that it enhances the ability to multitask. Brain exercises are not solely attaining more knowledge, but it also branches off with physical exercise.
What parts of the article were most effective?: Perhaps the most effective parts of the article were when there had been instances where older people were participants in "walking or stretching programs." Research and studies that are relevant to an article's topic add more credibility to its thesis.
What parts of the article were least effective?: Since this is an easily arguable topic, it had a bit of weakness by only having one quote from an expert in the field of one profession. If there were more stances from other experts in the proper fields, this article can once again gain more credibility and interest value on the topic.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article?: Provide backgrounds on all assertions made so there will not be an instance of disbelief amongst readers.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing?: I can have a more formal approach to starting an article, but at the same time have the ability to be understood by a wide portion of my readers.
Title: The Incredible Shrinking Childhood
ReplyDeleteArticle Writer: Elizabeth Weil
Article Date: April 1 ,2012
Section: Pages 32-35
Brief Summary: The article is informing people, specifically parents on how young girl have hit puberty at a very young age. Nine year old Aisley had been taken to the the doctor for many years because her parents are concerned on why their daughter has pubic hair that began growing at age six. Ainsley already had curves, pimples armpit and pubic hair, and she is just a little girl. Doctors say that their daughter is fine she is normal, but there is nothing normal about a girl that began growing pubic hair at age six, and she is not the only one.
What part of the article was most effective? Least effective? The most effective would how they informed the reader of all the possible reason on why a girl can hit puberty so early. And it can affect every girl. The writers give us many sources and examples on young girls hitting puberty as early as age 6. I would say the least effective would be how the article slowly starts to talk about something else instead of staying of that specific topic.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article? I learned that buy using one source for an article the writer was able to expand their article much more buy researching and getting more sources about the specific topic.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing? I can write a much more better introduction because that is what made me want to read the article in the first place.
-Emely Diaz
Are girls entering puberty early because of the American diet, or hormones in the food we eat?
DeleteNewspaper Analysis: Article
ReplyDeleteArticle title: What’s in a dimension?
Article Writer: Virginia Heffernan
Article Date: January 23 2011
Section: 26 and 27
Brief Summary: The article talks about the differences between 2-D and 3-D viewing. How 2-D viewing is enjoyed more by sports and play fanatics, and 3-D viewing is more enjoyed by people who like architecture and videogames.
It also states that people have a natural emotional attachment to depth since the renaissance. Viewers look for depth in shows and ones who use depth are more likely to be liked than others.
3-D TV’s and 3-D channels plan to heighten the experience by providing better picture quality and depth.
What parts of the article were most effective? Least effective? The most effective parts were when the author would give many examples instead of a few in order to reach every person’s choice. There weren’t any parts that were least effective everything had a purpose and was presented well.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article? I learned that you can include a lot of evidence to support your article and not all opinions are to criticize something.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing? When trying to categorize the readers I can give more option because not all readers fall into one main category.
-Victor Rodriguez
Good insights
DeleteTitle: Strange Brew
ReplyDeleteArticle Writer: Lucy Ferriss
Article Date: June 10, 2012
Section: page 58 Features?
Brief Summary:
Lucy Ferriss found out that she was pregnant in a subway phone. She had just gotten divorced and got pregnant with a current lover she had. She had been pregnant a few ago but refused to have the baby and aborted it. Lucy told her friend Nancy that she was pregnant and she did not want it, so her friend gave her this recipe to induce miscarriage since it seems to be "more natural."
Lucy drank that everyday, three times a day on an empty stomach. She felt bad because she claims that she was drinking death when she can just get an abortion. She then decided to go get one and wrote a letter to her close friends and family about what she was going to do. She now can not forgive herself for doing what she did.
What parts of the article were most effective? Least effective?:
What was most effective was how she calls the tea..."death." The word is very strong when calling a tea that. There was nothing least effective in the article because it is such a controversial topic.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article?:
New things that I learned about journalism through this article is that you have to be very descriptive in a features article I believe. It grabs the readers attention and gives them this image and feeling that the writer is feeling.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing?:
Aspects that I can incorporate into my own writing is word description. Whenever I am writing an article, I should make it short and simple. Yet, very well written and understandable.
-Ashley Carrillo
Article Title: Who Made That?
ReplyDeleteArticle Writer: Pagan Kennedy
Article Date: August 5, 2012
Section: Design
Brief Summary: The article discusses the evolution of protective eye wear for pilots who fly planes. Schroeder had an incident when flying a plane where his eyes were severely hurt because he had to remove his eye gear. Since the accident, aviators have been produced to protect pilots when they fly.
What parts of the article were most effective? Least effective? The most effective parts of the article were the quotes, title, and images. The images and title made the article more fun to read. The least effective part was the opening sentence because it did not grab my attention.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article? Through the article, I learned how to insert quotes in the right places, make transitions between paragraphs, and how to keep the an article flowing.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing? I can try to incorporate more quotes, especially near the end of the article because it ties the whole article together as a whole.
-Joanna Bautista
Article Title: Viva Amerexico!
ReplyDeleteArticle Writer: Mark Bittman
Article Section: Features?
Brief Summary: In this article they talk about how a man who was raised both in America and Mexico was able to start and buy his own resturant in Mexico. They don't just talk about him buying the resturant but also what foods he cooks. His foods are American style but made with Mexican ingredients.
What parts of the article were most effective? Least effective?
The parts that were the most effective where the ways he would use comparison's to other well-known cities. Also the way that he was able to incorporate the chefs qoutes. it made it flow better.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article?
I learned how to place qoutes in the articles and in a way that makes the article flow better.
What aspectes of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing?
Well I can use the authors way with words to make it sound better. Also how to insert qoutes in the article and how to use parentisis in the articles.
Title: The Postwar Attitude Adjustment
ReplyDeleteArticle Writer: Jim Rendon
Article Date 3/25/12
The article talks about soldiers who have experienced extreme while on duty. It is then revealed that people who have suffered from traumatic events, like suffering from an explosion from a bomb, end up becoming better people, who have a better attitude towards life. This phenomenon is called "post-traumatic growth"
The most effective parts of the article were the stories of soldiers that were used to provide support for the argument made on post-traumatic growth. The article began with an anecdote of Sgt. Jeffrey Beltran, a veteran from Iraq who suffered from an I.E.D. attack in 2005, which left his short term memory damaged. The article later addresses the benefits Beltran had after the event, how it has made him change for the better. The article could have brought up counter arguments, which can be debunked to make further support.
I have learned how the backgrounds of people, and how it is delivered in an article, can provide an effective support for your thesis.
With this, I can add stories of people to ad more elements into my writing. Elements being the emotion and reaction towards the topic of my writing
-John Sacopla
Amber Cordero
ReplyDeleteTitle: Autism Inc.
Writer: Gareth Cook
Date : December 2, 2012
Section: Features
Brief Summary : Autism is a form of a disability. Lars was born with autism and his family researched what they should do. Lars had amazing abilities to figure out the day or a date of any year. Lars father later created a business that gave jobs to autistic adults. They name many of the people employed by his business and what their special abilities are.
What parts of the article were most effictive ? Least effective ?
They most effective parts of this story were the facts and the real life testimonies. They supported the story and there topic. The testimonies made the story feel realistic and gave real life examples of these autistic people doing their job.
What new things did you learn about journalism through the article?
I learned not to fear getting into details about someone's personal life. If they are open to share, write their story down.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing?
I will try to incorporate interesting facts on my topic and use quotes that readers will find interesting to read.
Article Title:Urban Beach Paradise
ReplyDeleteArticle Writer: Charles Wilson
Article Section: Pg. 66
Brief Summary: The beach is not a paradise, Just a waste land in other words a dump. This place is just a legend. We all want to believe it is real but in reality there is no such thing. This beach needs to be better takin care of.
What parts of the article were most effective? Least effective?
The least effective in the article to me is when they said that the wall was constructed in waves of speculation begining of 1950.
What new things did you learn about journalism through through the article?
I learned that you should never believe in urban legends. No matter what there will be no such thing as that.
What aspects of the article can you try to incorporate into your own writing?
People are not in their right mind to go to the beach at the time that does not exsits
-Desarae Zendejas
See other people's answers to the last question and revise your answer.
Delete