Unit 9

Analyzing 3 industry examples

1.  Narrative devices – A narrative device is a technique used by a writer in telling a story. Narratives are stories that tell a listener or reader about a series of events. Narrative devices can be used to manipulate the writing style or the content of the story.

Literary devices – The definition of literary device is a technique a writer uses to produce a special effect in their writing. An example of a literary device is a flashback. An example of a literary device is an analogy.

The difference between a narrative and literary devices is that is that narrative devices are used to tell a story, where as literary devices are used to produce special effects in writing such as a flash back.

2.

Plot – the main events of a play, novel, film, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

setting – the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.

tone – a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc.

genre – a style or category of art, music, or literature.

theme – an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature.

simile – a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

metaphor – a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

personification – the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

3.

I think that the most important skills in writing good journalistic pieces are research, “the hook” and the five W’s (Who, what, when, where, why, how). Research is essential to any good journalist as you must be well informed on your subject before you begin to write about it. Research can be done in many different forms, with the main one being primary and secondary. Primary research is done by the person writing the article and can be done in the form of surveys and interviews. Secondary research is taken from others and is commonly found on the internet. When I wrote my piece on “R9 Ronaldo”, I used a lot of secondary research to get quotes from famous people.

“The hook” is an interesting early angle on your story that grabs your readers attention and gets them to continue reading. Any good writer wants to captivate their audience within the first few lines of their work in order to keep them interested. A hook will generally tell you just enough about the story to give you some idea of what it is about, without compromising the entirety of the article. Here is an example of a hook, taken from a Daily Mail article : “You no longer need to decide between an Egg McMuffin and a lie-in because McDonald’s has announced it will be serving breakfast until 11am from next week.” It tells you what directly what the article is about and plays on a real life issue that people can relate to.

The final skill I believe is important is the use of the 5 W’s. This is vital as it covers all of the points that your audience are going to want to know. For example, if you were to write an article about a fire in a house, you could say “At 10 o’clock on Sunday 28th March, a fire broke out on White Chapple lane at the house of Mr Davis. The fire brigade has since put the cause of the blaze down to a cigarette.”

4.

The three skills that have helped me the most this year are research, showing not telling and narrative writing. Developing my research has allowed me to go into far greater detail with my writing, which I think has improved the overall quality of my work. I have developed my primary research skills through learning how to do an effective interview.  Throughout my various pieces of sports journalism I have used my research skills to identify facts that my readers do not already know in order to make my writing more appealing and informative.

Showing not telling was a skill that I did not know much about before I came to college. It has allowed my to enhance the quality of my writing. I can now show my readers what has or is happening without specifically telling them what it is. This continues to interest my audience and gets them to keep reading on. An example of this could be that instead of saying “the children were bored”, you could say “The children toiled about the room”.

Narrative writing skills have allowed me to tell even better stories. I can now effectively tell my reader about a series of events.

5. Three ways of showing not telling :

• Write your scenes so that they take place in real time.
• Use description, action, and/or dialogue to put your reader in the story, but be careful to give just enough detail to trigger their imagination.
• Avoid telling your readers about your characters’ emotions.

He felt tired –
He let out a yawn and slumped atop the counter.

She loved him –
She gazed longingly into his eyes

They loathed one another –
Bill and Ben glared at one another with fire in their eyes

The children were bored –
The children toiled around the room searching for action

6.

The exercise which I have found most useful is showing not telling as it has opened a door to a new aspect of writing that I did not know about before. I am now able to picture a scene for my readers without directly telling them what/ where it is. It has also helped me increase the the quality of my dialogue as showing not telling makes it sound less robotic. My characters can imply details to make up a bigger picture without saying something in just one line.

7.

My three favorite forms of writing are travel writing, short stories and sports journalism. I like travel writing as it allows me to get creative with how I describe places. I am able to use my full range of descriptive vocabulary to great effect, in order to paint a picture for my readers. I enjoy short story writing as it allows me to write about a huge variety of topics. I can tailor my short story to what I am interested in, which makes me even more passionate about creating the best story that I can. Finally, my third favorite style of writing is sports journalism as it is related to something that I have a huge passion for. I have an extensive knowledge of a variety of sports which means I can tell my readers things they may have never heard about before.

 

8.

 

 

 

 

 

EXERCISE 

Analysis – The study of a word or object that includes it’s definition and purpose.

Detective – jigsaw – investigate – minor details – bigger picture – zooming – deconstructing

Characteristics – a feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify them. (What sets them apart from other mediums)