The Secrets to Writing an Effective Essay

According to the website "International Student", the standard college or university essay is constructed as follows:

1.  Introduction
2.  Paragraph 1
3.  Paragraph 2
4.  Paragraph 3
5.  Conclusion

Writer's Digest reminds us that, just as a rider wants to know where the bus is taking him, the reader wants to know where the writer is taking him (https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=how%20to%20write%20an%20effective%20essay).  Announce your intentions in your introduction.  The website also mentions that the writer should never settle for the surface layer, but should lift the surface layer to find the deeper meaning.

Present a strong thesis statement and back it up with your three points.  Cite relevant and accurate sources.  Follow proper procedure for footnotes (http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Footnotes).  Don't just use books, but look for newspaper and magazine articles as well.  Anything that you find on the Internet can be full of errors.  Be weary.  Don't forget to include a bibliography (https://www.teachervision.com/research-papers/teaching-methods/1767.html).

Engage your reader right off the bat.  Start with an quote or anecdote.  Start with the familiar, something that your reader can relate to, and work your way up to the unfamiliar.

Start each paragraph with a sentence linking to the rest of the essay.  This gives your essay an easy flow and progression.

Use a variety of words so as not to bore the reader.  Vary your sentence length and complexity.

Adopt an educational, rather than a conversational, tone.  

Drive your point home with a strong conclusion.

For more information, read Essay Writing:  The Secrets Revealed by Cindy M. at https://www.facebook.com/essaysecrets.

http://get182.com/assignment-help/how-write-essay.phtml

When an Editor Wants a Rewrite

"Editors are frantically busy -- single-working-mother-with-eight-kids busy -- they don't have time to make every piece into exactly what they want it to be.  By delivering a rewrite and otherwise leaving the editor alone, you turn your editor's time poverty to your advantage."  (http://www.helpingwriters.com/newsletter-archives/when-an-editor-wants-a-rewrite)

When an editor requests a rewrite of an article, it's usually a minor rewrite, where the bulk of the piece can be saved.  While it's frustrating to have to rewrite your work, keep in mind that an editor is trying to anticipate the needs of the magazine.  It doesn't necessarily mean that your writing is poor; it might just mean that you and the editor are coming at the piece from a different angle.

Keep in mind what Online Health editor Kathleen Donnelly advises:  "Writers who are intractable and fight with us probably won't get another assignment".  Unless you are Pierre Berton, who flew in the face of editors, you have to have at least some respect for the process.

What steps should you take to rewrite your article?  Michelle Ruberg suggests these steps.  First, re-read your query to see what you promised the editor.  Second, re-read your assignment to see what the editor requested of you.  Third, re-read your article and look for the following.  Did you do one of the following?

-overshoot/undershoot your word count?

-write news that already appears elsewhere in the newspaper or magazine?

-cite too few sources?

-conduct garbage in/garbage out interviews?

-write a piece that is too close to what the competition is publishing?

-come at the article from the wrong angle?

-under/overwrite the piece for the target audience?

-use too many qualifiers, digressions or prepositional phrases?

-use too many quotes regarding a point already made?

What happens if you rewrite the piece and the editor still doesn't like it?  Michelle Ruberg recommends asking the editor to rework one of your paragraphs.  You follow the model for the other paragraphs.  Use the three P's:  patience, persistence and adherence to procedure.  Don't focus just on the structure of the writing.  Brian Smith of Indianapolis Monthly warns:  "Some writers worry so much about getting individual facts straight that they don't hear the flow and what it does to the cadence of the story."

Michelle Ruberg says that any extra calls or extra trips on behalf of the magazine should be compensated.  Request to see the galley of your piece before it goes to print.  That way you're not attaching your name to something that you don't agree with.  Stop at three rewrites.  Enough is enough!

Blogger Scott Edelstein recommends that you don't mindlessly follow the editor's suggestions. Make changes that seem reasonable, but at the same time, do what's best for the piece.  "Editors are frantically busy -- single-working-mother-with-eight-kids busy -- they don't have time to make every piece exactly what they want it to be.  By delivering a rewrite and otherwise leaving the editor alone, you turn your editor's time poverty to your advantage." 

Note:  For more information, read Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing (Michelle Ruberg).

https://www.pinterest.com/jilllynneness/writers-quotes-literary-advice-articles-more-to-ke/

The Interview: Being Allowed to Have a Seat at the Table

My husband used to say that when Larry King interviewed guests, he would rhyme off the questions, not waiting for the responses.  However, blogger Wendy Thomas says that:  "Some of my best interviews have happened not because of asking but because of listening." (https://nhwn.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/tips-for-writing-a-feature-or-inteview-article/).

Wendy Thomas compares an interview to "being allowed to have a seat at the table".  Pull up a chair and listen. Yes, it's important to have a list of questions ready and waiting.  It's important to research your subject and to be aware of what's already been written on the topic.  But remember to be flexible. Sometimes the best material comes from an unasked question.

Freelance writing expert Allena Tapia recommends that you let the interviewee's words, ideas and actions set the agenda.  Zero in on ideas that are mentioned twice or with great passion.  Wait for what she calls the "bottom line" quote from the interviewee and highlight it.  Use the bottom line quote as the centre of your article, making your other facts, quotes and information lead back to that quote.  For Allena's full article, visit
http://freelancewrite.about.com/od/mechanicsofwriting/ht/WriteInterview.htm.

Allena suggests finding three to five broad subjects within the interview.  Then re-read your original assignment from your editor.  did he or she ask for a certain slant on the subject's childhood?  Does the interview promote a certain service?  Is there something remarkable about the interviewee's story? Compare your research to the editor's original wishes.

Refine your original broad subjects and use them as subheadings for your article.  Pull your best quotes and examples from your interview, and put them under the appropriate subheadings.
Introduce your subject, the history of the topic and your research.  Mention why each idea is important.

Focus now on the introduction which should reflect the article and frame the interviewee.  I like to include a central quote in my introduction as a foretaste of what is to come.  Turn now to your conclusion which should refer back to the introduction, making the article come full circle.  You may also refer to the subject's future plans here.

With your first draft complete, double check your spelling of names.  Double check your dates.  Reread your quotes.  Go on to a second draft (and third if necessary), editing what you have written.  Finally, submit your article to the editor.

Note:  Here is my feature interview article "Joel & Hayley Hensen:  Bringing Christ to the Congo" which appeared in the Feb. 10, 2014 edition of the Christian Courier at http://www.christiancourier.ca/images/uploads/past-issues/14Feb10.pdf.

http://thewritepractice.com/resources/interviewing/

Researching Your Feature Article: Diligent Investigation and Inquiry

All I`m armed with is research. (Mike Wallace, former 60 Minutes correspondent)

As a columnist with the Toronto Star, Pierre Berton pounded out 1500 words a day, 5 days a week on his Smith Corona typewriter.  It would have been easy for one article to roll into the next, for his writing to become tedious.  But that didn`t happen.  In his lifetime, Mr. Berton received over 30 literary awards, a dozen honourary degrees and a companion of the Order of Canada.  Key to his success was his attention to detail, his commitment to the facts.  For more about Pierre Berton, visit http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/11/tapping-keys-on-smith-corona.html.

As a feature article writer, research is tantamount.  It involves "diligent investigation and inquiry into a subject", according to writer Bruce Garrison in Professional Feature Writing

(http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Feature-Writing-Routledge-Communication/dp/0805847650). Research doesn`t mean making one visit to the library and then calling it a day.  Or reading one article about a subject.  Garrison suggests that for every ten hours of research, put in one hour of writing.  Therefore, the bulk of your time should be spent gathering information. 

How do you know how much research is enough?  "When you feel that one more fact will be a fact too many, you`ll know it`s time to stop," according to Bobbi Linkemer (http://www.freelancewriting.com/articles/writing-feature-articles-that-sell.php).  

When you are writing your feature article, remember that readers need repetition.  Layer your writing with your reporting.  Fiona Veitch Smith recommends using a cue sheet on which you record relevant page numbers, paragraphs from books, highlighted sections of Internet articles and clippings from the newspaper (http://non-fiction-writing-course.thecraftywriter.com/how-to-write-a-feature-article/).

William Blundell, in The Art and Craft of Feature Writing, talks about the Rule of Threes (http://journalistsresource.org/syllabi/syllabus-feature-writing).  First of all, when checking facts, make sure you corroborate at least three different sources.  When stating a thesis, back it up with three different examples.  And when presenting your case, offer each point in three different ways;  a fact, an example and a quote.

Remember to give credit where credit`s due.  Cite your sources.  For information on how to cite print or online sources, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Newspaper_articles.

Keep these points in mind before you write your next article.  While you may not be Canada`s next Pierre Berton, at least you will be well informed.

Today, there are a plethora of resources right at your fingertips, including:

1.  Media libraries ex. large newspapers & magazines (http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/databases/)

2.  Public Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-212-e.html)

3.  University Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-210-e.html)

4.  Museum Libraries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Ontario)

5.  Historical Society Libraries

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_societies#Canada_societies)

6.  Government Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-211-e.html)

7.  Specialty Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-213-e.html)

8.  Reference Books ex. World Almanac and Book of Facts

9.  City Directories ex. names, addresses (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/directories-collection/Pages/directories-collection.aspx)

10.  Atlases or Gazetteers ex. National Geographic Atlas of the World

11.  Encyclopedias or Yearbooks ex. specialized encyclopedia with experts sources like the Encyclopedia of Associations

12.  Abstracts ex. summaries of books, articles, theses (http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/presentations_abstracts_examples.html)

13.  Chronologies ex. a list of events in chronological order

14.  Dictionaries ex. Black`s Law Dictionary

15.  Books of Quotations ex. Bartlett`s Familiar Quotes

16.  Handbooks ex. Guinness Book of World Records

http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/uphp/mclaren/mclaren_web/science_files/research.jpg

How to Write a Feature Newspaper Article

Feature articles are windows into the human experience, giving more detail and description than a hard news story, which typically relies on the "inverted pyramid" style of writing.  Features focus on an event or an individual, giving the reader a chance to more fully understand some interesting dimension of the world.  (http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Feature-Article)

The purpose of a feature article is to inform, entertain and persuade the reader.  Feature articles are composed of five different components.  They are:

Headline

Compose a catchy, to the point headline which attracts the reader's attention.  Remember, if the headline is boring, chances are the reader won't want to read any further.  For more information about catchy headlines, read http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/ten-tips-to-writing-irresistibly.html.

Byline

Insert the writer's name here.

Lede/Lead

This is the preview of the story.  It helps the reader decide whether or not to read the article.  Try to insert a hook here to draw the reader in.  The lede sets the writer's tone and establishes a relationship between the writer and the reader.

Story

This is where the writer includes relevant facts from his or her research.  Quotes from interviews and experts should be inserted here.  Anecdotes and stories are also valuable, helping to maintain the reader's interest.  Names, dates and places should be identified here.  Any supporting information should follow including photos, tables, diagrams and graphs.

Conclusion

The purpose of the conclusion is to leave a lasting impression.  Remind the reader of the main idea. Suggest a course of action.  Encourage a change of opinion.  Bring the article full circle by referring back to the introduction.  

Tips

Here are some suggested tips to follow when preparing, researching and writing your feature.

1.  use tight writing; features can be as short as 500 words, but some are as long as 1500 or 2000 

2.  show, don't tell

3.  use strong verbs and nouns; use adjectives sparingly

4.  use identifiable, reliable sources; if sources are weak, it's better not to use them

5.  write about a well defined topic

6.  avoid the passive voice; use the active voice whenever possible

7.  vary sentence length

8.  use an informal tone or the first person to make it more personal

9.  facts validate the writer's view

10.  exaggeration helps a humorous article

11.  use rhetorical questions to draw the reader in

12.  sprinkle the article with imagery to engage the reader's imagination

13.  include direct quotes to personalize the topic

14.  don't forget to proofread; consult The Elements of Style by Strunk & White at www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk

For a feature article scaffold, visit http://stage6.pbworks.com/f/How+To+Write+A+Great+Feature+Article.pdf.

http://ryntintin-ivil.tripod.com/id8.html