This assignment requires you to use what you’ve learned so far to writing a basic hard news story, complete with a headline, byline, lead, and use of inverted pyramid. For Assignment 2, we will be in

This assignment requires you to use what you’ve learned so far to writing a basic hard news story, complete with a headline, byline, lead, and use of inverted pyramid. 

For Assignment 2, we will be incorporating all we have learned so far about AP style, grammar, and hard news into your first full news story.

You will choose to cover a campus news event of your own choosing. 

Your finished piece should be (1) a hard news story, (2) written in the inverted pyramid, and (3) conform to the specifications of that particular story type (crime, weather, meeting, speech, etc.).

The story you choose to report must pertain to UNC Charlotte as part of a hard news beat. For example, you can write about a sports event you attend, a meeting or speech you watched on Zoom, a recent change to the study abroad program, or a speaker who is coming to the university next month. All reporting/research must be your own and any/all sources must be cited.

Your story should be 1-2 double-spaced pages long and should be formatted as a news story.

EXAMPLES:Please find examples of hard news stories in your book and in the "real" news itself. Examples of reputable hard news sites you can find online for examples include:  Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News, the New Republic, Newsday, BBC, Wall Street Journal.

What am I looking for and what will you be graded on?

1. The lead. Is it in correct form: less than 35 words, 4 W’s, etc.? Does it clearly feature the most important aspect of the story? Is it informative and interesting?2. The inverted pyramid: Does your story move from most important > least important? Does your writing fit the requirements of hard news in style and tone?3. Did you incorporate the prompt correctly by including the important information and excluding unneeded information? Did you reword and rewrite? If you did your own research, is it comprehensive and appropriate?4. Did you use correct grammar, spelling, AP Style and punctuation?5. Did you demonstrate a grasp of the concepts in the class that pertain to hard news writing?

Role: You are taking on the role of a hard news reporter and journalist. 

Audience: Your audience is (option 1) a mass audience or (option 2) readers with proximity to Charlotte/UNCC.

Format: This should be written per the class' written paper requirements (laid out on the homepage and syllabus), and using AP Style.

Rubric

Learning Objective: Demonstrate an ability to write and edit a proper, functional basic hard news story. Demonstrate an understanding of how to incorporate the "research" stage of reporting into the "writing" stage. This will mean incorporating the original reporting you did yourself.