Classes suspended (Covid-19). Writing test.End of the 2nd semester, Information about the June exam.

6 Maio 2020, 14:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Writing test. 

Classes suspended (Covid-19). Oral presentations continued.

4 Maio 2020, 14:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

 Zoom meeting - Individual oral presentations: The week in review - Your pick of stories done b Ana Rita Vieira, Joana Rosa, Catarina Gonçalves, Inês Pereira, and Eliana Garcia. The following students submitted their video presentations: Rodrigo Carvalho, Maria Inês Dias, Mariana Lefeber Camilo, and Ana Vasconcelos, 

Individual feedback on the "me" column assignment sent to students who submitted this assignment.

Classes suspended (Covid-19). Oral presentations continued.

29 Abril 2020, 14:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Zoom meeting - Individual oral presentations: The week in review - Your pick of stories: João Nobre, Ana Igreja, Ana Vasconcelos, Nélia Nascimento, Sebastião Palha.

In order to prepare for writing an editorial in the test, you should reread very carefully through all the information I have already sent you about editorial writing as well as the information available in the English for the Media Workbook (pp. 29-32).

 I summed up below some of the most important features of this journalistic genre:

 INCLUDE in your editorial:

·      a headline

·      a strongly worded opinion right at the beginning/in the opening paragraph. (“An editorial without an unequivocal opinion is bound to fall flat on its face. Right at the very beginning, define your agenda in clear terms.”)

·      Organise your editorial as follows:

o   State your opinion “and develop a good opening “hook” to grab the reader’s interest”

o   State reasons and facts to support this opinion

o   Offer specific suggestions for dealing with the topic of the editorial

o   Wrap it up in a concluding punch that restates your opening remark; leave the reader with a powerful closing statement; encourage critical thinking and proactive reaction.

·      Make every work count.

 DON'T INCLUDE:

·      never use "I" – write in an impersonal style

·      linking words such as the ones used in more academic essays (i.e. firstly, lastly, to conclude, to sum up, nevertheless, furthermore, etc.)

·      contracted verb forms

·      very colloquial language and slang

Classes suspended (Covid-19). Oral presentations continued.

27 Abril 2020, 14:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Zoom meeting - Individual oral presentations continued: The week in review - your pick of stories: Catarina Fernandes; Catarina Constantino; Alexandre Lopes; Joana Costa; Ana Carolina Santos (video); Duarte Barreiros (video); João Filipe Afonso (video).Individual feedback on editorial assignment sent by email and doubts cleared during the Zoom meeting.Below are the instructions for the personal column assignment (also sent by email). This assignment is due on 4th May.

Instructions for writing a “me” column, aka the personal column

 The following excerpt from “How to write journalism: Peter Cole and Michael White on writing columns”, The Guardian, 28 September 2008, sums up the main purpose and style of a “me” column, also known as the personal column:

 “The so-called "me" columns, often dealing with no more than the everyday trivia and experiences of the writer are remarkably popular, providing a printed version of soap.” (…) Writing a column requires clarity of thought, the ability to communicate a message clearly and simply, and an engaging style. First comes the decision about the topic, which must lend itself to comment, ridicule, satire or whatever the nature of the column. It may be inspired by a particular quote from a public figure, a story in the news, a report, an unusual occurrence, a piece of bureaucratic absurdity, a domestic incident or a sporting controversy. The column must be planned so that the writer knows before he or she starts just what they are going to say. There must not be too many ideas (two or three will usually suffice), but plenty of opinions; the bland, obvious or fence-sitting must be ruthlessly expunged. Columns are there to get a reaction - agreement, disagreement, amusement, enlightenment. Intolerance is often a virtue. 'So what?' will not do. The column must sustain its theme, building towards a climax or "pay-off" line. If it wanders the reader will wander off.”

(emphasis mine)

 Your assignment:  Write a “me” column. Make up a headline for your column.

 Submission deadline: Please submit your assignment by email not later than 4^th May.

 Word limit: 500-600 words maximum. Assignments that exceed the 600-word limit will be penalised.

 Steps for writing the “me” column

 FIRST, please read TEXT 16 to learn more about newspaper columns in terms of content and style.

TEXT 16: How to write journalism | Peter Cole and Michael White on writing columns |Books |The Guardian

SECONDLY, read through the four examples of “me” columns (TEXTS 14, 15, 17, 18) paying attention to the structure, style and language used in these columns (especially Texts 14 and 15 as this is the kind of style I would like you to adopt).

 TEXT 14: Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone | New York Sun

TEXT 15: More From America's Worst Mom: 9-Year-Old On The Subway, Continued | HuffPost

TEXT 17: Sorry We Stole Your Stuff |The Humor Columnist

TEXT 18: How I finally came to terms with not being able to drive | Arwa Mahdawi | Opinion | The Guardian

 THIRDLY, choose the topic of your “me” column  

Remember the “me” column is often about “the everyday trivia and experiences of the writer”, and not so much about major political or social issues which are often addressed in the more serious-minded opinion pieces/columns.

(…) “the topic, which must lend itself to comment, ridicule, satire or whatever the nature of the column. It may be inspired by a particular quote from a public figure, a story in the news, a report, an unusual occurrence, a piece of bureaucratic absurdity, a domestic incident or a sporting controversy.”

 LASTLY, follow the guidelines given below regarding structure, style and language:

“The column must be planned so that the writer knows before he or she starts just what they are going to say.”

 STRUCTURE

1. Openings: State the topic in the opening sentence(s). Write in the first person.

Check the opening sentences of TEXTS 14, 15, 17, and 18:

TEXT 14

I left my 9-year-old at Bloomingdale's (the original one) a couple weeks ago. Last seen, he was in first floor handbags as I sashayed out the door.

Bye bye! Have fun!

And he did. He came home on the subway and bus by himself.

TEXT 15

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be at the epicenter of a media storm – one that has labeled you an irresponsible parent (at best) -- let me tell you: …

TEXT 17

I’m a cautious person. I check the oven every single time I leave the house. For the record, I’ve never once left the oven on. I hardly use my oven. It’s not like I’m cooking so much that oh-geez sometimes I lose track of when I’ve activated a major appliance that starts controlled fires.

TEXT 18

I belong to an exclusive club that most of you have no hope of ever qualifying for. It’s called People of An Embarrassingly Advanced Age Who Can’t Drive.

2. Development: “the column must sustain its theme, building towards a climax or "pay-off" line”.

3. Ending: Climax or “pay-off” line.

Check the endings of TEXTS 14, 15, 17, and 18:

TEXT 14

The problem with this everything-is-dangerous outlook is that overprotectiveness is a danger in and of itself. A child who thinks he can't do anything on his own eventually can't.

Meantime, my son wants his next trip to be from Queens. In my day, I doubt that would have struck anyone as particularly brave. Now it seems like hitchhiking through Yemen.

TEXT 15

The dissident in me is now ready to start talking about something else, because it's no fun to be treated as insane by society when you're not.

Actually, it's probably no fun to be treated as insane even when you are. But that's for another day. Meantime, stay safe (enough).

TEXT 17

Somewhere in Japan right now there is a couple who got married in Los Angeles trying to explain to their friends that the man in the Mickey Mouse T-shirt standing next to the woman in a bridal gown is the groom, and their friends are just sitting there and nodding politely and silently judging the groom for going Normcore at his wedding.

TEXT 18

The good news for those of us without a licence is that not driving is becoming more common, and is perhaps even cool. Far fewer young people are learning to drive: the number of British people under 25 taking driving tests has fallen by 18% in the past decade, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. This is largely because of cost, but also because in an increasingly urban and digital world, cars are no longer the vehicle of liberation they once were. So, non-drivers of the world unite. There is much to be said for getting the bus.

STYLE AND LANGUAGE typical of a “me” column:

·      first-person narration

·      conversational tone

·      colloquial language

·      asides

·      answers to imaginary questions that might have been asked

·      verbatim dialogue to capture and convey a first-hand experience (i.e. direct speech)

·      record any dialogue as accurately as possible: include pauses, slang, stumbles, inflection, etc.

·      a stream of consciousness feel

·      lots and lots of details

·      onomatopoeic words

·      contracted verb forms

·      exclamations

For examples of the above-mentioned features see TEXTS 14 and 15.

You should write your “me” column in a style similar to that of these two texts.

Classes suspended (Covid-19). Zoom meeting: oral presentations continued.

22 Abril 2020, 14:00 • Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Zoom meeting - Individual oral presentations continued: The week in review - your pick of stories: Maria Inês Gonçalves, Diogo Marcelino, Inês Sofia Dias, Filipa Ramalho, and Pedro Serafim. Madalena Dias sent a video with her individual oral presentation because of problems with her computer connections and sound.