Some comments on Current Events

• "This article is about..." Don't do it! It's not good writing. Rather, just come out and say it. For example, "This article is about the snow falling in July" would become "Last July, snow fell in New Jersey."
  
• Summary is IN YOUR OWN WORDS what the article says. Analysis is your thoughts about the event.
  
• Many students like to include a quote from someone quoted in the story. In general, this is unnecessary. If the point is important, you could just as easily put it in your own words. For the most part, however, a single quote is not so important to our understanding of the event.
  
• Focus on the event, not the article. Remember that the article is a report about the event, and you should react to the event itself.
• Don't forget to cite your source and date on your write up as well as having it attached to your article.
• Half a page, when following the formatting rules, is about 12 lines. Keep this in mind, but also remember that a full and insightful short analysis will always be better than a long one with no real thought, organization, or analysis.
• Be sure to choose EVENTS. Just because something is in the newspaper doesn't mean it is an event. For example, you don't want to select an opinion piece or an interview. Instead, see if you can find an article reporting about the topic described in the opinion piece or interview.