Pieces

Until this year, I've never realized how many parts there really are in a news story.  Whenever I read one, I honestly thought that the author just had a special knack for writing and that it just came naturally to write the way they did.  However, it is a lot more complicated than that.

Alicia Shepard came to visit us about a month ago, explaining all the details that went into interviewing.  Of course, before then, I had no idea who she was.  Yesterday in class, we finally got a chance to read her work, and I was pleasantly surprised with what was in front of me.  Now, I get to explain to you all the elements and pieces that go into her work.  

First off, ledes are important ( I never know if it is supposed to be "lead" or "lede" as that both have been used in the classroom) for getting a story going.  Alicia Shepard managed to hook me in pretty early with her piece titled A's For Everyone when she wrote, "It took an hour to compute and type in the grades for three classes, and then I hit "enter."  That's when the trouble started."  I wouldn't have even cared that much until she wrote that.  I wanted to know what exactly the trouble she was talking about was.

She was commenting on how so many students in college think that they deserve better grades and the attitudes she has to deal with.  A paragraph that pretty much summed up what the article was about (essentially, a nutgraph) said, "It's a concept that many students (and their parents) have a hard time grasping.  Working hard, especially on the night before a test or a paper due date, does not necessarily produce good grades."  

I have to be honest in that, throughout my entire academic career, I have been guilty of doing just that.  I usually wait until the day before something is due to start.  It's just something I have been used to doing and I think a lot of people expect it from kids my age.

Shepard has a way of using quotes to be direct and honest with her topic. She weaved not only other professors quotes, but those of students who are guilty of doing exactly what she wrote about.  We never once get a one sided take on this issue.  

Her transitions are fluid and easy to read throughout the piece, too.  Many paragraphs have ending sentences that really grabbed me in, such as when she wrote, "Then I talked to other professors in the School of Communication.  They all had stories."   

I was so curious to read what was coming next.  What other ridiculous students are out there, caring so much about a grade change?  At least when I get a bad grade, I know I deserve it.  If I know I spent only a small amount of time on something, I know that I'll probably end up only getting a B.  That's what enticed me about this piece.  I wanted to know that these students were for real, and not some hazy dream I had heard about and not seen.

One of my favorite quotes throughout the whole pieces was, "We've made a transition where attending college is no longer a privilege and an honor; instead college is a consumer product.  One of the negative aspects of this transition is that the role of a college-level teacher has been transformed into that of a service employee."  It was said by Stuart Rojstaczer, a professor at Duke University.

Another element that is in a lot of journalist's pieces is called a kicker, the end of the pieces that connects to the beginning idea.  Shepard's, of course, was funny and truthful. 

"She worked so hard, she told me.  This time, though, I was prepared.  I had the numbers to back me up, and I wouldn't budge on her grade.  No more Professor Softie."