Intro & Regular

Read over the following information from the New York Times about how to conduct interviews and compose a profile. It is GREAT information! Don’t just skim- read!

How to Write a Profile Feature Article

s a student journalist, your mission is to inform your peers. Your fellow students look to your work to help them understand the nuances of the environments they inhabit, and to accurately represent their experiences and views. Here are a few guidelines that should help you report and write for the national audience you will have if your submission is selected for publication on The New York Times Learning Network.

1. Know the rules of attribution. You must identify yourself as a reporter before beginning any conversation with a source. If you don’t, his or her comments will not be considered “on the record” — and therefore they will not be useable in your article. A source cannot retroactively take his or her comments “off the record” — so if a source says at the end of an interview, “but that was all off the record,” that person is out of luck.

2. Ask open questions, be a good listener, and probe for anecdotes.Get a source talking by asking questions that begin with “how” or “why.” Once a source starts talking, try to keep him or her going by asking follow-up questions like, “What do you mean by that?” or “Can you give me an example?”

3. Prepare for your interviews. Come to any interview armed with a basic list of questions you hope to ask. If the conversation goes well you can (and should) toss your questions and go with the flow, but if you have a terse source your questions should be a big help in keeping the conversation going. When interviewing leaders and experts, you should always have a basic understanding of the work they have done which has prompted you to look to those people as sources.

4. Interview with breadth and depth. Interview as wide a range of people as possible, and probe them for thoughtful answers. You don’t need to use quotes from every person you interview — but having a diverse collection of interviews in your notebook will give you the best possible selection of quotes. Plus, good interviews should help you expand your understanding of your topic.

5. Write for a national audience. Obviously, your story will be grounded by your familiarity with your own school. But you should seek a variety of perspectives and several expert opinions. Try to interview students from at least three different schools, and look for recent research studies that may help illuminate some of the points your article makes. Interview the authors of the studies if you can.

6. Keep an open mind. Don’t assume that you understand all the nuances of your topic. Expect that your understanding will evolve as you report. If it doesn’t, you may not have reported thoroughly or aggressively enough.

Once you’re ready to write:

7. Decide on an approach. Outlining your story is the best way to start. This means reviewing your notes, marking the most interesting or articulate quotes, making a list of important points, and creating a structure into which you can fit your information. Spend extra time of the beginning of your story. Readers will decide whether to proceed based on the capacity of your lede to grab their interest.

8. Focus on what’s most compelling. Before you start writing, think through all the information you have and all the points you plan to make. What’s surprising? What’s important? What’s useful?

9. Show, don’t tell. It is tempting to describe a room as messy or a person as nice. But carefully-observed details and well-chosen verbs make a much stronger impression than adjectives.

10. Put your story in context. You must help answer a reader’s biggest question about any story: Why should I care?

11. Don’t overuse direct quotes. Sometimes you can best capture a mood with your own prose. Think of direct quotes as icing on a cake — they enhance, but they shouldn’t form the substance of your story. The quotes you do use must be attributed, always. The reader should not have to guess who is talking.

12. Fill holes. Are there questions raised by your story that you have not answered? Ask a friend, teacher, editor or fellow reporter to read through your story and tell you what else he or she would want to know.

13. Triple-check for accuracy. Spell names right. Get grade levels and titles right. Get facts right. If you are unsure of something and cannot verify it, leave it out. Before you turn in your story, ask yourself these questions: Have I attributed or documented all my facts? Are the quotes in my story presented fairly and in context? Am I prepared to publicly defend my facts if they are questioned?

14. Proofread. Do not turn in a story with spelling or grammatical mistakes. If you’re not sure of grammar, consult a copy of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, or read it online at http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk

Assignment: Profile

• Long-form (~800 words)
• Use of narration
• Showing- not telling
• Clear demonstration of your profile’s key characteristics (under what light are you trying to show this person?)
• At least TWO interviews – (the profile – obviously – and someone close to that person) effectively integrated into your piece.

Deadlines

• Two interviews – Monday, March 27
• Final article – Friday, March 31