WEEK 6

This week, we will write and complete your HOW TO stories.

You must come to class prepared since you've already had two weeks to come up with an idea and to have those steps researched. We didn't have time last week to work on these but we will complete these in class on Wednesday.

You will need to come to class with:

• A clear idea of the topic of your HOW TO article
• At least 6 steps and no more than 10 steps to tell your reader how to do something. These must be clear and concise
• Ideas for gifs, graphics, etc. to accompany your story. You will have time in class to look for these.

This story is worth 50 points and is due at the end of class. 

Come to class on time!!! 

WEEK 5

Graphic by Angelica Cruz

Hello, everyone!

Last week you completed your first blog post freestyle writing story and found a copyright free visual to got with it.

This week you will work on a HOW TO story. Please come prepared with the steps needed to show our readers how to do something!

See you on Tuesday!

WEEK 4

HOW TO MAKE COOKIES!

*Note the illustration

Last week, you all set up your Medium accounts, and you all by now should have Twitter accounts. If you are having trouble with setting up either of these accounts, e-mail me at talbertson@mtsac.edu and I will schedule a tutoring session with one of my tutors to help you.

Last week, you wrote a freestyle draft that began with: My life changed the day that...
The idea was to have you attempt to write without any restrictions, in the style of a journal or blog post. This week, we will begin with a lecture on choosing visuals. You will find a visual that is copyright free to accompany your blog entry.

This week, we will talk about the writing style of "How TO' articles. We will talk about this basic magazine style, and the digital craze of Listicles, (lists), quizzes, and the popularity of these types of stories.

This week, you will also will begin a first assignment with a How To story. After you have a story draft completed (in class), we will discuss what platform the story would work best on, what media would best accompany it- visuals, graphic, gif, video, etc.

Think The Breakfast Club and the scene when Molly Ringwald (Claire) shows what she knows how to do -  her own special talent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsZkkqLDFmg

COME TO CLASS PREPARED WITH A CLEAR IDEA FOR A "HOW TO" ARTICLE THAT YOU FEEL QUALIFIED TO WRITE, AND THE STEPS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE STORY.

Food for thought when picking a topic:
What are you good at? Making a certain food? Saving money? Some sort of hack?
Pick something that you know how to do well. If you feel you don't have something that you feel you do well that would translate into an article, do some research on something you would like to know how to do so that you can turn it into an article.

After the story is drafted in class, we will discuss a graphic or GIF that will go best with it.

HOMEWORK

Please take a look at the following How TO stories and be prepared to discuss:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/nicolenguyen/how-to-save-money?utm_term=.fml6mXrgj3#.mx9nrlgJ7z

https://www.vogue.com/article/stay-safe-mellany-sanchez-public-safety-announcement

WEEK 3

Hello, everyone!

This week, we will get you all set up on Medium and you will write a blog post for credit. This will be a freestyle writing exercise so there is nothing for you to prepare for. I will explain when you come to class.

We will discuss magazines, the state of long form journalism, and the future of magazines, both print and digital.

You also must be added to the Slack channel so you need to be sure to download the free Slack app before Wednesday. You will be joining the VIP club (our channel) via an invite.

See you on Wednesday!

WEEK 2

Hello everyone!

REMINDER:

NEWSROOM IS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY AND CLASS IS CANCELLED DUE TO A TRIP TO A NYC CONFERENCE WITH 12 STUDENT EDITORS. SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

HOMEWORK:

READ THESE THREE STORIES AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS AND BE QUIZZED::

https://substance.media/gay-latino-and-macho-c931e022ec47

https://substance.media/everyone-is-beautiful-ebee967e0c5f

https://substance.media/psycho-bitch-c7d6191513f9