Friday, November 7 writing 3 effective leads based upon reporter notes

Yesterday and today's journalism assignments will be part of the second marking period. Anything that was late from first marking period will be accepted until the end of today, when grades close. Do not send anything after that time.

Learning Target: To write 3 effective leads that demonstrate your understanding of using active voice, active verbs, effective adjectives, specificity, avoiding formulaic leads and no "it".

INSTRUCTIONS: Write only a lead for 3 of the 4 following stories. (you choose). Please be mindful of language conventions: spelling, punctuation and grammar.

This will count as a writing assessment. Due by midnight tonight. Take your time.

 Article 1: There was an accident occurring in your city at 7:10 this morning at the intersection of Post Road and Rollins Avenue. Charles R. Lydon was driving north on Post Road and proceeded to enter the intersection in his van at a speed estimated at 40 mph. His van struck a fire engine responding to an emergency call, with its lights and siren in operation. Two firemen aboard the vehicle were hospitalized; however, their condition is not known at this point in time. Lydon was killed instantly in the serious and tragic accident. Authorities have not yet determined who was at fault. The truck was traveling an estimated 25 mph and responding to a report of a store fire. However, it was a false alarm. Lydons van was totally destroyed. Damage to the truck was estimated at $50,000.

Article 2: There was a report issued in Washington, D.C. today. It came from the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It shows that there are advantages to driving big cars. A study by the institute found that small two-door models and many small or midsize sport or specialty cars have the worst injury and repair records. Many of these small cars show injury claim frequencies and repair losses at least 30 percent higher than average, while many large cars, station wagons and vans show 40 percent to 50 percent better-than-average claim records. According to the analysis, a motorist in a four-door Oldsmobile Delta 88, for example, is 41 percent less likely than average to be hurt in an accident

Article 3:

An article appeared today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article concerns the dangers of hot dogs. "If you were trying to design something that would be perfect to block a child's airway, it would be a bite-size piece of hot dog," says a researcher. He concluded that children under 4 should "never be given a whole hot dog to eat," and that hot dogs should never be cut crosswise. The hot dogs are so dangerous that every five days, it is estimated, someone, somewhere in the United States, chokes to death on them. Other risky foods for young kids up to 9 years of age include: candy, nuts, grapes, apples, carrots and popcorn.

Article 4: The family of Kristine Belcuore was grief-stricken. She was 51 years old and died of a heart attack last week. She left a husband and four children. Because her death was so sudden and unexpected, an autopsy had to be performed before the funeral last Saturday. It was a big funeral, costing more than $7,000. More than 100 friends and relatives were in attendance. Today, the family received an apologetic call from the county medical examiner. Mrs. Belcuor's body is still in the morgue. The body they buried was that of a woman whose corpse had been unclaimed for a month. The error was discovered after the medical examiners office realized the month-old corpse had disappeared. Someone probably misread an identifying tag, they said. Also, the family never viewed the remains, they kept the casket closed throughout the proceedings. A relative said, "We went through all the pain and everything, all over the wrong body, and now we have to go through it again."