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What you have above is yesterday's front page of The New York Times. Look it over.
In class today is your quotation assessment. 
You then have the rest of the class and tomorrow's class to finish up your news stories. They are due by the end of class tomorrow. NOT MIDNIGHT.  Remember this is a writing grade, so goes in the 50% category.  Take your time. Review the rubric. There's another copy below.
 Learning Target: I can demonstrate that I understand the language and skills employed in quotations in news writing, according to AP style.
I can write an effective news story that following the methodology use under the Associated Press style guide. This includes first and secondary headlines, reporter's name, leads, insertion of quotes, reported speech and correct grammar and punctuation.



Rubric for evaluating inverted pyramid stories


Ace reporter 
Good 
Fair
Poor

This story — so professional one would think it were cut from a professional news publication — convincingly demonstrates mastery of the inverted pyramid form by doing the following:


 with precision, arranges the key facts of the story from most important to least important

 relegates background information — information the writer could have known before the event — to a place below all new information

 is devoid of unattributed opinion

 artfully illustrates points with interesting, well-punctuated and well-attributed quotations; a transition is used to introduce each quotation.

 is a model of brevity, using few words to maximum effect.

 avoids passive voice except in the rare cases when it is merited

  shows few, if any, errors in the conventions of written English





This solid inverted pyramid story, while not as impressive as that written by the Ace Reporter, consistently does most or all of the following:


 arranges the key facts of the story from most important to least important

 generally relegates background information — information the writer could have known before the event — to a place below all new information

 is devoid of unattributed opinion

 illustrates points with interesting, well-punctuated and well-attributed quotations; a transition is used to introduce each quotation

 is for the most part concise

 generally avoids passive voice except in the rare cases when it is merited

  shows few, if any, errors in the conventions of written English.


This story suggests general awareness of the requirements for an inverted pyramid story, but does not suggest great prowess in meeting those requirements. This lead does much or all of the following:  


 unconvincingly arranges the facts of the story from most important to least important

 in some cases, fails to keep background information in its place at the bottom of the story

 may include minor unattributed opinion

 sometimes illustrates points with quotations but may do so awkwardly and without adequate transitions or

 shows too little attention to the need for brevity

 may slip into passive voice

  shows some errors in the conventions of written English.


These story doesn’t meaningfully address the assignment. This lead does much or all of the following:


 either does not have all the basic facts or shows clear errors in organizing them from most to least important

 fails to keep background information in its place at the bottom of the story

 is bereft of meaningful, supportive quotations; may fail to introduce quotations at all

 includes significant unattributed opinion

 noticeable over-use of the passive voice

 is wordy

  shows multiple errors in the conventions of written English.







(Note: The fact that a person is speaking to students is not in and of itself newsworthy; stories should focus on what a person says, not the fact that he/she has spoken.)