Magazine Journalism – BU Week Asynchronous Class 2023

Opening and Closing – Magazine Journalism Asynchronous Class

During our classes, you were asked to write how you will open and close your stories. These are important things to keep in mind because in many cases, the only thing the reader or the editor reads is the lead or, in same cases, the last paragraph of the story. If they don’t like it, the easiest thing a reader can do is to stop reading.

The Lead

You may start your story using any of the following suggestions:

1. A statement that you can justify in your body and/or your concluding paragraphs.
2. A new fact that you can delve into deeper in your body.
3. Mention a famous name or title in the lead if you can.
4. Describe a setting and then little by little, in your body, tell (or show) your reader why starting with this setting was important for this story.
5. Tell an anecdote.
6. Tease your reader with a story (a mystery, perhaps) and complete that story further into the story.
7. Shock your readers with a fact, a statement, or something that is mysterious.
8. For sure, you have seen movies that start in the middle of the action. You can borrow this style. Start in the middle of the action and then after a few paragraphs, work your way back and finish the story. This is effective in telling your readers that they have to continue reading to know what happens next, or why the action happened in the first place.

When writing your lead, please remember these core principles: 1) It has to be relevant to your story’s theme; 2) It has to be simple; 3) It has to be interesting; and 4) whatever it is you’re promising to deliver in your lead, you must be able to deliver. Dapat panagutan mo yan.

Take this example from the 2009 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, Lane DeGregory’s “The girl in the window”:

The family had lived in the rundown rental house for almost three years when someone first saw a child’s face in the window.

The title promises that the theme of the story is “windows.” In fact, this story mentions “windows” at least seven times. The ending of the story even mentions the girl in her new room, where she has a new room to look out of. Read the entire story here before you continue reading this lesson.

The lead is simple enough for us to understand that this story has some mystery in it that will interest anyone who dares to ask the questions, “Which family?” “Why did it take three years to see the girl?” “What happens to the girl next?”

As you read the story, notice how the story delivers everything that it promised with that lead paragraph. Also notice when the story deviated a little bit from Danielle story to tell historical examples.

For your assignment #1, choose any two of the stories below, read the entire stories, and then based on how the entire story turned out, say how effective or ineffective the leads were.

1. The Assassination of Drakeo the Ruler
2. Endless Exile
3. Gazawood Dreams
4. How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student
5. The Lives of Others
6. The Marathon Men Who Can’t Go Home
7. The Other Afghan Women
8. Revolt of the Delivery Workers
9. Two Fathers
10. What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind

Use the form below (find “Get in Touch” below) for your answer. Limit your words to 500 for each story. Paste your answer in “Answer for Question #1.” Or you may use the “upload file” function to upload a .pdf, .doc, or .docx file for your answer. Just insert a note in the “Answer for Question #1” that says your answer is uploaded in the file. Note that there is a limit of 10 MB for each uploaded file.

The Endings

It is important to give a lot of thought about your endings. Most of the time, the ending is what your reader will remember most. Make your reader curious with your lead, but satisfy them with your endings.

The most common ways of ending stories are:

1. Quotes
2. Statements
3. Metaphors
4. Continuation of the anecdote in previous parts of the story
5. Another anecdote

As I keep telling you, no matter what kind of ending you prefer, it is always effective if your ending refers back to your opening (see how “The girl in the window” started and how it ended). But of course this is not always possible. If your ending isn’t doing this, then perhaps you want your ending to point to the future, or another topic that will leave your readers curious.

For your assignment #2, choose a feature story from a newspaper this month (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, or Manila Bulletin), one whose ending you know you can improve on. Rewrite the ending. Again, use the form below (find “Get in Touch” below) for your answer. Limit your words to 500 for each story. Paste your answer in “Answer for Question #2.” Or you may use the “upload file” function to upload a .pdf, .doc, or .docx file for your answer. Just insert a note in the “Answer for Question #2” that says your answer is uploaded in the file. Note that there is a limit of 10 MB for each uploaded file.

Thank you and see you two weeks from now!

MIDTERM AND FINAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Here are the magazine layouts that I want you to try. Choose at least three. Layout your sample using InDesign and then save in a PDF format. Send your finished work using the Contact Form below. Use this format for the file name:
SURNAME_LabAssignment_Layout
e.g. OSTRIA_LabAssignment_Layout
Expect a 20-point deduction if you do not follow this format. Take note of the capitalization.

In “Answer for Question 1,” follow the format for the file name. Type N/A in “Answer for Question 2” and “Midterm/Final Submission.”

Notice how these makeups/layouts allow the pages to breathe. Since this is a magazine, do not let your pages be too cramped. Because of this, you may already be getting the idea that for a 1,000-word story, you will necessitate more than 2 pages for your final story. 4 pages maybe? 6? Also, please make sure you are using high-quality images for your pages.

Feel free to use lorem ipsum for the text in this layout activity.

MIDTERM AND FINAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

For your midterm and final submissions, please see the table below. I have made a few changes, so please read carefully.

	Magazine Journalism	Advocacy Journalism
Midterm Project	Submit your draft of the story. You are expected to write a minimum 1,000-word story on a travel and leisure article that is still connected to the SDGs (but you are not allowed to choose the class’ SDG in Advocacy Journalism Class). Please upload the file in .docx format so that your classmate can edit your file. DO NOT UPLOAD A PDF FILE AND PLEASE DO ANY SORT OF LAYOUTING IN THE .DOCX FILE (SAVE YOUR CREATIVITY FOR THE FINAL PROJECT). Please use this format for your file’s title: SURNAME_MagJourn_Midterm (e.g. OSTRIA_MagJourn_Midterm) Expect a 20-point deduction if you do not follow this format. Take note of the capitalization. Photos should include the name of the photojournalism and a caption. Please paste the photo into the .docx file, but keep a copy since you will need that for your final project (layout). You will need to upload the file below, so no need to print it on the following deadlines: Journ 4A – Nov. 27, 11:59 a.m Journ 4B – Dec. 1, 6:59 p.m. Late submissions will be accepted, but expect the following deductions: Less than a day late – 10-point deduction 1 to 2 days late – 15-point deduction More than 2 days late – 30-point deduction These deductions are necessary because remember, your classmates will work on your initial draft. To submit, use the Contact Form below. In the “Midterm/Final Submissions” text bar, follow the same format for the file name above.	Write a reflection on what you learned when writing your final story. You will submit this a week after you submit the final project. (It’s not every semester that you get to submit the final project first before the midterm project. First time?) Please limit your words to 500. ‘Wag na magpabibo with 501 or more words. I know you are all capable of writing a 7-million-word essay on things that you learn every day, but for this midterm project, please exercise some self-restraint. Deadline: Dec. 19 Journ 4A – 6:59 p.m. Journ 4B – 3:59 p.m. 10 points will be deducted for each day you miss the deadline. Please submit this in PDF format. Use this format in naming your file: SURNAME_Advocacy_Midterm e.g. OSTRIA_Advocacy_Midterm Expect a 20-point deduction if you do not follow this format. Take note of the capitalization. To submit, use the Contact Form below. In the “Midterm/Final Submissions” text bar, follow the same format for the file name above.
Final Exam	For your final project, you will work on classmate’s initial draft. On the first line of the .docx file, please write “Edited by [and then your name].” You are expected to revise, remove, and add to your classmate’s story. The finished product should have at least 1,500 words. Revising a sentence – Please highlight the sentence in orange, and then before the period, insert revised sentence enclosed in a parenthesis. For example: Guinobatan is a place nice to hang out in (Guinobatan is a delightful locale perfect for leisure and relaxation). – You must highlighted in orange the sentence you wish to revise. In this case, highlight, “Guinobatan is a place nice to hang out in.” The one inside a parenthesis is your revision. The words in orange will not be included in the word count. The words in parenthesis will be included in the word count. Removing a sentence – Please highlight the sentence in red. The words in red will not be included in the word count. Adding a sentence – Please highlight a sentence you have added in green. All words in green will be included in the word count. This time, you will be saving your file in PDF. Please use this format in naming your final output: SURNAMEOFEDITOR_SURNAMEOFORIGINALWRITER_MagJourn_FinalExam (e.g. OSTRIA_DELACRUZ_MagJourn_FinalExam) Expect a 20-point deduction if you do not follow this format. Take note of the capitalization. Deadlines: Journ 4A – Dec. 11, 11:59 a.m. Journ 4B – Dec. 15, 5:59 p.m. To submit, use the Contact Form below. In the “Midterm/Final Submissions” text bar, follow the same format for the file name above.	Submit your final story. The minimum word for this is 800. Photos must come with captions and the name of the photojournalist. The SDG for Journ 4A is No Poverty while the SDG for Journ 4B is Zero Hunger. Please stick to these topics. Deadline: Dec. 12 Journ 4A – 6:59 p.m. Journ 4B – 3:59 p.m. 10 points will be deducted for each day you miss the deadline. Please submit this in PDF format. Use this format in naming your file: SURNAME_Advocacy_Final e.g. OSTRIA_Advocacy_Final Expect a 20-point deduction if you do not follow this format. Take note of the capitalization. To submit, use the Contact Form below. In the “Midterm/Final Submissions” text bar, follow the same format for the file name above.
Final Project	Now, here’s were most changes are apparent. The final project will be submitted a week after the deadline for the final exam. Please layout your magazine into a full magazine. Decide on a name for your class’ magazine and the dimensions for your magazine, so that even if every member of the class is doing the layout on their own, you won’t have problems merging them all. All students must layout their own stories. You will layout at least two pages on your own. Since you will need to make your pages breathe (see sample layouts about), you will need at least four pages. Please don’t layout a single page, or three page, or five pages. The number of pages should be divisible by 2. Aside from the stories, you will each layout a front page for your magazine. Layout the front page as if your story is the cover story of the issue. You’ve seen magazines right? There’s always a story on the cover. We call that the cover story. I repeat, you will layout: 1. Your stories, and 2. A cover for the magazine with your story as the cover story. Since we’re doing it this way, there’s no need for someone to do the layout for everybody else. I repeat: The final projects don’t need to be merged. Just submit your work via the Contact Form below. PLEASE DO NOT LET ANY OF YOUR CLASSMATES DO THE LAYOUT FOR YOU. THAT IS ACADEMIC DISHONESTY. Please report anyone whose work is not originally theirs (e.g. they paid a layout artist for this project). I will protect your identity. Obviously, when doing the layout for your story, you don’t have to think of the page number since everyone’s working on their own. Do not put a page number on your spread. Please submit this in a single PDF format. So include both the cover and the spreads in one PDF file. There’s no need to submit the INDD file. Please use this format in naming your file: SURNAME_MagJourn_CoverandStory (e.g. OSTRIA_MagJourn_CoverandStory) Expect a 20-point deduction if you do not follow this format. Take note of the capitalization. Deadlines: Journ 4A – Dec. 17, 11:59 a.m. Journ 4B – Dec. 22, 5:59 p.m. To submit, use the Contact Form below. In the “Midterm/Final Submissions” text bar, follow the same format for the file name above.	None.