Audio Slideshow Preview

The next project that you will begin is an audio slideshow project. In preparation for this project, I'd like you to preview lots of different types of audioslideshows. After watching the ones I choose, you will seek out a few of your own and answer a few questions about them. Always keep in mind these questions:

• What works? What doesn't work?
• How does this make me feel, and how did the photographer/editor set it up to make me feel that way?
• What is the story being told?

Voices from a divided Prom

Ballet at the Vaganova

An ambush and a comrade lost

The tradition of Super Sunday

The ghosts of Katrina

Now that you have viewed these, find your own and share them with the group. Please search for three different audioslideshows, copy and paste the links into the comments of this post, along with a short description of the slideshow.

Then, visit the links that others have posted, and comment on their comment if you liked it so that others will go see it, too.

A few news sites that have audio slideshows are the New York Times, The Times-Picayune, and the San Jose Mercury News, among lots and lots of others.

After you have viewed and commented on several slideshows, begin planning your own. What story will you tell? Will it be a feature or a commentary? What images will accompany your story?

For Thursday, you should bering in a plan for your project.

OTS Editorial

Below you will find links to three different news stories. Choose one to respond to with an editorial. Remember to balance fact and opinion, and use your own wittiness to keep it casual.

Google CEO urges grads: 'Turn off your computer'

Psst! Need the answer to No. 7? Click here.

College Board to debut an 8th grade PSAT exam

If you already chose one of these stories for your news-related editorial, please select a different one for your OTS editorial.

I recommend that you use Google Docs as your word processor, though Open Office will also work.

Call to action

Toward the end, but before your conclusion, it is a good idea to make a clear and strong call to action, in which you tell the reader exactly what she or he should do or think.

Example: So the time has come to take back the tap. Rather than overpaying for a product that you don't need, invest $15 in a reusable water bottle that saves you and your environment. Then, write a letter to Congressman Mike Honda telling him why you've made the change and how he can do the same on a much bigger level by supporting the ban of plastic water bottles.

Using your own sample argument, make a clear call to action by commenting below.

Use inclusion

Beyond the editorial "We," which represents the staff of a publication, you might also want to use the sense of "we" to include the reader in your argument. Often, you can do this by bringing up points on which the majority of the audience would agree.

Example: Certainly we all want what is best for our bodies while at the same time we want what is best for the world. But in this case, what is best for our bodies is what is best for the world.

Using your own sample argument, use inclusion to relate to the reader by commenting below.

Use rhetorical questions

A rhetorical question is one that is being asked more for effect than to get a genuine answer. In essence, it's a way to force the reader to think about something.

Example: How long will we continue to sacrifice our land and waters for a simple convenience? Is this the kind of behavior that we want to teach our children -- buy now, worry later?

Using your own sample argument, use rhetorical questions to make the reader think by commenting below.

Offer a compromise

Sometimes it is necessary to show the reader that your argument is not extreme or unreasonable. You can do this by explaining how your side would be willing to compromise on the issue.

Example: With the technology that is now available, it is possible to create beverage containers that decompose at a much quicker pace than plastic bottles. A ban on plastic bottles would drive the market for decomposable bottles up, and industry would be forced to change.

Using your own sample argument, offer a compromise to your reader by commenting below.

Draw a comparison

Creating a comparison or analogy to your argument can have the effect of taking an issue that may be abstract to the reader and making it more familiar by relating it to something the reader already understands.

Example: Refusing to drink tap water and drinking bottled water instead is like being offered a sandwich for free but turning the offer down because you'd rather buy a mystery sandwich that could be worse than the free sandwich. And on top of that, the mystery sandwich damages the environment!

Using your own sample argument, draw a comparison or create an analogy by commenting below.

Appeal to the law

Appealing to the law is a great way to balance fact and opinion in your editorial. You may choose to appeal to the Constitution, federal law, state law, or even moral and ethical codes that are generally accepted by members of society.

Example:Several states, including California, have already taken measures to curb the plastic water bottle issue by charging consumers a 10 cent deposit that can be redeemed by recycling the product. Yet, this legislation is not enough to affect consumers in a way that brings about permanent change.

Using your own sample argument, appeal to the law by commenting below.

Appeal to emotion

One strategy you might use to persuade is to appeal to your audience's emotions. This might include guilt, fear, pity, sympathy, or in almost all editorials, their sense of moral and ethical correctness.

Example: As the dominant species on this planet, we have a responsibility to care for the birds, seals, fish, and small animals that surround us. Part of that responsibility is giving them a natural environment within which to live.

Using your own sample argument, use make an appeal to your audience's emotions by commenting below.

Cite an expert

Sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to use quotations in your editorial (though far fewer than you would in a news or feature story). If there is an expert whose statement(s) support your claim, you may want to cite that expert.

Example: According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, “While much tap water is indeed risky, having compared available data, we conclude that there is no assurance that bottled water is any safer than tap water.”

Using your own sample argument, use an expert for support by commenting below.

Use factual evidence

Often, it helps to support your argument with factual evidence, such as data and statistics. This can be evidence you have found and can attribute to another source (such as the U.S. Census Bureau), or it could be data you collected (through surveys, polls, observation, etc.).

Example: According to the Container Recycling Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the environment through the spread of recycling awareness, nearly 40 million water bottles either go into the trash or become litter every single day.

Using your own sample argument, use factual evidence to support your argument by commenting below.

Anticipate the counterargument

As an editorial writer, it is good practice to identify the arguments against your own argument during your planning process. In your editorial, you may need to acknowledge these counterarguments, even if you are bringing them up only to refute them.

Example: Sure. Disposable plastic water bottles are recyclable and responsible citizens would never throw them into the trash, but the fact of the matter is that water bottles are ending up in landfills, and worse, in the oceans. And beyond that, even recycling takes energy and adds to the need for natural resources that simply would not be used if we all switched to tap water.

Using your own sample argument, anticipate the counterargument and refute it by commenting below.

Argue logically

While this sounds obvious, it is good to remind yourself to build your argument point-by-point from each premise. This often comes in the form of an "if this, then that" statement.

Example: Since we now know that bottled water is often just as or even less clean than tap water, we must fight our addiction to the careless convenience of disposable bottles. If clean water is really what we care about, then tap water should be more than sufficient for our needs.

Using your own sample argument, clearly demonstrate logical reasoning by commenting below.

Explain the issue

Begin by explaining to the reader exactly what you are arguing in a clear, concise way. Remember to be assertive, not aggressive.

Example: In our efforts to preserve the environment, the time has come to take drastic measures to prevent waste. We must all agree to ban plastic water bottles.

Using your own sample argument, clearly explain the issue by commenting below.