Article

An informative article

for the Literary and

Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania focuses on places, events, inventions, industries, and other elements that have shaped Pennsylvania's rich heritage. In terms of style, they more nearly approximate an interesting magazine article than anything else. They are not meant to promote any particular entity as a tourism board might, laudable though that goal is. They are meant to engage the reader and inspire curiosity; no overt "go there" bits of writing. They should be well-researched; books, journal articles, first-hand reporting, even internet sources used judiciously.

 

 

Writing Feature Articles

 

For this part of the project, you will be writing a feature article. This type of article differs from a straight news story in one respect - its intent. A news story provides information about an event, idea or situation. The feature does a bit more - it may also interpret news, add depth and color to a story, instruct or entertain. In the past, students have written about such topics as Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania, the darkest spot on the Eastern Seaboard, where at night you can see the shadow cast by the Milky Way.

 

 

Writing the Introduction

 

Step 1: Introduce the topic without giving away the focus of the article immediately and provide a small scope of what it's about with an interesting hook.

 

Step 2: Name the topic and write a sentence or two establishing its significance and where to find it.

 

Step 3: State why this topic should interest the reader beyond local interest.

   

Step 4: Create a segue to the definition of topic.

 

Step 5: Define topic.

 

Step 6: Give an extensive explanation of the event, invention, place, etc. (about a paragraph long).

 

Step 7: Give enough information to give the reader an understanding of where the article is going.

 

 

History

 

• How did it start? Or where did the first idea come from?
• Describe the necessary steps taken for this idea to evolve into the finished product, while giving dates and naming the most important contributors.

 

    

 

Cultural Significance

 

•     What sets it apart from others like it?
•     Impact on society or its importance?
•     Who or what has it influenced?
•     Relevance today?
•     Do we still see it today? If not, what remnants are visible?

 

 

Conclusion

 

• Should be catchy, upbeat (if appropriate)

 

 

Captions

 

• Make sure picture is linked to the content of the article
• Ask yourself, "Why is this picture important above all others?"
• Describe picture like you are curator of a museum. For example,"Here we see_____________." But not so blatant.
• Try to include dates.
• Describe in a sentence the action of the picture...detail about the subject.

 

 

Titles

 

• Intriguing titles are best
• Subtitles can be useful

    

 

Support

 

If you have any questions, please contact Alan C. Jalowitz, Ph.D, Editor, Literary and Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania. Alan is willing to meet with you to solve any problems. He is a great resource. As well, he plans to comment on our drafts and will visit the classroom from time to time. 

 

Email:         acj2@psu.edu

Contact:   502 Paterno Library

                   Pennsylvania State University

                   University Park, PA 16802

                   814-865-9246

 

 

 

Points to Keep in Mind 

 

• Focus on human interest - Don't think about writing a science story - think about writing a human-interest story.
• Be clear about why you are writing the article. Is it to inform, persuade, observe, evaluate, or evoke emotion?
• Write in the active voice. 
• Accuracy is important.
• Keep your audience clearly in mind - what really matters to them?
• Avoid clichés -  especially at the end of your article.
• Interviews for features usually need to be in-depth and in person rather than over the phone - this enables you to add in color and detail.
• Use anecdotes and direct quotes to tell the story - 
• Talk to more than one person to provide a more complete picture 
• Three to five sentence paragraphs are best. The articles will be published using the one-column format.

 

Format and Source Documentation                             

The Literary and Cultural Map of Pennsylvania, like most publications, requires contributors to follow a style sheet that promotes consistency and readability across the entries.  A style sheet is provided to you below.  

Stylesheet

In the document, you should have the following segments in this order:

Title (including subtitle, if any)

 

Byline (put in whatever form of your name you want to have if the article should be chosen for publication)

 

Article (Put the text of the article in the document without the pictures placed inside it. Paragraphs should be single spaced with a blank line between each one. Microsoft Word's default appearance makes it look like there are blanks between paragraphs, so use the paragraph symbol button at the top to check on hidden characters.)

 

Sources (Use MLA documentation with the Center's exceptions to document all sources used (whether quoted or not). Complete documentation includes URLs with two dates for web pages, full dates of publication--newspapers require month and day as well as year, and pages for articles. For sources you've gotten from either google books or a database, treat them as if you have the physical copy in your hand; we don't need all the gobbledygook for database URL's since most of our readers don't subscribe to them. Use the bullet function to create your source list; do not try to hand place the bullet and get the spacing on your own.)

 

Pictures (copy pictures, graphs, etc you intend to submit at the bottom of the document. Each picture should be accompanied by the URL or the source from which the picture came, a caption for the picture, and a location recommendation.

 

 

Citing Your Publication

 

Published a biography of ____________ on the Literary and Cultural Map of Pennsylvania. This Boorstin Award-winning project is hosted by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress. Spring 2010. http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/____________ .

Published "Title of Published Article," an article about ____________ on the Literary and Cultural Map of Pennsylvania. This Boorstin Award-winning project is hosted by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress. Spring 2010. http://pabook________.

"-----------------------------------------------------------." The Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Library of Congress, Summer, 2010. Web. DOP 2010. <http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/AccuWeather.html>.

 

Evaluation

 

Pennsylvanian Potter, Image source: Flick