For this assignment, you will write a 350- to 400-word news story as though you were hired to write it for a local news website, like Patch, TAPinto, or NJ.com. You are welcome to choose any newsworthy topic. You must gather research from primary sources and conduct your own interviews. Do not quote other news sources unless I give you the go-ahead. Your story should use the inverted pyramid style and be written for a general audience. It must be accurate, well organized, and use concise language. YYou are going to quote at least two people you've interviewed yourself, possibly more depending on the subject and consulting with me. Your article must include these key elements: 1. One headline written in AP style--that means lowercase all words except the first and any proper nouns. 2. Alead paragraph that draws in the reader. You may use a summary lead or an anecdotal lead, whichever best suits your story. I urge you read about these two kinds of leads in Tips for writing your story. 3. A nut graf: This can be the second, third or fourth graf. It should provide context (what's the larger picture) and establish why it is important and newsworthy. A good nut graf will also give the reader a sense of what the rest of the story will deliver (see Tips for writing your story, and pp. 177 in print textbook (12th ed.); p. 181 in E-book). ~ . An inverted pyramid structure (see pp.180-190 in print textbook, 12th ed./pp. 199-206 in Ebook). . Use the active voice throughout, avoiding all passive voice, unless Who-did-it is unknown or less important than what happened. . Most sentences written in the "standard" noun-verb-object structure, . Accurate facts (including the correct spelling of all proper nouns) that can be fact-checked through HYPERLINKs. . You must include HYPERLINKS for all important facts or other stories you're referring to. . Concise and precise language: hunt down and delete any unnecessary or redundant words. 10. Proper Associated Press style for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, word usage, spelling, headlines, numbers and dates; refer to your AP stylebook often. 11. Quotes from at least two original interviews with proper attribution for each source by name and job title or other fact that quickly shows their relevance to the story. (Do not waste space by giving very long titles, that is, anything more than 2-4 words.) 12. IF you refer to information or a quote from a source that you found in another news site, you MUST give them credit and link to it. For instance: "We're going to improve life in New Jersey," Gov. Murphy LINKtold the New York Times. 13. LINK on to the "verb of attribution," like "said" or "asked," rather than the name of a publication. (That can be confusing: If 1 click on a link to the words "New York Times," I expect to probably get a Wikipedia page on the NYTimes.) If you reference a study, you may link on to the name of a study or word "study\" itself. 14. Quotes that are smartly edited. Do not let quotes go on and on. Use direct or partial quotes, or paraphrasing--whatever makes your story flow best. To do this well, make sure you see the Quotations and Attributions video and read Chapter. 10 on quotations. 15. When attributing a quote, stick to \"said." Do NOT use extra words like "had this to say" or "expressed his view that" or "shared by saying that." More on that in Tips for writing your story. [N 16. You must have at least two specific examples of what you're writing about. They'll help paint a picture for the reader and make your story as vivid as possible. 17. Do NOT use run-on sentences or turn in paragraphs of more than two or three sentences. If you turn in a story with very long paragraphs, I'll send it back for you to break up. 18. Always use commas and periods to the LEFT of quotation marks: \"Blah, blah,\" Professor Savan said. Professor Savan said, "Are you sure you mean blah?" Note how the commas and periods are to LEFT of the quotation marks in both the yellow and pink sentences. Here's what I DON'T want you to do: Professor Savan said, "Blah". 19. Be sure to review the rubric below with the assignment before you begin writing and again before you turn it in. I don't grade based strictly on the rubric, but it can serve as an excellent checklist for you. 20. As with all writing assignments in this course, you must review and edit your own work--and then re-read it at least four times and once again out loud. I assure you: you'll find things to improve each time. 21. This assignment should be between 350-400 words long--no more, no less. (The headline will not count toward those 350-400 words.) *IMPORTANT: For more tips on writing this draft, go to Tips for writing your story. Slug it on the top left-hand side like this: SU24/News Draft/Your Name Use 14 pt. Bookman Old Style or 14 pt. Times Roman font. Do not use anything smaller. Not required, but feel free to change the background color in your assignments to a light or medium shade of grade. (On Google docs, go to File>Page set up >Page color>Choose your color>click OK.) My eyes will thank you. Please save your work as a Google document, and submit that Google link in the Canvas assignment. Make sure you share with me at LS1193@comminfe.rutgers.edu and give me access by making me an editor. (If you have difficulty giving me access with my Rutgers email, you may use Lesliesavan@gmail.com.) Due Saturday, June 15 by 11:59 p.m Worth 15 points