1st Place, Feature Writing – Academics
2021-22, Division 1, Yearbook Verbal
By Kaylee Emrick
The Charger
H.H. Dow HS
Introducing new types of literature can be tough, but in the end, it was just as rewarding to the students as teachers. Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet” created in the late fifteen-hundreds continued to be introduced in the freshman curriculum. Many students who came out of quarantine hadn’t read a book in a while, so reading Romeo and Juliet was a bit challenging, especially for the first semester, however some freshman flew through the unit with pleasure and ease.
“It introduces them to the world of Shakespeare and helps to build their confidence,” English teacher Samantha Nelson said. “It also creates a springboard for some interesting discussions.”
The play was written in a Shakespearean sonnet and used iambic pentameter. Both of which were relatively new to the freshman students.
“Many literary elements like theme and foreshadowing are huge but I really hope students feel more confident embracing the unfamiliar, ” Nelson said. “Just because a text is unfamiliar, doesn’t mean you can’t work to understand it while having fun.”
The debate on whether or not students should be reading this during the first semester varied between a few students. Starting literature that was unfamiliar didn’t sound fun to most students especially when just entering normal classes again.
“I think that it is a very challenging task but I also think that it is very important to learn that style of writing,” freshman Lauren VanSumeren said. “I think that it would be a good idea to move the unit to later in the year so that students are able to get back into the flow of things before taking on such a huge task.”
Having a new reading can be a challenge. For some, reading and annotating a play was a first and a surprise they didn’t see coming.
“It was surprising at first to learn that we would be reading Romeo and Juliet,” freshman Jiya Janwani said.
“Since I hadn’t been in school for months, I was surprised by the difficulty level of reading. We have never read a play in previous English classes though, so it was a nice change.”
On the other end of the spectrum, there were other students that believed that introducing this literature to first-semester freshmen was actually beneficial and should be happening.
“I think it’s a great idea to read a play from Shakespeare in freshman year,” freshman Joaquin Gracia Argibay said. “It’s important to learn about the history of literature and have a meaningful experience with it and English is the best class to do it.”
Y-02. Feature Writing – Academics
A single story about an academic department, a subject, a class or an issue that emphasizes academics. Academics coverage commonly depicts students in a learning situation either in or out of class. Feature coverage emphasizes human-interest angles (who, why and how) over traditional hard news elements (what, when). Entry should not be a personality profile, which has its own category.
Judging Criteria
- Clear, relevant, engaging human-interest angle
- Solid lead that draws reader into story
- The conclusion ties back to the central point of the story and leaves an impression on the reader by using a powerful quote, vivid anecdote or important point that acts as a “kicker.”
- Meaningful student quotes that enrich story and reflect effective interviewing
- Evidence of adequate research
- Story goes beyond simply reviewing what happens in classroom
- Adheres to rules of good journalism including: short paragraphs, effective transitions and use of active voice, freedom from editorial comment, careful editing and proofreading to eliminate mechanical errors, correct use of grammar