FORMULA FOR WRITING COPY

Quotations are the foundation of your copy because they tell the story for you;
however, writing copy requires organizing the quotations in a logical way and
linking the quotations together with factual transitions.

Here is the order of the copy:

Lead (use a creative opening)
Quote (set the tone for the story)
Transition (bridges quotes, provides new facts)
Quote (logically follows transition, provides additional information from personal
perspective)
Transition (bridges quotes, provides new facts)
Quote (logically follows transition)
Closing Transition

Top Ten Rules to ALWAYS Remember When Writing Copy:

1. Always keep your paragraphs short. Paragraphs should be under 40 words.
Readers are more likely to skip over big blocks of text.
2. Always avoid vague words: a lot, several, some, few, many. These words are
weak and dont really tell your readers anything.
3. Always avoid using the phrase this year or the name of your school
anywhere in your book.
4. Always be careful to not editorialize. Using quotes is a good way to keep
your copy objective. Never make an opinion statement that cannot be
attributed to a specific source.
5. Always have at least 3 sources in every story along with good quotes. If
youre doing a personal profile, have at least 3 quotes from the featured
person.
6. Always write in PAST tense.
7. Always write in THIRD person. Keeping copy in third person maintains
objectivity. Third person pronouns include he, she, it, and they.
Avoid using first person pronouns I, me, us, and we.
8. Always write in ACTIVE voice.

9. Always use proper attribution.

10.
Always use complete transitions that link your quotes.
Using Proper Attribution:
Because the person who said the quotation is more important than the fact that
he/she said it, an attribution should list the name before the verb.
Quote, sophomore Sally Sue said.
Sophomore Sally Smith said, Quote.
Quote, sophomore Sally Sue said. Quote.

Find an angle:
Compare the concept of an angle to a thesis statement or main idea in an essay.
You may begin with a broad topic, but to write a meaning essay, you must narrow
the topic to a specific, arguable thesis statement. All of the information in the
essay helps to prove that thesis statement; information that does not pertain to
the angle is left out.

Examples of transition words:

Accordingly
Afterwards
Again
Also
Although
At once
At the same time
Before
Besides
Beyond
But
Consequently
Despite

Equally important
Eventually
Finally
First
For example
For instance
Further
Furthermore
However
In addition
In fact
In other words
In particular

Incidentally
Indeed
Later
Likewise
Meanwhile
Moreover
Nearly
Nevertheless
Next
Of course
On the contrary
On the other hand
Rather

So
Soon
Specifically
Still
Then
Therefore
Though
Whats more
When
While
Yet

WRITING THE LEAD

The lead of your story is your introduction. Written to get your readers attention,
the lead serves two purposed: to draw the reader in and to introduce the topic of
the story. Here are 10 different types of leads and examples:

QQSATNDCEA = QQ Sat In DC Eating Apples

Quote The easiest lead to write, the direct quotation lead begins the story with
a memorable quote.
I was so freaked out by reading my short story out loud at the Coffeehouse, but
when I got a standing ovation and my mom started to cry, it was worth all of the
anxiety, senior Wanda Reader said.
Question This lead uses a question to draw the reader in, where the story
begins with the answers to the questions. While this lead is easy to write, and is
often overused, it should be used sparingly and only when the question get at the
heart of the story.
Example: Are you feeling incurably lazy? Constantly fatigued? Plagued by chronic
apathy? All of the above? If you answered yes, you might be a victim of senioritis.
Shock This lead catches the reader off-guard with an unusual or shocking fact.
The school cafeteria served up 6,000 pounds of French fries, 8,000 hamburgers
and 15,00 slices of pizza every month.
Allusion literary, historical, or mythological, an allusion refers to a well-known
person, event, line, song or situation. An allusion lead should be obvious enough
that most of your audience will recognize it.
Example: Neither sleet, nor snow, nor hail, nor sectional postponement could hold
back the girls soccer team as it capture third place in the Lake Suburban
Conference and ended the season with a 12-4 record.
Teaser The teaser lead intensifies the readers interest by holding back the
main point of the story for a few sentences of until the quote.
Example: when the bell rang, senior Betty Roberts followed the crowd of
underclassmen into the locker room. She quickly changed into her uniform and
left the giggling girls behind. Ten minutes later, she jogged a lap around the track
to warm up. Five minutes after that, she found herself in a harness, hanging 15
feet in the air on the high ropes course.

Narrative This lead creates a situation that can be either real or fictional.
Similar to the descriptive lead, the narrative hook allows for more creativity on
the part of the writer.
Example: An icy wind whipped through sophomore Johnny Atwoods jacket as his
snowboard flew off the rim of the half pip. He grabbed the back of his board, and
then completed two and a half-inverted rotations before he slid back down onto
the packed snow.
Descriptive Based in the sensory details of a scene, a descriptive lead paints a
vivid picture with words and details so the reader can imagine the situation.
Example: As the buzzer signaled the end of the second period, sophomore Pete
Smith hobbled towards the bench, dragging his hockey stick behind him, one
hand on his aching hip.
Compare/Contrast This lead points out opposites or extremes.
Example: Before first period on September 3, the freshmen searched for their
classrooms as mice search for cheese in a maze.
Exclamation This lead consists of an exclamatory sentence frequently set off
in a paragraph by itself. It is usually used for extremely striking information or big
news.
Example: State Champions!
That all-too-often hard but never-quite-attainable phrase came true this
year when Coach Dom Trips varsity basketball team captured the state
title for the first time in the schools history.
Atmosphere An atmosphere lead consists of a group of words or phrases that
help to portray the setting or mood for a reader. Used only when the setting or
mood of an event is interesting or significant.
Example: In senior heart is a memory of four long yearsof dashing madly to
classof sitting on senior courtof walks along the back driveof finally driving
to schoolof senior promof graduationof friends we know and friends well
miss.