Assignment #3

1. Explanatory- Where do old needles go after nurses/doctors are done using them?
Idea: Figure out where the old needles go after they are used. I don't think very many people know this and I actually think that it would be an interesting story. People i could interview would be whoever is in charge of the waste receptacle at the office, a nurse or maybe someone who works for a company that takes the needles after they've been used.

2. Profile- I'm from a VERY small town and a guy that graduated the year before me plays minor league baseball and could even move up to play for the Tigers.
Idea: I could interview his high school baseball coach, someone from the community to get their reaction and then the guy himself.

3. Business- In the town I'm from there's also going to be a new diner opening (the owners also have one in another town). This is risky because every business that has ever opened in my town has usually gone out of business.
Idea: I would interview the person who's opening the business and then someone from the business.

4. How to- How to take all day trips to cheap places during the summer in a certain area
Idea: This might be a little difficult, but i think it could be pulled off. Look up certain places in an area near me and see if they have any attractions or fun things to do. In my area i know there's Hidden Lake Gardens or walking the trails in Tecumseh. I would interview someone you works at HLG or talk to someone from Tecumseh who maybe knows of somewhere else that's cheap that not many people know about.

5. Business- The place i used to work, which is an ice cream place, is not busy this year. Why?
Idea: I would interview the owner to see how it's affecting her profits. I would also interview people from the interview to see what they think about the situation. I believe that it's because the owner keeps having to raise her prices and because people are trying to save their money.

6. First Person- The Clinton Fall Festival is coming up!
Idea: There's a festival in Clinton that's been going on for as long as i can remember and there are so many things to do there. This includes walking around the vendors, eating lots of food, a parade, games and shows. I think this would be a good story because it could bring in more people to the festival in the years to come.

7. Profile- Doing an interview with my brother who's joined the Navy
Idea: I know that doing interview's with family members is probably not a good idea, but my brothers story is pretty interesting. He went from being someone who was terrible at school, amazing at sports, to dropping out of college, to admitting to be addicted to prescription drugs, to going into the Navy and hold a 98% in a trig class!

8. Participatory- Native American Pow Wow
Idea: I've actually been to one before, but it was a small one. It was probably one of the coolest things that i have ever done. You could join in dances, shop around or just talk to the people. I think that interviewing a Native American would be a really interesting interview if you ask them the right questions.

9. Business- Salt truck businesses during the winter
Idea: I don't really know much about what salt truck drivers do or the companies that they work for, so i think this would be a fun article. I would interview an actual driver (what time does he have to get up? do they only get paid for the days they actually work? by the hour or day?) I would also interview the owner of the company.

10. Profile- Elvis in Tecumseh
Idea: There's a guy that lives in Tecumseh that rides around on a bike. He's...strange, to put it nicely. His entire house is decorated in pretty much everything you could possibly imagine. His car has super glued toys that you would find at McDonalds on it. When ever i used to take his order at where i used to work he always paid with $2 bills. I think he would be a fun person to sit down and talk to.

Assignment #2

The article that i have chosen is titles "How to earn more frequent flier miles". The writer of the article tells people how they can earn more frequent flier miles by going shopping, paying bills and even selling your house. Then he tells you exactly how many miles you can earn with each company. Out of the 15 types of feature articles that we went over in class, this one falls under "How to".

The way this article falls under a feature article is because it's informative about something that's not happening locally or around the world. It's also original.

In the text i found the definition of descriptive. I do not believe that this article is that descriptive. The only details that the writer gives about how many miles each airplane company will give you. There's really no person or scene to describe in this article.

One way that i believe that the article could be improved is maybe there could be a section about helpful tips for college students or people who don't have a lot of money and how they can earn more frequent flier miles (if there is such a way). A lot of people in America are struggling right now and i think that if the writer wants to help a lot more people who could have a section that is directed towards the two groups that i listed above.

About Me

Hi! My name is Lindsay Pickell. I'm finally senior here at Eastern Michigan University. My major is Communications and my minor is Journalism. The goals that I have for this class is to learn more about how to become a better writer. The writing experience that I have consists of my own journal that I keep along with all of the classes that I have taken in the past as a student here at Eastern along with where I transferred from (Siena Heights University). I guess if you want to know a little bit more about me I can type a little bit about my background. I graduated from Britton Macon Area School in Britton, MI. I was in one of the biggest classes that ever graduated from there with a whopping 56 students. I have a younger brother who joined the United States Navy during the summer. He graduated from basic training in July and now is in school in Chicago. He has another six months there until he ships out for anywhere. My dad has been an engineer with Ford Motor Company for almost 20 years now. My mom is a Medical Assistant for a company called Integrated Health Associates. I also work for IHA as an receptionist at their administrative office. That's about it. We'll be in class together for the next 16 weeks so I'm sure you'll learn a lot more from me then.