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Resources for Newspaper Students

Notes on how to critique a story

Explanations

Always explain your views. Support your evaluations and interpretations with specific references to the text. References or quotations should make your generalizations clear to the reader.

Details, details

Whenever you make a generalization or use abstractions or vague descriptions, follow up with clear details.

Some things to avoid

Subjectivity. It’s OK to like or dislike an article; it’s OK to be fascinated or bored, moved or left cold. But you shouldn’t say any of these things unless you also explain why–with specific reference to the text.

Abstraction and vagueness. Don’t say that the story is interesting or boring. Instead, describe what makes it interesting or boring–and describe so well that the reader knows why you came to your conclusion. ("Show, don’t tell.")

Architectural blather. It’s often boring and not useful to say, This story was badly organized or confusingly organized. It’s only interesting to say this if you go on to say, This section should have been put over there, and that section over here. If you can’t say how the piece should have been organized, don’t criticize the organization.

In sum: Everyone has an opinion–why should the reader care about yours? We readers will care only if you can explain to us why you think the way you do.

Some guiding questions

What is it about? What is the focus and approach? Is it clear, or does the focus shift and is the approach inappropriate for the subject matter?
Is the story interesting to a significant group of F’s readers?
Does the writer do what he/she promises in the title/headline, or lead?
Does the writer support his/her claims? Are there conclusions that are unsupported by the evidence given?
What sources does the writer use? Are they the right sources for the story? Are the sources authoritative or bogus? Are all relevant points of view, all relevant experiences represented?
Does the story that is being told make sense? Is there anything important left out? Are you as a reader left with some unanswered question?

Common weaknesses in news stories

The headline and lead are vague, general, or don't make clear what the story is about.
Remember that many "introductions" (especially the kind of general introduction taught in high school English classes) can easily be omitted. If you can cut it out, it doesn't belong.
The important information about the story doesn't appear until late in the story.
Poor story-telling. Most reporting is story-telling. If there is an underlying narrative, it should be clear, swiftly flowing, with people, places and things clearly described.
The focus shifts.
Poor hierarchy. If the writer is relating a number of different aspects of a story, there needs to be a clear hierarchy that shows what is more important and what is less important, and the relationships between the different parts of the story.
Missing signals to the reader. The writer has to make clear what the story is about and why one part follows another by giving signals to the reader.
Poor paragraph construction. Paragraphs should be short "grafs," often only 1-3 sentences.
Unsupported generalizations. Every generalization needs to be supported. Examples of support: a quote from a source, an example, a fact, a reference to a study.
Unattributed information. How does the reporter know? The reader needs to see claims attributed to sources. More than one source should be quoted where possible.
Poor use of quotes. There should be ample direct quotation, but not too much. Quotes should be mixed with paraphrase, background, context, explanation, interpretation where appropriate.
Identification. Every person, organization, place should be identified with an appropriate brief description or explanation. If, for example, the reporter is citing a source, the reader needs to know why that person is being used as a source.

Do you have other guidelines and questions? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list.