INFORMATIONAL REPORT

INFORMATIONAL REPORT

Kamakshi Ayyar is a journalist based in Mumbai, India, and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. This essay was published in 2013 on Project Wordsworth (www.projectwordsworth.com), an experimental site created by Ayyar and a large group of her fellow Columbia graduate students. Project Wordsworth is designed to assess what the value of a good story is by inviting the reader to pay what the story is worth to them, with all proceeds going to the authors.

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Reading the Genre

Question

1. How is this report organized? What are the benefits and the drawbacks of the unique organization of this essay? Does this organization work better for a report than it would for an argument or a narrative? What would happen if you took one of your own essays and reorganized it in this way? (For more on organizing reports, see "Creating a Structure".)

Question

2. Ayyar clearly has enthusiasm for the mysteries of outer space. What strategies does she use to pass that enthusiasm on to the reader? How does the tone of her writing encourage the reader to share her interest in astronomy? Can you find specific words, phrases, or constructions that seem to convey her interest and seem likely to inspire her readers?

Question

3. How does Ayyar describe complicated ideas in simple language? Are there some concepts that could be better or more carefully described? Identify two such concepts and try revising the description. (For more on using language strategically, see Part 5, “Style”.)

Question

4. WRITING: Just as Ayyar does for astronomy, choose a career that interests you—then create “postcards” by profiling eight to ten people who you feel stand out in that particular career. The profile postcards should be short, just like Ayyar’s, but each should reveal something intriguing about this person’s life and work and should show your reader why you are fascinated with this career. Your profiles can be based on Internet research, but if people you’d like to profile are approachable enough to actually interview, go for it!

Question

5. MULTIMODALITY—POSTCARDS: Create images to accompany each of your written “postcards” from question 4, and then create each as an actual postcard, with a front and back. In your class, trade these postcards around and then discuss the different insights you gained about these different careers.

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