SCI 2014 – Take home Final Exam (Guidelines)

Our 2014 Semester One Final Exam will encourage reflection on stories taken from the The Sidneys, The New Yorker – Top Ten ..for 2013 and links from David Brook’s column (Sidney’s – Part 1 and Sidney’s – Part 2) in the New York Times that provided me the idea. You are required to read, reflect, and write on two stories of your choosing. These are examples of some of the best journalism in the United States today.

What exactly is the Sidney Award…

“In 2009, the foundation inaugurated the Sidney, a monthly award for an outstanding piece of socially-conscious journalism. The Sidney is awarded monthly to a piece published in a magazine, newspaper, on a news site, or a blog in the United States. Television and radio segments broadcast in the United States are also eligible, as are published photography series.”

What is The New Yorker Magazine…

To put it simply the New Yorker Magazine is very good journalism. A significant number of the Sidneys are first published in the New Yorker. The magazine features award winning authors. It addresses a wealth of issues global and domestic. Each year the New Yorker offers its own “Top Ten Stories” of the year. You’ll be choosing from 2012 and 2013.

2014 Final Exam – Take Home Exam:

For the Final Exam you’ll be required to take on two stories in the IOW format. You’ll have approximately one week to complete the assignment. I’ll give you several article choices; you pick two and turn them at the beginning of class on exam day. Use your active reading format to dissect the article – then type up the reflection in our IOW layout. The active reading portion will consist of 25% of the grade for that article evaluation. Each of your typed reflections must be posted to Google Docs or turned into Mr. Wood by the exam period on Wednesday, January 22. You must also also turn in your IOW article actively read at that time. You must be present (school rules) for the exam. However, you may leave after you turn in the assignments.

Mr. Wood has read each of the posted articles.

Article summary / reflection guidelines for two “take home” assignments.

Print the article
Actively read the article in the active reading format linked here.
Type up your summary in the reflective IOW format linked here.
Turn the marked up story and your typed reflection together (or google docs) in on the exam date.

Article choices for Exam (select two for reflection) – The SA (Sidney Award) link provides you a background story to the said story. I suggest you take a look in order to decide if this is the appropriate story for you.