Feature

The feature article that I chose to read was titled “10 wonders to visit before they disappear” written by David Salt. I chose this feature story because I am very adventurous and love traveling and experiencing different cultures. Another reason I chose this because it said, “Before they disappear.” This made the wonders to visit even more appealing because they may not always be around for us to visit. The article starts off by stating why these wonders will disappear. It states that because of global warming, these wonders are not going to stick around for you.

            Next the feature starts off with a great introduction talking about the benefits of experience. It says, “Experiencing is believing.” The article talks about time and when you look at it with a sense of reality, time runs out and not everything will be “forever.” The article then educates you about global warming so you can better understand why these wonders will disappear. It states how one day we will only be able to rely on history, and pictures from the past instead of physically seeing these wonders. It informs the reader that the next few decades are really our last change to get an opportunity of a final view.

         After the introduction and portion of insight of global warming the article begins to number the wonders to visit by starting with number 1. The first wonder they say to visit is Mt. Kilimanjaro. The article tells you the location of this wonder as well as plenty of information about it. It gives us information such as what it looks like. It is a 5,896-metre peak with snowcapped tops.  It states what has previously been lost of wonder as well as what scientists believe will happen in the near feature. The article continues to go into the remaining 9 wonders to visit.  Again giving us information about what you can do there, what it looks like, why it is disappearing as well as how the economy and wildlife will suffer upon their disappearance.

            Overall I think this feature article is written very well. In the very beginning the title and opening paragraph drags you in making it interesting and grapping the reader’s attention. The article covers all of the requirements of a great feature. Since global warming is something that impacts everyone as well as a current controversy, many people will be interested in the article making it successful. The article is also written in a great way allowing readers to understand it easily. By starting of explaining global warming is great because it will allow the people who don’t know to understand the wonders better and why they will vanish.  The feature offers us advice, as well as ideas of exploration. Since feature articles are very flexible the length of the article is not a problem. The article is fairly long, giving us just enough information without boring the reader with too much. As a reader as well as critique of this article I think it was done in a great way and an effective, successful feature.

Editorial- "Free-for-All in the Cafeteria"

I chose to read an editorial from the NY Times titled “Free-for-All in the Cafeteria”. The editorial discusses the problem in New York City dealing with their public schools and subsidized lunches. The editorial starts off by stating the initial issue, subsidized lunches. It discusses how so many children are eligible for these “free", subsidized lunches but many choose to not take advantage of it. While 780,000 children qualify, 250,000 of them choose to not participate. 

The writer then directs straight to the reason why many of these children don’t participate. They states the reason is due to the embarrassment, bullying they receive, and identification as poor. The editorial includes many facts including the rate change seen through out school grade. They state the opinion that most teenagers would rather go hungry than struggle from the humiliation of receiving subsidized lunches. The editorial goes on to say that instead of telling these children to suck it up and accept the lunches, we should encourage them to take advantage of it.

Next in the editorial the idea of free lunch throughout all schools is brought up.  The benefits of children having a good meal has towards their ability in the classroom is also brought up. It states that it is easier to teach children who are not hungry. The writer then goes on to state the people who are involved with this issue. Finally she closes with a direct opinion stating that they should “should embrace these ideas because a school population that’s better nourished is more ready to learn.”

The editorial is very direct and shows what side the writer is on.  The writer takes a stand in the situation and picks her side while showing it directly. She does not take on a personal attack by strictly focusing on all of the schools in general. The editorial consists of all of the writing requirements including writing in the third person. The writer does not use the word “I” and keeps themselves unassigned. It fulfills the word count requirement leaving it to be shorter compared to a column. The writer does a great job by keeping control through out and keeping her focus on the issue of the subsidized lunches.

Overall I enjoyed reading this editorial and think the writer did a great job addressing her stand and beliefs on the issue. By reading this article I have received a better understanding of how to go about writing editorials in a successful manner.