MEMORANDUM
To: Peter Ogle
From: Brittany Stewart
Date: May 7, 2009
Subject: Event Article
I chose to report on an event discussing how plastics are jeopardizing marine life and what procedures can be taken to prevent further harm to marine creatures because I feel the environment and its inhabitants need to protected. Unlike humans, nature and non-human creatures cannot communicate vocally, but their needs still should be voiced. I became aware of this event in class and immediately felt that reporting on such an issue with detrimental effects to both marine and human survival was newsworthy.
The areas that I like and feel work in my article are the explicit details of how many marine animals have been affected and what specific steps are being done and can be done to prevent future marine endangerment. However, I struggled with clarity in describing important facts presented because the language the speaker’s used would have been unclear for readers if they did not attend the event. Therefore, I had to reword the information so that someone without prior marine knowledge would be able to grasp the magnitude of the concepts.
I obtained prior information about the impacts of plastics and toxins in the ocean by researching previous expeditions and studies by other scientists. I came prepared with several questions that were left unanswered in my research, but quickly realized the presentation was directed toward a different direction than I had presumed. I learned that while note-taking is important, I need to focus more on the presentation and less on writing everything that is said so I may have a better understanding and ability to convey important facts. Moreover, I learned that I need to be better prepared by having more specific questions considering if I am unsure of what questions I want answered, how are the presenters and audience going to answer my questions.
I would appreciate it if you could analyze and offer suggestions on how to improve my lead. I carefully read over your preliminary comments, but was still unsure of what I was missing and how I could enhance the lead to hook my readers.
In the future I would approach this assignment differently by listening more to the presentation and doing less note taking when concepts are self explanatory. I feel I left out information that would have improved my article by conveying the messages more concisely. In general, I enjoyed the assignment because I was outside of my element. I was not another audience member, but a reporter who had to interview others and ask their opinions, rather than being the person interviewed. It was a unique experience that I would enjoy participating in again.
