Project Name
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"Film program speaks up on new travel policies"
This article is my favorite piece that I've written throughout high school because it highlights the passion and hard work of the students and their adviser. This story captures the genuine and raw emotions against the new travel policies as well as the students continuing to overcome challenges in order to have a successful year. This story was trending at #9 with over 160 views on our site.
*This piece won a national Best of SNO award*
Published– Oct. 11, 2024
Editing
As the Editor-in-Chief for Eagle Nation Online, editing every single article that goes up in the newspaper is one of my first priorities. The first thing I do every day is edit the pieces that are published and make sure they are ready to go for the date they are scheduled to publish. I always make sure to leave feedback in each article and give advice on how they can elevate the quality of their work. Below, I attached samples of the editing I've done for the newspaper.
Before any staff member announces that they are ready for edits, I keep up with the reporting process from the interview all the way until they press publish. This way I can help edit along the way and make the final edits smoother. Once the time comes for the three final edits before publishing I edit the day before to make sure nothing major is missing, and I edit it at least two more times – one the next day and I read it again before we publish it.
My editing technique
1) Read it all!
You can't edit effectively if you don’t understand what you’re working with. The first step is simply reading the article to get a sense of the content and structure. I typically have already reviewed the work before it’s ready for edits and discussed it with the staff member, so this step is often just a refresher for me.
2) Structure & Content
Next, I ask myself if anything is missing—maybe we are missing sources, or a featured image, or additional information is needed. I also ask myself: Does the story flow smoothly? Would rearranging any sections improve it? This is also when the different story formats come in, and adding features like graphs, polls, and videos. Adding content, and elements like this compliment the article and enhances the quality.
3) Details & format
At the end of my editing process I focus on the smaller elements like grammar and AP style. I read carefully, focusing on these specifics to ensure the writing is polished and consistent. Finally, I review the revisions, check the featured image, and edit the caption, making sure all tags, authors, categories, and headline sizes are correct. I also preview the story to ensure it looks good on the page. We like to break up long blocks of text with polls, related stories, sidebars, photos, and pull quotes. If the article looks too text-heavy, I’ll suggest additions to the writer.
Samples of editing other staff members work
Editing my own work
Editing my own articles is always a challenge. While it’s easy to spot mistakes in someone else’s writing, reviewing my own work requires a different level of focus because its harder to spot my own mistakes right off the bat. The first step I take is to take a break after writing so I can edit with a fresh mind. Giving myself a little space helps me approach the article with a fresh perspective, allowing me to catch errors I might have missed initially.
Below, I re-edited an article I published during my freshman year on staff, and I find ways to improve my writing and make it better.
The headline starts off strong. I really do like it, and it's definitely one of the better headlines I wrote my freshman year, so I would keep that the same.
In this section of the story, I would go back and add poll quotes, photos, or graphics to break down the text.
To start off, I would rewrite my lead because it's very similar to the nut graph, and I didn't really 'paint the picture' so I would go back and emphasize his move, and ask more questions about what he felt like when he found out he was going to be the principal at Prosper High School.
The quotes I used were also extremely long, so if I could go back I would break them down with a transition, and make the story more concise while still keeping the important parts.