Writing: Tell Me A Story 2023

Regardless of the point of view, you will need to then choose the best way to tell the story. • Third person is the most common journalistic point of view but certainly not the only one. Third person employs the use of he, she, it and they. • First person tends to make copy personal and should be used sparingly. It makes use of the pronouns “I” and “we.” It is most appropriate for stories that are best told as a personal narrative by a single person. • Second person creates copy that is very inclusive. It is marked by the use of the pronoun “you” and is generally reserved for how-to stories or opening copy. Read the following example story to see how it utilizes the concepts discussed in this lesson. “PERFECTLY PRICELESS” A 1700 mile trip to leadership camp stuco exec board members new ideas, new skills and a closer bond. by Elinor Engel Lair – Shawnee Mission Northwest High School STUDENT COUNCIL EXECUTIVE board members folded so many clothes the night before the 2022 Garage Sale in April, they thought their fingers would fall off. It took hours to set up. The only thing that kept them folding was the thought of palm trees coming in July. The proceeds from last year’s garage sale were used to send six StuCo leaders to the California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) Leadership Camp in Santa Barbara, Calif. “Garage sale is a huge fundraiser. We use everything we make to send students to camp,” sponsor Sarah Dent said. “It costs approximately $1,000 per student to [fund] registration and airfare. The garage sale makes $4,000 to $5,000 so we’re almost able to cover the whole cost of the camp through one fundraiser.” Although StuCo has been attending this camp for several years, California schools are the primary attendees. There, they learn new leadership skills as well as become familiar with the ways schools roughly 1,700 miles away run events. “I felt like the odd one out with a lot of the events they were talking about,” senior Adriana Jamie said. “Most of their events involve being outside because the climate there is different.” Students were housed on the University of Santa Barbara campus. Living the dorm life, they slept in dorm rooms, used the community bathrooms and ate in the dining hall. Forcing exec board members to room together definitely helped them get to know each other. “It was so fun dorming with someone on exec. Adriana and I have been friends, but we definitely got closer living together for those few days. When you’re sleeping and living with someone in the same room there’s just a level of familiarity you build.” Campers were divided into 16 different councils which essentially ran the camp. Each council was in charge of one or two tasks and consisted of students from different schools. “My group did a ‘Make-A-Wish’-type thing,” Nguyen said. “People could send in wishes and our council time [was spent] granting people’s wishes, even if it was just for a Starbucks drink.” Campers all gathered in the theater to watch whatever nightly event was in store. Evening events included Family Feud, The Amazing Race and a talent show. As one of the sixteen councils ran the event, the audience would compete for who could yell the loudest when a fellow school member came on the mic. “The night time events were my favorite part of the day,” Jamie said. “Watching people I know on stage in front of over 100 people was seriously an adrenaline rush. The energy of the auditorium was like no other. They all did amazing things within their councils and shined like stars on stage.”

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