Recently in Analysis Category

The New York Times' article, "Global Warming & Climate Change" and the Courier-Mail's article, "Climate change to blame for summer of extreme heat and damaging floods, report says" both have visuals to enhance the seriousness of their topic, global warming.

Though these two articles are very similar, the New York Times included a map of the U.S. indicating which states have been affected the most, which helps the readers personalize such a broad topic.

The writing goes along with this visual, because it compares the U.S. to other countries around the world and how each area is harmed by the effects.

In the Courier-Mail article, however, the visual is simply a picture of an over-crowded beach, while the writing talks about bushfires, tornadoes, and damaging rain. While global warming can be attributed to overpopulation, I feel as if the multi-media effects should closely correlate with what is largely going on in the article.

In CBS News' article, "Makers Mark to stop watering down whiskey after customer outcry," the author ordered the information in an almost-perfect way.

The author began the article with explaining Makers Mark's situation, then explained how it came about, and followed up with how they fixed it.

At the end of the article, the author gave a brief but thorough description of the company and their sale history. This was important to include after the story was described, because it educated the readers as to why the change from 45 to 42 percent alcohol volume was such a big deal to consumers and their reputation.

In Minnesota Daily's article, "Minneapolis to explore Olympic bid," the author used seven sources. Those that the author named were important personnel within the bid project or locals who had opinions on the matter.

The author spreads the sources throughout the article, linking most of them with direct quotes or plans directed by a specific person.

The attributions within this article are simple but crucial, because it makes the possibility of Minneapolis hosting the Olympics more of a reality to the readers. The author properly attributed without letting it rule the article, making the legibility very successful.

The author of Chicago Tribune's article, "Nightclub fire kills 233 in Brazil," portrays clear use of the "what," "when," "where" and "how" elements by immediately drawing the reader in with suspense and drama.

The author built up the lead by getting straight to the point about the tragedy, but left out enough details to keep the reader interested. The "what" aspect of the lead was detailed and captivating, but by leaving the "how" and "where" elements more general, it left the reader curious.

This lead was straightforward because the topic was heavy enough to require facts, statements, and imagery. The quotes from witnesses, parents, and firefighters added an interesting layer onto the story, which then lead the readers to get emotionally invested. The lead needed to allude to the depth of the story without giving everything away, and it was successful.