Event Feature

In anticipation of next week's assignment, the event/feature, let's discuss THIS STORY on Monday (4/19). (You can stop on Page 5, when you get to the mention of Lyn Balfour.)

It is Gene Weingarten's gripping story of a man on trial for absent-mindedly leaving his child in the car to die. It just won a Pulitzer for feature writing.

WARNING: It has graphic detail in it. Feel free to skim over the parts that may trouble you, but know that such detail can be crucial to the telling of such a story.

Pay attention to:

• The opening.
• The details of descriptions.
• Narrative techniques, like creating questions in the readers' minds.
• The extended list he employs on Page 2.
• The Sections method.
• The juggling of characters, including parents, as well as medical and legal experts.
• The general writing style: types of words used; sentence structure; scene descriptions.
• Ask: How long does he wait to give you the verdict? Too long? Just long enough?