General or Detailed?

You'll have to struggle with how general or detailed your statement of synthesis will be. Determining this is your judgment call.

No formula exists for easily deciding what level of generality is right. This skill takes time and practice to develop.

Imagine an Umbrella

To help yourself, imagine being out in the rain. How big an umbrella do you need? That depends on what's under it. You may need a regular-sized umbrella, or you may need a circus tent to cover everything that's relevant.

You have to find a balance between general and detailed. That balance depends on the story you need to fell. You don't want a statement of synthesis that's so broad it covers everything you're going to say in your paper or so narrow that you aren't telling a relevant story.

If your story is about ethnic strife in Europe, you don't want a statement of synthesis that talks about the future of Western civilization, and you don't want one that talks about one group's inability to plant its crops.

What Is Spero News

• Who and what is Spero News and how do the writers create news?

Developing A Case

• Developing a case: The internal formula

Level Of Generality

• Finding the the right level of generality

Core Assertion

• Your analytic topic sentence

Inverted Pyramid Paragraph

• The basic structure of journalistic writing.

Expanding A Single Paragraph

• How to create a multiparagraph line of reasoning.

Principles Of Analytic Writing

• Writing smartly for busy readers.

Reminders About A Paragraph

• Summarizing how a paragraph works.

Topic Sentence Outline

• How making a topic sentence outline can save you time.

Concept Paper

• Creating your blueprint.

When To Write

• How to know when to write an article

Self Editing

• Developing a critical eye for your work.

Guide To Gisting

• How to evaluating and distill raw facts.

Key Intelligence Questions

• Questions to ask for any project.

Assessing Information Needs

• Realizing your Core Assertions

Getting Started With Methodologies

• Why bother using a methodology when you can just start writing what you know?

Alternative Scenarios

• When and why you should use alternative views.

Competing Hypothesis Analysis

• Looking at all possible solutions.

Finding The Angle

• An exercise in finding the angle of story by using a real press release.

Indentifying News

• Discovering news and finding an idea.

_Template Idea To Article

Advancing An Argument

• Advancing your line of reasoning in multiple paragraphs.

Ideas Are Event Driven

• Knowing when to write is important, dealt with here, but recognizing an event is a learned skill.

Daily Calendar of events

• Maintaining a Daybook

Conceptualization Process

• How to crystallize your main judgment or point and lay out your argument for it.

Crafting Titles

• How to create titles, your contract with the reader

Zeroing In On The Focus

• How to summarize your bottom line in one sentence.
Who and what is Spero News and how do the writers create news?
10/8/2007 1:56:50 PM - -76.30.20.161
Developing a case: The internal formula
10/8/2007 1:55:29 PM - -76.30.20.161
Finding the the right level of generality
10/8/2007 1:57:48 PM - -76.30.20.161
Your analytic topic sentence
10/8/2007 1:58:02 PM - -76.30.20.161
The basic structure of journalistic writing.
2/5/2006 6:26:35 PM - -66.69.144.12
How to create a multiparagraph line of reasoning.
2/5/2006 6:33:19 PM - -66.69.144.12
Writing smartly for busy readers.
2/5/2006 6:36:46 PM - -66.69.144.12
Summarizing how a paragraph works.
10/8/2007 1:54:13 PM - -76.30.20.161
How making a topic sentence outline can save you time.
5/2/2008 5:09:48 PM - -76.30.20.161
Creating your blueprint.
2/5/2006 6:46:20 PM - -66.69.144.12
How to know when to write an article
2/5/2006 7:30:09 PM - -66.69.144.12
Developing a critical eye for your work.
10/8/2007 1:56:22 PM - -76.30.20.161
How to evaluating and distill raw facts.
2/5/2006 6:51:53 PM - -66.69.144.12
Questions to ask for any project.
2/5/2006 6:54:41 PM - -66.69.144.12
Realizing your Core Assertions
10/8/2007 1:56:09 PM - -76.30.20.161
Why bother using a methodology when you can just start writing what you know?
10/8/2007 1:54:55 PM - -76.30.20.161
When and why you should use alternative views.
2/5/2006 7:08:20 PM - -66.69.144.12
Looking at all possible solutions.
10/8/2007 1:58:27 PM - -76.30.20.161
An exercise in finding the angle of story by using a real press release.
2/5/2006 7:20:35 PM - -66.69.144.12
Discovering news and finding an idea.
10/8/2007 1:54:40 PM - -76.30.20.161
Click to read this topic
10/8/2007 1:57:05 PM - -76.30.20.161
Advancing your line of reasoning in multiple paragraphs.
2/5/2006 6:29:44 PM - -66.69.144.12
Knowing when to write is important, dealt with here, but recognizing an event is a learned skill.
2/5/2006 5:46:24 PM - DEDJ201-spero
Maintaining a Daybook
2/5/2006 5:51:49 PM - DEDJ201-spero
How to crystallize your main judgment or point and lay out your argument for it.
2/5/2006 6:04:47 PM - -66.69.144.12
How to create titles, your contract with the reader
10/8/2007 1:59:49 PM - -76.30.20.161
How to summarize your bottom line in one sentence.
7/19/2006 4:39:05 PM - -67.10.170.21

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