1

Page of the week:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_controversial_articles

A nice overview of Wikipedia pages that are subject to "edit wars": where users have edited them back and forth thousands of times!

These can be a starting point for any article focusing on a controversy of some sort, which generally makes for interesting reading.

Remember: You can approach controversial issues in different ways. You can take a strong stance or opinion, you can take a weaker stance, or

you can provide an overview of what people are arguing about.

2

Site of the week:

http://www.procon.org

A great site to get quotations from famous people about controversial issues

3

Quotations: use them to make your article appear more distinguished, supported:

http://www.quotationspage.com/

http://www.quoteland.com/

http://dir.yahoo.com/Reference/quotations/

http://www.brainyquote.com/

4

Writing Tips for Journalists

http://www.clappingtrees.com/archives/2007/06/50-writing-tips-from-school-for-journalists/

5

In-house Interviews: http://eftoronto.com/_b.school_staff.htm

Idea 1: Biographical Interview

Pick one member of staff and interview them (10 biographical questions- birth, upbringing, culture, "why" questions about career, travel, etc.)

Idea 2: Survey

Pick one controversial question and ask 10 staff members. (Do you believe in aliens? Why or why not?)

Idea 3: Advice

Describe a complicated problem scenario, true or fictional, to a staff member, and ask them for advice. Then present the same situation to different staff members and look for differences.  (... or use real scenarios from "Dear Abbey" http://news.yahoo.com/entertainment/dear-abby )

6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vox_populi

definition of the concept, also called Man On The Street interviews

A couple examples of "vox pop" questions:

http://doodle.geckotribe.com/interview.php3

A blogger with some interesting advice about doing these interviews:

http://cincyinternship.blogspot.com/2009/02/man-on-street-interviews.html

More advice:

http://www.midnightoilproductions.com/reading/how-to/on-the-street/

7

Lesser-known sports and games:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logrolling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_alai

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucha_libre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Quebrada_Cliff_Divers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oware

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_fighting

Explore a culture by learning about how people play and compete!

8

Animal Stories

Weird Animal stories - Camel Beauty Pagent! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7325790.stm

Weird Animal stories - Octopus refuses to give up his Mr. Potatohead! http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=83550&in_page_id=2&expand=true

Animals stories are great fun, especially when they have good photos and when there is an interesting cultural angle or science angle.

9

Controversial Topics

Controversial Topics: http://www.sac.edu/students/library/nealley/websites/controversial.htm

Useful for argumentative or contrastive essays and editorials, as well as polls

10

Interview Questions

Biography questions: http://www.web-biography.com/Sample_biographical_questions.html

One of the best ways to generate a story is to interview a real person, such as a classmate, an EF employee, your Host Parent or anyone else you know

11

Research Biographies

Biography examples, of famous people:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html

http://www.allbrucelee.com/biography.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/ronaldo.html

http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=204640

Using the 'net, you can focus on a famous person you are interested in

12

Poetry

Poetry Assignment: http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/web/2000/kochan/formatspoem2.html#choices

Try your hand at one of these simple formulas for a personalized poem

Some random examples of English language poems: 

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19464

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15615

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15754

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15624

Non-English poems you may know from your own language, translated:

http://www.poetryintranslation.com/

13

Conspiracy Theories: Water Flouridation: http://truth-rising.net/2009/04/20/water-fluoridation/

A conspiracy theory is often ridiculed by the majority; you can support it or be against it

14

History of Toronto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Toronto

Wikipedia is an excellent source for historical stories

15

The "Spoof"

The Onion is a fine example of a "spoof" site, which uses the sarcastic humor of "false news" to make a point

98% of Babies are Manic-Depressive: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/98_of_babies_manic?utm_source=b-section

(poking fun at ridiculous use of statistics in medical stories)

Fork manufacturer adds fifth tine: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/fork_manufacturer

(poking fun at silly, useless inventions in business stories, and how America is out of control about overeating)

Ford Mustang recalled for being "too cool": http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/ford_recalls_2010_mustang

(poking fun at auto industry recalls)

Lindsey Vonn owes it all to her ski poles:  http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/lindsey_vonn_credits

(poking fun at goofy sport product endorsements)

Obituary: "the tree will be sorely missed" http://www.theonion.com/content/news/tree_featured_in_the_deer_hunter

And, here's an example from a British site, poking fun at Obama and Nuclear Power:

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i69358

16

Obama dog: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6370933.html

Focus on the media's obsession with personality over substance

17

New law: Calories on menus?: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/04/08/9049956-sun.html

One example of a health story

18

Celebrity + Charity

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8465068.stm

19

Man struck by streetcar, talking on cellphone

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/01/24/12597251.html

20

Political tactics

PETA pie throwing incident:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/01/26/nl-byrne-terrorism-012610.html

http://www.torontosun.com/comment/editorial/2010/01/26/12622711.html

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2010/01/gail_shea_pied.php

PETA site protesting the Seal Hunt:

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1858

Canadian Governor General eats seal heart on TV to support Seal Hunt:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/639977

21

52nd Annual Grammy Awards

News

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/grammys/article/758524--beyonce-s-six-grammys-a-record-breaking-haul

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Beyonce+Lady+Gaga+Taylor+Swift+rule+Grammy+Awards/2506520/story.html

Editorial - critical

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/grammys/article/758546--grammys-forgo-taste-for-spectacle

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Grammy+over+hill/2504284/story.html

Focus on fashion

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/02/01/in.style.grammys.best.dressed/

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Britney-dons-bizarre-body-suit-for-Grammys/H1-Article1-504025.aspx

22

Olympics - so many angles...

About Georgian bobsledder who died / safety:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLIZsQjhT7gzm3roYubtgFAci6rQD9DTVGV00

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/2010-02-14-1a-cover-olympics-safety_N.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/sports/olympics/16slide.html

About poor weather / global warming:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/olympics/organizers-shrug-off-questions-about-weather-but-balmy-conditions-persist-84524112.html

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/blogs/joeoconnor/2010/02/dont-blame-vancouver-blame-global-warming.html

About various problems:

http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/766700--vancouver-games-glitches-get-global-attention

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/about-vancouver/news/newsid=43917.html

About protests:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Anti+Olympic+protest+ringleader+charged+after+clash+with+police+Vancouver/2573396/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Activist+councillor+feels+little+solidarity+with+protesters/2566143/story.html

23

Restaurant Reviews

Check out pg.2 of the Toronto Moon - March 2009 for a student example:

http://eftoronto.com/0912.TM.March.2ndedition.compressed.pdf

Some common media examples:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/food/

http://www.torontolife.com/restaurants/

http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/517417

Some "ethnic" areas known for their food:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Toronto

Areas to focus on in your review include:

- the taste, smell, texture of the food

- ingredients, culture behind that cuisine

- the service, the price, the cleanliness, the location and other practical issues

- the "ambiance", the music, the general feeling you have

24

Proverbs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proverb

- definition, and links to external proverb sites

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=proverb&fulltext=Search

- a variety of proverb pages in Wikipedia that are specific to a particular culture

http://creativeproverbs.com/cp-index.htm

- a list of proverbs, organized by culture

Strange Trivia

Darwin Awards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards

http://www.darwinawards.com/

News Of The Weird

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_of_the_Weird

http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.html