Today’s Plan:
- Attendance
- Confirm Workshop Volunteers
- Office hours
- UNECE’s “Making Data Meaningful”
- Washington Post article
- Homework
UNECE’s “Making Data Meaningful”
I want to start today by examining the UNECE’s (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) guide for scientists and statisticians, Making Data Meaningful. I want to focus on the fourth section of the first chapter, titled “How to Write a Statistical Story.” The section advocates structuring your writing as an inverted paragraph and focusing attention on the first sentence and first paragraph.
Washington Post Article
Now I want to put this theory into practice in two ways. First, I want to read a recent article to see how the journalist deploys this approach to statistics. Second, I want you to write a summary of that article that follows the UNECE’s advice (and follows my expectations for contextual information: who, what, where, when, why). First, let’s read the article.
After you have read the article, I want you to write a short article/summary that reports this information to a class of high school seniors. Imagine it would be published in a high school newspaper. Follow the advice on pages 10-13 of the UNECE’s guide. Additionally, remember to build credibility and introduce a source by sharing relative contextual information.
I would approach this as a two paragraph story. In the first paragraph, focus on what “they” say, sharing both the statistics that Post reporter Jeff Guo uses in his story and highlighting what you would see as his purpose/argument.
In the second paragraph, reflect on Guo’s argument. You are in a unique position to offer insight into Guo’s piece; how do you position yourself alongside Guo’s story (i.e., that many “good” high school students struggle in college? That there are non-intellectual personality factors X, Y, and Z that shape/influence/contribute to student success)? Is there something he doesn’t mention? Is there something you wish you knew last year that you know now? And remember to inform your audience (here imagined as high school students) who you are.
Help
My choice of article today is, of course, strategic. I can see that many of you are struggling to adjust to university expectations. I strongly encourage you to reach out to UNC’s Tutoring Center (for help in classes other than English) and/or Writing Center (who can help organize and strengthen your writing). Further, set up an appointment with UNC’s academic support people–they can direct you to workshops on study skills and adjusting to university life.
Homework
We will have three pieces up for workshop on Friday later today in Canvas.
