More on Media Writing

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm taking a module on media writing this semester.

It's probably the subject that I've ever cared about the most in my entire educational journey to date.

I can't pin down the exact reason why. All I know is that I really enjoy it.

So I like to think about how I would write the article when I hear about certain things happening. When I have time, I even craft the actual article and send it to my professor for feedback.

That's how I hope to learn and improve my skills.

Here's an article I wrote about the new veterinary programme offered by NUS and the University of Melbourne.

NUS introduces joint veterinary degree programme with University of Melbourne

SINGAPORE, Feb. 28 (Jonathan's Junkyard) -- For the first time, aspiring veterinarians will be able to complete part of their training locally, starting from August this year.

Previously, those who wanted to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine had to go overseas, as none of the local universities or private institutions offered such a degree.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) announced on its Facebook page on Feb. 18 the launch of a new Concurrent Degree Programme (CDP) run in conjunction with the University of Melbourne (UoMelb).

Under the CDP, students will graduate with both the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Life Sciences from NUS and the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from UoMelb in a total of 5-1/2 years.

This is in line with standard practice in the industry, as veterinary degrees are done at postgraduate level and students must possess a basic science degree first.

As students will spend the first 1-1/2 years studying for the BSc at NUS and pay the subsidised fee for local students, the cost of the CDP will be lower than spending their entire candidature abroad.

The remainder of their studies will take place at UoMelb. They will finish the BSc in their first year abroad, paying a subsidised fee to the Australian university. After that, they will focus on earning their DVM. During this phase, they will have to pay the full international graduate student fee.

Applications for the CDP will be open to all Life Sciences students who are in their first or second year at NUS.

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You heard it here first. As of 27 February 2018, none of the news outlets covered this piece of news, and who can blame them when NUS itself didn't bother to issue a press release about it?

It's such a waste because it's a very newsworthy topic. This vet programme is the pioneering one in the Singapore university landscape. It will benefit people because those who want to become vets will find it easier to do so, logistically and financially speaking.

But their loss. My blog gets to be the first to break this news. How exciting! Sure, it isn't exactly timely reporting because the Facebook post came out two weeks ago, but better late than never.

AY2017/18 Semester 2 Recess Week: Oh, what fun!

I'm quite surprised at how much I'm enjoying this semester!

In fact, this is probably the best semester I've ever experienced. After just seven weeks, I feel like I've learned so much, and developed my skills greatly.

My favourite module is NM2220 Introduction to Media Writing. So far, we have been taught how to plan and write news articles.

It's been rather eye-opening to see how news articles are composed of various elements like the lead, which is the first paragraph of the article and contains the most important information in the entire story; context, which gives the background to the story; quotes from relevant sources to liven up the story and lend it credibility; and colour, which refers to other details which help to make the story less boring, such as a description of the place where something happened.

Our lecturer, a retired Reuters veteran, shared with us the so-called elevator mental exercise, which we use when crafting a lead. We have to imagine that our friend is standing inside a lift and the doors are closing. We are outside the lift, and we want to tell our friend the news but have only a few seconds to do so before the doors close fully. What will we say in that short amount of time? That is the lead.

I daresay the elevator mental exercise is the most useful tool I have ever learned in my life. For years I've had a problem with being concise, but I think it has helped to alleviate the issue somewhat.

The other thing I learned is that I should keep my paragraphs short. In the old days of printed newspapers, text was crammed into narrow columns and if paragraphs were too long, they would flow over many lines and make the article look very unreadable. Now that people read news on small phone screens, the issue remains, so the best practice in the news industry is to limit paragraphs to one or two lines each.

You might have noticed that my paragraphs in this post are a bit shorter than the paragraphs I used to write. That's because I see the wisdom in keeping paragraphs short and have decided to adopt the practice in my own blog from now on. They won't all be one or two lines but gone are the days of the ten-line whopper too.

Such lengthy paragraphs can come across as being very turgid. Turgid. Our lecturer uses that word often, to warn us against writing in a way that will send the casual reader diving for cover. "Please ah, you're not doing academic writing ok?" she would say.

I don't know why, but that word, "turgid", tickles me no end.

Another module worthy of note is GET1031A Computational Thinking. I wasn't very happy at first when all Arts students were forced to take this module because I thought it would be just another load of baloney scaremongering us with threats of robots taking our jobs if we don't learn computer programming.

But it turned out to be a lot of fun. The two professors in charge of the module are pretty cool even though they look like they've been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth. They really make an effort to break down the concepts for us into simple bite-sized chunks that we can understand. And we get to apply our newfound knowledge through the tutorial problems and assignment questions.

For example, we learned how to write a basic algorithm, using English. After all, this is not a coding module. Then we applied it to a situation where we had to navigate a robot through a maze.

Trust me, it's not as difficult as it sounds, and is actually quite fun.

So now, at the midpoint of the semester, I'm glad to say that I'm not dreading the second half of it. To the contrary, I'm looking forward to it!

I'll publish another couple more posts this week. They're already written and "in the queue". In fact, I produced them all over the past few days. I am quite a prolific writer when the mood strikes me.

The first will appear tomorrow and it will be about media writing again because I like it so much I just can't help myself. In that post, I will show you a sample of my writing, in which I break a piece of news that you've never seen in the newspapers, online or offline, before!

And in the second post this week, which will come out over the weekend, you will get to see how my new style of writing in short paragraphs can be applied to opinion editorials too. I will dissect the new curriculum introduced recently to my old diploma, and express my utter dismay at how stupid and watered-down the powers-that-be have made the course coverage. We truly are raising a generation of imbeciles.

Stay tuned.

Food in the 'hood: Favourite eats near my home

I love food. And there's no shortage of yummy food near my home. Thanks to the opening of Paya Lebar Square and, more recently, Singpost Centre, I'm now spoilt for choice whether it's junk food, Asian food, bistro food, or something more upscale that I want. If I feel like good old hawker fare, the town centre with its market and coffee shops are just a stone's throw away.

Here are some of my favourites!

Paya Lebar Square

Jollibee Singapore

Move over KFC, Jollibee is the best fried chicken chain in Singapore. It's no secret that the local franchise owes a lot of its success to the support of the large Filipino community living here, as Jollibee is a brand started in the Philippines. However, Jollibee backs this reputation up by producing food of excellent quality at affordable prices, earning itself a stream of Singaporean converts too. I am one of them. My favourite order gets me a chicken drumstick, a ball of rice, a small tub of brown sauce, two big tubs of brown sauce, and a huge cup of Coke for $5.30. The chicken is consistently cooked to perfection and is super crispy on the outside yet tender and juicy on the inside. The rice is easy to eat when combined with the delightfully umami brown sauce, and I fancy their Coke to be less diluted than the Coke from other fast food joints so I always get their largest size to wash everything down in the most refreshing way. Finding this place is simple: follow the queue on the ground floor!

5 Little Bears

This cramped little unit in the basement sells traditional Taiwanese food such as braised pork rice and the usual array of deep-fried snacks on skewers. The dish I always get is the oyster mee sua. For $4.50, I can enjoy four plump and juicy oysters swimming in a bowl of starchy and vinegary broth with a generous helping of soft vermicelli noodles.

Soup Spoon

The food from here costs slightly more so I don't eat it as often. But the winter this year has been particularly harsh and it's always nice to have some soup to warm my belly and my soul. I like the Half and Half Set for $8.50 as I get two different types of soup, a hunk of bread, and a cup of ice lemon tea. So far, I enjoy the Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff the most as it's chunky, earthy, creamy, and slightly peppery, all at the same time.

McDonald's and Burger King

These are like hugs from your mother: eternally comforting and always there for you even in your darkest hour. Need I say more? I'm so fortunate to have them right on my doorstep.

Singpost Centre

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice

Don't claim to be a Singaporean if you don't know Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice. It's an institution in Singapore cuisine and widely regarded as among the top few chicken rice sellers in the country. Starting life as a humble stall in Novena, Wee Nam Kee has grown to include a couple of restaurants here and overseas while keeping their prices affordable and their quality consistent. For generations, its garlicky chilli sauce and fragrant rice have brought nourishment and joy to millions. I was overjoyed when they announced that they were opening a shop in the east, so I can get my fix more conveniently! A one-person serving of chicken rice costs just under $5.

Geylang East Town Centre

Black chicken soup

There are two stalls at the town centre which specialise in soups like lotus root with pork and salted vegetable with duck. My favourite item is black chicken soup for $5. Each stall does a slightly different version: one uses black chicken in a standard clear Chinese herbal soup, while the other cooks up a matching dark-coloured broth with ten types of "tonics". Both are equally good, especially when spooned over the fluffy and fragrant white Jasmine rice.

Geylang has always been known for its food, and it's easy to see why. No matter what it is you're craving, you'll definitely be able to find it, right here less than 15 minutes from the excellent Paya Lebar interchange!