Inspirational Article #2

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/business/economy/16leonhardt.html?hp


For Egypt, a Fresh Start, With Cities by David Leonhardt


Although this article isn't exactly narrative nonfiction in the New Yorker style, as a newspaper article it utilizes writing tips and pace elements that might normally be forgotten when a student gets caught up writing in the literary journalistic style. Tips like "Make Meaning Early," "Activate Your Verbs," "Watch Those -ings," and "the Loop" are all used in this article because the reporter has to inform us of something new, tell a story, and make a point on one subject. Also, these reporters have to keep it short and sweet. It isn't something that can drag on for pages and pages, which is a fault I've found with using New Yorker articles as writing examples--students learn to recognize good writing, but might then take liberties length-wise and not "Write to an Ending."
What I didn't like about this article was the "if you say this, you're wrong"......argument......"so I say this; I'm right:" set-up. I just don't like the voice of it or the aggressive tone, but that might be a problem with David Leonhardt, not with concise, informative, relevant reporting.