Please Plagiarize This Story

Well, the structure of it anyway

I know, I know, plagiarism is against the student code of conduct, but there’s a form of it that is not just acceptable but actually a great way to improve your writing.

I call it, for lack of a better term, “structural plagiarism.”

While typical plagiarism misappropriates the words and ideas of another writer, structural plagiarism just borrows the outline undergirding it and repurposes it for a new set of facts.

In a way, it’s not any different than writing a sonnet or the screenplay for a dumb action movie — using the well-defined structure to flesh out your own ideas.

In this class, we will learn how to write the classic 550-word Associated Press story, which I’ll unpack below. But you can use this same method throughout your career to draft more complex stories you’ve never tried before, such as an obituary of a noted person, a profile, a trend story or, as I once did, a close-up look at people doing a tough job.

All you need to do is read the story carefully and understand what each graf is doing and why, and then seek the equivalent for your own piece. When you’re done, you can go back through and rework the parts that don’t quite click. The goal is just to get through a draft that makes sense.

Using the template for stories that we are writing in this class, I’ve composed a mostly made-up story below that follows the standard AP structure. Let’s go through the first five grafs.

Ryan Teague Beckwith
Reporting and News Writing
Aug. 26, 2021

Google News headline: Electric Bicycles Added to Capital BikeShare in Hyattsville (59)

Google News summary: Electric bicycles have been added to three Capital BikeShare stations in Hyattsville as part of a pilot program to provide alternatives to commuting by car. (157)

Social media headline: Hyattsville’s Newest Bikesharing Option Could Make Your Commute Less of a Workout (81)

Sources: Janet Pfaff, spokeswoman, Capital Bikeshare. Chris Militello, owner, Arrow Bicycle. Jeremy Li, e-bike user, 27, Hyattsville.

Word count: 558 words

Capital BikeShare will add electric bicycles to three stations in Hyattsville this week, part of a pilot program to see if customers will pay more to get a boost to their pedaling power.

The story starts with a strong subject-verb combination (“Capital Bikeshare will add”) and gives just the right amount of specificity (“three stations in Hyattsville”) without bogging it down. It uses “electric bicycles” instead of “e-bikes” since that’s the top term on Google search. The time element comes last in the main part of the sentence, and after the comma comes a brief explanation that explains why this action matters. The lede is 33 words, right around the recommended 25 to 30 words.

Starting Friday, two e-bikes each will be added to stations near the library, the West Hyattsville Metro station and the Arts District, allowing bikeshare users to reach speeds of up to 20 mph without breaking a sweat.

The second graf restates the lede, adding back in the details that we left out, using an alternate name for electric bicycles in case people are more familiar with that term and giving some more information on how they work. The piece has also avoided overusing “bicycles” and “biking” so far.

“I love riding a bike to work, but the worst part is showing up all sweaty and gross,” said Jeremy Li, 27, of Hyattsville. “The e-bike gets me there faster and smelling nicer.”

The third graf is a quote. That’s good for this story, where we’ve pretty clearly established what’s going on in the first two grafs. In other stories, you might need another graf of explanation before you put the quote, but you’re going to want it in the first five grafs at a minimum. The quote is also colorful and trimmed to make just the most important point.

E-bikes, which use a battery charged by the bicycle’s pedals to boost its speed, have become popular among more casual cyclists in recent years but are typically hundreds of dollars more expensive than a regular bike.

The fourth graf is context, helping readers who may have never heard of e-bikes and giving more information on how they work. Since this is all basic information, there’s no need to cite a source for it.

That makes them a great option for bikesharing, where users can try them out for just a dollar more than a regular rental, said Capital BikeShare spokeswoman Janet Pfaff.

The fifth graf then turns to our expert, adding another voice that is different from the customer we heard from earlier. This helps establish the sourcing for the story’s facts for readers while also keeping it from being a dry recitation of facts. In both cases, the sources are also stating opinions: that e-bikes are good because you don’t get as sweaty and that e-bikes are great for bike-sharing.

We’re not about a third of the way through our 550 words and we’ve established what is happening here, given good background material on the main subject, added some color from a regular person and explained why this story is important. That’s pretty good for just 168 words.

So what next? I’ve always said that if you can get the first five grafs right, you have some leeway, but here are a few more things you might want to add:

• When does the pilot end? Will more bikes be added to other stations? How does this compare to the rest of D.C.? What is the exact cost to rent an e-bike? What model of e-bike is being offered?
• What are the downsides to riding an e-bike? Is there a doctor or public health expert who can talk about the rate of injury compared to a normal bike? Any statistics that could be included?
• How popular are e-bikes? Is there a bike shop owner or someone who could talk about sales? Any industry reports that show the growth in e-bikes? Can anyone attest to how bike-sharing might boost sales?
• What’s the potential local market? Are there any statistics on bike commuting in the area? Any factors like a lack of trails that might hinder their use? Any factors like a nearby college that might boost it?

Answer some or all of those questions, and you’ll have the rest of your story.

“Writing is hard work and bad for the health.” — E.B. White