Fourth Year Winner: How to Save a Marsh

WRIT 4002, Periodical Writing and Publishing Practicum. CD: Paul McLaughlin

Abstract

This article is a first-rate example of how to weave research and analysis with scene and character to create a compelling journalistic story. The author succeeds in describing community and ecological strife over the wetlands of the Rattray Marsh while tying these specific circumstances to the larger reality of ecosystem destruction and environmental change. Well attuned to their audience, the writer provides enough information about the role of wetlands in the environment to communicate their importance without making the article inaccessible to the average reader. Interviews conducted with key figures as well as research into past news reports and people involved with the Rattray Marsh show the author’s resourcefulness and dedication to telling a well-informed story. This article effectively brings the reader into the community and invests readers in the future of the Rattray Marsh and wetlands at large.