Overview
Assignment 1 – Write an Obit
For this assignment, choose a well-known person who you want to know more about. That person can be a celebrity, a sports figure, a politician – someone whose life you can easily research. In reality, they must still be alive, though for the purpose of this assignment, feel free to kill them off in any way you see fit. (Most obits are written when famous people are still alive. When they die, that material can be quickly updated). Who do you want to know more about? Do the research. Read about them. You can use quotes and anecdotes from magazine or news articles, or even television interviews. Just be sure to include those sources in the body of your obit (“According to Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger hoped for a dozen children with wife Bianca…”)
Obit (500 words) must include:
Name
Brief Identification – “Dame Agatha Christie, whose murder mysteries outsold all other books except the Bible…”
Age
Day/place of death
Cause of death
Accomplishments the person is known for
Background – Birthplace, education, military service, honors, achievements, a mini-biography.
Anecdotes/actual quotes*– from friends, family and colleagues.
Survivors – Spouse, children, parents, siblings
Funeral, burial information
This is the first of five major writing assignments and is worth 100 points. Give it your best shot.