Part 1: You will be reading two articles on the troubles in...

Part 1: You will be reading two articles on the troubles in Myanmar. After you have finished reading, you will fill out the Shrinking Paragraph template. You will then take the information from this template and use it to create your final article and headline: • Article 1: Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Human Rights http://www.globalissues.org/article/147/burmal-officially-myanmar-and-human-rights • Article 2: The Repression of Ethnic Minority Activists in Myanmar (attached) Part 2: Now that you have read both articles, combine your summaries into one news article. You will also need to create an effective headline that grabs readers’ attention and entices them to read your article. You may use your Article Formatting notes as a guide for writing. Your news article should include the following: •a two-paragraph news article written in the inverted pyramid format •information from both original articles •a headline that tells the main point of the summary •correct grammar, syntax, and use of other language conventions

MYANMAR: REPRESSION OF ETHNIC
MINORITIES, MEDIA, ACTIVISTS
As a result of their integral role in the political opposition
against government repression, ethnic minorities are at
particular risk.
Myanmar’s government violates the human rights of
peaceful critics from ethnic minorities in a myriad of ways, including: torture and other ill-treatment; discrimination on the basis of religion and ethnicity; unlawful killings; and
arbitrary detention or imprisonment.
During the 2010 elections and with the government’s
intolerance of any challenge to its legitimacy, policies, and
practices, Amnesty International is concerned that ethnic mi-
norities will suffer increased violations in the months
before, during and after the elections.
Cost to freedom
Political opponents and activists remain among Myanmar’s
large population of political prisoners (around 2,200) de-
tained because of their political, religious or other conscien-
tiously held beliefs; ethnic origin; language; national or social
origin; birth; or other status.
Most are prisoners of conscience
—
they have expressed their
beliefs peacefully. Many such political opponents and
activists have told Amnesty International that they faced
government repression as part of a larger movement, as in
Rakhine State during the 2007 Saffron Revolution.
Others said that the authorities pursued them for specific
actions, such as organising a small anti-dam signature
campaign in Kachin State. Even relatively harmless
expressions of political dissent, as when Karenni youths were
detained for floating small boats on a river with
“No” (highlighting their opposition to the draft constitution)
written on them, faced repression.
The government has alternately encouraged and warned
ethnic minority political organisations to take part in the
upcoming elections, with most remaining undecided or
noncommittal.
Who are Myanmar’s ethnic minorities?
Ethnic minorities constitute some 35-40 percent of the
country’s population, and form the majority in the seven
largest ethnic minority states.
In 2010, Amnesty published the report, The Repression of
Ethnic Minority Activists in Myanmar. The report draws on
accounts from more than 700 activists from the seven states,
including the Rakhine, Shan, Kachin, and Chin.
Monks protesting in Myanmar.
Monjo monk.
“Police blocked the road and fired
tear gas, soldiers shot bullets into the
air, and the fire brigade blasted water
hoses at us. Both the police and the
Union Solidarity Development
Association (USDA) beat protesters,
while the fire brigade washed away
the blood.”
- Former monk Thu Mana, 32, from Kyauktaw
township.

Shrinking Paragraph Template
The Shrinking Paragraph: A Summarization Strategy
What is a summary and what does it mean to summarize?

Summarizing is how we take larger selections of text and reduce them to the bare essentials.

Summarizing means including only the most important information.

A summary tells the main idea of the text.
Step One: Evaluate the headlines and organizational pattern of the two
articles.
Article One:
Headline:
Emotional or intellectual appeal? Supported by which words?
Format:
Inverted Pyramid or Narrative format? Supported by which evidence?
Article Two:
Headline:
Emotional or intellectual appeal? Supported by which words?
Format:
Inverted Pyramid or Narrative format? Supported by which evidence?
Step Two: Write a summary of each article you have read in 75–85 words.
Article One: