How one can Create a Compelling Assortment: A Information to Our New ‘My Listing’ Contest

Are you taking part in our new “My Listing” Overview Contest? Given how a lot inventive freedom it gives, we expect it is going to be some of the enjoyable challenges we’re working this 12 months. You’ll be able to work alone or with others, and may select from 14 classes — together with music, TV, motion pictures, video video games, books, eating places, theater and extra — to make your checklist.

That will help you work out what to write down, not solely do we’ve got the step-by-step instructions under, however we even have a associated writing immediate and a brand new version of our Conversations With Journalists function in which you’ll ask Lindsay Zoladz, a Occasions pop music journalist, how she makes lists like “6 New Songs You Ought to Hear Now.”

Get pleasure from, and in the event you’re taking part in our contest, ensure you submit by Feb. 12!

Notice to academics: All through this information we’ve got prompt that college students each discover their very own lists and take a look at those we’ve linked. Please preview any you assign to verify they’re acceptable on your college students.

First, discover as many as you may within the wild.

Lists of what to observe, hearken to, learn, see and eat are all over the place, and our first piece of recommendation is to begin to develop into acquainted with them. As you scroll social media, flip by magazines or surf the web, discover when, the place and the way these lists present up, and begin saving those you want finest.

Proper now, as a brand new 12 months begins, it’s particularly simple to seek out these collections since media shops of every kind publish roundups like “The Greatest Films of 2024” or “The Albums We’re Wanting Ahead to in 2025.”

Discover them from as many various sources as you may, after which deliver a number of to class and share them with others. Take into account, nonetheless, that you just’re in search of lists that transcend simply naming objects. For our contest, you’ll additionally want to elucidate why every merchandise is in your checklist.

Subsequent, use these free hyperlinks to learn some chosen examples from The New York Occasions.

Here’s a choice of lists which have been lately printed in The Occasions. Select a number of that curiosity you and test them out.

21 Films, Books and Albums With a Theater Focus to Eat Through the Holidays

Now that you just’ve studied a number of — from The Occasions and elsewhere — reply these questions:

• Why do you suppose lists like these are so standard? What’s efficient, fascinating and entertaining about them?

• What widespread components make up these lists? That’s, what do you look forward to finding? What would you not look forward to finding?

• What do you discover about how these lists are normally organized?

• What do you discover about how they communicate to their viewers? For instance, are they informal or extra formal? Do they sound as if a pal had been speaking to you, or extra as if a professor had been giving a lecture?

• To what extent do these lists presume you could have some background data in regards to the subject? Do you suppose you may nonetheless get one thing from them even in the event you don’t?

Now select one piece to look at intently.

• What does the introduction do? How does it clarify what it’s essential know? How does it provide help to anticipate what you’re about to learn?

• Subsequent, deal with the person objects. How does the creator each present its relationship to the general theme and offer you particular details about every factor on the checklist?

2. Discuss to a Occasions journalist who makes lists like this for a residing.

“6 New Songs You Ought to Hear Now.” “7 Scorching Tracks From a New Technology of Feminine Rappers.” “9 Nice Songs That Point out Baseball Stars.”

Lindsay Zoladz, a pop music critic at The Occasions, is the creator of those lists and plenty of extra, and from Jan. 9 to 22 you’ll have an opportunity to ask her questions.

What might you ask her about her course of — about how she chooses her themes, makes her selections or creates her descriptions? What are you able to be taught from her that might be useful on your work?

Discover every part it’s essential take part right here.

3. Give you a spread of concepts on your personal checklist.

Listed here are the 14 classes you may select from, however bear in mind you could additionally mix classes in the event you like:

— structure
— artwork
— books
— comedy
— dance
— trend
— motion pictures
— music
— podcasts
— eating places
— expertise
— theater
— TV exhibits
— video video games

And listed below are some methods to get began:

• Use the questions we ask in our associated Scholar Opinion discussion board, that are designed to take you thru a brainstorming course of. We hope you’ll each publish a few of your personal solutions and reply to the solutions of others.

• Get inspiration from the lists you’ve learn to this point. Which have stood out to you? Why? Might you tackle a special subject in the same method?

• Ask for strategies from individuals who know you effectively. What would your pals or household say or care essentially the most about? What do you are likely to suggest to them?

• Work together with your class to brainstorm. Share as many checklist concepts as you may, each people who you’ve discovered “within the wild” and people you’ve give you your self. Let every concept encourage new ones till you could have dozens of prospects to select from.

• Lastly, ask your self: Which of my concepts could be most enjoyable or fascinating for me to pursue? Which do I care about most? We’ve got discovered over and over, throughout all of the contests we’ve ever provided, that college students produce their finest work on matters they really care about.

4. Play together with your angle.

After getting a normal concept for what you’d like to write down about, the actual inventive problem begins.

Let’s say you’re a loyal Swiftie. One simple checklist so that you can make is likely to be “My Favourite Taylor Swift Songs.” However contemplating the artist’s reputation, many different college students will most likely ship lists identical to this, and it is going to be arduous to face out amongst them.

As a substitute, brainstorm some concepts for a extra unique spin. Take into account that no matter you write, it should be acceptable for a normal viewers, not simply fellow Swifties.

As a substitute of “The 63 Most Trendy Individuals of 2024,” how about “The 5 Seems to be Most Widespread at My College”? (Please take note, nonetheless, that for this contest you’re not submitting images, so that you’ll have to make use of vivid language to explain the appears!)

As a substitute of “What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries in January,” how a couple of checklist of the perfect artwork to see at no cost in your space?

As a substitute of “Questlove Made You an Power Playlist,” why not a themed playlist of music for when you find yourself doing homework or are on the best way to a monitor meet?

Make a listing that provides extra context about one thing you’re an skilled on.

Possibly you’re a sneakerhead and need extra of your fellow fans understood the function of the Air Jordan in sneaker historical past. Attempt making a listing that explains that in a method that’s fascinating for others, as this Occasions checklist does for motion pictures about Bob Dylan.

That’s additionally how a bit like “Digging Into Kendrick Lamar’s Samples” works. In it, Ms. Zoladz, the Occasions pop music critic we wrote about above, describes how, by using samples, “GNX” is “an album in deep dialog with the previous and current sounds of West Coast rap.” The checklist goes by among the most notable sonic references on the album and explains how the artist and his producers “flip them into one thing new.”

What historical past or context might you supply readers to assist them higher perceive one thing you’re keen on? How might you clarify it in such a method that a median reader would admire it?

Attempt making a adverse checklist as an alternative of a constructive one.

Not each checklist has to deal with “the perfect.” As a substitute, perhaps you’d prefer to warn individuals away from one thing. “5 TV Reveals That Have Completely Unrealistic Teenage Characters”? “Three Overrated Broadway Musicals”? “The Ugliest Buildings in [Your Town]”?

Work with associates:

Pool your data! Occasions critics do that typically, each for broad appears at tradition like “What Our Critics Are Wanting Ahead to in 2025” and for spotlighting their particular pursuits, as in“25 Leap Scares That Nonetheless Make Us Leap.”

Take into consideration how a lot enjoyable you could possibly have collectively sampling the perfect French fries in your neighborhood or debating essentially the most memorable film {couples} in rom-com historical past.

5. Write an environment friendly and fascinating introduction.

Now that you’ve got an incredible concept for a listing, it’s time to start out writing. However for this contest, you could have solely 600 phrases, so your introduction wants to make use of each one in all them effectively.

The excellent news is that you just don’t want a whole lot of room to set your readers up. Check out this primary paragraph:

The ground creaks, the music turns ominous and an uneasy quiet units in. Then BAM! It’s the basic leap scare. This staple of horror motion pictures, when performed effectively, is immediately memorable. With Occasions movie writers, filmmakers and stars weighing in, we ranked the 25 leap scares that also get us each time.

What did this introduction handle to do in simply 52 phrases? Does it make you need to maintain studying (and watching)? How does it get you in the precise temper? How does it clarify why a listing like that is value making? How does it offer you essential details about what you’re about to learn?

Let’s have a look at a number of extra. Right here’s the intro to “Greatest Comedy of 2024”:

Joe Rogan jumped to the entrance of the conservative media institution. Netflix went in deeper on stay comedy, whereas Disney entered the stand-up market. Katt Williams beefed much more than Kendrick Lamar and Drake. John Mulaney and Taylor Tomlinson grew to become discuss present hosts. It was an eventful 12 months in comedy. Listed here are some highlights.

How does this intro supply each a broad overview of the state of the trade in 2024 and a few essential particulars — all to again up the assertion that “it was an eventful 12 months in comedy”?

What if you wish to create a listing that appears at artwork or tradition by a special lens than simply “better of”? Right here’s how “8 Comics to Learn This Delight Month” did that in simply 41 phrases final June:

This assortment of comics and graphic novels, a mixture of nonfiction and fiction tales, has settings as disparate as a cabin within the woods and a 24-hour comfort retailer. What unites them is that all of them star L.G.B.T.Q. protagonists. Comfortable Delight!

Lastly, right here’s the opening to a listing that you just may not have identified you wanted till you noticed it: “Household and Mates in City? Right here’s What to Watch Primarily based on the Temper.” It begins this manner:

“What do you all need to watch?”

This query has torpedoed many get-togethers, leaving the poor soul wielding the distant at a Thanksgiving gathering to go looking and scroll by seemingly infinite streaming choices till everyone seems to be cross-eyed and over it. Let’s skip that half, we could? Listed here are a handful of picks which may match the invoice for some widespread vacation dynamics.

How does the author set a scene we will all relate to and entice you to learn on?

6. Make certain every merchandise in your checklist sticks to your theme.

The novel “James” by Percival Everett appeared on many lists of Greatest Books of 2024, and was one in all The Occasions’s prime 10 picks. It additionally seems on The Occasions’s finest audiobooks checklist. Right here is how the e-book is described in it:

A number of occasions all through this retelling of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the angle of the titular enslaved man (Twain’s Jim), a white character notices James’s commonplace English cadence with shock and asks: “Why are you speaking like that?” With spectacular comedic timing and vocal agility, Hoffman skips nimbly between James’s pure eloquence and the “slave filter” he makes use of to cover it from white individuals, deepening a mission that hinges on vernacular as each signifier and gear of liberation.

How does the primary line shortly summarize the e-book’s subject for individuals who may not know? How does the remainder of the outline deal with what makes the novel a superb audiobook? What will we be taught in regards to the e-book by its narration by a gifted actor?

One other instance? “6 Podcasts for Reflection and Restoration” was printed on the finish of 2021, simply because the Omicron variant was inflicting new waves of Covid-19 infections in the course of the holidays. Because the introduction says, “in their very own methods, these six podcasts can assist you to take a breath, refill your emotional cup and get some relaxation forward of the New Yr.”

Right here is one entry. How does the author make it match her theme?

‘99% Invisible’

When the world feels anxious, meditation means that we deal with our speedy environment: that constructing, these timber, the bottom beneath our toes. Although the long-running podcast “99% Invisible” is just not designed to be meditative, its sound-rich explorations of the bodily world make it excellent listening materials for fraught occasions. For greater than a decade, ever since its origins on public radio, the present has delved into the unseen designs, patterns and selections that form our lives. Although it’s primarily about design and structure, many episodes transcend that remit — one memorable installment final 12 months delved into the weird origin story of the Baha Males track “Who Let the Canine Out.” There’s a again catalog of greater than 400 episodes to select from, and regardless of which one you begin with, you’ll come away together with your view of the world barely modified.

Lastly, right here is an entry in a set of flicks and TV exhibits titled “In a Yr of Anxiousness Onscreen, Right here’s Who Portrayed It Greatest”:

‘The Bear’

“The Bear” is extensively accepted as the anxiety-inducing present on TV proper now, and for good motive. The restaurant world is already fast-paced and anxious with out all of the stress Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) locations on himself and his co-workers within the opening weeks of his restaurant’s rebrand and glow-up. And although Carmy’s anxiousness is usually on the forefront of the drama, the ultimate episode of Season 3 exhibits Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) assembly her restrict as effectively. Agonizing over a choice to develop into a companion of the Bear with Carmy the management freak or take a head chef place at one other restaurant with higher advantages and (possible) much less drama, Sydney breaks down in the midst of a celebration at her new house. She steps outdoors and has an anxiousness assault; she hunches over, hyperventilating, overwhelmed by the choice she has to make.

What do you discover about how the author retains the deal with her theme? What particular person phrases are used right here to hammer house the anxiety-producing nature of this present?

7. Compel us together with your opinions.

For a few years, we ran a Scholar Overview Contest that was the precursor to this one. To assist college students perceive how a assessment is an argument and the way robust descriptive language can assist make it, we created a number of lesson plans. To enter larger depth on these expertise, you would possibly go to this useful resource and this one.

However for the My Listing contest, college students should current opinions on not only one work, however a number of. How do you make a case for one thing in only a paragraph or so? Listed here are some examples.

“8 Video Video games to Play Subsequent” is a listing that options contributions from Occasions avid gamers across the newsroom. Every entry is brief and to the purpose — however discover how, in entries like these, every phrase is fastidiously chosen:

Bleak Religion: Forsaken

You’re a lone warrior misplaced within the depths of the Omnistructure, an unlimited city sprawl that has grown past motive. The handful of individuals left are scrambling to outlive and maintain onto their sanity. Count on powerful enemies, unforgiving fight and dramatic boss battles.

Play in the event you preferred: Any Soulslike sport, however are able to forgive some tough edges.

What to know: Bleak Religion is an unbiased title produced by three individuals, so anticipate a good quantity of jank. However the sport nails its environment, which blends grimdark fantasy and cyberpunk.

How does the author put you in the midst of the sport? What phrases or phrases are most evocative? Do you be taught sufficient in simply 93 phrases to kind an opinion of your personal about whether or not or not you’d need to play? How do the headings on the finish in daring assist (“Play in the event you preferred:” and “What to know:”)? Might you utilize headings like this on your checklist?

Subsequent, take into account this entry from “22 of the Greatest Bakeries Throughout the U.S. Proper Now”:

Comadre Panadería

Austin, Texas

Mariela Camacho’s pastries are the stuff of Barbie-fueled, masa-laden desires. Her conchas are ethereal with a crackly shell, and vibrant with flavors like berries or matcha. The pínguína de maracuya, a chocolate-dipped cake stuffed with passion-fruit cream, is one in all a number of choices that style like higher variations of a nostalgic deal with. The showstopper is the pink cake: toasty with corn, tart with a prickly pear buttercream and pleasant with sprinkles. Regardless of their saccharine appearances, not one of many desserts is overly cloying, and even the espresso drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries.

For our contest, you aren’t allowed to submit images — however in the event you can write descriptions this vivid, you received’t want them! What are you imagining these desserts appear like? What phrases are particularly evocative right here? How are you going to describe the objects in your checklist so clearly that your readers can image them of their heads?

8. Make certain all of it works collectively and … submit!

Now it’s time to learn the entire thing over and be sure that it holds collectively and that each facet of it really works. You would possibly ask your self:

• Does the title of my checklist precisely mirror what’s inside it?

• Is my theme or focus one thing that others might be inquisitive about?

• Does my introduction assist readers perceive the subject and put together for the checklist to come back?

• Have I thoughtfully chosen three to 5 works which are clearly linked to my theme?

• Do I present how the person objects on my checklist relate to that theme?

• Do I state my opinions in a method that’s persuasive and compelling?

• Do I supply particulars to assist these opinions?

• Does the voice within the piece sound like me? Is it participating to learn?

• Are my language and tone acceptable for the subject I’ve chosen?

• Have I written the checklist in such a method that a median reader might perceive it and get one thing fascinating from it?

• Is it 600 phrases or fewer, not counting the title?

• Have I adopted the contest rubric?

Good luck and thanks for taking part!