This piece caught my attention through its description. “Seven can be a very lucky number for some people. Not so much for others!” I was driven to listen because I wondered who was rejected from what seven times over. When it became clear that the topic was college admissions, I was immediately hooked. As an incoming senior in high school, I am beginning to think about college applications; I have narrowed down my school choices and begun drafting my personal essay. The topic of the radio piece fascinated me. What does someone do when they are denied from every college to which they applied? The female narrator’s introduction clearly approached this unfathomable dilemma, but the piece faded fast. The story seemed out of order, with awkward pauses throughout and an introduction of Will, the college applicant, found almost a minute into the piece. This story will interest listeners, but rearranging Will’s narration will get them hooked faster. I would begin by introducing Will to listeners, making it clear that he was rejected from every college to which he applied, and relating his reaction to this. Reorganizing will pick up the pace of the piece, which is currently slower than desired. The narrator is rarely seen throughout, and I think that if her questions were replaced with narrational transitions, this piece would’ve flowed much nicer. This means replacing some of Will’s answers with a more concise summary from the narrator. Her voice is energetic and engaging, which is a contrast to Will’s. The conclusion is great. I like that Will addressed what his next options were, and that the narrator left listeners with a final moral of the story: “the importance of trying, even if failure happens.”
"Rejected" Review
Sarah Zabel
Posted on July 19, 2010 at 02:46 PM
This piece caught my attention through its description. “Seven can be a very lucky number for some people. Not so much for others!” I was driven to listen because I wondered who was rejected from what seven times over. When it became clear that the topic was college admissions, I was immediately hooked. As an incoming senior in high school, I am beginning to think about college applications; I have narrowed down my school choices and begun drafting my personal essay. The topic of the radio piece fascinated me. What does someone do when they are denied from every college to which they applied? The female narrator’s introduction clearly approached this unfathomable dilemma, but the piece faded fast. The story seemed out of order, with awkward pauses throughout and an introduction of Will, the college applicant, found almost a minute into the piece. This story will interest listeners, but rearranging Will’s narration will get them hooked faster. I would begin by introducing Will to listeners, making it clear that he was rejected from every college to which he applied, and relating his reaction to this. Reorganizing will pick up the pace of the piece, which is currently slower than desired. The narrator is rarely seen throughout, and I think that if her questions were replaced with narrational transitions, this piece would’ve flowed much nicer. This means replacing some of Will’s answers with a more concise summary from the narrator. Her voice is energetic and engaging, which is a contrast to Will’s. The conclusion is great. I like that Will addressed what his next options were, and that the narrator left listeners with a final moral of the story: “the importance of trying, even if failure happens.”