1. Why I would like to join: I really liked the NP and would like to contribute to it's greatness. This is also a good chance to work on my writing skills.

2. Desired section: I am a versatile writer and can write for every section other than comics really. However, this current application is for Entertainment, headed by Doddsy

3. My experience: I have worked on numerous online forum newspapers and have worked on my School Newspaper as well. I also have worked on another forum's PodCast as a script writer, so I have a good amount of experience in writing.

4. My example:

2008 MLB FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT

Note: A Draft in Sports is when teams pick highschool and college players. These players are only eligible in the Draft if they have never signed a professional contract.

On June 5th and 6th, the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place. The draft featured High-School and College Baseball Players all aiming to be a high Draft Pick.

For the second Consecutive Year, the Tampa Bay Rays had the Number One Overall Pick since they had the worst record in the Major Leagues in 2007. Many scouts and analysts thought they would go for young High-School talent. On June 5th, that's exactly what the TB Rays did.

For the second Consecutive Year, a baseball player from Vanderbilt High-School was chosen as the Number 1 Overall Draft Pick. In 2007, the Number 1 Pick was Pitcher David Price. In 2008, the Rays took Shortstop Tim Beckham as the Number 1 Overall Draft Pick.

Throughout the first Round more College Players were selected than High-School Players. One team that had a great amount of picks within the first 33 overall picks were the New York Mets. They had 3 picks within the first 33 players. The Mets, like many other teams, selected all of their first picks as College Players. Why? This gave veteran clubs that were struggling, just like the Mets were , some great talent who were not too far from the Major League Level.

Another significant change in the Draft is that many African-American players were chosen in the 1st Round. This has helped MLB in their pursuit to bring back international players, most significantly from the Dominican Republic, into loving baseball. Hopefully, in the coming years, there will be a large variety of player backgrounds in the game.

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That is my application. I wasn't sure how much to write. There is a lot I can write about this, but I wanted to narrow it down because application are basically just short articles showcasing your writing skills. So, Thanks.

It’s a good application, well done. I’m not American, but understand some of this stuff. You might like to explain the concept of Draft Picks to your international audience.

In paragraph 2 you spell “analysts” incorrectly

In paragraph 3 you refer to “SS Tim Beckham” – but I have no idea what SS stands for.

You use a lot of number form “33” instead of “thirty-three” word form. This is fine for years and large numbers, but starting the second sentence in paragraph 4 with a “1” really doesn’t fit well.

In paragraph 4 I believe your first comma is not required. You later spell “that” without the second “t”. Later in the final sentence you shift tense and use “are” where “were” should be used.

In paragraph 5 your grammar is lacking a word in the first sentence, such as “is” between “Draft” and “that”. You later spell “backgrounds” without the “g”.

This rate of editorial comments isn't too high and if you fix it up before Doddsy reads it, you'll also demonstrate the necessary attribute of responding well to editorial input

Good luck.

Thank you for the help Slashing. I'll edit this application and will remember your suggestions for future articles and stories I write.

*whoosh*

Didn't get a single word of that, but sport has always seemed highly illogical to me.

My comments would be similar to the one's Slashing made. Using the word form (thirty-three) looks neater than the number form (33) but it can bring up other problems (thirty-three/thirty three).

It felt a bit short but what you have written is good and informative. The length can be neglected because it is only an application