1. An Introduction to Journalism (15/8 hrs)
* What is journalism?* Who is a Journalist?* Qualities of a successful journalist* Training and Qualifications for a journalist* Journalism as a career* Steps to become a journalist
- Prepare
- Learn about the field
- Get Training
- Go to work
- Getting help
- Get started
- Joining up
- Questions for discussions
2. News Writing Style & Writing News Reports (15/7 hrs)
* Language for writing journals : Looking at different news items in news papers and Journals . Examine them under the following headings.Vocabulary, sentence structure, prose style, organization, discussion
- News Writing Style:
What characteristics does good writing demonstrate? Discuss the following undertwo headings. Authoring ( creating documents) and crafting ( actual writing)Authoring : a sense of audience and style ( appropriateness) , a sense of purpose (content) a sense of direction ( developing the ideas.)Crafting : Organization should be clear and in a logical manner, using theconventions spelling, lay out, getting the grammar correct , varied sentence structure, linking ideas in different ways , having a good range of vocabulary.
- Writing News Reports
Familiarization with headlines, of different news items , sub head/s , straight news ,linking ideas in different ways, having a good range of vocabulary.
Planning, drafting, revising, re – drafting, publishing
3. Feature styles (15/8 hrs)
* How feature writing differs from straight news? Examine the two types, slip into 1stperson point of view, making the piece of writing more personal.* List the characteristics of different feature articles.
4. Crafting a news story (15/7 hrs)
Focus: How parts are linked together through cohesive devices, how sentence structure can vary to develop meaning , the role that is played by punctuation.* Use a check list which focuses on the overall content and organization. Answer these questions.
Audience: Who is your audience? What interest do they have in the subject? What do they already know about this subject?
Purpose: What do you want to accomplish by writing this news item or feature article? Is it to entertain/ educate/ inspire them to do something / help them understand something new/ see something from a new point of view/ change their minds a bout something?
Writing Stage: Write main idea in a complete sentence, ask yourself. Is it clear to you/ your audience? Write support material. Ask yourself , do you need to be more specific/ develop any idea more? Does your discussion move smoothly? Analyze your conclusion.