INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISTIC WRITING:Practical, THINGS TO KNOW

QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITERS >>

Journalistic Writing MCM310

LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISTIC WRITING

"The invention of writing is probably the most important tool for human advancement, making it possible for

each new generation to build upon the work of the previous, to transmit knowledge from person to person,

across cultures and time."

Donald Norman Stanford University

You must be ready to learn from the first day of school. Don't you want to:

Do well in your studies

Enjoy self-expression

Become more self-reliant

You know how important writing will be to you and in your life. It will be important from first-grade through

college and throughout adulthood.

Writing is:

Practical

Most of us make lists, jot down reminders, and write notes and instructions at least occasionally.

Job-Related

Professional and white-collar workers write frequently--preparing memos, letters, briefing papers, sales

reports, articles, research reports, proposals, and the like. Most workers do "some" writing on the job.

Stimulating

Writing helps to provoke thoughts and to organize them logically and concisely.

Social

Most of us write thank-you notes and letters to friends at least now and then.

Therapeutic

It can be helpful to express feelings in writing that cannot be expressed so easily by speaking.

Unfortunately, many schools are unable to give children sufficient instruction in writing." There are various

reasons: teachers aren't trained to teach writing skills, writing classes may be too large, it's often difficult to

measure writing skills, etc.

Study after study shows that student' writing lacks clarity, coherence, and organization. Only a few students can

write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many as one out of four have serious writing

difficulties. And students say they like writing less and less as they go through school.

THINGS TO KNOW

Writing is more than putting words on paper. It's a final stage in the complex process of communicating that

begins with "thinking." Writing is an especially important stage in communication, the intent being to leave no

room for doubt.

Writing well requires:

Clear thinking. Sometimes you need to have your memory refreshed about a past event in order to

write about it.

Sufficient time. You may have `stories in their heads' but need time to think them through and write

them down.

Journalistic Writing MCM310

· Reading. Reading can stimulate you to write about your own family or school life. If you read good

books, you will be a better writer.

A Meaningful Task. You need meaningful, not artificial writing tasks. You'll find suggestions for

such tasks in the section, "Things To Do."

Interest. All the time in the world won't help if there is nothing to write, nothing to say. Some of the

reasons for writing include: sending messages, keeping records, expressing feelings, or relaying

information.

Practice. And more practice.

Revising. Students need experience in revising their work-- i.e., seeing what they can do to make it

clearer, more descriptive, more concise, etc.

POINTERS FOR YOU

Remember that your goal is to make your writing easier and more enjoyable.

Make it real. You need to do real writing. It's more important for the child to write a letter to a relative than it

is to write a one-line note on a greeting card.

Suggest note-taking. Take notes on trips or outings and describe what you saw. This could include a

description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend you to note-taking.

Brainstorm. Do it as much as possible about your impressions and describe people and events to you.

Encourage keeping a journal. This is excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings.

Write about things that happen at home and school, about people you like or dislike and why, things to

remember or things you want to do. Especially write about personal feelings--pleasures as well as

disappointments.

Use games. There are numerous games and puzzles that help you to increase vocabulary and make more

fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles,

word games, anagrams and cryptograms de- signed especially for this purpose. Flash cards are good, too, and

they're easy to make at home.

Suggest making lists. Making lists is good practice and helps to become more organized. You might make

lists of your records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture in a room, etc. You could include items you want. It's

also good practice to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social events, and other reminders.

Encourage copying. If you like a particular song, learn the words by writing them down--replaying the song

on your stereo/tape player or jotting down the words whenever the song is played on a radio program. Also

copy favourite poems or quotations from books and plays.

Source: Learn to write; US Department of Education.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPEAKING AND WRITING

There are many differences between the processes of speaking and writing. Writing is not simply speech

written down on paper. Learning to write is not a natural extension of learning to speak. Unlike speech, writing

requires systematic instruction and practice. Here are some of the differences between speaking and writing

that may clarify things for you and help you in your efforts as a writer and speaker.

Journalistic Writing MCM310

WRITING

SPEECH

1. Not everyone learns to read and write

1. Universal, everybody acquires it

2. Written language is more restricted and

2. Spoken language has dialect variations that

generally follows a standardised form of

represent a region

grammar, structure, organization, and

vocabulary

3. Writers rely on the words on the page to

3. Speakers use their voices (pitch, rhythm,

express meaning and their ideas

stress) and their bodies to communicate

their message

4. Writers use punctuation

4. Speakers use pauses and intonation

5. Writers spell

5. Speakers pronounce

6. Most writing is planned and can be changed

6. Speaking is

often

spontaneous

and

through editing and revision before an

unplanned.

audience reads it

7. Writers have a delayed response from

7. Speakers have immediate audiences who

audiences or none at all and have only one

nod, interrupt, question and comment

opportunity to convey their message, be

interesting, informative, accurate and hold

their reader's attention

8. Writing on the other hand is more formal and

8. Speech is usually informal and repetitive

compact. It progresses more logically with

fewer explanations and digressions.

9. Writers use more complex sentences with

9. Speakers use simpler sentences connected

connecting words like however, who,

by lots of ands and buts.

although, and in addition.

10. Writers are often solitary in their process

10. Speakers draw on their listeners reactions

to know how or whether to continue

11. Writers must consider what and how much

11. Speakers can gauge the attitudes, beliefs,

their audience needs to know about a given

and feelings of their audience by their

topic

verbal and non-verbal reactions

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