Writing for non-journalists

Course Overview

Learn how to write like a journalist on this intensive, fast-paced course which is ideal for anyone who wants to learn some basic journalist skills in news and feature writing.

Who the course is for

Anyone whose job is to communicate with an audience through the written word; journalism skills are vital in the modern online and offline publishing environment, where good writing and storytelling skills are essential to engage the audience.

Learning Objectives

- How to structure a news story based on the inverted pyramid principle - How to write good intros
- The importance of grabbing the readers’ attention
- Using quotes to add texture and tone

- The importance of plain English
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Tips on style, length and vocabulary
- Tight writing – what it is and why it is important
- How the web has changed the way we should write.

Course Outline

How to structure a news story based on the inverted pyramid principle
- The inverted pyramid and why it’s important
- Why stories are written in this style

- How to make your story flow in a logical way for the reader

How to write good intros

- The role of the intro in a news story - Optimal length
- How to write a good opening

The importance of grabbing the readers’ attention

- How media is creating a distracted audience - The need to sell your story from the start
- Common intro mistakes

Using quotes to add texture and tone

- Misconceptions about quotes
- Using quotes to add texture, emotion and a change of voice - What makes a good quote

The importance of plain English

- Why gobbledygook and jargon are a turn-off for the reader - Writing like we speak
- Plain English in action

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

- Redundant words, meaningless modi ers and inadvertent repetition - The overloaded second paragraph syndrome
- Message v messenger

Tips on style, length and vocabulary

- The writer’s craft and the mind-set of good writers
- Words and phrases to avoid and why
- Why we write the way we do and how to improve our style

Tight writing – what it is and why it is important

- Why writing is and should be dif cult
- Clarity and economy, the writer’s friends - Tricks of the trade

How the web has changed the way we should write

- How reading on screens has affected the way we need to write - Making it easy for the reader
- Organising longer copy to make it web-friendly

Getting there

About Press Association

The Press Association (PA) is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland and a leading multimedia content provider across web, mobile, broadcast and print. For the last 147 years PA has been providing fast, accurate feeds of text, data, photos and video. Today the business is increasingly focused on the delivery of complete products for both digital and print clients. 

The Press Association Training courses are specifically tailored to ensure they include the very latest developments in the rapidly changing world of the media.

All of PA's trainers are working journalists or PR professionals with the most up-to-date knowledge who always shape courses to the individual needs of those attending.