MCM310 Handouts by VUBuddy

Journalistic Writings

MCM310

Table of Contents: Page no. Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Qualities Of Good Writers II Lesson 4 Qualities Of Good Writing Lesson 5 Qualities Of Good Writing II Lesson 6 The Process Of Writing Lesson 7 The Process Of Writing II Lesson 8 All About Words Lesson 9 Dictionary-A Writer’s Language Tool Lesson 10 Parts Of Speech Lesson 11 Basic Clause Patterns Lesson 12 Active And Passive Voice Lesson 13 Modifiers And Sentence Types Lesson 14 Reported Speech Lesson 15 Grammatical Sentence – Issues Lesson 16 Grammatical Sentence – Issues II Lesson 17 Effective Sentence Lesson 18 Style: Guideline And Pitfalls I Lesson 19 Style: Guideline And Pitfalls II Lesson 20 Paragraph Writing: Types And Techniques Lesson 21 Paragraph Writing: Types And Techniques Lesson 22 Essay Writing , High-Impact Language Lesson 23 Signal Words Lesson 24 Expository Writing Lesson 25 The Writing Styles: Report And Narrative Writing Lesson 26 The Writing Styles: Descriptive And Persuasive Writings Lesson 27 Research Writing And Documenting Sources Lesson 28 Summary And Précis Writing Lesson 29 Punctuation Lesson 30 Mechanics Lesson 31 Reading Skills For Writers Lesson 32 Parts Of A Newspaper: The Language Of Newspapers I Lesson 33 The Language Of The Newspapers II Lesson 34 News Writing and Style I Lesson 35 News Writing II Lesson 36 Editorial Writing Lesson 37 Writing Features Lesson 38 Writing Columns Lesson 39 Writing Articles For Newspapers Lesson 40 Writing Analysis Lesson 41 Letters To Editors Lesson 42 Broadcast And Web News Writing Lesson 43 Writing Press Release, Reviews And Obituaries Press Release Lesson 44 The Art Of Interviewing Lesson 45 Final Thoughts

LECTURE 1

“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. 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 designed 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.