Standards 3 & 4—Student Publications or Media Writing Processes
Throughout my years on staff, I have had the chance to refine my writing skills as a journalist. I have written 18 pieces for print, including three collaborative stories, some of which covered topics that required FERPA forms.
Writing for the HiLite has taught me how to approach stories and sensitive issues, as well as how to communicate with people about them. As 15 Minutes editor, I conducted many Q&As whose questions would be featured on the spread along with their answers; therefore, I've learned to ask clear, direct questions spanning a variety of subject matters, each of which required a thorough understanding of the material. I have learned the extent to which I should research before conducting interviews, as it is more efficient to answer surface-level questions with a quick Google search prior to asking a source about their experiences—this makes it easier to maintain the conversation and dive into deeper, more storytelling quote-producing areas.
Being on staff has also helped me become more familiar with the difference in story structures, from beats to feature stories. While beats are designed to be short and informative and thus lend themselves to an inverted pyramid structure, feature stories are longer, designed to intrigue readers and tell a story, which lends themselves to narrative-style pieces.
As a writing coach last year, I conducted a writing workshop with the goal of teaching others how to meet the standards regarding interviews, headlines and captions and story structure, and I have been able to exhibit these standards through my own work. I was a beats editor my first year on staff, which gave me experience in copy-editing and expanded my abilities in proofreading. Before posting the beats, I ensured that everything conveyed the intended information efficiently. This taught me how to write and revise headlines and captions, as well as use language pertinent to each style of writing.
Some of my best work includes the following feature stories:
Unconventional-looking Produce
DNA Discovery
Autism Awareness
I have also experimented with writing for perspectives, and these works were published:
Family First
Preventing Parking Problems
Throughout my years on staff, I have had the chance to refine my writing skills as a journalist. I have written 18 pieces for print, including three collaborative stories, some of which covered topics that required FERPA forms.
Writing for the HiLite has taught me how to approach stories and sensitive issues, as well as how to communicate with people about them. As 15 Minutes editor, I conducted many Q&As whose questions would be featured on the spread along with their answers; therefore, I've learned to ask clear, direct questions spanning a variety of subject matters, each of which required a thorough understanding of the material. I have learned the extent to which I should research before conducting interviews, as it is more efficient to answer surface-level questions with a quick Google search prior to asking a source about their experiences—this makes it easier to maintain the conversation and dive into deeper, more storytelling quote-producing areas.
Being on staff has also helped me become more familiar with the difference in story structures, from beats to feature stories. While beats are designed to be short and informative and thus lend themselves to an inverted pyramid structure, feature stories are longer, designed to intrigue readers and tell a story, which lends themselves to narrative-style pieces.
As a writing coach last year, I conducted a writing workshop with the goal of teaching others how to meet the standards regarding interviews, headlines and captions and story structure, and I have been able to exhibit these standards through my own work. I was a beats editor my first year on staff, which gave me experience in copy-editing and expanded my abilities in proofreading. Before posting the beats, I ensured that everything conveyed the intended information efficiently. This taught me how to write and revise headlines and captions, as well as use language pertinent to each style of writing.
Some of my best work includes the following feature stories:
Unconventional-looking Produce
DNA Discovery
Autism Awareness
I have also experimented with writing for perspectives, and these works were published:
Family First
Preventing Parking Problems