Students write essays about various subjects and topics. Each may become a significant challenge or a stroll in a local park. Journalism is one of the most captivating and pretty challenging directions. If you feel a college essay about journaling may become an absolute nightmare for you, read this helpful blog post to the end. It was prepared by a friendly team of Writemyessays.com. It highlights practical ways to write this essay perfectly.
Why Is Journalism a Popular Direction to Cover?
The first tip is always to cover only relevant and exciting topics in whatever essays you need to write. Journalism is undoubtedly one of them. Why is it that popular? This direction has been crucial for many years because people are curious about their nature. They want to know about different kinds of events. Besides, a person who follows the latest news is wise. He or she is aware of all the happenings to draw the correct conclusions and use them to his or her advantage (if possible). Here are 8 tips that will be covered in our blog post:
- Specific angle
- Purpose
- Personal experiences
- Research
- Language
- Focus
- A thesis statement
- Revision
Identify a Specific Angle
It’s necessary to select a specific angle that will predispose how your story will be told. You are supposed to select a unique, catchy, and relevant topic. It must not be too broad because your time and word count are limited. You must narrow down your topic.
You need to be choosy when you select a topic. If you want to write college essay about journaling and get the highest grade, you are supposed to cover something meaningful to your potential audience. Here is a list of our exciting ideas for topics on journalism:
- What are the main benefits of journaling for mental health?
- What is the role of journaling in personal growth?
- When journalism is used inappropriately?
- Imagine a world without journalism.
- What makes a good journalist?
- Cases when it is dangerous to work as a journalist.
- The primary purpose and benefits of journalism for humankind.
- Why is it reasonable to highlight news?
- Why is it intriguing to be a journalist?
- How can journalism change one’s life?
- Where do journalistic ethics end?
You are free to use any of these suggestions. They all focus on exciting cases related to journalism. It’s also necessary to understand how to choose the right topic.
It must be currently relevant. It means you need to find a point that is interesting now and which will be interesting for several months or years at the least. You are supposed to focus on a problem that either has no solutions or those solutions are weak. Be helpful to your readers and offer the right solutions.
At times, you may even choose pretty popular topics that have already been highlighted many times. If you have reviewed them from new yet unstudied angles, you can cover them again. An uncommon and fresh view of a well-known problem is always captivating for many people.
Decide on the Purpose of the Essay
You need to decide what purpose your essay should have. It helps to determine the structure and content of the writing. Each purpose has its own peculiarities and may potentially induce some problems. That is why you need to know the meaning of each option.
There are several ways to use the purpose and thus impact the entire storytelling. Let’s check the most popular and effective ones:
- Persuade. You can choose a strategy for persuading. Choose a standpoint and defend it with firm arguments. Use the correct facts and examples to prove that your point of view is correct.
- Compare and contrast. This purpose helps to understand a problem and find a solution to it when you compare at least two objects, terms, events, or phenomena. Commonly, they are quite the opposite of each other. The difference is the contrast that shows why something is unique and either helpful or harmful. It depends on your standpoint.
- Reflect. You may also get deeply personal when you choose a reflexive purpose. It means you should reflect on your experiences related to the topic you highlight in your journalism essay. Make sure you have the right story to relate to the central question of your project.
- Describe. It’s also possible to use a descriptive style. You are to describe the selected topic in vivid detail to create a complete picture of what matters. Let your readers feel what you feel through the use of precise words.
- Show cause and consequence. Finally, you can reveal your topic by offering the cause and consequence. Show how something caused the changes and analyze the consequences. Thus, you can teach your readers that every action must be taken seriously and responsibly. It may lead to good or bad outcomes.
Reflect on Personal Experiences
Oftentimes, articles in newspapers are pretty personal. Although you must study and highlight news impersonally, many journalists likewise add their opinion about a concrete case. This habit is welcomed by their readers.
One of the ways to connect your writing to your readers is to add an anecdote. Most of you know what it means. Nonetheless, we think it would be helpful to remind you of its meaning and value once again. An anecdote is a personal story that happened either to you or to people you know. It must always be related to the topic you cover. Otherwise, it makes no sense.
Let’s check a few versions of how to use personal anecdotes effectively:
- As my article is about life in the ghetto, I need to tell a short story about my personal experience.
- I used to deal with guns too. Thus, this story is personal as well. Here is what I’ve faced in my childhood…
Incorporate Research
When you write an essay on journalism, you simply have no right to write from your own experience. You must use proven sources of information because of several reasons. First, every essay offering evidence must be researched because only proven facts, theorems, suggestions, theories, or assumptions can confirm that your point is 100% correct.
Secondly, journalism itself is, so to speak, a serious direction. Its primary purpose is to highlight current news and offer only pure facts. Yes, you are free to add your own opinion. Nonetheless, it only follows your investigation. You must operate with facts. Otherwise, your readers will not trust you.
You should do in-depth research every time you write an essay or article. Use only trustworthy sources of information. Commonly, these are websites that end with .edu, .org, and .gov. Make sure you verify the reputation of every website you visit. If you prefer an old-mannered way of going to a local library, we have nothing against it. It undoubtedly contains reliable evidence. Of course, you ought to understand that some sources may be outdated. Besides, surfing the Internet is always more convenient and fast. Here is a list of trustworthy sources you can use in your essays about journalism:
- Academic journals;
- Books;
- Textbooks;
- Almanacs;
- Scientific articles;
- Results of studies and experiments;
- Surveys, etc.
Be sure you verify every source you’re reading to cover your topic and intend to use it in your text. Make notes, refine them, and select the most appropriate ones. Thus, you will surely prove all your theories.
Use Clear and Concise Language
It’s vital to use clear and concise language. It helps to communicate ideas effectively. You are expected to create readable and comprehensive texts. The task isn’t easy at all because many people may have great ideas, but they cannot reflect them on paper.
First, we would like to start with a few examples. They will show the way you can write clearly and without getting too long or tedious. Read our suggestions on how to use plain language to convey complex ideas:
- The main goal of journalism is to highlight important events. Yet, a journalist must not cross the line between telling the truth and destroying someone’s reputation.
- If you want to be a good journalist, you should be diligent and honest, but sometimes a little bit cruel, to get the news you need.
- The best reporters have no fear when digging out the truth. We know that it may be a difficult challenge. People in this profession have the heart to withstand all kinds of threats.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in our examples. You dwell upon really significant points that are explained plainly.
We must focus on smart ways to make texts easier to read and comprehend. Many writers make the same mistakes that spoil the readability of their writings. Make allowances for their mistakes and our explanations:
- Too long sentences and paragraphs
You should not write too many sentences that are too long. Besides, the whole text must be divided into pretty short paragraphs. Thus, your text will be much easier and faster to read and understand. If you make everything too long, you may confuse your readers. They may forget your point at the end of the sentence or paragraph.
- The use of the wrong lexicon
Watch the language you’re using. If you want to be clear, use everyday speech. Use words that are well-known to the majority of people. No matter what topic you highlight, they must be in every essay or article. Yet, don’t forget to use the particular terminology of journalists and a few terms of the topic you highlight because you may be busy with various fields – crime, politics, technology, etc.
- Overuse of the passive voice
It’s not good when you use passive construction too frequently. The passive voice requires more words to be completed. As a result, your sentences and paragraphs become longer. Prefer the active voice in most cases. It requires fewer words and uses a dynamic lexicon. Thus, your texts will be livelier and more pleasant to read.
- Over-explanations
A good journalist always knows how to explain any concept quickly and in a single try. If you start to add 2 and more explanations to the same concept, you fail. Your readers will understand that cannot be concise and clear.
- Abrupt transitions
It’s no good to be hasty. What do we mean? Many students, and later journalists, make abrupt transitions from one point to another. It’s a terrible mistake because any point you implement must be ended and explained logically. Make sure you clarify one point before you go to another. Make smooth and logical transitions from one thesis to another.
- The use of clichés
You should also remember that stereotypical thinking is your enemy. Your readers expect to read something fresh and original. Express your thoughts in uncommon ways, and do not use clichés. They show that you cannot be creative in your writing.
Focus on Specific Examples
When you write a journal paper, it’s necessary to use specific examples. They let you connect your experiences and emotions with your readers. If you generalize your statements, you detach your audience. Use specific sentences in every paragraph. Check the following examples of how to use specific examples effectively in a college essay about journaling:
- I cannot tell that this topic isn’t related to me personally because I’ve been through the same trouble a couple of years ago…
- To understand the value of this topic, we need to check a concrete example of one region in South Africa…
- At times, the simplest things you don’t commonly ponder are decisive.
Write a Strong Thesis Statement
The importance of a good thesis statement is hard to underestimate. This is the central point of the entire essay, even though it’s commonly only one sentence. Its primary purpose is to explain to your readers the purpose of your essay and why it is so important.
Not all students can write good thesis statements. We can help them with this issue as well Here are a few great tips on how to craft a powerful thesis statement:
- Be straight to the point.
- Use words that fully reflect your intentions.
- Your thesis must be related to your topic.
- Make it catchy and convincing.
Revise Everything
Your last stage must be the post-writing or revision stage. This is the stage when you need to check your own text. Thus, you are supposed to use editing and proofreading skills. Editing skills are responsible for being sure that the text really “flows” and is easy to comprehend. Proofreading skills are responsible for checking grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. As you can see, both skills must be used as a combo.
To be sure you have spotted all mistakes, you must undertake certain measures. These are as follows:
- Read the text at least twice. When you read the text more than once, you increase the chance to spot vulnerable parts in it.
- Use various reading methods. You can read in your head and aloud. Each method has its pros. Besides, you can read from the last line to the first line. Although it may slow you down a bit, it helps to improve concentration and thus spot more errors.
- Ask someone to help. If you have reliable and skilled friends, ask them to read your essay at least once. Another person commonly has a better chance to detect drawbacks.
- Apply technology. You should not deny the power of technology. There are smart editors and grammar checkers that help to detect all kinds of mistakes. They commonly run online and scan the text in 10–30 seconds. They provide full feedback on your drawbacks and offer their corrections. Thus, you can correct your mistakes by clicking on the suggested corrections.
Do not skip this stage for your own sake! If you do that, you will never find some of your drawbacks. Don’t be too self-confident because no one is perfect. Even if you are a skilled writer and know the topic well, it doesn’t mean you won’t make some mistakes. Spend a few minutes to reread your essay at least 2 times to be sure it’s perfect.
The Bottom Line
We hope that our blog post was beneficial for your academic aims. Journalism is one of the fascinating topics a student could cover. It has a lot of directions that can be studied, discussed, and used with a good purpose. You should not be afraid of covering essays on journalism when you have our smart tips. They are universal and suit whatever topic you want to cover. Use them every time you write an essay, and we promise that you’ll be successful. Quite soon, you’ll be using them without checking this blog post. They will be pictured in your memory.