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Module Content:Ìý

Non-Fiction Writing is a broad field, and this course will draw on the lecturer’s diverse range of experience and expertise. Students will learn the fundamental skills for being a non-fiction writer today: how to write like a journalist, how to generate compelling and original ideas, the fundamentals of feature writing, the art of column writing, how to conduct interviews and write entertaining and insightful profiles. There will also be high profile guests who will share their experience and advice with students.

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This course will give students an overview of how non-fiction writing has changed in the past 20 years, both for writers and readers, amid rapid technological transformations. Initial worries that the internet would make professional journalism obsolete have been replaced by a growing consensus that good journalism is now more needed than ever. Fears over shrinking attention spans have proved similarly misplaced: the appetite for in-depth storytelling has never been greater. If you want to work in the media or communicate your expertise through the media, or you want to critically engage with the stories that surround us, this module will teach you all the relevant skills.Ìý

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Learning Outcomes:Ìý

Once students have completed this course they will:Ìý

• have a systematic understanding of key transformations in the media landscape today and insight into the reality of how non-fiction writing, in all its forms, works today and the direction it is moving in.Ìý

• have a systematic knowledge of some of the tools and techniques journalists use to tell complex stories that engage a global audience.Ìý

• be aware to an advanced level of the skills required to produce high quality journalistic material and the potential as well as the challenges posed by the internet and mobile era in the form of fake news, data journalism and reader input.Ìý

• have a systematic understanding of old-fashioned principles of good journalism in terms of establishingÌý

• facts, reporting accurately, avoiding bias and using colour, quotes and structure to make complex stories engaging and readable.Ìý

• have an advanced understanding of the internal workings of the media, how decisions are made about stories, headlines and page layouts all of which will give them an ability to assess the media they consume or contribute to in future with a more critical eye.Ìý

• have practised their writing skills in different formats, spending time thinking about how to communicate with different audiences, how to write in a very simple, straightforward way and how to say a lot, quickly, with very few words.Ìý

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Indicative Delivery Method:Ìý

1 lecture and one seminar per week.