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Writer's Guidelines

In preparing for my article I have been researching proper techniques and guidelines for journalistic writing and news reporting.  I have also obtained an unpaid internship through the USF Oracle, which is a daily student newspaper distributed in printed and online forms on USF’s Tampa campus.  I have received my first story assignment, which is on the new GPS bus tracking system, and I have asked to publish my story about the writing center as well.  Through my internship at the Oracle, I have already learned a lot about news reporting and article writing.  The most helpful piece of information I have received from them is their guidelines for writers.  I will be summarizing their main guidelines below and supplementing those guidelines with some that I have found in my own independent online research.

Guidelines:

  • Be unbiased and objective in your writing.
  • When directly quoting subjects in your article, you should insert the quote in your article as follows:  “Quote,” so-and-so said, a –job title- at –employer or organization-.  Rather than “Quote,” says so-and-so.
  • Try to record your interview either on video or audio tape.  Always ask your interviewee if you can record the interview before you turn on a tape.
  • Always dress and act professionally in your interview, arrive early or at least on time, and be polite and courteous.
  • Ask every possible question.  Do not assume anything.
  • Do not quote web sites.  Try and get the information from a direct source.
  • Do not conduct an interview in email, only in person or over the phone.
  • Do not interview your friends, family, or anyone with whom you have a personal relationship.
  • Extensively research your topic prior to your interview, after your interview, before you write and during writing.  Research, research, research.  Fact check, fact check, fact check.
  • Always thank your interviewee after your interview and send them a copy of the published article.

This week I am going to be going to the writing center to interview students about their experiences and improvements in their writing and grades from going to the writing center.  These interviews will supplement my primary interview with Kate and my on-going research.  I am also searching the Oracle archives to find the article previously written about the writing center to use as reference for my article and get an idea of the kind of coverage they have received in the past.  Since the student body at a University is constantly changing as students graduate and move on, there is a good chance that the current student body at USF did not read that article and might not have heard of the writing center if it hasn’t been introduced to them.

The writing center conducts their own surveys after students’ complete sessions to provide them with feedback on their strengths and weaknesses.  I have been playing with the idea of conducting a small sample survey to find out the real numbers of student awareness, usage, and benefits of the writing center.  I would appreciate thoughts from classmates and instructors on incorporating a survey into my article.  Do you think it would be beneficial?

March 15th, 2010 | Category: Uncategorized

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