Campus Connection: FB SPJ posts

Note: Jump to the index of FB posts (updated as of January 3, 2026). If you can't find a resource under a specific category, you can search for it in the “Miscellaneous topics” category.

Free resources for SPAs, SPJ teachers and students, and Journalism/Mass Com majors in college:

A. “SPJ resources 2024” (1,500-plus resources such as PDFs, JPGs, infographics, cheatsheets, etc. on various aspects of journalism with approximately 4.83 GB total file size).

B. “SPJ resources 2025” (720-plus SPJ modules and other journalism resources)

C. 200-plus resources (JPG, PDF, MP4, etc.) on photography and photojournalism, with 600-plus megabytes total file size.

D. 900-plus interactive exercises on English grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal analogy, etc (with around 200 megabytes total file size). The exercises have time limit and automatic scoring, with an average of 10 items per exercise.

All that I ask is that these free resources that I’m offering must be used only on a personal and private basis; they must not be uploaded to a website or to an intranet. These resources are free of charge for everyone and must not be used commercially.

A. “SPJ resources 2024” (1,500-plus resources such as PDFs, JPGs, infographics, cheatsheets, etc. on various aspects of journalism; download link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e6gYNJGRvdsSGzu4qcXAxWJVlA-Wb_K6?usp=sharing (you can download the files even if you don’t have a Google Drive account).

If you find it difficult to download this folder, it may because the bandwidth limit of my Google Drive account has been exceeded (I'm using the free account with a maximum limit of 15 GB). Try again later; I will also look for another free cloud storage with a bigger bandwidth limit.

B. “SPJ resources 2025” (720-plus SPJ modules and other journalism resources); download link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11hb1fuzZKOM3t_p4SyNgTSkVrnDZSnLu?usp=sharing (you can find the modules in the folder “L SPJ modules”)

C. 200-plus resources (JPG, PDF, MP4, etc.) on photography and photojournalism; download link at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1l0r3bmriSw6qga18TKYle59W9iDU3aup?usp=sharing (you can download the files even if you don’t have a Google Drive account).

D. 900-plus interactive exercises on English grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal analogy, etc; download link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SGSpj07Yl8Tlm2t8KXM7JXGPz6WZOsVj?usp=sharing

1. Once you have downloaded the files from Google Drive and opened the home page (index file), you will see a link to the resource titled “Spoken English Learned Quickly” (SELQ). The SELQ files are also stored in Google Drive, with approximately 850 megabytes total file size; direct download link from Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-9jzpatTtnGYnuHISOOAJDtQzhGmaiU1?usp=sharing (you can download the files even if you don’t have a Google Drive account).

The “Spoken English Learned Quickly” (SELQ) resource features lessons in PDF and MP3 formats, with choices of American accent or light British accent. The lessons are based on a modern English version of the Book of Acts (New Testament of the Bible). Instructions for students are in English and various other languages such as Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Filipino, etc.

2. The interactive exercises will work even if you’re offline. But with your smartphone or tablet, you cannot use the “HTML Viewer” app because the interactive exercises require Javascript; you need to use your browser, preferably Firefox, to open the files. Choose the website or desktop view rather than the mobile view. But the SELQ resource will not work on a smartphone or tablet.

3. The SELQ resource was developed by the late Dr. Lynn Lundquist. In the late 2000s, Dr. Lundquist gave me permission to use it in my websites and seminars. In contrast to traditional ESL programs, Dr. Lundquist developed the SELQ resource so as to enable people to speak fluent conversational English within a year.

4. I suggest that you download these free resources that I’m offering to you to your laptop or desktop computer. The “SPJ resources 2024” resources are approximately 4.83 gigabytes; the interactive exercises are about 200 megabytes; the SELQ files are about 850 megabytes; and the photojournalism resources are about 600 megabytes. Except for the SELQ resource, you can later transfer these files to your smartphone or tablet via OTG USB cable.

5. With the SELQ files, you need to use either your laptop or desktop computer. You need to open the lesson (either as web page or PDF) in one tab/window. You also need to open the MP3 file in another tab/window. Resize the tabs/windows so that you can see them both side by side. (When clicking the MP3 file, you can choose American accent or British accent.)

If you have any question about downloading or using these free resources, please email me. I’ll be able to reply to you within two to three days; if you don’t see my reply in your Inbox, check your Spam folder. Or, you can text me.

Atty. Gerry T. Galacio
gtgalacio@yahoo.com
0927-798-3138

My Facebook page “Plain English: Special Program in Journalism and press conferences” has discussions and resources for teachers and students in the “Special Program in Journalism,” a curricular offering of the Department of Education in the Philippines under the MATATAG Curriculum’s Programs for the Gifted and Talented. But campus journalism teachers and students from all over the world will also benefit from my Facebook page.

For those using a desktop computer: Clicking any link on this page will open the FB post in a new tab.

For those using a mobile device with the FB app: Clicking any link on this page will open the post in your browser, not in your FB app. If the post doesn’t appear, swith to desktop view. To view the post in your FB app, copy the URL and then paste it into the app’s “Search” box.

Jump to Academic Writing; Code of Ethics for Journalists; Copyreading and Headline Writing; DepEd SPJ and SPA modules (English and Filipino); Editorial Cartooning; Editorial Writing and Column Writing; Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation; Feature Writing; Free books and other resources; Grammar and usage; Infographics and cheatsheets; Lead; Lesson plans and other resources for SPAs and SPJ teachers; Miscellaneous journalism resources from UNICEF and UNESCO; Miscellaneous topics; Miscellaneous writing lessons; MOJO (mobile journalism); News Writing; Photography and photojournalism; Plain English / Plain Language resources; RA 7079 Campus Journalism Act of 1991; Radio-TV Broadcasting; Schoolpaper layout and design; Collaborative Desktop Publishing; Online Publishing; graphics, websites, and blogs; Science and Technology Writing; Sportswriting; Writing Prompts

Academic Writing

• Academic Writing Infographic (University of Arizona Global Campus) | “An academic writing style is used because it presents scholarly information with an unbiased and credible approach that is expected in scholarly writing.”

• Academic Writing Skills (free book from The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia) | “By reading and completing activities in this resource you will be able to ... apply strategies for writing cohesive academic essays – including the introduction, body paragraph structure, and a conclusion.”

• Academic Writing (free 352-page book by Jeffrey R. Wilson, teacher-scholar at Harvard University) | “.... no-nonsense guide to the long and complex writing process. Packed with concrete examples, helpful visuals, and practical tips, the book is an essential guide for academic writing at the highest level.”

• Introduction to Academic Writing (free book from School of Liberal Arts, University of Phayao, Thailand) | Definition, styles and principles of academic writing, academic language, writing different types of academic writings for academic presentation, citation and references in writing academic English, ethics in academic writing (with exercises, assignments, and answer keys)

• Journalist or academic? I’m leading a ‘double life’! by Eunice Barbara Novio (a Filipino academic teaching at Vongchavalitkul University in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand; contributor, Philippine Daily Inquirer)

• How to write your first Research Paper and get it published! (Wiley Online Library) | For SPAs and SPJ teachers who are pursuing their MA or PhD, or currently writing research papers

• Academic Writing: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Dr. Risidaxshinni Kumarusamy (Putra Business School, Universiti Putra Malaysia) | “Even the most solid content will collapse under weak writing.”

• Introduction Section for Research Papers (PDF) from San Jose State University, California, USA | “An introduction should establish the topic with a strong opening that grabs the reader’s attention before giving an overview of recent research on your chosen topic. Avoid going too in-depth in the introduction; deep dives into your topic should be saved for the body of the paper.”

• Research-paper writing resources (PDF) from San Jose State University, California, USA | Abstract; Introduction; Literature Review; Methodology; Findings/Results; Discussion; Conclusion

• How to Read a Research Paper (San Jose State University, California, USA) | “Reading can be broken down into three stages: before, during, and after. Each stage is crucial to gaining a complete understanding of any text, especially dense research papers.”

• Writing Literature Reviews and Research Proposals from San Jose State University, California, USA

• The Structure of an Academic Paper (Harvard University Graduate School of Education) | “... writing conventions vary widely across countries, cultures, and even disciplines. For example, although the hourglass model introduces the most important point right from the beginning as a guide to the rest of the paper, some traditions build the argument gradually and deliver the main idea as a punchline.”

• A Practical Guide to Academic Writing for International Students (A Routledge Freebook) | “... Hong Kong Chinese scholars attempting to publish in English experienced difficulty in a number of areas These included the length of time it took them to write in English; expressing their ideas in English; the extent and richness of their vocabulary and making claims for their research that had the requisite degree of force.They felt that their language skills limited them to a simple style of writing; they perceived writing qualitative research to be more challenging than quantitative research and found writing the introductions and discussion sections of research articles to be particularly difficult.”

• Academic Writing Handbook for Learners from Further Education Support Service, Ireland

• Academic Writing resources from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

• Chapter 1: Basic Conventions of Academic Writing free PDF from “Academic Writing and Grammar for Students” (Sage Publishing) | With discussions, key points, and examples

• PDF slideshows: APA Basics, MLA Basics, Chicago Manual of Style (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA)

• Academic Writing resources (PDFs) from the University of Texas at San Antonio, USA

• Guidelines for Writing a Thesis or Dissertation (and other topics) from College of Journalism and Nass Communications, University of Florida, USA

• Free resources: "Writing for Different Disciplines from Southwestern University, Texas, USA

• Visual Guide to an Academic Essay (The Writing Studio, University of South Florida, USA) | “Whereas an introduction takes the shape of an upside-down triangle, body paragraphs take the shape of diamonds. Many student writers mistakenly treat body paragraphs as upside-down triangles, but this is not an effective approach for structuring paragraphs.”

• How to write an essay: Introduction (The basics on how to write an academic essay for university from University of Newscastle, Australia)

• How to write an essay: Body (The basics on how to write an academic essay for university from University of Newscastle, Australia)

• Report Writing from Newcastle University, Australia

• APA, MLA, Chicago and Turabian reference guides from University of Missouri - Kansas City, USA

• Academic writing resources from University of Missouri - Kansas City, USA

• Academic Use of English Resource Pack from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR | “The Resource Pack, which consists of a Student Book and the Answer Key, comprises six chapters on key language features and skills related to the academic use of English. The Resource Pack includes explanatory notes and learning activities.”

• Essay Writing: For the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences from Australian National University | “Academic essay writing is persuasive. You are expected to take a position and present an argument in order to convince the reader of your views. Arguing for a position goes beyond simple description or the presentation of a series of facts. It means understanding the question, engaging with the debate and using evidence critically.”

• Reflective Writing from Flinders University | “Keep in mind that the language you use can differ depending on what you are discussing and what form your reflection takes. When analysing and linking theory to practice, you still need to use clear transitions and ensure evidence is logically linked to your interpretations or evaluations. When writing a reflective journal or blog, meanwhile, you may be more creative and personal with your language and expression.”

• Reflective writing (models and examples) from Charles Sturt University, Australia | “Reflection brings together theory and practice. It enables professionals to systematically find effective, practical ways of applying theoretical knowledge in the contexts in which they work.”

• Hourglass Communication Poster from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Communication Lab

• Graduate Writing Handbook by Allison Deegan, Ed.D. (Trident University International, California, USA) | “One of the reasons graduate-level writing is different from other student writing is that your professor is no longer your only audience. Writing for your professor is your first goal, but dissertations, theses, and more in-depth course papers (such as capstones) are intended to be shared with a broader academic audience. When writing at the graduate level, the student must not only meet (and even strive to exceed) all of the standards of great academic writing, but also contribute something original and useful to engage that broader audience.”

• Academic style writing (free PDFs from The University of Sidney)

• How to improve your academic writing from University of Essex, England | “In a recent survey, academic staff at the University identified the interrelated skills of essay-writing and reasoning as the two most important skills for success in higher education; when asked which skills students most often lacked, essay-writing was again at the top of their list. Needless to say, writing ability is also highly prized by employers.”

• Something New Under the Sun? Writing a Research Proposal from the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain

• Developing your academic writing skills: a handbook (Trinity College of Dublin) with discussions, examples, and activities | “Write every day as writing is a generative process and putting pen to paper helps you to think more clearly.”

• Hedging: Using cautious language in academic writing from EAP Foundation | “[Hedging] is especially common in the sciences, for example when giving a hypothesis or presenting results, though it is also used in other disciplines to avoid presenting conclusions or ideas as facts, and to distance the writer from the claims being made.”

• Transition signals in academic writing #1 (Addition, Comparison, Contrast, Concession, and Example) from EAP Foundation | “Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing.”

• Academic essay-writing resources from Centre for English Language Communication, National University of Singapore

• Revising and editing your academic writing from Harvard Graduate School of Education (with exercises) | “Revising: Changing your writing to better present your ideas; Editing: Correcting your writing and language use”; “In academic writing, it’s easy to become vague.”

• Very Quick Academic Writing Tips and Advices (infographic from Research Leap) | “Once you finish your paper, ask someone who is not of your specialization to read it for you to identify whether your paper is easy to understand for all and what aspects are needed to be clarified.”

• Manual for Academic Writing from Research Leap | “If you are about to start writing an academic paper or have already started writing it, this manual is for you! Even if you have already finished writing your paper, this manual is helpful to increase your knowledge and experience in the usage of other writing techniques that you have not used before.”

• What Do Introductions Across the Disciplines Have in Common? from Harvard College Writing Center | With annotated examples of Introductions in Biology, Literature, and Social Sciences

• 7 Sensational Essay Hooks That Grab Readers’ Attention (Academic Writing Success) | “Usually, a hook is a sentence or group of sentences that draw people into reading your essay or research paper. A hook sparks a person’s curiosity. You want whoever reads your essay to wonder what happens next. Hooks also make an introduction stand out (which raises your chance of getting a high grade on your essay).”

• Plagiarism Spectrum: 10 Types of Plagiarism (PDF and infographic) from Turnitin, “world’s leading web-based solution for plagiarism prevention”

• Top Tips For Academic Writing from Mawazo Learning Exchange (professional development platform for African researchers) | “Good academic writing communicates using language that is as clear and easy to understand as possible.”

• Building Blocks of Academic Writing (free 169-page book from BCcampus Open Education, Canada) | “... covers typical writing situations for developing academic writers, from prewriting and research through expressing themselves online. Developmental work in different types of paragraphs—descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive—allows students to build capacity for longer essays.”

• TOPIC guide to academic writing style (PDF and JPG) from Skills Hub

• A typical structure for an academic essay (Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia)

• Academic Writing (presentation from The City University of New York) | “Good writing is also an important skill that translates into any career field. Nearly all professions require some form of writing in all business fields: e.g. e-mails, letters, reports, or any written communication for clients, co-workers, suppliers and other contacts.”

• 15 Academic Writing Tips for Students from James Cook University, Singapore | “Voice & Force: Writing your assignments is like telling a story. When you do so, be honest, original, and compelling.”

• Academic Writing Module (PDF) from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

• Outline of an Academic Paragraph (PDF) from Regent University Writing Center, Virginia Beach, VA, USA)

• Writing Studio: A compilation of Academic Writing materials (Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia) | With exercises but no answer keys

• Making an Effective Research Poster: Design advice and inspirations (University of California, Davis) | “Teach as many people as possible something you learned and a key result in your research”

• Revise and edit (Harvard Graduate School of Education) | “Knowing your strengths and problems as a writer helps you revise.”

• Ten Rules For Academic English from EAP Foundation | “Academic English, like any writing, has its own conventions or ‘style’. It is a formal, written style, which means that it has aspects which make it different from ‘spoken’ academic English, and at the same time, being ‘formal’, it is quite different from ordinary writing which you might use in letters, emails, or stories.”

• Introduction Analysis (Yale College Writing Center) | Conceptual Components — Ethos, Problem; Structural Components — Opener; Topic or Purpose; Motive; Thesis Statement; Roadmap

• Body Paragraph Analysis (Yale College Writing Center) | “A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. This handout breaks the paragraph down into its conceptual and structural components. The conceptual components—direction, movement, and bridges—form the logical makeup of an effective paragraph. The structural elements—topic sentence, transitions, evidence, analysis, and conclusion—are identifiable parts of strong body paragraphs.”

• Conclusion Analysis (Yale College Writing Center resource on Academic Writing) | Conceptual Components — Revisiting the Thesis; Recontextualization — Evolved Thesis; Evolved Motive; Limitation; Look Ahead; Final Thought

• Study Skills for Graduate School and Beyond from Rowan University, New Jersey, USA

• High School vs. College/Academic Discourse (Saint Louis University, Missouri, USA) | High School: “Writing is about correctness and rule-following.”; College: “Writing is about clarity of concepts and personal style.”

• Hedges: Softening Claims in Academic Writing from George Mason University Writing Center, Virginia, USA | With exercise on identifying words and phrases that are used to hedge and boost claims (no answer key)

• Hedging and Boosting: Leaving Room for Doubt and Exceptions (University of Michigan) | With exercises and annotations of sample texts

• Hedging (Academic Use of English, Education Board, Hong Kong SAR | “... commonly used in academic writing, particularly scientific writing, to avoid over-generalisation and soften the tin to make it sound less absolute.”

• “Describing Statistics” and “Describing Trends” (Academic Use of English) from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR

• Analysis vs. Synthesis (in Academic Writing) from Purdue University, Fort Wayne | “In analytical writing you move beyond reacting to content, looking instead at how a text was put together or how the ideas and information were developed; you take the text apart, piece by piece, according to an analytical framework or set of critical ideas.”

• Word Choice in Academic Writing: Tips to Avoid Common Problems (Enago Academy) | “Effective word choice examples are the ones that use clichés sparingly, focuses on denotations and connotations, delivers straightforward meaning, avoids jargon, and is not characterized by a wide vocabulary.”

• Academic essay writing resources (PDF) from Weber State University, Utah, USA

• Everyday English vs Academic English (Academic Use of English) from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR

• Cohesive Devices for Different Purposes (Academic Use of English) from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR

• Comparison and Contrast (Academic Use of English) from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR

• The 5 Worst Academic Essay Writing Mistakes to Avoid (Academic Writing Success)

• Purposeful Writing in the Disciplines and for Professions: Developing Academic Writing Skills of Grade 12 Students (Far Eastern University, Institute of Education, Manila, Philippines)

• Action Words: What is description, application, analysis and evaluation (Academic Writing) from University of Staffordshire, UK

• “Academic Writing,” “Formal Writing,” and “Effective Writing” (resources from University of Staffordshire, UK)

Code of Ethics for Journalists

• Model Code of Ethics for High School journalists (First Edition, 2009) from National Scholastic Press Association | “The focus of student journalists must always be aimed beyond their self-interests toward doing what is best for society. Their motivation should be driven by service rather than ego gratification.”

• For SPAs: Adviser Code of Ethics (Revised 2015) from Journalism Education Association

• Code of Ethics for Filipino photojournalists and those involved in visual news gathering (Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines Inc.) | Famous photojournalists who were caught staging, stealing, or altering their photographs

• Journalist’s Code of Ethics (approved in 1988 by the Philippines Press Institute, the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, and the National Press Club)

• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics: Seek Truth and Report It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, Be Accountable and Transparent (with links to numerous informative discussions through pop-up windows)

• Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists (International Federation of Journalists)

Copyreading and Headline Writing

• Headlines: Writing Basics (PPTX) from Journalism Education Association

• Writing Headlines: Do’s and Don’ts of the Business

• Some helpful guidelines on basic AP Style Guide, essentials (photography, finding a story, interviews, social media, writing), and shooting sports from the “Media Handbook, Part 2” of Englewood High School (Colorado, USA)

• Editing exercises (Miami Dade College, Florida USA) | No answer keys

• Free book: Editor’s Handbook: A Guide To Standardization Of Writing Style (1949) from Iowa State University Digital Press

• Counting the Headline (Iowa State University Digital Press) | “No matter how well-expressed a headline may be, it is of no value at all unless it fits the space prescribed for it. Type is not made of rubber and cannot be squeezed or stretched at will. In order to ‘count in’ headlines accurately, your first step is to learn the unit-count system and the value assigned each letter of the alphabet, punctuation marks and the space between words for the type fonts being used.”

• Proofreading Your Own Writing (Auburn University, Alabama, USA) | “People often think that ‘good writing’ is error-free, and that ‘good writers’ don’t make mistakes, but good writing is really about communicating your ideas effectively to your audience; the mechanics of writing (the ’rules’) are simply tools to achieve this. Having ‘polished’ prose is important to reduce distractions for your reader, to establish your credibility, and to ensure the clarity of what you’re saying. It’s not about following arbitrary rules.”

• Creating Effective Titles and Headlines" (infographic) | Be unique; Be ultra-specific; Be urgent; Be useful

• Writing Headlines (PDF slideshow from Philippine Press Institute, Design Matters Workshop) | “Avoid headlines with double meanings” such as “Babies are what the mother eats” and “Police ordered to help NBI with child slayings”

• Dow Jones PDF tests from 2012 to 2024 (copy editing, AP style, grammar and usage, headline writing with unit count, current events, business reporting, data journalism, digital media, etc.) with answer keys

• Getting to Know Associated Press Style (PDF slideshow) from Center for Writing Excellence, Montclair State University (New Jersey, USA)

• Copy-Editing Symbols cheatsheet from Defense Information School (DINFOS)

• Unit Count and Copy Fitting; Headline Count, Headline Order, and Headline Copy from “Newspaper Production” and “Introduction to Journalism” (resources from the National Open University of Nigeria)

• Copy Editing and Proofreading Symbols for newbie CRHW contestants, SPAs, EICs, section editors, and SPJ teachers and students | Difference between copy editing (copyreading) and proofreading

• Grammar Girl’s Editing Checklist

• Proofreading Exercises (Easy, Medium, and Hard) by Duncan Croker from Chevron Editing

• Associated Press style quizzes from Journalism Education Association with answer keys (RTF format)

• Quizzes from Journalism Education Association by Rob Melton: multiple-choice quizzes on the basics of AP style; copy-editing symbols; copy-editing quiz in the format of an actual story

• Do you really think you’re great with English? Take the extreme challenge with the 2020-2024 Spelling & Vocabulary contests of the University Interscholastic League | With answer keys

• Super Challenge with the 2020-2024 Copy Editing and Headline Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League | Around 55 tests in all: three sections per Copy Editing test, six stories per Headline Writing test; with answer keys

• Editing for Print and Online from Society of Professional Journalists

• Challenge yourselves with the Headline Writing tests from the University Interscholastic League | With headline writing guidelines and suggested answer keys at

• News Editing and Headline Writing Test (with answer key) from Journalism Education Association

• Headline Writing Tips from Society of Professional Journalists

• A. It’s all in your Head(line) — discussions, tips, examples, headline writing and unit count exercises, with suggested answers; B. UIL Headline Writing contests 2016 with fact sheets for 36 stories, headline writing tips, and suggested answers

• Copy Editing 2023-2024 with discussions, illustrations, assessment exercises, and sample exercises with answer keys from the University Interscholastic League | Everyone needs a copy editor ; Kinds of editing: High-level, Mid-level, and Low-level; Ways to teach copy editing: Knowledge based, Synthesis based, Application based, and Evaluation based

• Copy Editing discussions and sample exercises with answer keys from the 2017 University Interscholastic League Contest

• Copy Editing Contest, Sample Test 2016-2017 from University Interscholastic League | Three-part exam with answer keys (good for one class session)

• Take the fun and challenging interactive Copy Edit This! quizzes from The New York Times

• AP Style cheat sheets and quizzes

• Editing and Revising sample exercises from State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness ( STAAR) with answer keys | Even though these exercises were created for Grade 3-8 students, even senior high school SPJ students will find them challenging;

• Copy Editing Contest, Capital Conference 2018 from University Interscholastic League | Three-part exam with answer keys (good for one class session)

• Chicago Style Workouts — online exercises based on the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) with automatic checking and scoring

• For SPJ teachers and students, contestants in CRHW and all other categories, and STEM students: Writing better workbook from Medical Writing PDF of the European Medical Writers Association (with discussions, original/rewritten comparisons, exercises, and answer keys

• Medical Writing Editing PDF from the European Medical Writers Association with discussions, exercises, and answer keys | Honing your proofreading skills; Editing for writers who have English as an additional language; Microediting – details matter

• For senior high SPJ students from science high schools: Scientific editing sample exercises from the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) certification exam | The BELS certification exam topics — grammar, punctuation, mechanics, usage and diction, syntax, organization, internal consistency, numbers, bibliographic references, publishing requirements, tables and illustrations, units of measure and scientific terms, and traditional principles and ethics of scientific inquiry, writing, and publishing

• 2019 Copy Editing and Headline Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League | Around 45 tests in all: three parts per Copy Editing contest, six stories per Headline Writing contest; with fact sheets and answer keys

• 5 Steps of Revision PDF slideshow by Lori Oglesbee (veteran, award-winning schoolpaper adviser) from University Interscholastic League | With discussions and numerous examples

• AP Style Quizzes from Platform Magazine (240 questions total in series of 10-question quizzes, with automatic checking and scoring)

• Writing Headlines Campus Journalism by Rene Boy Abiva (Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija)

• Copywriting Cheatsheet: How to Write: Email vs. Social Media vs. the Web | “When it comes to copywriting, using the same text, voice, tone, and length doesn’t fly across every marketing channel or platform. The way you write for a blog or an email promotion isn’t going to be the same for a Facebook post, or a tweet.”

• Counting headlines (DOCX) for newbies — CRHW contestants, SPJ teachers and students | Unit count, headline order, and headline schedule

• Editing of Print Media - Headlines by Dr. Anjani Kumar Jha (Mahatma Gandhi Central University | This PDF slideshow is the best guide to headline writing I’ve come across yet; the examples of failed headlines will make you think and laugh.

• Proofreading for Sentence Structure from George Brown College (Canada) | Discussions, examples, and exercises (no answer keys)

• Proofreading for Articles [a, an, the] from George Brown College (Canada) | Articles are formally absent from many of the world’s major languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc; While English has one definite article (’the’), Tagalog has ’ang,’ ’ng,’ and ’sa’ (markers).

• Editing and Proofreading Practice PDF resources from George Brown College (Canada) | With answer keys

• AP Style copyreading exercise from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | No answer key

• Proofreading the Work of Others from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | Eight common errors and the techniques proofreaders use to find them

• Finding the Best Words for Descriptive Headlines from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning): For contestants in CRHW and other writing categories, SPAs , EICs, and section editors | “Work with others! Descriptive Headlines usually require many brains working with each other, like a many-sided game of pingpong.”

• Finding the Best Words for Summary and Narrative Headlines | “Readers may imagine that reporters write their own headlines, but that is rarely the case.”

• BANQUET mnemonic for writing captions (Texas Association of Journalism Educators) | “Captions are the most read text on a spread and usually the first.”

• Periodic Table of Copyediting from Dragonfly Editorial (content agency for writing, editorial, and design with clients worldwide) | Color-coded resource for proofreading marks, levels of editing, usage guides, books about editing, etc.

• Funny Headlines: Laugh at Your Peril by Philip Yaffe (Wall Street Journal reporter/feature writer, book author, and university lecturer in Brussels, Belgium) | “How are such ridiculous headlines born? It’s not because headline writers are stupid or careless. There are actually two very good reasons for the phenomenon: time and technique.”

• Headlines worksheet (Académie de Martinique) | Discussions and exercises, with an answer key

• The Power of Energy in Headlines: with exercises and answer keys (Journalism Education Association) | Headline disorders: “Headlines that shout stupidity”; “Headlines that confuse”; “Headlines that embarrass”

• Headlines, Sub-Headlines and Leads (PDF) from Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India

• Copy editing and proofreading exercises from The Writer’s College (UK, South Africa, and New Zealand) using MS Word’s Tracking Changes and comment function | For CRHW contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Workbook Lessons (PDF) from “Media Writer’s Handbook: A Guide to Common Editing and Writing Problems” 4th edition by George Arnold, Marshall University

• Simplicity, Clarity, Revision: A Practical Method of Revision (Luther Rice College & Seminary, Georgia, USA) | The 1st Round - Simplicity; The 2nd Round - Verb Tenses; The 3rd Round - Word Choice and Grammar

• Copyediting exercises (32 items; no answer key): “Copyediting symbols for correcting copy destined for the typesetter” by Rob Melton, award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA

• Avoiding Ambiguous Words (An exercise in clarity) from University of Central Florida, USA

• Strategies for Concision (Doane University, Nebraska, USA) | “When writing, it is important to remain focused. If a paragraph covers too many points at once, it becomes bloated and hard to follow. But, if there is little to no explanation for the arguments given, the writing starts to lose its reader as well. What is a good balance, and how do you reach it?”

• Proofreading (University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA) for newbies — CRHW contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “People often use the terms ‘revision,’ ‘editing,’ and ‘proofreading’ interchangeably, but they have specific meanings worth delineating.”

• Editing and Proofreading (Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia) | “The style or copy edit might seem the most like proofreading, but we’re not there yet. The style edit is where we focus on the language and tone of our work. It’s important to consider who your audience is (real or imagined), the purpose of your work, and the form of your assignment (e.g. essay or report). Why have you used the language you’ve used?”

• Copy editing protocols (Poynter) | “Copy editing protocols are implemented to streamline the copy-editing process and make life easier for editors on copy and assigning desks alike. Historically, copy editors and reporters do not get along, said John Russial, associate professor of journalism at the University of Oregon. Copy editing protocols provide guidelines for when and how copy editors can change stories and are designed to smooth relations among the various desks.”

• Infographic: The 10-Step Guide to Proofreading Essays Quickly; 10 Common Essay Writing Mistakes and How to Fix Them, and 10 Easy Essay Writing Tips by Jennifer Frost from GrammarCheck

• 2025 Copy Editing contests of the University Interscholastic League (Texas, USA) — Invitational and district levels | Each test has three sections, preceded by recommended editing symbols, and followed by the answer keys.

• 2025 Headline Writing contests from University Interscholastic League (Texas, USA) — invitational and district levels | Six stories per headline writing contest; with headline writing tips and answer keys

• “Old syle” versus “new style”? — AP Stylebook (2022-2024) copy editing marks

• Spelling exercises from Augsburg University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA | No answer keys

DepEd SPJ and SPA modules (English and Filipino)

• 90-plus SPJ modules (English and Filipino; Grades 4-10) from SDO Aklan

• SPJ modules (English and Filipino) for Grades 4-6 from DepEd Dipolog

• DepEd modules — English and Filipino — from SDO Pasig City | Although these modules were designed for Grades 4 and 5 students of “English” and “Filipino” subjects, SPJ teachers in grade schools and junior high schools can adapt them for their students.

• DepEd English and Filipino (Grade 5) modules From SDO Marikina City, which SPJ teachers can use or adapt for their JHS students

• Creative Nonfiction modules for senior high school under Deped Matatag curriculum

• Editorial Writing" (English, Quarter 4 – Module 8) from Department of Education; with answer keys | “Writing an editorial is a great way to share your perspective or advocate for a cause to a wide audience. Nevertheless, effective editorial articles can also raise awareness of an issue while influencing people’s opinion on that topic.”

• Filipino Journalism (“Pamamahayag”) modules from the Department of Education

• More SPJ modules from the Department of Education | Although these modules were designed for Grades 4 and 5 students, SPJ teachers can adapt them for their junior high school students.

• DepEd SPJ modules for Grade 7 (English) and other resources on journalism from Doña Asuncion Lee Integrated School (DALIS), Mabalacat City, Pampanga

• SPJ modules (Grades 7 to 10, English and Filipino) from Baguio City and Manila SDOs?

• DepEd modules on Sports Writing (Filipino) for SHS students

• Some SPJ modules (English, Grades 4-5) from SDO Tuguegarao City

• Source for DepEd SHS modules and materials for students (Specialized Subjects; Core Subjects; Applied Subjects) and teachers (Teaching Materials; School Forms) | While this blog has modules on “Media and Information Literacy,” it doesn’t have SPJ modules.

• SPJ Radio Broadcasting modules (Grade 9) from SDO Manila | You need DepEd Gmail to access the modules.

• Free 720-plus SPJ modules and other resources on journalism (news, features, editorials, sports etc.)

• Free 50-plus SPA modules from DepEd Region VI - Western Visayas and Central Office which can be used in SPJ classes and by SPAs in preparing their contestants in Radio Broadcasting, Photojournalism, Collaborative Online Publishing, Feature Writing (Creative Nonfiction), and MoJo

• Free SPA modules — Creative Writing, Media Arts, Visual Arts, etc. — from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Learning Hub for Grades 7 to 10 educators and learners | These modules can be used in SPJ classes.

Editorial Cartooning

• The Use of Symbols and Icons in Editorial Cartoons: A Powerful Language of Satire and Social Commentary

• Sketching and Drawing (National Council of Educational Research and Training, India) with activities

• Visual and plastic language and the press: Illustration, Editorial Cartoon, Comic Strips (Colegio Monterrey, Vigo, Spain)

• Free book: Pulitzer Prize cartoons: The men and their Masterpieces (1951) from Iowa State University Digital Press

• Free lessons for schoolpaper staff artists and anyone who wants to learn how to draw: “Learn How to Draw Using RFA’s Step-by-Step Tutorials!" by Darlene Nguyen” | “The unique thing about this course is that I’m going to use my non-dominate hand to learn along with you. That means that I won’t have the same level of control as my right hand and will basically need to develop my drawing muscles from scratch! I want to prove to you that you can learn how to draw even if your writing looks like chicken scratch!”

• Designing an Editorial Cartoon guide sheet (Province of Manitoba, Canada)

• Cartooning for Peace and Democracy Educational Booklet (Kenya, 2022) | “Unlike other genres, an editorial cartoon is most meaningful when connected to socio-political events that inspire it and from which it cannot be disconnected. This means it is short-lived. It has an expiration date because it is made for a specific moment. However, some editorial cartoons can also take on a timeless dimension.”

• Lessons, strategies, activities, and resources for SPJ teachers in teaching students how to interpret and analyze editorial cartoons: “Visual Literacy Curriculum: Editorial Cartoons" from North Carolina Press Foundation” | Editorial Cartooning contestants can use this guide to hone their craft.

• Create an Editorial Cartoon, Background Information for Students from Central Bucks School District (Pennsylvania, USA) | “A cartoonist strives to make an opinion about a subject. The cartoonist assumes that you, as the reader of an editorial cartoon will have enough knowledge about a specific current event to understand the cartoon. Because a cartoon must make its point quickly, and usually with humor, it is usually drawn with simplicity you won’t find in other artwork”.

• Editorial Cartooning: tips and resources for contestants in the press conferences

• Informative and insightful discussions about editorial cartoons by Anto Mario (ToonsMag) with numerous examples of excellent editorial cartoons

• Caption/text bubble writing exercises from Cartoons for the Classroom (Newspapers in Education)

Editorial Writing and Column Writing

• Fact and Opinion (Miami Dade College, Florida, USA) | Exercises on differentiating facts and opinions (no answer keys)

• 10 Commandments of Logic by Ross F. Collins (Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University) for Editorial Writing and Column Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students | The right way way and the wrong way of using “beg the question” by “Grammar Girl” Mignon Fogarty

• Editorial Writing Guidelines (Washington Journalism Education Association) for newbies — Editorial Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “State your call to action reasonably; don’t be melodramatic.”

• Formula for an editorial: Eight paragraphs with 350 words from “Writing Editorials That Grab Attention And Spark Readers To Become Part Of The Solution” for newbies — Editorial Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “State your call to action reasonably; don’t be melodramatic.”

• Guidelines for Op-Ed, Commentary, and Opinion Writing in Sci-Tech issues (Stanford University) | “The time is right. Your public is calling. Now how will you turn mountains of data and research into a short op-ed?”; “When opportunity strikes and you have a hook, And the forum is right, And your research illuminates something new, Then take a stand!”

• Editorial Writing resources from the National Open University of Nigeria | “Language is the pillar of communication. Even though the editorial audiences are mostly sophisticated in terms of education, the editorial writer has to mind his/her language in order not to censor the barely literate out of communication. The language must be unambiguous, punchy, concise and meaningful.”

• More resources on Opinion Writing — Editorials, Columns, and Op-Eds: “Writing Opinion Columns,” “How To Write An Op-Ed,” and “10 Rules for Writing Opinion Pieces” | Susan Shapiro, award-winning writing professor at New York University and author of 17 books: “Avoid being mild-mannered, tactful or diplomatic, as well as offering both sides of the story [in opinion writing]. An argument is much better than a discussion.”

• For newbie SPJ teachers and students: PDF resources from the Toronto Star Classroom Connection — Editorials and Columns; Editorial Cartoons; Journalism Fun and Games

• Writing the Opinion Column (PDF slideshow) by Barry Hawthorne, former Director of the University Interscholastic League (Texas, USA) | “Guaranteed ways to fail as a columnist” (with illustrative examples)

• How to Write Columns (1952) from Iowa State University | “Column writing is a subject of obvious values but elusive details. Many niceties of style and concept are more often derived from example than taught. But this volume has been written in the belief that columnists of the smaller papers would welcome a guide-book prepared especially for them. This is it - a report to these columnists, with ideas and examples chosen not because they are ‘best’ but because they are representative of the better practices.”

• Column Writing PDF slideshow from Department of Journalism, Lucknow University (India) | “Localize your story whenever possible. Also tie it to some personal experience – yours or that of someone you know. This makes an otherwise esoteric and distant topic more real, relevant and memorable to the reader.”

• Editorial Writing tips and resources for contestants in the press conferences

• Editorial Writing (exercise with fact sheet; guidelines for effective editorials; sample editorial - supporting; sample editorial - opposing) | PDF resource from University Interscholastic League (The University of Texas Austin)

• Plain English (instead of journalese) for the press conference contestants in news, features, editorials, columns, sci-tech, mojo, online publishing, TV-radio scriptwriting and broadcasting

• Free resources from The New York Times for SPJ classes on editorial writing and column writing: Student Editorial Writing Contest Winning entries from 2014 to 2023 and argumentative writing prompts | The New York Times’ new Open Letter opinion contest that teenagers 13 to 19 from around the world can join

• Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials from 1917 to 2023 | Parallelism as an effective technique in writing

Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation; media literacy

• Online masterclass tutorial on Objectivity & Bias (a guide to help journalists distinguish between fair, impartial reporting and disinformation) by Tim Harrower, award-winning editor, designer, and columnist

• Stanford University study and Fukushima Nuclear Flowers: Majority of American high school and college students cannot distinguish fact from fiction | The CRAAP Test for evaluating information; Lesson plans on spotting fake news and fighting against it

• Fake news glossary: Top 10 words to inow | BBC Bitesize

• How to Spot AI images on social media; Artificial or Real? Take the quiz | BBC Bitesize

• How to Prevent Fake News in Scholastic Media by Mark Grabowski (lawyer, columnist, snd full professor specializing in cyber law and ethics at Adelphi University in New York) | “The internet has made it possible for anyone to create and to spread news. Making matters worse, a 2016 Columbia University study found that 59 percent of social media users share news without reading it.”

• E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News (NewseumED) | Rubric poster for evaluating news articles and sources

• Writing a Convincing Editorial by Robert W. Trancinski (San Jose State University, California, USA) | For Editorial Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students, and veteran SPAs or former campus journalists who get invited as resource speakers in training seminars or press conferences) | “The single greatest error made by beginning writers is trying to say too much. The error comes from the belief that, in order to be convincing, an argument must be utterly comprehensive, addressing every possible issue that relates to it.”; “It is more important to be clear than to be eloquent.”

• The Art of Writing Op-Eds (Housing Narrative Lab, Washington, DC, USA)

• Learn to Discern: Media Literacy Trainer’s Manual from IREX | “... misinformation often gets more traction than the corrective information that comes after.... It’s important to realize that all of us are working against our natural instincts when we try to disengage from sensational information. Sensationalism works because human beings are drawn to it. That is why false stories travel faster than true ones. False, sensational stories work because they touch upon something we value and at the same time, create fear. Fear turns off our ability to think critically.”

Feature Writing

• Feature and opinion writing resources (definitions, tips, structural elements) from The Guardian Foundation | For Feature Writing, Editorial Writing, and Column Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Types of Feature Stories (PPTX) from Journalism Education Association

• Feature Writing Rubric (from “The Radical Write” by Bobby Hawthorne) | For Feature Writing contestants, SPAs, section editors, SPJ teachers and students

• Various PDF resources on Feature Writing| “Reporting and writing can’t be divorced. All the instruction available on how to bang sentences together gracefully (and there’s a lot of it) will produce nothing but glitz if the right material, and a pleasing variety of it, is missing.” — William Blundell, “The Art and Craft of Feature Writing”

• Feature Writing and Column Writing resources from the National Open University of Nigeria | “Journalese is seen as newspaper jargon because such words as probe, axe, boost, jibe, hit etc all have meanings in journalism that bear no relation to their use in daily conversations.”

• Writing a Feature Article by Kate Liley, PhD in Sociology/Cultural Studies, Griffith University (Australia) | “Your theme is the clothesline to which you will peg your facts, anecdotes and quotes ”; “... quotes and anecdotes will reveal your angle. However, your facts must be impeccable and this means that you must often dig deeper in order to make your article compelling and more substantial than the 30 word brief from Reuters or a quick Internet search.”

• Feature & Column Writing (Virtual University of Pakistan) | “Many young writers prefer to write columns rather than straight news or features. Straight news is deemed to be boring – covering press conferences and reporting who said what. Feature stories involve too much reporting and require discipline to follow a set structure. Columns, which are essentially opinion pieces, are much looser – and therefore easier. Or so it seems.”

• Different ways of structuring a feature article (whether in English or Filipino)

• The Complete Book of Feature Writing: From Great American Feature Writers, Editors, and Teachers (1991) edited by Leonard Witt; from Public Journalism Network

• Online copies of Reader’s Digest and Guideposts

• Resource for feature writing contestants (English and Filipino) in the press conferences: Creative writing using photographs

• The Girl in the Window (2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for feature writing; 8,000-plus words)|Story by Lane DeGregory; Photos by Melissa Lyttle

• Super challenge with the 2020-2024 Feature Writing contestants of the University Interscholastic League | With fact sheets, contest tips or guidelines on how to structure a feature story, and sample feature story based on the fact sheet; Contestants in Pagsulat ng Lathalain can also benefit from these materials

• Nine lessons Taylor Swift taught me about storytelling by Cristian Lupșa (Nieman Storyboard/Harvard University)

• Free book: Writing Fabulous Features by Dr. Nicole Kraft from the Ohio State University (online; PDF or EPUB download)

• Feature Writing Checklist cheat sheet by Thomas Shands | Good writers tend to use four syntactical structures over and over: (1) the three-action sentence, (2) the appositive, (3) the participial phrase and (4) the absolute phrase.

• Feature Writing PDF from the University Interscholastic League | After a strong lead and an informative nut graph ... use the Transition/Quote Formula.; What went wrong? ... What went right? Yes, you can … No, you shouldn’t.

• Advanced exercises for senior high school Feature Writing contestants and SPJ students from Oxford Learning Link (no answer keys) | Evaluating Feature Leads; Generating Story Ideas and Selecting a Topic; Ideas for Campus Features; Writing Feature Leads

• 2019 Feature Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League | With fact sheets, feature writing tips, and sample stories based on the fact sheets

• Lesson plans (strategies and techniques) for teaching Feature Writing to junior high and senior high school students | Teaching Students Feature Article Writing and Informational Reading from Jefferson County Public Schools Version 2.0

• Show, Don’t Tell by Sandra Gerth (Ylva Publishing) | “Show, Don’t Tell is probably the single piece of writing advice that beginning writers hear most often from editors and writing coaches. Authors who master this important technique take their writing to the next level and captivate their readers with powerful scenes that keep them turning pages even though it’s two in the morning and they have to work the next day.”

• The Feature Writing Structure Infographic

• Sample Lesson for Show Not Tell | “Showing creates mental pictures in the reader’s mind. When readers get a clear picture, they are more engaged in the writer’s story.”

• Story Formula (how journalism stories work; parts of the story; five top things not to do with quotes; how to properly write quotes; top four things not to do with transitions | “Forget everything you learned in English class. Well, almost everything. While journalism stories have an opening, body and conclusion, there’s no flowery language or long paragraphs.”

• The Power of Storytelling (infographic) | “Storytelling can make any fact 22x more memorable.”; “In the realm of journalism, storytelling is not just a tool; it is the beating heart that brings news to life.” (Asian Development Bank)

• Share Your Story, A How-to Guide for Digital Storytelling (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) | “Digital storytelling is all around us; videos, podcasts, and commercials use words paired with images to share meaningful stories with a wide range of people. Digital storytelling helps us connect to people no matter where they are located. We can learn a great deal about each other from our smart phones, tablets, and computers.”

• Feature Writing (PPTs) from University Interscholastic League Texas, USA | Discussions and examples of leads, nut graphs, Transition/Quote formula, and endings; GQ STUDD guidelines for a strong feature

• Show or Tell (infographic) from K-12 Thoughtful Learning | “Young writers tend to do a lot of ‘telling,’ and not so much ‘showing’ in their writing. This habit continues with adult writers, even professional ones. It’s why writers of all ages are often advised to ‘show, not tell.’ But this advice can be misunderstood.”

• Writing Human-Interest Stories (PPT, with annotations) for technical writers from University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States | “By learning techniques of storytelling and journalism, [technical writers] will have the ability to reach out to other audiences. Plus [they’ll] understand what it takes to grab a reader’s attention.”

• Show, Don’t Tell Worksheets to Level-Up Your Writing from DabbleWriter | “Science has shown that, when we read about actions or sensory experiences, our brains react the same as they would if we were living those experiences. This may be why storytelling is such a powerful vehicle for empathy.”

• Attention Getters: Bait Your Hook and Lure ’Em In (Effective Writing) from Hazleton Area School District, Pennsylvania, USA

• The Wall Street Journal. Feature Formula by Rob Melton, award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA | With assignments/exercises (no answer keys)

• Writing the Advanced Text Story (Feature Stories) from College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA

• Feature Writing PDF resource by Rob Melton (award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA) and other authors | With discussions; “”weak,” “better,” and “much better” comparisons; assignments/activities; Wall Street Journal Feature Formula

• Guidelines On writing a Newspaper Cover Story (Share4Rare) | “[A newspaper cover story] is the main/feature story that appears with a picture on the front cover of a newspaper or magazine. In the world of journalism, a feature story is an article that is not a news story.”

• Writing Features from University of Missouri, USA | “Good feature writers are imaginative, curious, nosey, attentive, unconventional, witty, and usually are not above ‘borrowing’ a good writing idea from someone else.”

• Sensory Details (Vague vs. Vivid Language) from Lewis University Writing Center, Illinois, USA | “Sensory details use the five senses (sight, touch, sound, taste, and smell) to add depth of detail to writing. Although sensory details are most commonly used in narratives, they can be incorporated into many types of writing to help your work stand out. Sensory details are powerful and memorable because they allow your reader to see, hear, smell, taste, or feel your words.”

• Sensory Language (Creative Use of English) from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR | “Sensory words add sparkles and sprinkles to your writing as they make your readers see, hear, smell, taster, or feel your words!"

• 2025 Feature Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League (Texas, USA) — invitational and district levels | With fact sheets, contest tips or guidelines on how to structure a feature story, and sample stories based on the fact sheets

• Feature This. (University Interscholastic League, Texas, USA) | “Winning feature stories have winning leads.”

Free books and other resources

• Free book: The Pocket Prof: A Composition Handbook 4th edition (Kellogg Community College, Michigan, USA) | “Let’s start with an inescapable fact: you’ll be writing and communicating for the rest of your life whether you’re a second grade teacher, a corrections officer, an ER nurse, or a district manager at Target. You don’t want to sound like an idiot on paper or in person. People lose interviews, jobs, and respect when they write or communicate poorly. Simply put, developing effective writing and speaking skills can help you succeed far beyond the classroom.”

• Free 403-page book: Think Critically, Click Wisely! Media and Information Literate Citizens (UNESCO) | “Nearly 60% of the world’s population is using the Internet, yet wide-scale and sustainable media and information literacy training for all is still missing.”

• Free 427-page book: Professional and Technical Writing (Nova Scotia Community College, Canada) with exercises | “Effective communication takes preparation, practice, and persistence. There are many ways to learn communication skills; the school of experience, or ‘hard knocks,’ is one of them. But in the business environment, a ‘knock’ (or lesson learned) may come at the expense of your credibility through a blown presentation to a client.”

• Free 388-page book: Public Speaking (The Public Speaking Project) from LibreTexts — for SPJ teachers and students in their Advanced English II class, Journalism or Mass Communication majors, and anyone desiring to be an excellent public speaker | “This text offers an assortment of virtual tools to help users improve their public speaking skills.”

• Free book: College ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for Success (Georgia State University, USA) | This book is “a comprehensive grammar and writing etext for high intermediate and advanced level non-native speakers of English.”

• Free book: "English Grammar B1 Level" (Understanding and Using Grammar) from Books4languages | “[This book] is a practical guide for learning English. Fully written in English, it serves as a base for the adaptation to different mother tongues.”

• Free book: Commonsense Composition (Open Education Resource LibreTexts Project; CK-12 Foundation, California, USA) | Descriptive Essay; Narrative Essay; Expository Essay; Persuasive Essay; Writing about Literature - The Basics, Writing about Literature - Analyzing Prose; Tone and Style; Business Documents; Parts of Speech; Parts of the Sentence; Punctuation; Verbs and Sentence Types; Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation

• Free book: Digital Photography Basics (Politzer) from Open Education Resource LibreTexts Project; CK-12 Foundation, California, USA) | Introduction; Your Digital Camera; Basic Photo Composition; Movement and Direction; Light and Shadow; Flash; Digital Photography Portfolio

• Free book: Journalism 101 (CK-12 Foundation, California, USA; Open Education Resource LibreTexts Project) | “... every article, even (and especially) an editorial or opinion piece, requires as much reporting as a news story.”; “Getting a story wrong or portraying it in some false light ... will hurt people ... [and] will eat away at your soul.”; “You need to find your man in a canoe.”

• Free book: Grammar Alive! A Guide For Teachers (WAC Clearinghouse, Colorado State University)

• Free book: English Composition: Connect, Collaborate, Communicate (University of Hawaii) | Sections: Success Skills for College Learning and Intellectual Growth; The Writing Process; Essay Structure; Types of Essays; and Research Skills

• Free book: Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers ...and other people who care about facts (University of Minnesota) | “The web gives us many such strategies and tactics and tools, which, properly used, can get students closer to the truth of a statement or image within seconds. For some reason we have decided not to teach students these specific techniques. As many people have noted, the web is both the largest propaganda machine ever created and the most amazing fact-checking tool ever invented. But if we haven’t taught our students those capabilities is it any surprise that propaganda is winning?”

• Free online book: The RoughWriter’s Guide, A Handbook for Writing Well (Yavapai College, Arizona, USA) with interactive elements such as instructional videos and numerous exercises | “Just like you might soak a stained shirt before washing to help the stain come out, pre-writing helps to prepare you to write well.”; “... good writers will not start writing about a topic until they have a solid grasp of the information first. Unless you are writing a narrative essay about your own life experiences, research is important.”

• The Conflict-Sensitive Journalism Teaching Guide: Philosophy and Practice 1st Edition from forumZFD, The Peace & Conflict Journalism Network, Media Educators of Mindanao, and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) | The core of Conflict-Sensitive Journalism “is the institutional belief that people, on their own, are able to make educated choices that can bring about a just and peaceful society, a society where human rights are observed and all creation is afforded its place in the world, once they are given information that is accurate, unbiased, contextualized, and nuanced.”; “Conflict-Sensitive Journalism stresses four key concepts — truth-seeking, active accuracy, a focus on relevance, and good writing — and recognizes access to information, freedom of expression, and the safety and security of its practitioners as requisites.”

• Free book: Writing In College: From Competence to Excellence (Open State University of New York) | This book “is designed for students who have largely mastered high-school level conventions of formal academic writing and are now moving beyond the five-paragraph essay to more advanced engagement with text. It is well suited to composition courses or first-year seminars and valuable as a supplemental or recommended text in other writing-intensive classes ... Each of the nine chapters can be read separately, and each includes suggested exercises to bring the main messages to life.”

• Free book: The Scholarship of Writing in Nursing Education: 1st Canadian Edition for “students in undergraduate nursing programs and may also be useful for students in other health-related post-secondary programs, graduate students, and healthcare providers” in various download formats | English teachers, SPJ teachers and students can benefit from studying this book’s guidelines such as grammar and style tips, writing introductions and conclusions, editing for clarity and conciseness, etc.

• Free book: Introduction to Professional Communications (British Columbia Open Collection) | “No matter your field, having professional communication skills is essential to success in today’s workplace. This book covers key business communications topics that will help you in your career, including intercultural communication, team work, professional writing, audience analysis and adapting messages, document formatting, oral communication, and more.”

• Free book: Writing Unleashed: Content and Structure - 3.0 (UNiversity of Massachusetts Lowell)

• Free book: YOU, WRITING! A Guide to College Composition (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities) | Sample topics: Two rules for writing introductions; Name the game: Writing a gripping title; Clarifying “proofreading” and “editing” and “revising”; Your natural style; Audience drives style

• Free 900-plus interactive exercises on English grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal analogy, etc (average of 10 items per exercise; with time limit and automatic scoring)

• Spoken English Learned Quickly (free resource for learning how to speak conversational English fluently in a year: with MP3 lessons in American or light British accent)

• Miscellaneous DepEd Self-Learning Modules for Journalism • “Introduction to Speech Communication” (Oklahoma State University) | Available in different formats; online version has audio support

• “Guide on Citizen Journalism for Youth” and “Training Toolkit on Citizen Journalism” from Citizen Journalism Academy for Youth, Erasmus Youth 2021 (co-funded by the European Union) | “Citizen journalism has become an increasingly important aspect of the media landscape in recent years. With the rise of social media and the democratization of information, more and more individuals are taking on the role of reporters, documenting events and sharing stories that might otherwise go untold.”

• Statistics for Journalists from Centre for Investigative Journalism | “Don’t Panic! Statistics can seem intimidating, incomprehensible or to some, uninteresting, they are just numbers with stories behind them. Journalists often panic because they forget how much they already know about numbers and about analyzing them - we use them very intuitively in our every day lives – when we are making a judgement about which item is cheaper, whether to cross the road at the crossing or risk taking a shortcut. In these decisions we are using a process often used by statisticians - comparing likely possibilities or a set of numbers and making a decision based on them.”

• Journalism Class - XI Higher Secondary Course (Grade 11 textbook) from State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala, India — introduction to communication; nass media and society; history of newspapers; newspaper organization; reporting news; news editing

• Media News and Reporting, A guide for beginning journalists (Colorado Community College System) by Joelle Milholm | With guides on reporting, gathering and verifying information, how to use the inverted pyramid and other types of journalistic writing, this book is meant to help beginning reporters in their journalistic endeavors.

• ONLINE Journalism and Storytelling, A Training and Learning Kit by Johanna Son (Bangkok-based media trainer and journalist), published by Swedens FOJO Institute | “Digitalization is a norm that requires journalists and editors today to learn new skills, and challenges legacy-media newsrooms to catch up with online and digital audiences; Far from unusual – in fact it is quite expected – these days is the multi-skilled journalist who can be writing an article, but can also produce short videos and blogs, take publishable photos and do basic editing of these, produce a podcast and infographics, run a basic check on the reliability of online posts, and run social-media pages.”

• The Digital Storytelling Handbook from the Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks | “Digital storytelling is the practice of using digital media tools to tell stories. It combines visuals, music, voiceover and other audio recordings, video clips, images, text, animation, and interactive elements that are all combined together to create a powerful narrative multimedia experience that can engage and educate audiences.” (Thinglink)

• Writing for Success by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing (step-by-step instruction on writing, reading, and critical thinking, with exercises; comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition)

• Journalism Class - XII Higher Secondary Course (Grade 12 textbook) from State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala, India: magazine writing; TV-Radio writing and production; film appreciation; writing for the internet; technical writing; advertising; public relations and corporate communications | Floating inverted pyramid; historical backgrounders; glossaries of technical terms; model scripts for TV-Radio Broadcasting

• English Composition (free 227-page book by Jeff Meyers, Clinton Community College, New York, USA)

• Business Communication for Success (free 1,097-page book from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada) with exercises | “As you study business communication, you may receive suggestions for improvement and clarification from speakers and writers more experienced than yourself. Take their suggestions as challenges to improve; don’t give up when your first speech or first draft does not communicate the message you intend. Stick with it until you get it right. Your success in communicating is a skill that applies to almost every field of work, and it makes a difference in your relationships with others.”

• Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL (Beginning/Intermediate Level) from Office of English Language Programs, United States Department of State, Washington, DC, 2022

• Free book: A Dam Good Argument (Persuasive Writing at Oregon State University) | “Arguments are all around us. Everywhere we look, someone is trying to get our attention, change our minds, or sell us something. Learning about how persuasion works will make you a more thoughtful and skeptical consumer of all that content, so that you can come to your own conclusions and recognize the underlying assumptions that inform those attempts to persuade you. This book is about analyzing others’ arguments and crafting your own. The rhetorical choices that you make as a writer–from evidence to structure to tone–impact how your audience will receive your ideas. Using those tools effectively will help your voice be heard.”

• Write What Matters (Your Guide to College Writing) (free 2,072 page-book from Idaho Pressbooks Consortium) | “Have you ever wished for a comprehensive source that would steer you in the right direction through all of your reading and writing assignments? This text aims to be that kind of guide. We included lessons, examples, exercises, and definitions for many of the reading and writing-related situations that you will encounter in your first-year writing courses as well as other subject-specific classes that require writing.”

• Write Right, Tight (Navigating Common Mistakes in News Reporting & Writing) by Richard M. Kavuma from African Centre for Media Excellence

• Southern Connecticut State University (USA) Blue Book: Writing Guide for Majors and Minors | “While ‘I’ may sometimes be useful in announcing a thesis, clarifying your point, or drawing your essay to a conclusion, one should always avoid ‘you” as the subject noun in academic prose.”

• Elements of Creative Writing (1st edition) free book from Open Education Network, University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development

• A Guide to Tutoring Non-Native English Speaking Students from John Jay College, City University of New York

• Writing in English at University: A Guide for Second Language Writers (free book from Lund University, Sweden) | “... this textbook targets university students currently involved in writing assignments or degree projects, as well as anyone wishing to learn more about academic writing in English. Although aimed at providing guidance and useful tips and tricks to all students and writers, [this book] has been developed specifically with learners in mind who are writing essays and research papers in second-language environments and whose native language is not English.”

• Principles and Practices of Journalism (free 274-page book by Carl Hausman, Professor of Journalism at Rowan University, New Jersey, USA) | “There is probably no other skill as important for the journalist, or the consumer of journalism, as the ability to spot a misleading statistic or a lapse in logic. We’re overloaded with information today, and trying to consume it uncritically is something like attempting to take a drink out of a fire hose. If you’re not careful, the stream will tear your head off.”

• Technical Writing Essentials: Introduction to Professional Communications in the Technical Fields (free 294-page book from British Columbia/Yukon Pressbooks) | Correspondence: text messages, emails, memos, and letters; proposals; progress reports; technical descriptions and definitions; recommendation reports and feasibility studies; writing instructions; with appendices on Academic Writing Basics

• In The Loop: A Reference Guide to American English Idioms (with classroom activities — matching, multiple choice, etc.) from Office of English Language Programs, United States Department of State | “Idioms are an integral part of the English language. They are used often by almost all native speakers of English. Some are used often by some people, but not by others. There are some that everyone understands, but hardly anybody uses. Some are used and understood in some parts of the English-speaking world and not in others. Because idioms are rooted so strongly in culture and used in very specific situations, it is difficult for English language learners to know what idioms are used in what situations and by whom.”

• Guide to Writing (free 222-page book from Lumen Learning, State University of New York, USA) | “This writing guide covers the fundamentals of English usage and writing, including sections on grammar, formatting, academic research and citation, and the latest MLA and APA style guidelines.”

• Oral Communication for Non-Native Speakers of English, 2nd Edition (free 143-page book from Iowa State University, USA) | “This book is an essential instructional tool for developing oral communication skills in academic settings, specifically designed for international graduate students, teaching assistants, postdoctoral researchers, and those preparing to enter academia. The second edition introduces dedicated chapters on developing listening, speaking, and pronunciation.”

• Tech Writing Handbook from Dozuki | “The ultimate resource for tech writers. Learn how to create everything from better work instructions to optimized user manuals. All 12 chapters include examples, best practices, and resources to help you become a better technical writer.”

Infographics and cheatsheets

• Improve Your Writing: 15 Tips and Habits to Fix Today (infographic) by Jennifer Frost from GrammarCheck | With before and after examples

• Elements of a Hard News Article (with examples and exercises) from Boston University

• The Most Common Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation Mistakes | “Clear written communication is important for everyone, no matter what college or career path you choose. Mistakes with punctuation, spelling and grammar could lower school grades and limit career growth. Exceptional writing skills will carry you through life, opening doors and accurately conveying your thoughts, feelings and knowledge to others.”

• 6 things to know about AI infographic for Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+ (News Literacy Project) | “The rise of more convincing photos and videos means that determining the source and context for visuals is often more important than hunting for visual clues of authenticity. Any viral image you can’t verify through a reliable source — using a reverse image search, for example — should be approached with skepticism.”

• Infographic: Hate speech: a 5 point test for journalists (Ethical Journalism Network) | The infographic “highlights some questions to be asked in the gathering, preparation and dissemination of news and information that will help journalists and editors place what is said and who is saying it in an ethical context.”

• Investigative Journalism: (1) infographic and (2) training manual | “Investigative journalism is in-depth, systematic reporting on issues often hidden from public view.”; “Investigative journalism is absolutely essential.” — Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz

• Eight tips to Google like a pro for Grades: 7-9, 10-12+ (News Literacy Project) | “Effective searching is as much about eliminating the results you don’t need as it is finding the ones you do.”

• 10 Tips to Spot Media Manipulation (NewseumED) | “There are two sides to every story. Mine, and the one I’m gonna tell you about.”

• Five types of misinformation for Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+ (News Literacy Project) | “... different kinds of misinformation vary significantly in their tactics, intent and impact.”

• Conspiratorial Thinking for Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+(News Literacy Project) | “... conspiracy theories seem much more credible and compelling than they actually are because they take advantage of common errors in the ways we think.”

• Fake News Historical Timeline (infographic) from Common Sense Media

• Ways you can identify & Fight Fake News from University of South Carolina Upstate Library | “Don’t fall victim to confirmation bias by allowing YOUR emotions/bias to color what you read. Is the language inciting you, pulling at your heartstrings? Take a step back and read more accounts of the event to gain some perspective.”

• Deceptive, confusing, ambiguous, fallacious, specious News Types: read & share with caution from University of South Carolina Upstate Library | “Misleading News - These are the hardest to debunk because they often contain a kernel of truth: A fact, event, or quote that has been taken out of context. Look for sensational headlines that aren’t supported by the information in the article.”

• Beyond ’Fake News (10 Types of Misleading News) infographic from the European Association for Viewers Interests | A 2016 Stanford University study “found that 80% of middle school students involved in the study identified sponsored content (also known as native advertising) as real news.”

• Fair Use Doctrine: Can you use a copyrighted work in your campus publication?; The SPA’S liability imposed by the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7079 | Four factors judges use to resolve fair use disputes

• Quick and handy guides to avoiding plagiarism

• Misinformation, Disinformation, and Propaganda: Fake News Infographic from Cornell University Library | Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

• 6 things to know about AI ftom the News Literacy Project, Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+ | AI tools might feel authoritative and credible, but the responses they generate are routinely riddled with inaccuracies.

• Seven standards of quality journalism from the News Literacy Project, Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+

• Five types of bias in straight news coverage from the News Literacy Project, Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+

• Breaking news checklist from the News Literacy Project, for Grades 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+ | When big news breaks, it can be hard to cut through the noise and find accurate information.

• How to turn your journal article into an infographic from Journal of Marketing Management | Infographics are ’liked’ and shared on social media 3 times more than any other type of content.

• Infographic: Traditional journalism versus citizen journalism | “Citizen journalism is a branch of reporting that involves everyday people reporting on news and when it happens around them. Anyone can become a citizen journalist — all it takes is the ability to tell a good story.”

• “The Data Journalism Handbook 1” and “The Data Journalism Handbook 2” from the European Journalism Centre | From Coffee to Colonialism: Data Investigations into How the Poor Feed the Rich; The Las Vegas Sun analyzed more than 2.9 million hospital billing records, which revealed more than 3600 preventable injuries, infections and surgical mistakes.; How a data story on road crash incidents in the Cagayan province in the Philippines led to positive policy and social change.

• Intro to Journalism Cheat Sheet by RainyMoons: For SPJ teachers and students, and for display in your schoolpaper office or SPJ classroom | “The study of journalism is essential for understanding how news and information are created, disseminated, and consumed in a democratic society. By exploring its history, role, processes, and challenges, one gains insight into the critical functions of journalism in shaping public discourse and informing citizens.”

• Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies infographic | “Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim.” (OWL Purdue)

• 15 Shocking Student Writing Fails (Infographic) by Jennifer Frost from GrammarCheck | “Four out of five students are not proficient writers.”

• 5 Writing Lessons from Cinema Infographic (elearninginfographics) | “Are you suffering from the writer’s block? Academic paper writing is not always tedious routine! Old-school movies can be a good example on how to build unexpected plot twists, make disputable statements, add the light vein of humour and develop vivid imagery.”

• Essay Hooks (infographic) | “If your audience is sympathetic, decide how you can fulfill and enhance their expectations. If your audience is neutral, decide how you can catch and hold onto their attention.”

• Compare-and-Contrast Essay (infographic from My Private Tutor, Thailand)

• Quick Guide to Literary Devices (infographic from The Learning Exchange)

• 21 Tips To Beat Writer’s Block [Infographic]

Grammar and usage

• Grammar Basics (PPTX) from Valencia College, Orlando, Florida USA | “Knowing grammar will help you learn how to put sentences together. Knowing how to put sentences together will help you become a better writer. Becoming a better writer will help you express yourself better as well as get better grades.”

• PPTX resources on verbs (mood, aspect, and choosing engaging verbs) from Journalism Education Association | “Most verbs in journalistic writing use the indicative verb. This indicates the need for factual reporting — reporting readers or listeners can count on.”

• FANBOYS mnemonic poster for seven coordinating conjunctions (Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA)

• Grammatical and Mechanical Error Analysis as Tool in Writing Improvement Program for Student Journalists (2022) by Regine M. Oguan and Jasper M. Del Valle | “... student journalists of Doña Concepcion H. Umali Elementary School are good in writing when the medium used is Filipino (Tagalog). But they are struggling when writing in English language. It is hard for them to consistently construct sentences with good and correct grammar.”

• Grammar, Rhetoric and Style (Writing Across Curriculum, Colorado State University, USA) | “Grammar. The mere word makes adults weep, children run and hide, and dogs howl. All right, perhaps I am exaggerating just a bit; not all of us hate grammar. There are even people who actually like grammar. However, the general aversion to the word ’grammar’ is such that the word is hardly ever used in polite company. And, if your composition professor is anything like me, she or he tries to avoid the word in your class.”

• 10 Most Common Grammatical Errors and Conventions in Academic Writing (University of Toronto, Canada)

• Grammar Skills PDF handouts from Dawson College, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

• Grammar exercises from “Media Writer’s Handbook: A Guide to Common Editing and Writing Problems” (4th edition) by George Arnold, Marshall University | Online exercises with automatic checking and scoring

• Grammar for Academic Writing (University of Edinburgh, UK) | “... a selective overview of the key areas of English grammar that you need to master, in order to express yourself correctly and appropriately in academic writing. Those areas include the basic distinctions of meaning in the verb tense system, the use of modal verbs to express degrees of certainty and commitment, and alternative ways of grouping and ordering written information to highlight the flow of your argument.”

• On-The-Job Grammar (PDF) from “The Write Stuff” of University of West Florida Writing Lab | Exercises on grammar, word choice, capitalization, sentence construction, and punctuation (with answer key)

• Grammar Questions People Ask PDF from “The Write Stuff” of University of West Florida Writing Lab | “Isn’t ‘irregardless’ a word? It’s in the dictionary!”

• Don’t let good grammar spoil good writing by Philip Yaffe (Wall Street Journal reporter/feature writer, book author, and university lecturer in Brussels, Belgium) | “When I search the web for writing tips, all too often the first bit of advice that comes back is ‘Be sure to use good grammar.’ But that’s putting the cart before the horse. It’s like telling a carpenter which hammer to use to drive in a particular type of nail. Very useful advice; however, it’s a detail. It is valid only if the carpenter already knows why he is putting the nail there and what will follow.”

• Practical Guide to English Usage from Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia) | Although this guide was designed for students, faculty, researcher, and staff of the Open University of Catalonia, who have to write in English, and for Catalan speakers, it can be used by EFL teachers and students in any country.

• Graduate Writing Center Mastery Series: Grammar (Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA) with exercises but no answer key | “The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar. It was tense.”

• Combining Independent Clauses and Avoiding Run-Ons (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA)

• Grammar resources from "Academic Skills Kit of the Newcastle University (with campuses in England, Singapore, and Malaysia)

• Basic Grammar and Usage: Quick Reference Guide for Medical Communicators from American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)

Lead

• PPTX resources: Basic Lead Writing: Lead Writing Exercises; News Writing Structure (with annotations for the use of SPJ teachers in their lectures or of presenters in training seminars) from Journalism Education Association

• Lead writing exercises (Spokane Colleges, Washington, USA)

• Mastering the Art of Writing Engaging Leads for Your Stories (Journalism University) | “Writing a compelling story involves more than just gathering facts and presenting them in a logical sequence. It’s about capturing the reader’s attention right from the very first sentence. This is where the lead comes into play.”

• Exploring the Different Styles of Leads to Capture Readers’ Interest (Journalism University) | “A well-crafted lead can capture a reader’s attention and determine whether they’ll continue reading.”

• Advanced Lead Writing Techniques for Journalists (Journalism University) | “... advanced lead techniques—quotation leads, contrast leads, staccato leads, ’you’ leads, and blind identification leads—that help journalists create compelling, engaging, and unique openings for their stories.”

• Cliche leads by Dick Thien, SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) and ACES (American Copy Editors Society) | “Avoid then like the plague until the last dog dies..”

• Leads PDF slideshow from University Interscholastic League by Bobby Hawthorne, with discussions, examples, and comparisons | Imagine you are writing a story, and you have all this cool information, but you can’t figure out how to get started. Well…

• Different kinds of leads from actual news articles, ads, and press releases (University of Wisconsin–Madison) | Emblem lead, wrap lead, character lead, scene-setter lead, significant detail lead, word play lead, etc.

• Terrible leads from National Scholastic Press Association| Examples: Webster’s Dictionary Lead, Mystery It Lead, Quick-Trip-to-the-Almanac Lead, Atypically Typical Lead; Questions that help produce leads; Checklist for leads

• Writing short reports and leads (College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA) | Problem Leads; Common Errors with Leads: In Leads Also Avoid ...; Elements of Good Leads

Lesson plans and other resources for SPAs and SPJ teachers

• Free lesson plans and resources from The Guardian Foundation that SPJ teachers can adapt

• For SPAs and EICs in fostering unity and teamwork among their staff members: Group Formation Cycle (PPTX) from Journalism Education Association | “Every staff member comes to your publication with different motivations, different expectations, different ideas for accomplishing their own goals, and different abilities. At the beginnng of group formation, you’re not a group at all - you’re a bunch of individuals with unique perspectives.‘’

• How the Newsroom Works (free copy of Chapter 2 from classic book “Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism” by Tim Harrower, award-winning editor, designer and columnist)

• Motivating Student Journalists (SchoolJournalism.org) with discussions, words of wisdom, and team-building activities | “Mentoring magic: Choose. Be there. Provide. Listen. Advise. Challenge.”

• Starting Your Own School Newspaper: A media literacy toolkit from Media Development and Diversity Agency (South Africa) | For newbie SPAs and SPJ teachers, and for schools that are planning to establish their schoolpaper

• Problems and challenges in the teaching of journalistic writing (“Problemáticas y desafíos en la enseñanza de la redacción periodística” Mendive. Revista de Educación Vol. 20 No. 2) | “Every journalist is assumed to have an excellent command of the spelling, lexicon and grammar of our language, but it is enough to browse any newspaper or be attentive during television programs to see that this is not the case: linguistic mistakes appear at any time, even in the most prestigious, famous and long-lived newspapers in the country.”

• How to encourage your child to read by Erma Bombeck (American newspaper columnist and humorist; author of 15 books, most of which became bestsellers, including “The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank” | “I cannot begin to tell what the love of reading will do for your children. It will open doors of curiosity. It will titillate their desire to see places they thought were make-believe. It softens loneliness, fills the gaps of boredom, creates role models, and changes the course of their very lives.”

• Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively (US Department of Education) | “Improving students’ writing skills helps them succeed inside and outside the classroom. Effective writing is a vital component of students’ literacy achievement, and writing is a critical communication tool for students to convey thoughts and opinions, describe ideas and events, and analyze information. Indeed, writing is a life-long skill that plays a key role in post-secondary success across academic and vocational disciplines.”

• Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools from Alliance for Excellent Education (Carnegie Corporation of New York) | “If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write.”

• Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (US Department of Education; web page and PDF) and “Becoming Writers in the Elementary Classroom” (PDF sample chapter) | “The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenge of teaching writing in elementary school. The guide provides practical, clear information on critical topics related to teaching writing and is based on the best available evidence as judged by the authors.”

• Glossary of newspaper and journalism terms from various sources

• It is a gift to read word poster for your schoolpaper office or SPJ classroom from Millersville University (Pennsylvania)

• Nanalo nga, behind naman sa lahat ng lessons" | “Effects of Journalism to the Academic Standing of Student-journalists in Secondary Schools of San Juan, Batangas” (2019) and “Effects of Journalism Education on Student Engagement: A Case Study of a Small-Town Scholastic Press Program” (2018)

• Best Practices of Experienced School Paper Advisers on Handling their Roles and Functions: A Phenomenological Study by Baldwin Xavier D. Rosario (Nabunturan National Comprehensive High School) and Dhan Timothy M. Ibojo (Assumption College of Nabunturan) | “To conduct training sessions, some school paper advisers even had to use their own finances, as the funds collected from the PTA were insufficient. Another challenge identified was the lack of experience among SPAs, despite high expectations from colleagues and the community for effective performance in their roles.”; “... many SPAs struggled with the intricate process of layout and design.”

• “How Can English Teachers Nurture Young Writers?” and “The Enduring Impact of English Teachers on Students” by Michele Dunaway (award-winning English and journalism teacher)

• Using colors as a fun and insightful way of evaluating members of your schoolpaper staff to create unity and teamwork | “Bringing Out the True Colors of Your Team for True Success” and “Leadership Personalities: Your Strengths and Weaknesses as A Leader” (Texas Association of Journalism Educators)

• Free resources from The New York Times: five short videos for Sci-Tech contestants and SPJ students; free lesson plans that SPJ teachers can adapt

• Free, online teaching resources — lesson plans, do activities, worksheets, videos, etc. — for high school journalism teachers from Missouri School of Journalism

• Free lesson plans for teaching writing and creating to your SPJ students through 13 New York Times columns as models

• Hundreds of free standards-aligned lesson plans for K-12 classrooms from Pulitzer Center

• 40 Cooperative Learning Lesson Plans for Journalism from Green’s J-School

• Free resources for SPJ teachers; lesson plans for discussions and activities from SchoolJournalism.org

• Failures, triumphs, surviving the challenges, words of inspiration ... | Journey of National Winning Coaches in the Field of Campus Journalism: A Multiple Case Study from Psychology and Education (multidisciplinary journal), Volume: 21, Issue 8 (2024)

• How can SPAs or SPJ teachers motivate disinterested students to be involved in campus journalism? By emphasizing the skills, training, or experiences that campus journalists will be able to use in their college courses or future careers | The Campus Journalists of PLSNHS [Placido L. Senor National High School] by Ferliza Omay, DepEd City of Naga, Cebu

• Making People Feel Valued from Journalism Education Association (quick, easy and inexpensive ways to help students feel valued and keep staff motivation levels high) and how to recruit new staff members | Student publications can often have cliques and hierarchies. As a result, new staff members and those not in leadership positions may feel intimidated

• Resource for SPJ teachers in teaching newbie journalism students: What’s on the Front Page of a Newspaper? (First News Education)

• 1,000 definitions of terms about journalism and the media from The News Manual (a free online resource for journalists, would-be journalists, educators and people interested in the media)

• Looking at Newspapers: Introduction (Lesson plan for Grades 2 to 4) from MediaSmarts | SPJ teachers can modify this lesson plan to suit the needs of newbie journalism students in junior high school

• For SPJ teachers and students in their Advanced English classes: 100 Most Common Grammar Errors (Institute of Language Teaching, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India) | Free 95-plus interactive exercises on common English grammar errors with time limit, automatic scoring, and average of 10 items per exercise

• Newspapers Now: Developing Comprehension and Research Skills With the Newspaper (15 lesson plans, each with a student activity; the lessons contain background, instructions, and components such as performance rubrics | Standards: Students adjust use of spoken, written and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.; Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems.

• For SPJ teachers in their Advanced English classes and for ELL teachers in their classroom activities: Give Them the Keys (Promoting Adolescent Literacy Through Newspapers) | Integration of newspapers is an excellent way to introduce students to expository text with the added benefit of teaching a variety of topics.

• For SPJ teachers and their newbie journalism students; for Special Education teachers: Creating a Classroom Newspaper (teachers’ guide designed for five days of instruction that allows elementary, junior high, and senior high school classes to practice, prepare, and create their own newspaper) |Differentiated worksheets for special education students and those in gifted and talented programs; lessons include planning the newspaper, writing news stories, writing feature stories, and writing opinions

• Newspapers Maintain the Brain - a teachers’ guide to enhance basic skills in Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies

• For SPJ teachers and their newbie students; for newbie SPAs or schools that are just starting their campus publication: Press Ahead! (teaching tool and a planning guide for creating a student newspaper) from News Association of America Foundation

• How to Teach news writing to elementary school and junior high school (4-day lesson plan from Newspapers in Education) | Let’s Write a Newspaper Story! Get Your Students Hooked on Writing jointly developed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Hammond Elementary School in Laurel, MD.

• You’re not good enough for STEM? Mag-SPJ ka na lang! Challenges and problems encountered by SPJ students: stress and pressure in meeting writing standards, problem with time management, low self-confidence, overflowing tasks and activities, and lack of resources and facilities; Project JoG (Journalism on the Go) intervention prigram | The Lived Experiences of the Students in Special Program in Journalism (SPJ): A Phenomenological Inquiry by Excell V. Balinas and Dhan Timothy M. Ibojo (Nabunturan, Davao de Oro)

• For SPJ teachers in teaching Editorial Writing to their newbie students or potential contestants; PPT resource from DAV University (Punjab, India) | Veteran SPAs and SPJ teachers who get invited as resource speakers in press conferences can also use this resource for their lecture-presentation

• Recruiting [students into campus publications] by Rob Melton, award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA | “Publication staffs are like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you get to choose the chocolates that go into the box, and sometimes you don’t.”

• Discussions, lesson plans, and tips for teachers from Press Pass [Young Journalist Ireland]: news, interview, feature, comment [opinion], sports, and photojournalism

• Rubric for staff evaluation (from the National Scholastic Press Association) to help in selecting the incoming Editor-in-Chief and other staff members

Miscellaneous journalism resources from UNICEF and UNESCO

• Reporting on Violence against Women and Girls A Handbook for Journalists (UNESCO)

• Digital misinformation / disinformation and children (UNICEF) | Only 2 per cent of children and young people have the critical literacy skills they need to judge whether a news story is real or false. Students in Singapore share mis/disinformation because of its perceived value and their desire for self-expression and socializing.; Young people cared less about the accuracy of articles than their novelty or uniqueness.; Students in Indonesia shared mis/disinformation ’for no reason or to please themselves

• Children and the Media: A Guidebook on Ethical Reporting (UNICEF and Association of European Journalists - Bulgaria) | Useful checkup questions to have in mind when preparing a topic or a piece of reporting about children; Some Philippine laws and issues about children

• All Sides of the Story, Reporting on Children: A Journalist’s Handbook (2005) from UNICEF South Africa and Media Monitoring Project | The child’s right to dignity and privacy is more important than the media’s right to freedom of expression.

• UNICEF South Africa 2023 study: Younger girls (13-14 years) do not follow the news regularly because it includes too many things and tends to be confusing: The news is just not important to us.

• Handbook for Constructive Journalism by Kristina Lund Jørgensen and Jakob Risbro from The Communication Initiative Network

• UNESCO’s Freedom of Expression Toolkit, A Guide for Students | Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

• Journalism is a public good: world trends in freedom of expression and media development (UNESCO) | “Without viability, media freedom is hollow, independence can be easily compromised, and pluralism becomes a shadow of what it should be.”

• Vloggers and bloggers versus journalists? | From “Content Creators and Journalists: Redefining News and Credibility in the Digital Age” (published 2024 by UNESCO and Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, University of Texas at Austin, USA): “Despite their growing reach, influencers and digital creators face a significant challenge: the lack of institutional support, oversight, and recognition. Compared to their counterparts in established media, these new-age communicators often operate without comprehensive normative guidance or standards, which can leave their work vulnerable to criticism regarding quality and authenticity. This gap underscores the urgent need for a framework that acknowledges their contributions while equipping them with the skills to uphold high standards of ethical communication.”

Miscellaneous topics

• Wordiness Exercises (Bellevue College, Washington, USA) | With answer key

• 10 Best Practices for Social Media: Helpful guidelines for news organizations (2011) from American Society of News Editors (ASNE) | ‘Social media platforms continue to emerge as essential newsgathering tools. These mediums offer exciting opportunities for reporters to collect information and for news organizations to expand the reach of their content, but they also carry challenges and risks. Putting in place overly draconian rules discourages creativity and innovation, but allowing an uncontrolled free-for-all opens the floodgates to problems and leaves news organizations responsible for irresponsible employees.‘

• EDSA (People’s Power) Revolution of 1986 and some lessons on photography — lens openings or apertures, symbolism

• Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive (2007) by Mark Briggs | “This is a book about people, not technology. Sure, there’s a lot of technology in the pages to follow, but if you boil it all down to its core, its essence, you’ll find people trying to extend a noble and grounded craft into a new and unpredictable landscape. And it’s the people who matter, not the latest software or Web site. If the people in this equation learn how make technology work for them, the rest is just details.”

• How to fact-check with a smartphone (Journalists for Transparency) | “Tools can help you do the heavy lifting [in fact-checking], but you’ve still got to do the journalism. One of the most powerful tools of all is your own common sense. Be wary of sharing something that wasn’t found via a credible source, or something you haven’t checked for yourself. Remember that it takes years to build credibility, but you can easily harm your reputation by unintentionally sharing ’fake news’.”

• If You Write It Better, You Will Say It Better by Philip Yaffe (Wall Street Journal reporter/feature writer, book author, and university lecturer in Brussels, Belgium) | “During my 40-year career in journalism, and marketing communications, I have been continually appalled by how poorly top business executives, academics, researchers, and other clearly intelligent people express themselves.”

• Free business-writing style guide: The Write Stuff: Seven Steps to Written excellence 5th Edition | “... over 60 pages of tips, tactics and practical advice to help anyone who wants to improve the way they write at work.”

• Reading Habits that Lead to Success" (infographic) | “The average CEO reads 60+ books a year and makes 319x the income of the average worker who reads 1 book a year but finds the time to watch 700 YouTube videos a year.”

• “Oscar!” (The Filipino wit and sense of humor in using “Oscar” to describe and mock reckless, showboating motorcycle riders along Marilaque Highway and elsewhere in the world who lose control of their motorcycles, slide across the road, fly into ditches, slam against trees or walls, or crash against pedestrians or other vehicles)

• Journalism training seminar, Buting Senior High School (Pasig City), February 12, 2023

• Features of a Newspaper Report KS2 (First News Education) | For newbies — SPAs, SPJ teachers and students

• How to read a newspaper by Walter Cronkite (“American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years, from 1962 to 1981,” often cited during the 1960s and 1970s as “the most trusted man in America”) | “News people have a responsibility. And so do you. ‘Ours’ is to report the news fairly, accurately and completely. ‘Yours’ is to keep yourself informed everyday.”

• Bias (Miami Dade College, Florida, USA) | Exercises on identifying bias (no answer keys)

• Tips for Writing Professional Emails (Auburn University, Alabama, USA) with checklists and worksheets for analyzing, revising, and drafting emails | “Keep your emails as concise as possible, giving only information necessary. The longer the email, the less likely you’ll receive a response, or the more likely you are to be misunderstood.”

• Top 11 Scientific Benefits of Writing by Syed Irfan Ajmal (entrepreneur, international speaker, and podcaster) | “There is no better way of expressing your feelings than writing; the words pouring out on paper have a magical connection to your soul.”

• How to make a speech by George Plimpton (iconic American sportswriter, who popularized "participatory journalism") | “One of life’s terrors for the uninitiated is to be asked to make a speech. ‘Why me?’ will probably be your first reaction. ‘I don’t have anything to say.’”

• Context Clues (Miami Dade College, Florida, USA) | With discussions, examples, and exercises (no answer keys)

• No frills, just facts by Yasmin Pascual Dormido (The Visayan Daily Star) | “... many young writers tend to choose complex and fancy terms instead of simpler words.”

• Free online learning modules: Journalism Skills (Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly known as Ryerson University) | Six self-paced and interactive online learning modules, with video lessons, problem-solving exercises, multiple-choice and true-false quizzes

• Fighting Truth Decay (Philippine Press Institute) | “Disinformation is nothing new ... but technology has hastened its spread....”

• Glossary of Media Literacy Terms (Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine): 252 terms from “Accuracy” to “Web content” | “Media Literacy is a skill set that promotes critical engagement with messages produced by the media.”

• Writer’s block (Auburn University resources on managing writing anxiety and strategies for overcoming writer’s block) | The “Madman-Architect-Carpenter-Judge Paradigm” aka “Flowers Paradigm” for overcoming writer’s block

• Writing: Editing and proofreading (BBC Teach / Skillswise) | Factsheets, Worksheets, and Answer Sheets in PDF format

• Understanding News Media (New York News Publishers Association) for newbie SPJ teachers and students in junior high school | “The goal of these ‘Newspaper In Education’ materials is to help teach young people to think critically and act responsibly as they navigate communication media.”

• A manifesto for the simple scribe – my 25 commandments for journalists by Tim Radford (former The Guardian science editor, letters editor, arts editor and literary editor)

• Writing eBook (Western Sidney University) | “No matter what the essay question or topic is, and no matter how long or short it has to be, there are some basic things that all essays have in common: their purpose, structure and tone or register. These are things you can learn, and once you master them, you’ll feel much more confident to tackle any essay that comes your way!”

• How to Read Like a Writer (WAC Clearinghouse, Colorado State University) | “... all writing consists of a series of choices.”; “Questioning why the author made certain decisions. Considering what techniques could have made the text better. Deciding how to include the best attributes of what you read in your own writing. This is what Reading Like a Writer is all about.”

• Editorial Style Guide (Government Communication and Information System, South Africa) | Golden Rules for Government Communicators; Checklists for writing articles, reports, proposals, minutes, business letters, memos, and e-mails; Plain Language principles; English Grammar Troubleshooting; Words often misspelled; Redundancies (or tautologies) and plainer alternatives

• Custom English Guide from Fountainhead Press and Hudson Valley Department of English | 630-page PDF on the writing process, exposition, literary analysis, business writing, oral presentation, visual analysis, argumentation, research, and documentation

• We can all be fact-checkers (Philippine Press Institute) | “Check your ‘WOW’; Do the OWWWWW”; “I can’t believe it when I see it.”

• Journalism: Researching, Reporting, Writing and Editing (Pondicherry University, India) for SPJ teachers and students, Journalism and Mass Communications majors

• Journalism: Nature and Types (Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India) | For newbies — SPAs, SPJ teachers and students

• Media Guide: Media Literacy for Adults (Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation and Birzeit University Media Development Center, funded by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs) | Some topics in the guide: Journalism genres and article types; characteristics of TV and radio journalism; visual journalism; genres of photojournalism – spot news, illustration and feature photography; basics of video editing; graphic design and illustration; freedom of speech is the foundation of journalistic work

• Artificial intelligence (AI) in journalis: Boon or bane? (Philippine Press Institute) by Yvonne T. Chua and Rachel E. Khan, UP College of Mass Communication, Department of Journalism | “With the rise of digital media, AI is becoming increasingly important in helping journalists to analyze data, identify trends, and even generate news stories.”

• How to spell by John Irving (a bad speller who became a bestselling author of novels such as "The World According to Garp") | “... what’s really important about good writing is not good spelling. If you spell badly but write well, you should hold your head up. As the poet T.S. Eliot recommended, ‘Write for as large and miscellaneous an audience as possible’ – and don’t be overly concerned it you can’t spell ‘miscellaneous.’ Also remember that you can spell correctly and write well and still be misunderstood. Hold your head up about that, too.”

• Journalistic Writing (Virtual University of Pakistan): grammar, style (narrative, descriptive, and persuasive writing), news, editorials, features, columns, broadcast and web news, interviews | “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.”

• How to improve your vocabulary by Tony Randall (member, The American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel) | “English is the richest language – with the largest vocabulary on earth. Over one million word!”; “You can express shades of meaning that aren’t even possible in other languages. (For example, you can differentiate between ‘sky’ and ‘heaven.’ The French, Italians, and Spanish cannot.)”

• Understanding Media and Communication (Pondicherry University, India) for SPJ teachers and students, Journalism and Mass Communications majors | Theories of Media Effects: Direct Effects Theory; Limited Effects Theory; Cultural Effects Theory; Individual Difference Theory; Personal Influence Theory; Social Learning Theory; Cultivation or Farming Theory; Personalization or Framing Agenda Setting Theory; Spiral of Silence Theory; Internet Effects; Diffusion of Innovation Theory

• The Student Newspaper Survival Guide 2nd Edition, 2011, by Rachele Kanigel (Associate Professor of Journalism at San Francisco State University; Journalism Educator of the Year, California Journalism Education Coalition, 2006) | “The student paper can be a unifying force ... it should establish some kind of leadership, demanding the highest quality education for students, so students have an outlet for their frustrations, their excitements, their passions.”

• Basics of Journalism (Master of Arts in English, 2nd Year, Pondicherry University, India) for SPJ teachers and students, Journalism and Mass Communications majors | News (news gathering and lead); The reporter; the sub-editor; Columns; Editorials; Headlines (design and make-up; language and style); Picture editing and captions; Copyreading and Proofreading

• How to Become a Writer by Isagani R. Cruz (The Philippine STAR, “Critic-at-Large” column, STARWEEK Sunday magazine, October 31, 1993) | “You cannot be a good writer unless your ego can survive the experience of being completely shattered. The paradox is that you cannot be a good writer unless your ego is so bloated you think everyone else should listen to what you have to say.”; “I learned to write because my high school teacher Mr. Gil Raval forced me to write a paragraph every single day ...”

• English Writing Skills from San Jose State University for SPJ teachers and students in their Advanced English I class | Difference between academic writing and journalistic writing; how to write a 5-paragraph essay, exhibiting a strong introduction, well-developed body, effective conclusion, with unity throughout the essay; with exercises

• Cohesion and Coherence PDF resources from various sources | “Cohesion relates to the ‘micro’ level of the text, i.e. the words and sentences and how they join together. Coherence, in contrast, relates to the organisation and connection of ideas and whether they can be understood by the reader, and as such is concerned with the ‘macro’ level features of a text, such as topic sentences, thesis statement, the summary in the concluding paragraph (dealt with in the essay structure section), and other ‘bigger’ features including headings such as those used in reports."

• Core Skills for the Future of Journalism (The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, 2014) | “Journalists with the right skills are essential for journalism — and for preserving journalism’s role within society.”; “... professionals in media organizations, both staff members and managers, have not fully embraced the digital skills so essential to online and other new forms of journalism.”

• Punctuation PDF resources from San Jose State University (California, USA) for CRHW contestants, SPAs, EICs, SPJ teachers and students

• Clarity and Writing Style resources from San Jose State University (California, USA) for contestants in the individual writing categories, SPJ teachers and students

• Misused Words PDF resources from San Jose State University (California, USA) for CRHW contestants, SPAs, EICs, section editors, SPJ teachers and students

• Write clearly and concisely (Stanford University) with before-and-after examples | “Writing clearly and concisely means choosing your words deliberately and precisely, constructing your sentences carefully to eliminate deadwood, and using grammar properly. By writing clearly and concisely, you will get straight to your point in a way your audience can easily comprehend.”

• How to write with style by Kurt Vonnegut (bestselling novelist, short story writer, playwright, journalist) | “Keep it simple. Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences that were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound.”; “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.”

• 8 Rules From Kurt Vonnegut That Will Make You a Better Writer (Infographic)

• About Writing: A Guide from Open Oregon Educational Resources | “This writer’s reference condenses and covers everything a beginning writing student needs to successfully compose college-level work, including the basics of composition, grammar, and research. It is broken down into easy-to-tackle sections, while not overloading students with more information than they need. Great for any beginning writing students or as reference for advanced students!”

• How to write clearly by Edward T. Thompson, former Editor-in-Chief, Reader’s Digest | “If you’re afraid to write, don’t be. If you think you’ve got to string together big fancy words or high-flying phrases, forget it. To write well, unless you aspire to be a professional poet or novelist, you only need to get your ideas across simply and clearly. It’s not easy. But it is easier than you might imagine.”

• Free, scholarly book for people who are serious about learning how to write and for people who want to learn how to teach writing better: “Bad Ideas About Writing” (published by West Virginia University) | Opinionated, research-based articles that address “bad ideas” such as “Some People are Just Born Good Writers,” “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing,” “Texting Ruins Students’ Grammar Skills,” and others

• For newbies - SPAs, EICs, SPJ teachers and students: School Newspaper Guide from Al-Mamoor School (New York)

• Clichés and How to Avoid Them from San Jose State University (California) | Raining cats and dogs, loose cannon, think outside the box, etc. — “Clichés are words or phrases that were original at one point but have now become overused and unoriginal. They can be found in newspapers, magazine articles, advertisements, and everyday speech.”

• Journalists’ Manual, For Media Literacy Work with Children from South East European Network for Professionalization of Media: Educating children to become critical consumers of media and to inspire some to pursue journalism as a profession | “Good journalists are made in primary school, with the assistance of skilled teachers.”

• Guide to writing for high school journalists by Janet Blank-Libra (The University of Montana), unpublished masteral thesis, 1988 | “Many high school texts address journalism as a skill, a trade. Those texts work to ensure that young journalists know the skills and language of the trade. Writing, however, is more than a skill used in a trade. At its best, it is an art. This guide assumes that young journalists need more than reporting and information- gathering skills. They need to worry about the ingredients of good writing, including grammar.”

• Grammar PDF resources from the San Jose State University Writing Center (California) for SPJ teachers and students in their Advanced English I class

• Get The Jewel: 6 simple steps for professional interviews by Dr. Catherine Strong (professional journalist and journalism professor journalism at universities in the Middle East, United States, and New Zealand) | “Journalists rely on 3 methods of data gathering: observation, research, and interviewing. Without skills to conduct smooth, snappy news interviews, a journalist is seriously hampered.”; “In a competitive media market where several reporters are covering the same story, the crucial differences can be the story with the most unexpected quote from a key person. This is the jewel in your story.”

• For contestants in individual writing categories, SPJ teachers and students: Transitions (PDF slideshow) from University of Texas at El Paso Writing Center | “The types of transitions available to you are as diverse as the circumstances in which you need to use them. A transition can be a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or an entire paragraph.”

• For SPJ teachers and students in their Advanced English I class: Study guide for writing essays and transactional texts (Grade 12) from Department of Basic Education, South Africa | Narrative essay, Descriptive essay, Reflective essay, Discursive essay, Argumentative essay, Interpretation of Visual Stimuli Texts, Magazine and Newspaper Article, Report (Formal and Informal), Speech, Dialogue/ Interview, Review

• Visual Literacy Appendix: Glossary of Terms from North Carolina Press Foundation (visual literacy, newspapers, and journalism)

• High School Journalism Matters (2008 study from Newspaper Association of America involving 31,000+ students by Jack Dvorak, Emeritus Professor at Indiana University | “Students who work on high school newspapers and yearbooks get better grades in high school, earn higher scores on the ACT, and get better grades as college freshmen.”; “Journalism students also earned higher grades in high school mathematics, social studies, science and English courses than non-journalism students.”

• Guidelines for Interviewing for the High School Newspaper by Robert Greenman (New York Times newspapers in education consultant; author of “Words That Make a Difference” and “More Words That Make a Difference”

• Free online book: “Tools for Podcasting” by Jill Olmsted, associate professor of Journalism at the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C. | With “instruction and tools [audio and video clips, video tutorials, practice exercises] to produce your own podcast — whether you are a professional in journalism, the arts, sciences, business or law, an activist or just someone who has a story to tell”; “How and Why Journalism Schools Should Teach Podcasting”

• Journalism" Class - XII Higher Secondary Course (Grade 12 textbook) from State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala, India — magazine writing; TV-Radio writing and production; film appreciation; writing for the internet; technical writing; advertising; public relations and corporate communications | “Floating inverted pyramid”; historical backgrounders; glossaries of technical terms; model scripts for TV-Radio Broadcasting

• Learning by doing: newspaper, video, podcast, or digital media from YMCA Fox Cities (Illinois, USA) | Journalistic Ethics; Pre-Writing (news, feature, editorial, column); Research; Interviewing Tips; Basic Writing Rules; Six Types of Leads; Features Writing; Writing Editorial Articles & Stories; Writing a Conclusion; An Approach To Style; How to Avoid Frustrating the Editor; Art and Photography; Deadlines! Deadlines! Deadlines!

• Different types of media and reporting, Unit - III from Odisha State Open University (India) | Why Reporting for various media platforms differ; Reporting for Print Media; Reporting for Radio News; Reporting for Television News; Reporting for Web Media

• Media Writing Skills handbook from Jharkhand Rai University (India) | Expository Writing; Persuasive Writing; Descriptive Writing; Narrative Writing; Hard News and Soft News; Writing for Radio; Writing for Television (Art of News Broadcasting); Interviews; Editorials; Grammar (with exercises)

• Enriching your journalistic writing through allusions (literary, historical, mythological, religious, pop culture): “Headlines That Sing: Teaching Students to Use Their Allusions”; Taylor Swift’s literary allusions in her songs “State of Grace,” “Getaway Car,” etc. | “Allusion is a reference to a well-known person, character, place, or event that a writer makes to deepen the reader’s understanding of their work. Allusions aren’t reserved for writing, though—we frequently use them in our speech. An allusion is a concise way to communicate a lot of meaning.” (Grammarly)

• How to punctuate by Russell Baker (Pulitzer Prize winner for his book and his essays for The New York Times) | “You know about ending a sentence with a period or question mark. Do it. Sure, you can also end with an exclamation point, but must you? Usually it just makes you sound breathless and silly. Make your writing generate its own excitement.”; “Filling the newspaper with !!!! won’t make up for what your writing has failed to do.”

• Differences between traditional (conventional) journalism and development journalism

• Frequently Confused Words from “Style Guide Language Unit” (University of Johannesburg, South Africa) | Other helpful sections: “Layout and Typography” and “Letter Writing”

• Deep Grammar (ACES: The Society for Editing)

• Most Commonly Used Prefixes, Most Commonly Used Roots, and Most Commonly Used Suffixes handout from Miami Dade College, Florida, USA

• The secret to using tenses in scientific writing (infographic) | “In scientific writing, tense usage depends upon the section of the paper being written. Different sections of the IMRaD format warrant the use of different tenses. These variations within tense usage get even finer and more complex depending upon which aspect of the research process is being discussed.”

• Verb tenses (general, literature, science) handouts from Brandeis University, Boston, Massachusetts USA) | “When deciding which verb tense to use, aim for consistency, simplicity, and clarity. Whenever possible, keep verbs in the same tense (consistency), and use either the simple present or the past tense (simplicity). Above all, choose the verb tense that most clearly expresses the idea you want to convey (clarity).”

• Exercises on articles (a, an, the) from Douglas College, India) | “Articles in English may look simple but they are a complex part of English grammar to use well. This handout does not explain the grammar of articles in detail. Instead, it gives you strategies for finding article errors in your writing and fixing them.”

• Grammar walks into a bar by Ross F. Collins (Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University)

• Madman—Architect—Carpenter—Judge Paradigm for contestants in the individual writing contests of the press conferences

• As SPA or SPJ teacher, which kind of students are you developing — campus journalists or contest journalists?

• Should college students who want to enroll in courses such as Journalism or Mass Communications be required to pass an entrance test or exit test on English grammar proficiency?

• Blackout Poetry using old newspapers (icebreaker or team building activity for your SPJ students)

• Language Errors in Campus Journalists’ News Articles: Its Implication to Writers Interlanguage (2018) study by Lyoid Hunahunan, Surigao del Sur State University | Improper use of verb tenses the most recurrent error; the dire need for intervention activities to address campus journalists’ linguistic difficulties

• Tips for aspiring writers from Pulitzer Prize-winning writers | 80-20 rule; Anecdotal leads instead of inverted pyramid; To be a good editorial writer, become a good reporter first; Emotional storytelling — the future of journalism?

• Textbooks for SPJ classes — print and online | Writing and Reporting for the Media (13th edition) from Oxford University Press: it’s quite expensive around 100 US dollars per copy, but it’s probably the best textbook for SPJ classes; free online resources for students from Writing and Reporting for the Media (11th edition)

• What art and drama can do for journalism by Robin Kwong (The Financial Times, 2019)

• Free website usability guidelines book from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Book donation to Rizal High School

• The Film Club (The New York Times Learning Network): short documentary questions for legal developing close reading and critical thinking skills

• Daily poetry for schoolpaper staff meetings and for SPJ classes?

• William Faulkner’s The agony and sweat of the human spirit 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech

• The Chaos and Beyond Forgetting poems for SPJ Advanced English II students

• Fun activity for SPJ students as icebreaker or as they wait for classes to begin: Cups game with the song When I’m Gone from the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect starring Anna Kendrick

• Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity (study by Prof. Daniel M. Oppenheimer of Princeton University, 2006 Applied Cognitive Psychology Journal)

• Interactive exercises on English grammar and vocabulary based on Korean historical dramas; creating your own interactive exercises for SPJ classes using freeware Hot Potatoes

• Writing activity for SPJ students based on Alma (award-winning animated short film)

• Rewordify: Free online tool for SPJ teachers to create lessons for their students and for students to understand difficult English texts

• Some observations about a video created by journalism students from Philippine Science High School - Bicol Region Campud about heat stroke for a local coffee shop

• How false news can spread - Noah Tavlin (TED-Ed animated video lesson)

• Train Your Brain (24 TED-Ed video lessons, mostly animated, for critical thinking and media literacy skills)

• More than words: Enough (creative editorial from The San Diego Union Tribune, April 20, 2018 expressing outrage the continuing mass shootings in US schools)

• Ten elements of good journalism from The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel | The Essentials of Journalism by Tom Rosenstiel (collection of guides that explains the basic principles and elements of good journalism)

• Gen Zers don’t care about fact checking; their most trusted sources of news and opinions are online comments section and inluencers | The secret digital behaviors of Gen Z by Adam Rogers (senior correspondent Business Insider)

• Churnalism, McDonald’s death knock Monkey ... 250-plus examples of British journalism jargon (useful for newbie SPAs, SPJ teachers and students) | Journalism Glossary: A List Of Words That Every New Journalist Needs To Know | 2018 American Press Institute survey; A significant number of Americans don’t know (1) what op-ed means, (2) what’s the difference between an editorial and a news story, and (3) what’s the difference between a reporter and a columnist

• How AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Bard work – visual explainer (The Guardian)

• Top 10 Most Fearless Female Journalists (MsMojo, 2020)

• UNESCO free resource: Journalism, Fake News & Disinformation: Handbook for Journalism Education and Training | UNESCO Series on Journalism Education; English grammar trivia on order of adjectives

• Dancing with professors: The trouble with academic prose (1993) by Patricia Nelson Limerick (Yale University, Harvard University, and University of Colorado; one of the leading historians of the American West) | The intersection of academic and journalistic writing by a Filipino academic who’s teaching in a Thailand university and a contributor to the Philippine Daily Inquirer

• UNICEF Guidelines for journalists reporting on children | Principles and guidelines to help journalists report on children’s issues in a way that enables them to serve the public interest without compromising the rights of children

• Using TikTok to drive young people to the news (International Journalists’ Network)

• Defence Handbook for Journalists and Bloggers on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Information Principles in International Law from Thomson Reuters Foundation, Reporters Without Borders, and Paul Hastings LLP

• Discovering my love for reading and for Literature | Rappler opinion: How can teachers develop a reading habit among learners?

• Journalism and Math: Words? Yes! Numbers? Noooooo!!! Noooooo!!! | How Journalists Can Overcome Math Anxiety; Does Math Matter in Journalism?; Mathematics Reporting: An Uncrowded Niche for Writers; Demystifying Math in Journalism: Bringing Numbers to Life in Reporting; Siobhan Roberts, mathematics journalism contributor to The New York Times, even though math was her worst subject in high school

• The story of journalism (PDF) from Inside Reporting; A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism by Tim Harrower (award-winning editor, designer and columnist)

• How journalism is turning emotional and what that means for the future of news and In the Role of Emotion in the Future of Journalism by Professor Charlie Beckett (London School of Economics)

• Paris Charter on AI and Journalism: Ten principles for journalists (Nov. 2023) | Ten Commandments for journalists (from various authors and sources): Thou shalt repent with speed and sincerity; Thou shalt live in a glass house; Make all copy conform to the AP Stylebook; When two elephants fight ...

• Ten Basic Reporting Errors by Prof. Rick Durham

• Classic advice on good writing by Mark Twain, H. W. Fowler (1906), Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Brevity Memo, and Lee Kuan Yew, first Prime Minister of Singapore (1979)

• The continuing relevance of George Orwell’s six rules for good writing from his 1946 essay Politics of the English Language

• The 20 Most Common Sentence-Level Faults Among Legal [and other] Writers by Bryan A. Garner

• Journalists are infatuated with the word amid

• Clear Writing Guidelines from the Asian Development Bank’s 2024 Handbook of Style and Usage

• Campus journalism makes students confident with academic writing but not with social media (where they are hesitant and preferred using Tagalog instead of English) | Analyzing impacts of campus journalism on student’s grammar consciousness and confidence in writing engagements by Jason V. Chavez and nine other writers from Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic State University and Mindanao State University

• My journey as a writer | Thanks to the people who encouraged or inspired me to become a writer — my high school English journalism teacher; a substitute English professor in UP Diliman; the beautiful guidance counselor in Vinzons Hall; a Kiwanis Philippines district governor; my Chem 17 classmate in UP Diliman (a Manila Science High School graduate); Kerima Polotan, the Philippines’ best informal essayist

• 50 Best Online High School Newspapers (USA)

• Journalistic writing and ’English class ’writing (similarities and differences) | PPT from Journalism Education Association

• From average student/self-taught photojournalist at age 17 to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time: Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey; The Shining; Spartacus; Barry Lyndon; Full Metal Jacket) | PDF of Kubrick’s sample works as photojournalist from Museum of the City of New York

• How do you explain the color red to someone born blind? | From high school campus publication to the Philippine Daily Inquirer

• A column, an editorial and a news story walk into a bar ...’; I’m a columnist, not a journalist. | Differences between articles, essays, editorials, columns, news, and blog posts

• Editing and Publication, A training manual from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

• 200 journalism movies, ranked (Society of Professional Journalists) | Ranked no. 1: Spotlight (2015 Oscar winner for Best Picture) based on the Boston Globe’s investigative reporting team and its stories about sexual abuse committed by priests that won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service

• A Journalist’s Guide to Reporting on Child Abuse & Neglect (Language to Use, Language to Avoid), Utah Department of Human Services

• Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines from Center for Disability Rights (web page and PDF) | Nothing about us, without us.

• On the record; On background; On deep background; Off the record | Why off-the-record is a trap reporters should avoid (Poynter)

• TLDR or TL:DR — sarcastic, passive-aggressive reply; preface to a summary; execution summary | What does TLDR mean? Understanding the internet shorthand for lengthy text and its various uses (Business Insider)

• Ahjumma! Oldies and not goodies?; Filipino Elderly and the Philippine Media: Five characteristics ascribed to the Filipino elderly — physically and mentally weak; vulnerable and susceptible to be victims of crimes and accidents; incompetent; dependent; and impoverished; Filipino senior citizens: special or not special? | Communicating with Older People by Sarah Carr (Plain Language Commission free download)

• Girl (famous short fiction in just one sentence of 650 words): Inspiration and challenge for senior high school students | Written by Jamaica Kincaid, Professor of African and African American Studies in Residence at Harvard University

• Journalists get involved in amazingly complicated relationships; Long nails and typewriters don’t go together. | Journalist Nini Gaviola’s advice to high school journalism students

• Journalism and poetry (Part 3): Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “If” circa 1895

• Journalism and poetry (Part 4): How Journalism Made a Poet Out of Me by Gillian Conoley (former journalist; award-winning poet)

• A Journalist’s Guide to the Use of English from Media Helping Media, Free Training Resources For Journalists And Managers | There is no such things as newspaper English; there is good English and bad English, which may be suitable in different contexts.

• Reporting extreme weather and climate change: A guide for journalists from World Weather Attribution

• Intro To Journalism Handbook, An Open Educational Resource for Journalism Students by Michael Downing, Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks

• The New Journalism (creative nonfiction: literary journalism, narrative journalism, immersion journalism) | Writing tips from On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, bestselling author of horror novels

• Resources on news, features, headlines, editorials, columns, interviewing, and schoolpaper design from Newspaper Curriculum Guide (Texas Association of Journalism Educators)

• You can quote me on that, Tips on handling direct and indirect quotes PDF slideshow by Bobby Hawthorne, former Director, University Interscholastic League with discussions and examples

• Searching for Maura (2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary, with two Filipinas as part of The Washington Post team)

• Quick 50 Writing Tools tip sheet from the book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark (the most influential writing teacher in the US)

• Inspiration and challenge for female SPJ students: 3 Filipina creatives are finalists for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize | Hannah Reyes Morales (photojournalism); Nicole Dungca and Ren Galeno (Illustrated Reporting and Commentary); Hannah Reyes Morales and Ren Galeno are UP Diliman graduates

• For SPAs and EICs: The tennis ball the tangled web, the toothpaste, and other building activities for your schoolpaper staff

• 42nd National Book Awards finalists (A personal connection through my former high school English journalism student)

• For newbie SPAs or EICs, or schools that are just starting to establish their schoolpapers: Job descriptions of the EIC and section editors from Newspaper Curriculum Guide (Texas Association of Journalism Educators)

• Reason why people fail the bar exams — poor grammar, deficient writing skills: Should English journalism students, SPAs, and SPJ teachers consider going to law school?

• Literary Genius, Using literary devices in journalistic writing PDF slideshow by Bobby Hawthorne, former Director, University Interscholastic League with discussions and examples

• 100 Best Journalism Books of All Time

• A Practical Guide for Journalists - Tip Sheet: Writing Stories About Children and Conducting Interviews with Children (International Labour Organization) | Remember: Life continues for the child long after the story and when a journalist leaves.

• The must-read book for EICs, SPAs, SPJ teachers, and anyone who’s thinking of pursuing Journalism in college and as a career: The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel | Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.; Journalism’s essence is a discipline of verification.

• Comprehensive resource on News Writing, Feature Writing, Editorial Writing, and Headline Writing from Journalism Contest Manual of the University Interscholastic League | Discussions, tips or guidelines, fact sheets/prompts, sample articles (based on the fact sheets) dissected and explained

• Free book: Writing for Strategic Communication Industries by Jasmine Roberts, School of Communication at The Ohio State University; with chapters on news values, news writing, and feature writing

• English, Filipino, or Cebuano? Language Preference of Student Journalists in Mindanao State University-Marawi, Philippines: Reasons and Attitudes (2016) by Riz Sunio and Jerryk Alico

• Free book: The International Journalism Handbook: Concepts, Challenges, and Contexts by Rodrigo Zamith (Associate Professor in the Journalism Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst) | Similarities and differences in how journalism is imagined and performed in different regions of the world

• Writing for Electronic Media by Brian Champagne (Utah State University) | Rule #1: Write to Video.; We write to be heard once and understood. Our sentences are short and clear. You can re-read a sentence in a newspaper or web story, and you can back up a YouTube video. Get it unclear on TV or radio and your audience is confused and lost.

so you want to be a writer? famous 1992 poem by Charles Bukowski (poet, novelist, short story writer, columnist): For all campus journalists and SPJ students whose consuming passion is to write, whether they win or lose in the press conferences | As a poet, Bukowski has been referenced by rappers, singers such as Harry Styles, and bands such as U2, Artic Monkeys, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

• It’s Not a Five-Paragraph Essay from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | Differences between writing for your English or Filipino subjects and for your campus publications

• How do journalists estimate the number of people in a crowd, a political rally, or any event?: Writer’s Workshop: Just How Dense Can They Be? from Journalism: Publishing Across Media and other sources | The Jacob’s Formula

• Does SPJ benefit its students in their college courses and in their careers? Do SPJ students continue to be involved in Journalism during college or in their careers? | “Ascertaining the Curriculum Relevance of the Special Program Journalism in Select Public Secondary Schools in Caraga Region” (2023) by Rhoda M. De Los Santos and Levita B. Grana, Saint Joseph Institute of Technology, Butuan City

• Visual Journalism, Fresh Approaches and New Business Strategies for the Multimedia Age from Nieman Reports, The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University | What Changed Journalism—Forever—Were Engineers; The Fluidity of the Frame and Caption; Music Lessons Inform Photojournalism’s Future

• 2029 Spelling & Vocabulary contests of the University Interscholastic League (Texas USA) | With pronouncer’s copy and answer keys

• October 13 is International Plain Language Day | Fighting against gobbledygook, legalese, and bureaucratese to ensure that public communications of government offices, private businesses, and other organizations are transparent, accountable, accessible, and clear

• Most common grammatical errors of campus journalists from high school and college: Subject-verb agreement, verb tense, preposition, punctuation, article, spelling, capitalization, pronoun, word form, conjunction, missing subject, and word order

• A short guide to the history of ’fake news’ and disinformation (A Learning Moduld for Journalists and Journalism Educators) from International Centre for Journalists | “The use of propaganda is ancient, but never before has there been the technology to so effectively disseminate it.’ So, it is important to understand the historical context when examining and reporting on contemporary manifestations of what has been termed a 21st-century ’information disorder’”.

• Is Special Program in Journalism (SPJ) no longer part of DepEd’s new MATATAG Curriculum? Even if it’s true, the press conferences will still be organized and held by the DepEd because they’re mandated by RA 7079 Campus Journalism Act of 1991.

• 25 Ways to Improve Writing Immediately from Media Writer’s Handbook: A Guide to Common Editing and Writing Problems 3/e by George Arnold, Marshall University

• Grammar resources — discussions and exercises — from George Brown College (Canada)| Free 900-plus interactive exercises on English grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal analogy, etc. and Spoken English Learned Quickly (American accent or light British accent)

• Storytelling from Asian Development Bank | “In the realm of journalism, storytelling is not just a tool; it is the beating heart that brings news to life. While facts and figures provide the foundation, it is through storytelling that journalists connect with their audience on a deeper level, evoking emotions, inspiring action, and driving meaningful change.”

• For SPJ teachers taking their masteral or doctoral studies: Why Academic Writing Stinks (The Chronicle of Higher Education) by Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University | “The most popular answer outside the academy is the cynical one: Bad writing is a deliberate choice. Scholars in the softer fields spout obscure verbiage to hide the fact that they have nothing to say. They dress up the trivial and obvious with the trappings of scientific sophistication, hoping to bamboozle their audiences with highfalutin gobbledygook.”

• Figurative Language; SHAMPOO — Simile, Hyperbole, Alliteration, Metaphor, Personification, Oxymoron, Onomatopoeia (with practice tests and answer keys) | Figurative language in journalism

• Persuasive Writing

• A History of Journalism from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | “Humans hunger for news. We want knowledge beyond what we can gather using our own senses. We want narratives, facts, events, people, back stories and the ideas from beyond our doors. We want to understand, and we want to escape our isolation. The mass media tries to satisfy this hunger.”

• Hooks and Attention Grabbers from George Brown College (Canada) | “The first sentence of your introduction is the first chance a writer has to capture the attention of the reader. Some people call this a ’hook’ because it captures a reader’s attention with interesting statements and ideas just like a fisherman will use a shiny lure to get a fish on his or her hook.”

• Journalist’s Creed (PDF from the Missouri School of Journalism where the creed originated) | The Missouri School of Journalism’s Willie Vicoy Reuters Fellowship for photojournalists established in honor of a renowned Filipino photojournalist

• The Art of Persuasive Writing PDF slideshow from Scotch College, Swanbourne, Western Australia | Logical Appeal (Logo —Does the author’s proposal make sense?; Ethical Appeal (Ethos)– Is the author’s proposal the right thing to do? Emotional Appeal (Pathos)—Will accepting the author’s proposal make me feel better?

• Does SPJ benefit its students in their college courses and in their careers? Do SPJ students continue to be involved in Journalism during college or in their careers? | “Ascertaining the Curriculum Relevance of the Special Program Journalism in Select Public Secondary Schools in Caraga Region” (2023) by Rhoda M. De Los Santos and Levita B. Grana, Saint Joseph Institute of Technology, Butuan City

• Putting Your Writing on a ‘To Be-Free’ Diet from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | When a writer consistently uses unnecessary to be verbs, the writing can sound dull and lifeless. (Saylor Academy)

• Making Complex Writing Intelligible with the Known-New Contract from Carnegie-Mellon University | The best book on writing for people who are serious about becoming the best writers they can be: Style: Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams; A simple example of sentences using known-new contract (structure) from my synopsis of K-drama Empress Ki

• BLUF (The Topic Sentence Handout) from Carnegie-Mellon University, with before-and-after examples — The US military’s version of the inverted pyramid structure | Creating reader-friendly writing is the writer’s responsibility.

• The BLUF Rule cheat sheet for efficient communication, clarity, and improved decision making

• Creating Concise Sentences from Carnegie-Mellon University | As writers, we have rich, complex ideas to communicate to our audiences, but many of us struggle to convey those ideas in clear prose.

• Responding [how to critique other writers’ work; how to respond to other writers’ critique of your work] from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | Responding is the heart of the writing process, but there is nothing natural about asking others to critique your writing. Most of us, even experienced writers, feel uncomfortable sharing our work-in-process, like we are being asked to stand naked on stage. • Transitional Words and Phrases: Showing Relationships Within and Between Sentences (Miami Dade College, Florida, USA) | With categorized lists of transitional words and phrases, and exercises (no answer keys)

• “Author’s Purpose” and “Recognizing Author’s Purpose” (Miami Dade College, Florida, USA) | With exercises (no answer keys)

• How To Write Essays Like A PhD" (infographic) | “In 2017, 39% of high school students taking the ACT lacked the English skills necessary to successfully complete a college course. After college, 44% of hiring managers say recent grads still lack writing proficiency.”

• Effective Writing Techniques for Aspiring Journalists (Journalism University) | “We’ve all heard the myth that great writers wait for inspiration to strike, but that’s not the reality, especially for journalists. Writing is a structured process, one that involves multiple steps, careful thought, and constant revisions. Aspiring journalists must grasp the importance of a methodical approach to writing.”

• Main Ideas handout from Miami Dade College, Florida, USA: discussion, illustrations, and exercises (no answer keys) | “The main idea is the central, or most important, idea in a paragraph. It states the purpose and sets the direction of the paragraph or passage.”

• 2025 University Interscholastic League region-level contest materials (fact sheets, writing tips, answer keys/sample stories based on the fact sheets) — Copy Editing, Editorial Writing, Feature Writing, Headline Writing, and News Writing

• Origins of using “30”to mark the end of an article by Rob Melton, award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA

• Journalistic Style of Writing Part 1 and Part 2 (Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA)

• A journalist’s guide to reporting research findings (UK government resource) | “Research findings can provide journalists with news stories, news ‘pegs’, background information, statistics, case studies and expert sources. But research papers are often written in an inaccessible style and poorly promoted.”

• Writing for Impact: Lessons from Journalism (Oxfam) | Four key techniques: Tell stories; Keep it as brief as you can; Use plain language; Structure your report for impact.

• English Writing Composition Skills Among Education Students by Vanessa Joy Z. Judith (Faculty, Carlos Hilado Memorial State College - Alijis Campus, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines) | Contrary to the stereotype, girls don’t write better compositions than boys, scoring “very low in the area of structure.”; Using Facebook adversely affects the skill in writing composition of students.

• Fundamental Writing Tips and Techniques by Philip Yaffe (Wall Street Journal reporter/feature writer, book author, and university lecturer in Brussels, Belgium) | With “Poor,” “Better,” and “Best” comparison of sentences to illustrate the writing tips and techniques

• Avoiding Wordiness: Writing with Concision and Brevity (Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, USA) | With discussions, exercises, and answer key

• Clarity and Concision" discussions and exercises, with answer keys from University of Georgia, USA | Redundant Language; Passive Voice; Parallelism

• Award-winning campus journalist, former EIC and high school valedictorian doing well as book author

• Commonly Confused Words (PDF resources from Austin Peay State University, Tennessee, USA)

• Writing a Speech PDF resources from Austin Peay State University, Tennessee, USA | “Preparing a speech can be easy if you set out small tasks in logical order. Take each task one at a time.”

• Top 20 Errors in Undergraduate Writing (Stanford University, California, USA) | “Readers judge your writing by your control of certain conventions, which may change depending on your audience, purpose, and writing situation.”

• Introductions and Conclusions in public speaking (Wesleyan University, Connecticut, USA)

• Text Structures Revealed (infographic) from K-12 Thoughtful Learning | “Text structure refers to the arrangement of ideas in a piece of writing. Different structures communicate ideas in different ways.”; Basic Structure; Explanatory Structures; Persuasive Structures; Narrative Structure

• Multimedia Storytelling (Sacramento State University, California, USA) | “Not all stories make good multimedia stories. The best multimedia stories are multi-dimensional. They include action for video, a process that can be illustrated with a graphic (e.g., ‘how tornadoes form’ or ‘how this new surgery works’), someone who can give some pithy quotes for video or audio, and/or strong emotions for still photos and audio. Most multimedia stories require that the reporter go into the field to report the story face-to-face with sources, rather than doing a story entirely by telephone.”

• A Guide to Professional and Business Writing (University of West Florida, USA) | Business Bloopers, Passive Voice Resistance, How’s Your Business English?, Email... the Last Chance for Developing Writing Skills?, etc.

• Reporting Human Rights: A Practical Guide for Journalists (Media Trust; Society of Editors) | Although this guide discusses the UK’s Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporated into UK law the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights, journalists from other countries can learn some things from it.

• How is AI changing journalism? (PDF and PPTX) by Damian Radcliffe — journalist, researcher, and professor based at the University of Oregon | “AI use isn’t new. It’s just evolving. Fast.”

• Different documents need different structures (The Clarity Editor) | “Go back to the big picture: remember whom you’re writing for a what you’re trying to get them to do/think/feel.”; “Think about how you might talk to someone about your content. Use that to guide your structure/flow.”

• Common Fallacies in Speaking and Writing ... and What to Do about Them by Philip Yaffe (Wall Street Journal reporter/feature writer, book author, and university lecturer in Brussels, Belgium) | “But there we were. A large group of students at a prestigious university had rejected a reasoned, well-documented argument in favor of a simple appeal to prejudice. I went away shaking my head in disbelief.”

• TESL-EJ resource: Tips for Writing Well (Research-Based Principles) | "Good writers are those who keep the language efficient.” - Ezra Pound

• A Brief Guide to Common Writing Errors (University of Vermont, USA)

• Strategies for Essay Writing from Harvard University’s College Writing Center | “One useful starting point when you’re trying to identify an analytical question is to look for points of tension in your sources, either within one source or among sources. It can be helpful to think of those points of tension as the moments where you need to stop and think before you can move forward.”

• Common Writing Errors and Ways to Avoid Them (DePaul University, Chicago, USA) | “Many students think that grammar and punctuation are trivial details of writing. Wrong. Many times throughout your life, your written word will precede all other information about you. If your written thoughts are marred by incorrect spelling and grammatical errors, you will convey the message that you are not as educated or careful as you should be. Your writing will also fail in its main purpose: to convey a message clearly.”

• Quid Pro Quo & Co. - 60 Common Latin Terms Everyone Should Know (Infographic) by Jennifer Frost of GrammarCheck | “I don’t even like legal Latin. If you can say it in plain English, you should.” — US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; "Save Latin for your clients who are Ancient Romans.” — Michèle M Asprey (University of Sydney; author of “Plain Language for Lawyers”)

• Arguments against continued use of Latin in general writing, law, and medicine | “Save Latin for your clients who are Ancient Romans.”

• Cheatsheet based on “Murder Your Darlings: And other gentle writing advice from Aristotle to Zinsser” by Roy Peter Clark, “the most influential writing teacher in the USA”

• Essay Do’s and Don’ts (University of British Columbia, Canada) | “Transitions: Each paragraph should flow from one to the next. Each sentence should connect from one to the next as well.”

• Some crucial differences between high school and college writing from “Writing in College” by Joseph M. Williams and Lawrence McEnerney (The University of Chicago Writing Program) | “Some students make very smooth transitions from writing in high school to writing in college, and we heartily wish all of you an easy passage. But other students are puzzled and frustrated by their experiences in writing for college classes. Only months earlier your writing was winning praise; now your instructors are dissatisfied, saying that the writing isn’t quite ‘there’ yet, saying that the writing is ‘lacking something.’”

• Sentence Types and Functions from San Jose State University, California, USA | “Choosing what types of sentences to use in an essay can be challenging for several reasons. The writer must consider the following questions: Are my ideas simple or complex? Do my ideas require shorter statements or longer explanations? How do I express my ideas clearly?”

• Writing Process resources from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

• “Journalism versus Literature” speech presented at the 1996 Magsaysay Awardees’ Lecture Series by Nick Joaquin (National Artist in Literature 1976; Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts, 1996)

• Parallelism (PDF) from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

• A Visual Guide to Essay Writing (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) | “Many people think in pictures. Unfortunately, this is often a ‘mixed blessing’ for students of humanities, social sciences, and other areas where a student’s learning is assessed almost entirely in essays. These call for a different way of thinking: verbal, in blocks of words, moving in a straight and narrow line towards a conclusion. If you’re a visual thinker, you can get quite frustrated in an educational system that marks not your understanding as such, but your ability to express it in a linear chain of reasoning with all the links spelt out.”

• Guidelines for Writing an Essay (resource from Hamilton College, New York, USA)

• 23 Ways to Improve Your Draft from George Mason University Writing Center, Virginia, USA

• A checklist of eighteen pitfalls in AI journalism (Princeton University, USA) | “Images of humanoid robots are often used to illustrate articles about AI, even if the contents of the article have nothing to do with robots. This gives readers a false impression that AI tools are embodied, even when it is just software that learns patterns from data.”

• Down with Provided That from Michigan Bar Journal

• A Pox on Prior To from Michigan Bar Journal

• A pox on pursuant to from Michigan Bar Journal

• Tip Sheets (Writing Resources) from Ontario Tech University, Canada

• Report Writing from Mahatma Gandhi Central University, India | “A report is a written presentation of factual information based on an investigation or research. Reports form the basis for solving problems or making decisions, often in the subjects of business and the sciences. The length of reports varies; there are short memorandum (memo) reports and long reports.”

• Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting from Education Bureau Hong Kong | With original and revised examples, practice activities and answer keys

• Writing an Effective Film Review from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR

• Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries — resources from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Word and Sentence Level resources Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Student Podcast Contest by The New York Times (April 16 - May 14, 2025) | Open to students ages 13 to 19 in middle or high school anywhere in the world

• 16th Annual Summer Reading Contest of The New York Times (250-word essay or a 90-second video) from June 6 to Aug. 15, 2025 — weekly contest | Open to students ages 13 to 19 in middle or high school anywhere in the world

• U4CA Paragraph Writing Toolkit (free resource from Far Eastern University, Manila, Philippines) | “U4CA is a set of techniques intended to improve one’s writing skill. This is composed of Unity, Coherence, Conciseness, Clarity, Concreteness, and Accuracy. The use of U4CA in paragraph writing allows for a more efficient and effective delivery of thought through writing.”

• Sentence Structure PDF handouts from Hunter College (The City University of New York) | For SPJ teachers and students in their Advanced English I class

Miscellaneous writing lessons

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 16): Crash blossoms — headlines that are ambiguous, funny, ridiculous, or weird because of clumsy writing or the constraints of headline writing

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 17): Invariant be or habitual be — I be like ...; It do be like that; These dreams be waking me up; Being a Street Vendor in the Philippines Be Like.. (title of a Jessica Lee YT video)

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 18): Why do journalists generally avoid using adjectives and adverbs? (See what I did there?) | When you catch an adjective, kill it. (American novelist and humorist Mark Twain); Adjectives and intensifiers are the grest deceivers. (The Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing)

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 19): One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.; Sipping cocktails on the balcony, the moon looked magnificent. | Dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers; Travel writers seem particularly prone to using dangling modifiers; What’s the difference between a dangling modifier and a misplaced modifier?; Examples of dangling modifiers from the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 20): For stronger writing, minimize using be verbs — am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been | Examples: Change The restaurant’s food is excellent. to The restaurant serves excellent food. OR, change The concept of immortality is intriguing to me. to The concept of immortality intrigues me

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 21): Should Morissette fans stop using the nickname Mori?; Stet, persona non grata, per se not per say, e.g., and i.e.; Memento mori from K-drama The Glory starring Song Hye-kyo; Plain English for Latin Expressions (Singapore Academy of Law) | Write to express, not to impress (avoid using Latin words or expressions if there are English equivalents)

• Miscellaneous writing lesson (Part 22): “Critic” versus “critique” — “Please critic my article.” and “I will critic your work. are cringeworthy sentences.”

MOJO (mobile journalism)

• A Free Guide to Mobile Journalism Part 1 to Part 7 by Ivo Burum | Think story first, not technology; SCRAP — mojo’s equivalent of traditional 5Ws and 1H

• Mobile Journalism (Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India) | “Mobile journalism is fast emerging as a new creative trend in the media industry, revolutionising how news is gathered and disseminated to diverse audiences. Reporters and correspondents are trained to handle their mobile devices to broadcast news content using smartphones, tablets, digital cameras and laptops.”

• Mojo (free) resource for people 13 to 24 years old: Finding Digital Stories: The Youth Reporter Project Toolkit from Plan Intrernational Philippines

• Step-by-Step guide to shooting IPhone video with cheat sheet

• Mojo tip: Two shots, three shots, or five shots ... How journalists can improve video stories with shot sequences by Casey Frechette

• Mobile Journalism: The New Media Frontier 2023 webinar from NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Suncoast Chapter

• Mojo video Piano Dreams (14-year old Syrian girl refugee who learned to play the piano professionally through YouTube) and other videos by Philip Bromwell, one of Ireland’s pioneering mobile journalists

• 10 Tips to improve your mobile videos – Mobile Journalism PDF by Robb Montgomery (Eastern Illinois University - Smart Film School)

• 20 Most asked Questions by Ivo Burum (2017)

• Romanian journalist trained for only four days on how to film and edit on his smartphone; watch his first ever mojo video Homeless Baths

• Mobile Journalism Manual

• Mojo advantages and limitations during the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrortack in Paris, France

• Best phone for Mobile Journalism – A checklist with real results by Robb Montgomery, illustrated by his award-winning mojo videos

• The three pillars of mobile journalism – storage capacity, power, and connectivity | journalism.co.uk interview with Marc Settle, BBC’s smartphone reporting trainer

• A mobile journalist gets more vox pop interviews than a traditional TV crew | Closer to the Story? Accessibility and Mobile Journalism (Reuters Institute study, 2016) by Finnish journalist Panu Karhunen

• Mobile Journalism 2.0 from Al Jazeera Media Institute | It’s all about producing powerful stories regardless of the tools we use? | Keys to understanding the new reality of journalism — The journalist is the team; The means is the mediator; Technology is content; The sender is the receiver.

• Mobile Journalism (2017): PDF resource from Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Centre | The key to success in mobile journalism is training

• Stories for Impact (storytelling with smartphone videos) from Digital Storytellers

News Writing

• News Writing and Editorial Writing exercises (with fact sheets) from News Junkies Inc.

• Reporting the News Toolkit for boosting media literacy skills and help kids in grades 4-6 become strong student journalists" | SPJ teachers can adapt these resources for their junior high school students

• News Reports vs. Feature Stories PPT from Journalism Education Association; with annotations | For SPJ teachers with newbie grade school or junior high school journalism students

• News Writing activities and exercises for ESL learners (B1 Intermediate and B2 Upper intermediate levels) with answer keys

• Transition/Quote (L-Q-T-Q) Example from Journalism Education Association | For News Writing and Feature Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• News Writing (introduction to journalism and news writing) from Dar es Salaam School of Journalism, Tanzania | For newbies — News Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Hot 100 News Writing Tips (Compiled by Sheryl Swingley of Ball State University)

• News writing exercises from “The News Manual” with answer keys | For newbies — News Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Newswriting basics Part B (free copy of Chapter 3 from classic book “Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism” by Tim Harrower, award-winning editor, designer and columnist)

• Newswriting basics (free chapter from Tim Harrower’s classic book “Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism”)

• Writing the News: Different Formats and Their Functions (EdTechBooks): With classroom strategies for teachers and a section on pioneering women cartoonists and animators | “Newspapers include multiple forms of writing, including news coverage articles, editorials and editorial cartoons, sports writing, Op-Ed commentaries, and photographs. Each type of writing has a specific style and serves a particular function.”

• News Writing (PPTX) from Journalism Education Association for newbies — News Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “DO NOT, under any circumstances, fall back on your essay training and write your own summary conclusion. This is editorializing and it has no place in news writing.”

• News Writing and Editing textbook published by Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi for Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Digital Media) students | For News Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Some helpful guidelines on interviews, hard news themes/soft news themes, objective reporting, structure (inverted pyramid, martini glass, kabob), quote/transition formula, etc. from the Media Handbook, Part 1 of Englewood High School (Colorado, USA) | For newbie SPJ teachers and students

• Reporting and Sub editing (Virtual University of Pakistan) | For News Writing and CRHW contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Beginning News Writing syllabus with discussions and exercises for each section (San Jose State University School of Journalism and Mass Communications, California, USA) | “Accuracy is everything. Sometimes rumors, lies and exaggerations dominate a society’s information. In journalism, the reporter brings facts and truth to readers. More prosaically, this is known as ‘Getting the Story RIGHT,’ and there is no better goal for an aspiring journalist.”

• News Writing and Reporting resource from the National Open University of Nigeria (for print and broadcast; advanced reporting — science and technology; sports; political; economy and business; crime, accidents, and the courts) | “Good writing must have a pace appropriate to the content. Sentences and words give a story mood. Short sentences convey action, tension and movement. A series of long sentences conveys a more relaxed mood; long sentences slow down the reader. Between these two extremes are sentences of varying lengths, and good writers use them all.”

• Basic News Writing from Ohlone College (California) | “The news reporter’s job has three parts: Reporting, writing and meeting deadlines. All three are important, but news reporting couldn’t exist without deadlines. The deadline is your discipline. Learn to meet deadlines, learn how to gather information, and the writing style will come eventually.”

• Five-paragraph, four key elements formula in news writing: How to write news stories so that “readers understand in the first five paragraphs what the news is and what it means to them” | “Six Rules for Writing a Straight News Lead” by Dr. Ken Blake (Ph.D. Associate Professor of Journalism, Middle Tennessee State University) and “Media Writing is Not That Hard” (PDF slideshow)

• News Reporting Complete (for print and broadcast) from National Open University of Nigeria | “When you use short paragraphs, you give the reader facts and ideas in smaller packages that are easier to handle. The mind can grasp a small unit of thought more easily than a large unit. Also, most news copy is set in narrow columns with only three to five words per line. Paragraphs should be less than 60 words. Two or three sentences per paragraph are just about right, but it is perfectly acceptable to have a one-sentence paragraph, or even a one-word paragraph, if it expresses a complete thought. Yet, a succession of very short paragraphs may give a choppy effect to the writing.”

• Inverted pyramid structure is boring and stale? Try using the Hourglass Style (from Poynter’s Roy Peter Clark) or the Focus Style (from the Wall Street Journal)

• How To Write a Speech Story from JProf’s Jim Stovall (University of Tennessee) | PDF resource for News Writing contestants (English and Filipino) and SPJ students

• Handbook of Independent Journalism by Deborah Potter

• Various news writing PDFs (with excellent discussions and illustrative examples, and great layouts and graphics)

• Free online book: Broccoli and Chocolate: A Beginner’s Guide to Journalism News Writing by Erin Hiro

• Super Challenge with the 2020-2024 News Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League) | With fact sheets and suggested answer keys (how to structure the story and sample story based on the fact sheet; Contestants in Pagsulat ng Balita can also use these materials

• News Writing PDF from DOST | Stylebook of the Office of the Ombudsman

• LQTQ, Using transition/Quote formula for news and feature stories (infographic from University Interscholastic League) | Transitions can be a fact, an indirect quote or a partial quote; Paragraphs are 1-2 sentences.

• More News Writing resources for News Writing contestants, and SPJ teachers and students

• 2019 News Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League | With fact sheets, news writing tips, sample stories based on the fact sheets, and winning entries

• New Speaker, New Paragraph from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | Guidelines for using quotations in your article: multiple quotes from multiple people; running quote; snippet; What if you’re quoting someone quoting someone?

• Write a Great News Report | Structure of a news report — inverted pyramid, headline, byline, body, tail

• “Interviewing and News Gathering Tips” and “Interviewing” from National Scholastic Press Association: For conference participants whose categories include interviewing as part of the contests, and for SPJ teachers and students | The GOSS formula in asking questions; How to Screw Up: 1. Turn off the source; being ill prepared; asking questions you should have looked up; being fearful; being argumentative; carelessness of appearance. 2. Not defining your purpose before you go, resulting in an aimless interview.

• The Inverted Pyramid (Boston University Com Writing Center(: Structure of a news article, leads, nut grafs, transitions, quotes, (stutter quotes), writing style, and objectivity

• Purpose of the nut graf discussion and examples (University of Texas PDF slideshow by Bobby Hawthorne, former UIL director)

• Newswriting for College Students by Hazel Buctayon

• Basic and advanced news writing PDF slideshow by Prof. Danilo Araña Arao, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications

• News values (elements or factors) that determine whether an event should be covered and published in a newspaper or in a broadcast

• What Is a Pyramid Doing, Standing on Its Point? from Journalism: Publishing Across Media (G - W Learning) | How technology innovations in the 1860s led to the inverted pyramid structure

• Limitations of News Writing” and “Problems of News Writing (Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Lucknow, India)

• Reporting and Editing (self-instructional material for M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication students) from Alagappa University, India

• News Writer’s Handbook by Rob Melton, award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA

• Interviewing (How great writers gather information by asking questions) by Rob Melton, award-winning journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser for 30-plus years in Oregon, USA | “Good reporting is about 80 percent interviewing, and most beginning journalists say it is their biggest problem. Until recently, on-the-job experience was the only way to learn how to be a good interviewer. Now we know what problems face beginning—and even experienced— reporters, and that interviews generally follow certain stages. With a little practice, any student can learn to be a better interviewer, and we all know that good interviewers write better stories.”

• Grades 9-12/Writing a Good News Story (Independence School District, Missouri, USA) | “One of the most fundamental differences between journalism and other forms of writing is the way journalists obtain the information they write about. Journalists obtain information through a variety of reporting techniques, which can include interviewing sources, looking through government documents, researching old articles, and observing events firsthand. Good news writing begins with good, accurate reporting.”

• Reporting and Writing News (George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA) | “Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”—Joseph Pulitzer

• Writing News Stories (Kansas State University, Kansas, USA) | “Keep paragraphs short and varied in length from one to five average sentences. Remember a 100-word paragraph looks long in a narrow newspaper column.”

• Newswriting and Newsgathering Techniques (PPTXs) by Carl Hausman, Professor of Journalism at Rowan University, New Jersey, USA

• News Writing for Print from University of Florida, USA | “A good print news story will contain the following components: inverted pyramid structure, five Ws and H, leads, objective writing, news writing techniques, quotations and attributions, Associated Press Style, and proper grammar and punctuation.”

• News Writing Fundamentals from George Mason University Writing Center, Virginia, USA

• Tips for writing a news article

• News Story Structures (Inverted Pyramid Style; Hourglass Style; Chronological Style) from University of Sargodha, Pakistan

• 2025 News Writing contests of the University Interscholastic League (Texas USA) — invitational and district levels | With fact sheets, news writing tips, and sample stories based on the fact sheets

Photography and photojournalism

• For Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students: ‘History of photography and the mass media by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo | "The Leica [first designed and manufactured in 1924] allowed news photographers to work unobtrusively, without bulky tripods or big cameras. They could finally shoot natural, unmanipulated photos showing how people really lived.’

• Principles of photography – news, sports, and travel (PPTXs) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University

• Photography PPTX: "Characteristics of Light by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo: For newbies such as Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students, and for veteran SPAs or former campus journalists who get invited as resource speakers in training seminars or press conferences | “For centuries people thought light traveled from the eye to an object, and back. People assumed dark was as much a characteristic as light. You could ‘cast darkness’ on something. Today we know dark is merely an absence of light. Yet visually dark does have a powerful presence in our world and in photographs.”

• Photography PPTX — Ways of Seeing: We may look. But do we see? by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo: For newbies — Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “When we draw, paint or take a photo, we create a world in an image. When we do this, we are forced to take a closer look at the details around us. We realize how many complex things go together to create our physical world, and how difficult that is to portray in art and photography.”

• Principles of Composition for Mass Media and Photography" (PPTX) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo: For newbies — Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “You are judged as a photographer by your weakest photo. Keep only your strongest.”

• What is basic photography?" (PPTX) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo: For newbies — Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “Photography has always been technology-driven. Today we mostly produce photographs digitally. But photography is still photography.”

• How to write a Photo Caption (SchoolJournalism) with teaching strategies | “Don’t use ‘pictured above’ or ‘shown here’ or similar phrases. The reader knows.”

• Captioning your photos (Texas Military Department): Step-by-step guidelines, with practical exercise | “It is unnecessary to over

• Composition for Sports Photography (PDF slideshow) from The Canadian Nature Photographer

• Basics of Photography and Visual Communication (BA - Journalism & Mass Communication; Pondicherry University, India) | For Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students

• Using light (photojournalism resource by Ryan Gunterman, Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association) | “Light: Our single strongest story telling element”

• The storytellers and documentary photography (photography and photojournalism resource by Ryan Gunterman, Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association) for Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students | “Visual consistency: An editor must be able to instantly see how photographs will interact with one another to add up to a compelling story.”

• Capturing the Moment: The Essence of News Photography (Journalism University) | “News photography is often referred to as the ‘silent storyteller’ of journalism. Unlike written words, an image can speak volumes in an instant, conveying emotions, narratives, and events in a way that words alone sometimes can’t.”

• Journeys in Journalism: An exploration of photography (Newspapers in Education, Tampa Bay Times) for Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students | “Photographs are variously works of art, historical documents, windows into society, marketing tools and propaganda. They tell stories about our past and present. Learning to examine, analyze and interpret photographs is a skill that can – and should – be integrated into every core academic subject.”

• Camera Controls (for newbies — Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students) | Photography resource by Ryan Gunterman, Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association)

• Photo Composition and other topics (photography resource by Ryan Gunterman, Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association) | For newbies — Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Photojournalism, Visual Literacy and Language of the Image by Jimmy Domingo, photography and photojournalism lecturer in UP, DLSU, and Ateneo | Philippine Press Institute Design Matters: The Power of Print Innovation workshop, 2023

• How to read a photograph? (infographic from European Association for Viewers Interests) | “How do you feel about the subjects/actors of the image? How do they seem to act? How do they look? Is there any ‘hidden’ movement on the image? Is there a story behind it? Details as separate elements and as a whole can make a difference.”

• Basic Strategies in Reading Photographs (for Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students)

• Elements of Photojournalism and other PDF resources for Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students

• Introduction to Photography, Digital Photography and Editing, and other comprehensive resources on photography from Odisha State Open University (India) for Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students

• Advanced Photo Journalism PDF resources from Odisha State Open University (India) for Photojournalism contestants, staff photographers, SPJ teachers and students

• Free book: Fundamentals of Photography and Creative Practice (LibreTexts Project); with discussions and photography exercises | “Photography has long been thought of as an accurate representation of the world. A tension, nonetheless, exists between photography as factual record and as constructed image.”

• Sports Photography (photography and photojournalism resource by Ryan Gunterman, Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association)

• Free 40-plus lessons on photography and photojournalism for SPJ students and press conference participants; for example, surf to Photojournalism (35): How to write photo captions; Campus news photography and working on your yearbook

• Free resources for SPJ teachers and their students on photography and photojournalism from Photzy (more than 250 PDFs)

• Resources on photojournalism for SPJ teachers, their students, and photojournalism contestants in the press conferences from Reynolds Journalism Institute

• National Geographic video series on the power of photography

• What’s Going On in This Picture? (The New York Times): Think, write, and interact with teens from around the world

• 10 Movies All Photographers Should Watch! by Tatiana Hopper

• Ten principles for photojournalists (Northeastern University’s School of Journalism) in order to become effective and compassionate storytellers

• Taking Great Pictures: Advice from Pulitzer-Winning Photographers

• Photo essay with a point-and-shoot digital camera, a tablet and an Android smartphone

• Missouri Interscholastic Journalism Association (MIJA) Photo of the Month Winners, with judges’ critique

• The history of photography in 5 minutes by COOPH, the Cooperative of Photography
Photography 101: Bite-sized Photography Lessons from Snapshot Canon-Asia

• Street photography: bite-sized lessons from Snapshot Canon-Asia | Differences between street photography and photojournalism; Differences between documentary photography and photojournalism; Free resources on street photography by Eric Kim, Thomas Leuthard, etc; The Shy Photographer’s Guide to Confidence

• 10 ways to improve your sports photography, from a pro

• Photojournalism Online Training: Free and hands on online course for aspiring photojournalists [YouTube videos] by the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute (supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Media Programme Asia)

• How to Write Photo Captions: A Guide for Photojournalists

• Miscellaneous lesson on photography, photojournalism, videography, and cinematography (Part 1): Rule of Odds — shooting an odd-numbered group is easier than shooting an even-numbered group; odd-numbered groups are visually pleasing — shooting an odd-numbered group is easier than shooting an even-numbered group; odd-numbered groups are visually pleasing

• Miscellaneous lesson on photography, photojournalism, videography, and cinematography (Part 2): Leading lines to focus the viewer’s eyes to a specific part of the frame or to create depth, with examples from Korean dramas such as True Beauty, Vincenzo, and Alchemy of Souls

• Basic Photojournalism Tips by Mark Grabowski (professor Adelphi University in New York): shooting tips, writing captions, editing photos, ethical considerations, etc

• See the Story free learning resource (interactive PDF) from World Press Photo

• Learning good photography from old National Geographic magazines (just like Hannah Reyes Morales, award-winning documentary photographer from the Philippines)

• Visual cues used in Korean dramas that can improve your photo essays or mojo videos; How Korean director Bong Joon-ho used lines in Oscar-winning movie Parasite to depict and reinforce conflict or division between the rich family and the poor family; Think story first, not technology | Miscellaneous lesson on photography, photojournalism, videography, and cinematography (Part 3) | Free whole-day seminar-workshop on photography, photojournalism, and sports photography for schools in Metro Manila and in Rizal Province

• 100+ Creative Photography Ideas: Techniques, Compositions and Mixed Media Approaches | Heart-shaped bokeh from K-dramas such as A Business Proposal, Misaeng, and Strong Woman Do Bong-soon

• Is photojournalism art? | Sebastião Salgado’s 1986 black-and-white pictures of the workers in the Serra Pelada gold mine in Brazil settles for me the question of whether photojournalism is art: Technically excellent photojournalism that moves the hearts and minds of viewers is art

• Award-winning photographs from Sony World Photography Awards (2020, 2021, and 2022)

• Award-winning photos from 2021 International Photography Awards

• Cheryl Diaz Meyer, a multi-awarded Filipino American photojournalist and 2004 co-winner of Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for Iraq War coverage | “..we are no closer to life than moments when we are so close to death; Photojournalism has more to do with curiosity than courage; Being small, a woman, Asian and a person of color are not detriments to being a photojournalist

• Award-winning photographs from 2017 and 2023 International Photography Awards

• Visual Verification Guide for Photos and Videos from First Draft News | Quick reference guides for verifying eyewitness photos and videos

• Photojournalism seminar for Association of Private School Paper Advisers Holy Family School of Quezon City, July 10, 2024

• Cheating Photographers by Michael The Maven

• From Journalism to Photojournalism: My Story by Nicole Glass

• 7 Photojournalism Tips by Reuters Photographer Damir Sagolj (award-winning Reuters photographer)

• Photography and photojournalism PDF downloads on leading lines from Photzy; Examples of leading lines from K-drama True Beauty |Miscellaneous lesson (Part 4)

• World Photography Day — August 19 | Free resources for SPJ students and photojournalism contestants

• Photography and photojournalism PDF downloads: Portraits and headshots; Shooting to tell stories; Rules of composition, History of photojournalism

• How to Write Yearbook Captions from Organized Adviser and free PDF download on caption writing

• A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the Trenches with Stacy Pearsall (From the age of 21 to the age of 27, [Stacy] captured over 500,000 images from over 41 different countries. [She] was considered the best photographer in the military and was the first woman to have won the Military Photographer of the Year twice. | My high school days as a Junior Ranger and college days in ROTC at UP Diliman

• For newbies — Photojournalism contestants, SPJ teachers and students: Photography 101 Pocket Guide and other free resources on photography (getting to know your camera, common mistakes, composition, landscape, portraiture, etc.) | For Photojournalism contestants who already have training or experience: Sports Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots; Top Tips for Improving Your Outdoor and Indoor Sports Photography; The Wide World of Sports (optimizing the point-and-shoot camera)

• Sports Photography - Getting that Great Image (PPTX and video) by Michael Reeves from the University Interscholastic League | Techniques in shooting football, basketball, baseball/softball, wrestling, soccer, volleyball weightlifting, water polo/swimming

• TIME’s Top 100 Photos, from 2016 to 2023; Works of Filipino photojournalists among TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2022

• Alternative to Rule of Thirds: Quadrant System of composition; lower corner or lower quadrant composition to depict or reinforce emotional or psychological tension (with examples from K-dramas such as The Red Sleeve, Hotel Del Luna, My Liberation Notes, and A Business Proposal)

• 5 Common Mistakes Beginner Photographers Make (infographic)

• Cheatsheet and PDF slideshow on digital SLRs and point-and-shoot cameras; types of cameras; parts of the camera; white balance; exposure triangle; composition techniques; writing captions; etc.

• Write a Great News Report | Structure of a news report — inverted pyramid, headline, byline, body, tail

• For newbies — Sports Writing contestants, SPJ teachers, and students: Resources from Journalism Education Association (PDF and PPTX) and SchoolJournalism (PPTX)

• Sports Journalism Guidebook (PDF) from Al Jazeera | Qualities and characteristics of a good sports feature article from “What Makes Great Sportswriting? A Look into Traditions, Confirmity and Artistic Freedom”

• Sports Field Guide website by Joe Gisondi (author of Field Guide To Covering Sports)

• A Reporter’s Guide to Sports and Olympics Reporting (2011) from the Thomson Reuters Foundation

• Photojournalism (its impact on shaping people’s opinions of the news and world events) | Elements; history; origins of photojournalism in war photography; ethical, legal, and social implications; unethical practices; impact of new technologies: iPhone journalism

• Photography / Photojournalism resources from Texas Association of Journalism Educators

• Photojournalism textbook for B.A. (Journalism and Mass Communication) from Pondicherry University, India | Discussions, examples, self-assessment, and exercises

• Caption-writing resources (PDF) | “A good caption has four parts: a headline; an identification sentence; a secondary information sentence and a quote.”

• Manipulated photography for mass media (PPTX) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo | “But [using a certain angle, including or leaving something out, controlling exposure ...] is passive manipulation: we are cropping and choosing angles, but we are,not controlling the action of the scene.”

• Color theory and harmony: Quick guide for photographers by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo | “Graphic artists and photographers certainly have to understand color harmony. Some of that is intuitive. As for color generation, that’s technical, and based on physics.”

• How to write standard cutlines/captions (PPTX) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University | “Photojournalists have the obligation to accurately reflect the photo in a cutline. To suggest a false context is lying.”; “Strictly speaking, [cutline and caption] are different, but most people consider them pretty much the same.”

• Photos from 31st International Festival of Photojournalism, Visa pour l’Image (2019)

• Photos from 32nd International Festival of Photojournalism, Visa pour l’Image (2020)

• Photos from 33rd International Festival of Photojournalism, Visa pour l’Image (2021)

• Photos from 34th International Festival of Photojournalism, Visa pour l’Image (2022)

• Controlling light: lenses, f/stops, shutter speeds (PPTX) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, USA

• Ethics and mass media photography (PPTX) by Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, USA: For Photojournalism contestants, SPAs, EICs, SPJ teachers andstudents | “Ethical questions, then, are not usually subject to fear of legal consequences. It’s instead a matter of doing what’s right, what should be done, or what accepted professional standards ask us to do.”

• Photography: Capture the Moment (Composition with Light) by Javonna Bass, McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney, Texas, USA

• A quick-start guide to Photojournalism from Collegian (student newspaper and news website of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, USA)

• Photojournalism: Telling Stories with Images by Bradley Wilson, Ph.D. Director of Student Media at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas (Walsworth Yearbooks) | “Whether it’s with a mobile phone or a top-of-the-line digital camera, the basic rules and concepts are the same.”

• Yearbook Photography Basics (PDF) from 161 C.K. Beveridge Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron

• Photography Module 1 from Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India

• An introduction to photography (Visual Education / Karl Taylor Education 2020) | “Cameras ... all work more or less in the same way regardless of whether you’re using an entry-level or professional camera, crop or full-frame sensor, DSLR or mirrorless camera. To record light and capture an image, light has to pass through the lens, aperture and shutter before it reaches the recording medium. Varied in size (or format), the medium is what then records and captures the image.”

• A Practical Guide to Photography: Basic Techniques for Beginners and Beyond (free 154-page resource by Ian Middleton) | “Today, with high tech digital cameras, most people may feel more comfortable switching to auto and mistakenly believing that the camera can do it all for them. Well, that’s true if all you want is a basic good shot. The camera cannot read your mind. All it can do is read a scene and give you an average shot based on what it captures. So in order to take control and get the shots that you want, you have to go beyond the auto settings. Also, although technology has moved on, the basic principles of photography are still the same and apply to all types of camera.”

Plain English / Plain Language resources

• Plain English Lexicon, A guide to whether your words will be understood | This free resource contains 2,700-plus words commonly used in public-information documents of government and private offices and their Plain English substitutes.

RA 7079 Campus Journalism Act of 1991

Radio-TV Broadcasting

• TV News Reporting and Production (Virtual University of Pakistan) | For TV Broadcasting contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Radio News Reporting & Production (Virtual University of Pakistan) | For Radio Broadcasting contestants, SPJ teachers and students

• Radio Journalism from Jharkhand Rai University (India) | introduction to conventional practices in the audio industry; skills needed to produce acceptable news stories for radio; definitions of news and the principles of sourcing news through contacts and appropriate research. newswriting and presentation techniques as well as script writing for various radio genres

• Writing for Radio - The Basics from DAV University (Punjab, India) | “Radio is personal - you’re talking to one person at a time. That’s why your writing has to sound like it is ‘talked’, not read. Lectures don’t work on radio. Your script can’t be just ’read’. It has to be performed.”

• Radio Broadcasting curriculum with free lessons from SchoolJournalism.org (lessons can be modified for print and online journalism classes, and television production modules)

• Introductory and Level Up video production tutorials from Student Reporting Labs (PBS News Hour), a hands-on student journalism training program)

• Television network newscasts persist in grammatical gaffes; TV news needs verbs; Gerund News (many newscasters disregard auxiliary verbs)

• How To Read The News Like A Professional News Anchor | New York Film Academy Broadcast Journalism How To’s

• How To Nail An Interview As A News Reporter from New York Film Academy Broadcast Journalism How To’s (for Radio-TV Broadcasting contestants and journalism students — news writers, sports writers, etc. — who need to learn interviewing skills)

• The Ultimate List Of Broadcast Journalism Terms from New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting

• Broadcast Writing, Part 1 and Part 2 for student journalists | Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)

• Meowing, humming, vocal fry, dogs, and Bugs Bunny | Aerobics for your voice: 3 tips for sounding better on air (NPR) by Jessica Hansen

• Transitioning from print to radio: Abandon the inverted pyramid because it’s the death of a radio story; De-graf the nut graph; Sound redefines the way we report and tell stories | The journey from print to radio storytelling: A guide for navigating a new landscape (NPR) by Alison MacAdam

• Magandang gabi, bayan!: TV Newscasting Analysis: Towards Establishing Grammar Rules in Filipino Broadcast News (2019) by Maria Bulaong, Bulacan State University - College of Arts and Letters | Ang otoridad ay salitang ’siyokoy’ para sa awtoridad; Excessive use of po causes confusion

• Award-winning broadcast news programs of US high schools | 2023 Broadcast Pacemakers by the National Scholastic Press Association

• Writing for radio and television from The News Manual (a free online resource for journalists, would-be journalists, educators and people interested in the media)

• The Power of Radio - Basic Skills Manual (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung) with discussions, examples, and comparisons | Radio is powerful because it is immediate, accessible, and inclusive. Radio is accessible to everyone, but getting people’s attention can be a challenge.

• Stand Up! (Broadcasting Stand Ups) video by Grant Johnson 2021 National High School Journalist of the Year Runner-Up from the University Interscholastic League | Stand ups can really be an awkward thing; just holding a mic and talking in front of cameras is not natural for a lot of people.

• Writing Video Stories from College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA

• Broadcast Writing Style vs. Print Writing Style: 12 Differences (College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA) | Writing broadcast news leads

• “Journalistic Writing for Radio, TV, and Internet Audio and Video” and “Writing for the Ear” by Carl Hausman, Professor of Journalism at Rowan University, New Jersey, USA

• Television Stand-Ups: Making Your Stand Ups Stand Out! (College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA) for TV Broadcasting contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “At the end of each take, hold your look for a couple seconds, and the videographer needs to keep rolling the tape for a few seconds– this will make the editing easier.”

Schoolpaper layout and design; Collaborative Desktop Publishing; Online Publishing; graphics, websites, and blogs

• The Newspaper Designer’s Handbook 5th Edition (free copy of Chapter 1) by Tim Harrower, award-winning editor, designer, and columnist

• How to write for the web (infographics) | “There’s no debate: the best web writers are also the best storytellers.”

• Computer Skills for Media: Data-gathering, Language and Presentation Skills (Pondicherry University, India) (BA - Journalism & Mass Communication; Pondicherry University, India) | Computer Assisted Reporting (CAR) and Research; Google Form; Google Docs and Sheets; Google Classroom; Microsoft Word; Learning Management System (LMS); Content Management System (CMS); Blogger; WordPress; Wix

• Design and Development of [Lyceum of the Philippines University, Batangas City] High School Website by Abner B. Tupas “The homepage is a website’s initial chance to make an impression. This is a portal entry point to direct the visitors to other content. It is the most important page on most websites, and gets more page views than any other page.”

• Composition in visual arts (Colegio Monterrey, Vigo, Spain) | For SPAs, EICs, section editors, graphics and layout artists, SPJ teachers and students

Visual Communication (Philippine Press Institute) PDF slideshow | “Information is paramount; style is secondary.”

• Various resources for yearbook layout and design

• Yearbook layouts and designs resources by Ryan Gunterman, (Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association) | For SPAs, yearbook staff such as graphic artist and layout artists, SPJ teachers and students; also for contestants in Collaborative Desktop Publishing and Online Publishing

• Basics of Newspaper Layout and Design, Newspaper Design Examples, and other resources on design by Ryan Gunterman, Executive Director, Indiana High School Press Association | “A page nobody reads is a wasted page.... But it’s not just about putting more photos and pretty colors in a publication so that people pick it up from the newsstand.”

• Modern newspaper layout design tips (with layouting exercise) | “Grid or geometric patterns: modern design often employs images in a grid or geometric pattern, giving a fresh, clean look with straight lines and easy-on-the-eye visuals.”

• Types of Layout (Centurion University, Odisha, India) | Mondrian Layout; Circus Layout; Multi Panel Layout; Silhouette Layout; Big-Type Layout; Alphabet-Inspired Layout; Copy Heavy Layout; Frame Layout; Picture Window Layout; Rebus Layout.

• Newspaper Layout and Design (PDF slideshow from Philippine Press Institute, Design Matters Workshop): Modern newspaper layout design tips | “Use color as a content connector, or as a ‘people mover.’”; “The chosen font must convey the right tone, taking into account the paper’s content and readership. A serious, high-brow newspaper might opt for a traditional serif font to convey a sense of authority and professionalism. A more contemporary or informal publication might choose a clean sans-serif to create a more modern, approachable vibe.”

• Introduction to Newspaper Design for Print (PDF slideshow from San Jose State University, California) for Collaborative Desktop Publishing contestants, SPAs, EICs section editors, staff photographers, graphics and layout artists, SPJ teachers and students | With instructor materials (excellent resource for SPAs who get invited as resource speakers in training seminars or press conferences)

• Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals | “Design is an iterative process that builds the content and its details through critiquing the work as it develops. Critiquing regularly keeps the project on point creatively and compositionally.”

• Hands-on Graphic Design | Best Practices PDF slideshow from Food Security Cluster -- Shape, Space, Size, Typography, Color, Images, Graphs; PowerPoint Do’s and Don’ts; Visualization Tools

• Guide to Graphic Design by Scott W. Santoro — PDF sample chapter from Pearson Higher Ed | “Design work incorporates aesthetics (to achieve notions of beauty), structure (to organize and arrange), emotion (to accentuate feelings), and utility (for use). Whether designing for an individual, a small business, or a large corporation, the designer brings a degree of art, craft, intelligence, and intuition to every project.”

• Using shades, hues and colors to convey a message, a tone, a concept" for your yearbook (Texas Association of Journalism Educators) | “Color makes a difference”, “Color creates your yearbook’s voice and personality”; “Color creates connections”; “Color creates emphasis/focus”

• Modern Newspaper Layout Tips for Schools; 10 rules of composition all designers live by from Canva

• Ten essential Wix tutorials for beginners | My experience as a self-taught website designer and a blogger since 2003 (The good old days of Dreamweaver, MS-DOS, and Windows 3.1) | Notes to SPAs, SPJ teachers and students, and members of online publishing teams; Jakob Nielsen, father of writing for the internet: Content is king, not jazzy website designs or eye candy graphics

• Award-winning US high school publications (newspapers, front page, spread, news magazines, specialty magazines, etc.) | Do you think your own campus publications are on par with or even better than these winners?

• Lesson plan: The effective use of white space (with supporting materials) from Journalism Education Association | For SPAs, SPJ teachers and students, layout artists, contestants in Collaborative Desktop Publishing and Online Publishing

• Online masterclass tutorial on newspaper design and layout: Story Design, Step by Step by Tim Harrower, award-winning editor, designer and columnist

• PDF masterclass on writing and designing print newspapers for high impact and high readership: Writing for Non-Readers by Tim Harrower, award-winning editor, designer and columnist; Maestro Concept (teamwork for big stories and to add variety to layouts); Readers aren’t lazy, or stupid. They’re busy, Distracted. Overloaded.

• Lay Outing Campus Journalism by Rene Boy Abiva (Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija) | A well-designed newspaper layout balances visual appeal with information hierarchy, guiding readers through headlines, articles, images, and supplementary content seamlessly.

• Collaborative Publishing and Layouting: Lecture Notes on Campus Journalism by Joey R. Cabigao | 2016 Hagonoy East District Seminar-Workshop on Campus Journalism for School Paper Advisers and Campus Journalists

• Ten Ways to Improve Online Newspapers and Your Social Media Presence (PDF and video) from the University Interscholastic League | No Story Stands Alone: Graphics Required

• 12 Rules of Desktop Publishing by Jacci Howard Bear | “Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.” — Peter Bilak

• Visual Design and DTP from Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India | Introduction to Design and Layout, Typography, Colour Dynamics, Page Layout and Print Publishing, etc.

• Graphic design elements and principles you should know even if your campus publications use templates from InDesign or Canva | “Design differs from art in that it has to have a purpose. Visually, this functionality is interpreted by making sure an image has a center of attention, a point of focus.; Graphic design, like any discipline, adheres to strict rules that work beneath the surface to make the work stable and balanced. If the design is missing that balance, it will be weak and ineffective.”

• Desktop Publishing PDF slideshows — history, terms, design principles, techniques: Harmony in visual design means all parts of the document relate to and complement each other.

• Visualized articles from the University Interscholastic League (Texas USA); “Visualized articles combine research, surveys/interviews and images to tell a complete story graphically. They are one step beyond infographics because your reader should see themselves in the content ... which means you need to survey/interview your readers.”

• “The Rising Power of Visual Content”; “The Importance of Visual Content; and The Power of Visual Content” | “90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual.”; “Colored visuals increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%; Between 2000 and 2013, the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds (one second less than the attention span of a gold fish); Thankfully, your brain takes only 150 milliseconds to process a symbol, and 100 milliseconds more to attach meaning to it. Design cannot rescue failed content.”

• The best of the BEST: Snapshots of the 2016 high school Pacemaker finalist yearbooks: Given since 1927, the National Pacemaker Awards are known as the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism. | For contestants in Collaborative Desktop Publishing and Online Publishing, SPAs, EICs, section editors, graphics and layout artists

• Newspaper Design Strategies from National Scholastic Press Association (numerous examples of excellent newspaper design; principles)

• An Introduction to Graphic design (PDF slideshow) by Viraj Circar and Veena Sonwalkar | The Gestalt or ‘whole form’ theory sought to define the principles of perception; Typography can take you back to a different time, set a mood, set a tone of voice, organize pages, create unity between objects, etc.

• Fundamentals of Graphic Design: PDF slideshow for Collaborative Desktop Publishing and Online Publishing contestants, SPAs, EICs, section editors, graphic and layout artists | Type, Colors, Lines and Shape, Images, Composition, Hierarchy, Harmony, Best Practices

• Graphic design elements and principles PDF slideshow | The basis of good graphic design is use of design elements and their thoughtful application in the form of design principles.

• Award-winning campus publications from Ireland (2023 and 2024)

• Graphic design and layout concepts PDF slideshow from UN - REDD Program | “Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression; Visual communication informs how we understand and interact with the world around us. Effective communication depends on how well you control the visual representation of your message.”

Science and Technology Writing

• The Open Notebook and the art of science journalism (interview with Siri Carpenter, co-founder and EIC of The Open Notebook, the home of science journalism); for Sci-Tech Writing contestants, STEM students, SPJ teachers and students | “What makes great science writing great? It’s been such a joyful surprise to discover, over the years, that there seem to be nearly limitless answers to that question.”

• Free book: Principles of Scientific Communication (eCampusOntario - Pressbooks) for Sci-Tech Writing contestants, Journalism college majors, STEM students, SPJ teachers and students| “Scientific writing is different than creative writing, although both can be improved by storytelling. Writing for science requires clarity since the goal is to explain new discoveries or concepts.“; “Writing is an art. But when it is writing to inform, it comes close to being a science as well.” – Robert Gunning, The Technique of Clear Writing

• Science–graphic art partnerships to increase research impact (Communications Biology) for Sci-Tech Writing contestants, schoolpapers’ science section editors, graphics and layout artists, STEM students, SPJ teachers and students | “Graphics are becoming increasingly important for scientists to effectively communicate their findings to broad audiences, but most researchers lack expertise in visual media.”

• Free book: How To Do Science (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) | For STEM and SPJ students, and college students majoring in Journalism, Mass Communications, and any of the sciences

• Clarity & Conciseness in Science Writing (Penn State Berks, commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University) for Sci-Tech Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “Avoid Demeaning Words: Demeaning adverbs such as ‘obviously,’ and ‘clearly,’ may turn off the reader when something that appears obvious to the writer is not obvious to the reader.”

• Common Calculations for journalists (Philippine Press Institute) | Percentage change; mean, median, mode; ratios; rates; standard deviation

• For Sci-Tech contestants, STEM teachers and students: Writing For Success — An Engineer’s Guide (Stanford University) | “... writing was not an alien task, something separate and apart from the analytic and technical aspects of an engineer’s work. Instead, it was apparent that writing was integral to the responsibilities of most engineers, an important aspect of how we communicate our discoveries, progress, needs, and designs. Our writing represents us, acts as a record of our concerns and achievements, a means of sharing our thoughts and ideas on matters of importance. And, of course, others will judge our thinking, our concerns, our designs, our competence – all these things – on the basis of our writing.”

• Seven Deadly Sins of Scientific Writing Parts 1 to 7 from CDC Department of Health and Human Services (USA)

• Science Communication for writers and scientists from Fondation IPSEN by James A. Levine MD, PhD, Professor | “Effective and accurate science communication is vital for bridging the gap between scientists and the public. By conveying complex scientific concepts in a clear and engaging manner, writers, communicators, and scientists can increase public understanding and foster informed decision-making. Key elements of effective communication include tailoring the message to the target audience, using simple and relatable language, and incorporating visuals and storytelling techniques.”

• For Sci-Health or Sci-Tech contestants, SPJ teachers and students: Your Guide to Clear Writing from CDC - US Department of Health and Human Services | “According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, almost 9 in 10 people struggle to understand health information. So keep it short, simple, and clear.”

• “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction!” How to create interesting titles for your science articles: “No old men in science country”; Bob Dylan (1960s music icon) and a group of Swedish scientists; Rolling Stones (contemporary of the Beatles) | Sci-Tech resources and writers from the Philippine Daily Inquirer

• Science and Technology Writing: tips and resources for contestants in the press conferences (district, division, regional, and national)

• The Guardian’s Secrets of good science writing series and the continuing relevance of George Orwell’s six rules for better writing from his 1946 essay Politics of the English Language

• Science Writing and Scientific Writing may have different audiences, but the techniques for good writing are the same for both

• Free resources for SPJ teachers and Sci-Tech writing contestants — more than 500 science journalism articles and Science Journalism Master Classes from The Open Notebook (with certificate of completion)

• Sci-Tech Writing and poetry? Making Your Science Writing Sing: Craft Lessons from Poetry

• Science Journalism Manual from Goethe-Institut | Science journalism and social media: Social media are designed to exploit the functioning of the human brain. The interactivity and positive reinforcements through comments and likes lure users into constant engagement.; Can research results be considered truth?

• Science Journalism Handbook (PDF resource from Al Jazeera Media Institute) | The centrality of science to this kind of journalism does not mean that we can forget the basic rules of writing.

• 10 best practice guidelines for reporting science & health stories from Science Media Centre

• A Scientist’s Guide to Working with the Media from The American Geophysical Union (AGU) | Sharing your science with media outlets can get your work in front of a broader audience and promote the value of scientific research. But it helps to have tips for working with journalists, and communications officers.

• How to write about science for a general audience from Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, USA) | “Starting in college, scientists get accustomed to using scientific jargon. It’s how they impress their professors. It’s how they get taken seriously. Pretty soon, they start thinking that everybody knows what interferometry is.” – Carl Zimmer

• Packaging a Science Story (excerpt from Science Communication Skills for Journalists: A Resource Book for Universities in Africa) | What makes a good science story?; How to structure a science story (inverted pyramid structure compared tp Wall Street Journal structure)

• I hated writing—until I learned there’s a science to it by Rachel Yang, electrical engineer, researcher, writer, science communicator, and Ph.D. student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

• Simple rules for concise scientific writing (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography) by Scott Hotaling | “One of the most common editorial refrains, regardless of discipline, is ’this needs to be tighter.’ It typically means too many words and ideas are jumbled together and the underlying point is obscure. The writing is not ‘concise.’ But, improving conciseness is difficult because the problem is caused by a host of factors that are easily overlooked, especially by early career researchers.”

• Scientific Writing Booklet (The University of Arizona, USA | “Writing that is simple and direct is most easily understood. It also tends to be the most forceful and memorable. Use no more words than necessary — and never use a complicated word if a simpler one will do just as well. Many people seem to feel that writing in a complicated way makes one sound serious, scholarly an authoritative. While this type of writing may sound serious, it is no more authoritative than writing that is simple and direct. Certainly, it is more difficult to understand. Often, it sounds pompous and overbearing. If your purpose is to be understood in a way that is both forceful and memorable, adopt a style that is simple and direct.”

• How to Write a Paper in Scientific Journal Style and Format (Department of Biology, Bates College, Maine, USA)

• Guide for scientific writing: how to avoid common mistakes in a scientific article

• Effective scientific writing – Tips to help you write better research papers Infographic from International Science Editing | “Remember the triangle rule: start narrow, summarising your main findings in the first paragraph and then zoom out, putting your findings in the context of previous studies.”

• Active versus passive voice in scientific writing (infographic from International Science Editing) | “The active voice promotes simple, straightforward writing. As such, most scientific journals encourage the use of the active voice over the passive voice.”

• Verb tenses in scientific manuscripts (infographic from International Science Editing) | “A key aspect of producing a well-written scientific manuscript worthy of publication is the use of appropriate verb tenses in the different sections of the manuscript.”

• Common Grammar Rules for Scientific Writing from InPrint – A Scientific Communication Network (University of Washington in St. Louis, Missouri, United States)

• Scientific Writing 2.0: A Reader and Writer’s Guide by Chris A. Mack from Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

• Scientific Report Writing Guidebook from Chancellor State College, Queensland, Australia | “A scientific paper must fulfill two objectives. First, it must accurately describe the procedures that were followed and the results that were obtained. Second, it must place these results in perspective by relating them to the existing state of knowledge and by interpreting their significance for future study.”

• Scientific writing: What is it? How do I become a proficient scientific writer? by Carol M. Myford, Associate Professor Emerita in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Science Communication Skills for Journalists (A Resource Book for Universities in Africa) by Dr. Charles Wendo | Similarities and differences between scientists and journalists; Why journalists need to learn some science and to think like scientists; Simplifying Scientific Facts, Numbers and Statistics

Sportswriting

• Covering Sports (PPTX) with annotations from Journalism Education Association; for newbies — Sportswriting contestants, SPJ teachers and students | “You cannot write a good sports story from memory. You have to be there.”; “Do not editorialize: Even in sports writing, a clear distinction must exist between reporting the news and expressing an opinion.”

• 50 Great Sports Articles - Examples of Excellent Sports Writing (The Electric Typewriter)

• Reporting Sports from Odisha State Open University (India): Myths about sports journalism; Steps for writing sports stories for print and web media, Examples of some good sports news stories | “... sports journalists work under some of the tightest deadlines in journalism and are still expected to uphold all the same professional, legal and ethical standards.”

• Qualities and characteristics of a good sports feature article from “What Makes Great Sportswriting? A Look into Traditions, Confirmity and Artistic Freedom” | “Sports Journalism Guidebook” from AlJazeera

• Sports Writing contestants, SPJ teachers and students: Resources from Journalism Education Association (PDF and PPTX) and SchoolJournalism (PPTX)

• Qualities and characteristics of a a good sports feature article from What Makes Great Sportswriting? A Look into Traditions, Confirmity and Artistic Freedom | Sports Journalism Guidebook (PDF) from Al Jazeera

• Sportswriter or Sports writer? Sportswriting or Sports writing (plus lower case and upper case alternatives) | Sportswriter is One Word by Frank Deford (six-time National Sportswriter of the Year; Sports Illustrated magazine writer for 37 years); Two Words: Not Sportswriting by Glenn Stout, series editor of Best American Sports Writing from 1991 to 2020: Sports Writing (two words) highlights the writing, not necessarily the sports.

• Infographics from The Guardian (2012 Olympics) — Gymnastics; Track and field; Ball games; Water sports; Other sports: from Archery to Wrestling | History, rules, terms/jargon, etc.

• Olympic Sports Explained (Thomson Reuters) from Archery to Wrestling | History, rules, terms/jargon, etc. with detailed illustrations

Writing Prompts

• 50 Writing Prompts for All Grade Levels | (Edutopia - George Lucas Educational Foundation)

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