Bryan Horowitz

Writer’s Workbench Journalists receive the opportunity to use newsu.org, a website which provides courses for aspiring writers. The “Writer’s Workbench” course presents journalists with a wide variety of explanations regarding how to compose an effective work. The course is divided into four sections: Nuts & Bolts, Special Effects, Blueprints, and Useful Habits. The first section, Nuts & Bolts, elaborates towards the fundamentals of writing an effective paper. Writers should appreciate the content of the Nuts & Bolts section, which presents readers with thorough explanations of the necessary characteristics of journalism. The Beware of Adverbs and Using Strong Verbs subtopics, for example, stood out because writers will discover the level of effectiveness that different parts of speech deliver within a report. Writers may not appreciate the list of verb qualifiers at the end of the “Strong Verbs” subtopic, which does not provide examples regarding why to avoid using the listed examples. Journalists will use the content of this section when they need to omit unnecessary details within their works. The second section of the course is entitled Special Effects, which explains how to write formal and creative. This portion of the course is beneficial, because this section explains how to conduct a vibrant and colorful report, while applying formal writing techniques. The Seeking Original Images subtopic was well elaborated, especially when the author humorously cites athlete Cal Ripken, Jr. as an example to avoid using tired clichés. The Interesting Names subtopic could have used more attention. While the message of the section the author conveyed was clear, some journalists may question what qualifies as an “interesting name?” The author primarily provides an abundance of examples of interesting names. However, the author does not elaborate the criteria of, or the level of effectiveness that an ‘interesting name’ delivers within a report. The third section of the course is entitled Blueprints, which discusses about the fundamentals of composing a report. This portion is beneficial for journalists, because the section explains how to “construct” a written report. One topic that was elaborated well was when the author discussed about composing conclusions cinematically, but not formulaically. Aspiring film critics will appreciate when the author mentions to avoid finishing a work with the traditional “the end”, similar to how most classic Hollywood films conclude. The Internal Cliffhangers subsection stood out because the author provides examples of “page-turners” in other forms of media, such as a reality show that forces viewers to watch a series of commercials in order to witness a result. Journalists will use the content of this section in their careers when they suffer from the inevitable “writer’s block” in order to compose a powerful conclusion. The final section is entitled Useful Habits, which discusses about various tactics journalists can capitalize to make their works sound more effective. While the content of this section is useful, journalists may find the section as a mere review of basic study skills. The section would have felt more beneficial if the subtopics offered innovative study tactics. One example of how redundant the course feels is displayed in the “Editing Support Group” subsection, which elaborates about the effectiveness peer reviewing. Additionally, writers may find that, for the majority of subtopics in the section, the primary message is conveyed within the first few sentences.