Course Overview
- Title:
- The Writer's Workbench: 50 Tools You Can Use
- Type:
- Self-Directed Course
- Time Estimate:
- This course takes about two hours to complete and you can come back to it any time you need it.
About Self-Directed Courses
In a self-directed course, you can start and stop whenever you like, progressing entirely at your own pace and going back as many times as you want to review the material.
This course contains essays on 50 writing tools -- written by a master of the trade -- that are essential to everyone who wants to be a better writer.
The course's author, Roy Peter Clark, vice president/senior scholar and reporting, writing & editing faculty at The Poynter Institute, shares with you the list of writing tools he has compiled from reporters and editors, from authors of books on writing, and from teachers and coaches.
The essays will teach you everything from the importance of strong verbs to the necessity of learning from criticism.
The course is split into four sections: Nuts and bolts, including word choice and sentence structure; blueprints to create architecture for your stories; special effects to refine your writing voice; and useful habits to help you be a more confident writer. Each tool features exercises to help you apply what you’ve learned.
What Will I Learn:
Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate a mastery over word choice, sentence structure and architecture for your stories
- Use special effects to refine your writing voice
- Write with confidence and develop your own useful habits
Who should take this course:
Anyone who has ever struggled with writing. You'll get the tools that not only will make your writing stronger but will make writing easier to do.
Course Instructor:
Roy Peter Clark
Roy Peter Clark is vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, where he has taught writing since 1979. He is a Distinguished Service Member of the American Society of News Editors.
Technical Requirements:
For this course you will need to have at least version 7.0 of the Flash plugin installed. For the best experience, we suggest that:
- PC users use Internet Explorer or Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox
- Mac users use Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox or Safari
- You set your monitor resolution to 1024 x 768 or higher
- You use a high-speed connection