Journalism

Editorial Writing

Have you ever won a medal for simply writing down your opinion in an organized way? In editorial writing, you’ll take a stand on a controversial school issue and back up your stance with facts and examples.

This contest teaches students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly, and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on mechanical and stylistic precision, lead writing, news judgment, and the ability to think deeply, to compare and contrast and to argue or defend a point of view persuasively.

Feature Writing

If you’ve got a knack for telling a story, this contest is for you. You’ll be provided with the facts and quotes you need, and then it’s up to you to piece together a journalistic feature story your readers will remember.

The Feature Writing Contest teaches students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly, and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on the same writing skills as in other UIL journalism contests, as well as the ability to write descriptively.

Headline Writing

Put the finishing touches on the news as you decide what’s most important about six news stories and top them off with headlines. The challenge is to be creative in your word choice and adhere to the word and line counts as you write tomorrow’s headlines.

The contest teaches students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly, and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on the ability to discern key facts and to write with flair and style in order to tell and sell a story.

News Writing

In this contest, you decide what’s fit to print as you make your way through a set of facts and quotes, and pick out what’s important. You’ll work on deadline for the newspaper as you create a cohesive story that inquiring minds have a right to know.

The News Writing Contest teaches students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly, and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on mechanical and stylistic precision, lead writing, use of direct and indirect quotes, and news judgment.

Copy Editing teaches students the vital skills of proofreading and editing to create accurate, clear and succinct writing. Emphasis is placed on the ability to find and correct grammatical, spelling, punctuation, AP style and factual errors.

For more information, contact Mrs. Frey, rfrey@dentonisd.org