Module: Journalism Practice: Writing & Reporting

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Journalism Practice: Writing & Reporting
Module Code	JRR1032 (ITS: CM5969)
Faculty	Communications	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	9	Credit Rating	15

Description

This module is an intensive, practice-based course which brings together various writing skills, approaches, and genres necessary for the practice of written journalism on both digital and legacy platforms. Students will receive guidance on hard news writing, reporting techniques for various kinds of assignments, and the writing of different kinds of feature articles. This module includes Masterclass elements – fluid, adaptable sessions in which current or emerging issues or practices in journalism are discussed by guest speakers and DCU experts. The module also includes Newsdays – newsroom simulations led by the Journalist in Residence at the School of Communications.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe, analyse, and practice different kinds of news reporting approaches and techniques;
2. Describe, analyse, and practice different kinds of longer-form journalism approaches and techniques;
3. Identify and critique typologies of news and features content
4. Demonstrate the ability to report on court cases, council meetings, press conferences and other news events

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	108	This module is an intensive, practice-based course running three days per week in three-hour sessions.
Professional Practice	50	Reporting assignments off-campus
Independent Study	217	No Description
Total Workload: 375

Section Breakdown
CRN	10871	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	David Robbins	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Participation	The student's attendance, participation, and engagement with class resources will be evaluated in this assessment.	5%	Week 12
In Class Test	Students will undertake a written in-class test to evaluate their skills in writing hard news stories.	15%	Week 5
In Class Test	The student's ability to identify and critically asses different forms of feature journalism (news feature, review, interview, trend feature, opinion journalism, personal essay) will be assessed in this in-class written test.	15%	Week 9
Digital Project	Students will be required to submit a substantial piece of original journalism which includes the techniques examined during the course of this module: reporting, descriptive writing, interviewing, intro-writing, structure, and sourcing practices among others.	65%	Week 12

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Week 1 - news writing
How to write a hard news intro; different kinds of intros; the Inverted Pyramid approach; origins and critiques of the Inverted Pyramid; how to order and prioritise information in news writing

Weeks 2-4 News Reporting
How to cover court cases; how to report on local authority meetings; reporting on public events (speeches, protests, press conferences, etc.), descriptive reporting, interviewing.

Weeks 6-9 Feature writing
Different kinds of features (news, trend, lifestyle, reviews, interviews, profiles); how to carry out research for feature articles; how to structure a feature article; the "nut graph" and how to use it; the spine of the feature (opening, nut graph, and ending).

Week 10 - Masterclass
Guest lectures and workshops by working journalists on a range of topics, including but not limited to: podcasting, writing briefs for radio presenters, sub-editing text and headline writing, editing for digital platforms (hyperlinking and search-engine optimisation).

Weeks 11-12 - Newsdays
Newsroom simulation exercises in which the class produces a news product (website, TV news programme, radio programme) which covers the news of the day.

Roles of Journalism
Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. The elements of journalism, revised and updated 4th edition: What newspeople should know and the public should expect. Crown, 2021.

Reporting
Randall, David. The universal journalist. Pluto Press, 2016

Investigative reporting
Brown, Julie K. Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story. HarperCollins, 2021.

Indicative Reading List

Books:
None

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None