Writing Challenges

In all honesty, there are several areas I see as the biggest challenges with writing as a journalist.  One challenge will be correcting my grammar and overall structure with sentences, something I have struggled with throughout my entire time at Ashford.  “Journalists must be experts in the correct use of language.  Just as a mistake in accuracy will undermine the credibility of a story, a mistake in grammar, diction, or usage can make a reader suspect everything else in the article” (Kershner, 2012, p. 37).  One of the ways I plan on improving my grammar is by continuing to educate and remind myself to read each piece out loud.  Often we are able to correct simple grammar mistakes by hearing the natural pauses in our speech.  Plus, I also complete activities regarding grammar and voice structures that I discovered online to help me with simple to often misused words.

Word count would be another challenge for me, often I have a lot to say on a subject and find it difficult to limit the number of words to express my ideas. “Any writing that draws attention to itself, and thus draws attention away from the content, is ineffective. Writing should be as simple and straightforward as possible.” (Stovall, 2012, p. 36).  Lately, I have been going over my discussions and papers and thinking of ways to simplify it where anyone who reads the material will be able to understand the meaning without having further explanation.  I have become comfortable with detailing each point of an assignment, but I will lose focus on the point I was trying to make.

When it comes to people reading my work, I have always been nervous about their judgment on it.  I will go over my discussions several times before publishing into the class board.  I tend be harsh on myself, but feel others will be see more mistakes and voice their opinions in a harsher manner.  Since attending Ashford I am slowly overcoming this fear and worry.  Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has the same fear, so dealing with criticism has become a little easier to handle.  Another thought when it comes to people reading my work is will they read it and be able to understand why I wrote the piece.  Everyone has a different style of writing and they have a different taste when comes to reading.  In order to overcome this worry, I have to realize not everyone will read my work if the article or piece  does not relate to them in some manner.

Reference

Kershner, J. (2012). The elements of news writing (3rd Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Stovall, J. G. (2012). Writing for the mass media (8th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.