How to Survive Writing for Digital Media
If you are reading this, it is because you have chosen to take Dr. Gerald Lucas’s online course Writing For Digital Media. Over the duration of the course, you will learn how to write articles for digital outlets, such as digital websites and Wikipedia, especially the latter medium. In this article, you will learn the essentials you will need to know in order to survive this class.
Read the Book
You should have purchased a textbook upon enrolling in the class, titled “Writing and Editing for Digital Media” by Brian Carroll. In addition to covering all the necessary and basic elements needed for digital writing, it also contains tips and tricks to survive the digital writing landscape, such as the best ways to proper editing techniques and fundamental basics of writing in the medium. In addition to all that, many of the blog posts and discussions for the majority of the class draw directly from the book in order to form the crux of the talking points.
Evaluate Sources
In this class, you must always be sure to pick good, reliable sources to use for your articles and your discussion posts. A good primary source is always nice to have, but it doesn’t hurt to have reliable secondary sources. Examples of good secondary sources can include journals written about the given topic, or articles published by experts in a given field. However, you must shy away from blog posts, random articles you find online, or poorly written articles.
Pay Attention to the Lessons
Throughout the time you spend in this class, you will be conducting much of your wikipedia training via the Wikiedu website and our course page. Located on our course’s wikiedu page, it contains several modules that contains the basics for writing for wikipedia and other digital mediums. In addition to the necessary information that you will need in the course, these modules can also be used as sources for your discussions and blog posts.
Take Your Time, but not Too Much
In this class, time is of the essence. There is always a ticking clock until your due date, but that doesn’t mean you need to do everything at once. You will only be able to excel in this class if you can develop well reasearched, well written articles on your chosen topic. If you wait until the last minute, then it will show. It will be rushed, poorly structured, poorly written, and all around terrible. Mediocre at best. Take your time and properly plan and research everything you submit.
Remain Objective
When writing your wikipedia articles for this course, you must make sure that you remain unbiased with a neutral viewpoint. When looking for sources to use, don’t consider your own biases and opinions, or that of other people. Instead, focus on finding reliable, unbiased information that can support the facts.
Don’t Panic
I realize that, at first, it may seem daunting and overwhelming. You have to move past everything you know about about writing academic papers and adapt to a whole new method. But it’s not as daunting as it seems. Just take your time. Talk to the others around you, and you’ll find that writing for digital media is a cinch.
You Are Not Alone
No one takes a class alone. If you find yourself struggling with the material, odds are you aren’t the only one. By reaching out to your classmates and comparing notes, you can better see the ways in which you are struggling. Working together, you will be able to find a way around the obstacles you’re facing and better succeed in the class.
