Writing compelling columns with Owen Jones

How to turn plain facts into stories people care about

This course is designed for anyone who writes because they have things they want to say, debates they want to provoke or issues they want to raise. A well-written column backed up with strong research is an effective way to raise issues and represent causes and people that are otherwise airbrushed out of existence. Whatever your point of view, award-winning Guardian columnist Owen Jones can help you to turn your own knowledge and passion into a persuasive argument.

This evening course will show you how to write engaging, factually compelling columns that draw power from relevant expertise and research, and are presented in a way that reaches the broadest possible audience. You'll also learn the best ways to pitch ideas to comment editors working on tight deadlines, how to find hooks for stories in the news, and how to use social media to maximise exposure for your work.

This course is for you if...

• You're an aspiring columnist who wants to tell clear, persuasive stories with a distinctive voice
• You're a journalist who wants to learn how to make more effective use of your editorial voice
• You run a blog or website for a charity or NGO and want to know more about how to present facts and data in compelling ways

Course description

This large-scale seminar provides expert advice on how to research, write, pitch and publish comment pieces for publication in either broadsheet, tabloid or web form. Attendees will learn how to use existing research and data to build a case, and how to pitch stories to editors successfully. Topics covered during the event include:

• Writing an effective polemic
• Finding your voice – looking at different narrative approaches, from the contrarian and the radical to the the activist-columnist and the voice-of-reason
• Understanding the appropriate research, expertise and statistics, and how to present them to your audience
• Pitching effectively to time-pressed comment editors
• Structuring an argument
• Tabloid vs broadsheet – styles and substance
• How to avoid the trap of being a 'media bubble' columnist or one-trick pony
• Using social media effectively to push your work and get recognised

Tutor profile

Owen Jones is a columnist at the Guardian and a former columnist at the Independent, as well as a regular TV/radio broadcaster and public speaker. He is the author of Chavs and the soon-to-be-released The Establishment And How They Get Away With It. Owen is the winner of the 2012 Stonewall Journalist of the Year and 2013 Political Book Awards Young Writer of the Year. Find him on Twitter here.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website