Whether or not you're an aspiring journalist, writing a column for your school newspaper can be a great way to gain professional experience and expertise on a certain topic. As with any endeavor, the way you approach your job as a columnist has a lot to do with what you'll get out of the experience of writing for your school newspaper.
Instructions
1. Choose a column topic that appeals to a broad student body. While airplane models or chess may be interesting to you, try to come up with a column topic that engages the larger audience of your school. While it might not interest everyone, if your column can appeal to a broad audience and is something you're knowledgeable about, then you're off to a good start.
2. Get both sides of the story. Whether you're writing about the controversy over the canceled school dance or the new dress code policy, be sure to get both sides of the story, preferably with direct--and verified--quotes.
3. Check with administration, when in doubt. You might think that your latest gossip column on two teachers that you suspect are having an affair together would make a great article, but your principal would probably think otherwise. Even if you welcome the reactions of a controversial column, remember that the school paper as a whole could suffer as a result, in loss of funding or other privileges.
4. Consider how your column could help you with future opportunities. Even if you just write your column for fun or class credit, consider how you can use the experience to your advantage after you've finished high school or post-secondary school. Be sure to keep clippings of your school newspaper column and list the experience on your resume.
Tags: your school, your column, your school newspaper, both sides, both sides story, column topic, column topic that
