COURSE TITLE: Feature Writing and Editorial Practice

Course Code: JM 211 Credit Value: 3 Credits

Contact Hours

• Lectures: 2 hours/week

• Practical / Newsroom Workshops: 2 hours/week

Duration: 15 Weeks (One Semester) Prerequisite: JM 112 – News Reporting and Writing

1. Course Description

This course develops advanced skills in feature writing, editorial production, and newsroom practice for print and digital media. Students learn to research, plan, write, edit, and publish feature stories that inform, interpret, entertain, and engage diverse audiences while maintaining high standards of journalistic accuracy, fairness, and ethical responsibility.

The course explores feature writing techniques, editorial writing, opinion journalism, copy editing, headline writing, page planning, editorial workflow, and publication management. Students examine various forms of feature journalism, including profiles, travel writing, lifestyle reporting, investigative features, narrative journalism, and human-interest stories.

Through newsroom workshops, peer editing, and publication projects, students gain practical experience in producing professional-quality editorial content for newspapers, magazines, and digital media platforms.

The course prepares students for advanced professional practice in feature journalism, magazine publishing, editorial management, digital publishing, and multimedia storytelling.

2. Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Differentiate feature writing from straight news reporting.

2. Research, organise, and write compelling feature stories using appropriate narrative techniques.

3. Produce editorials, opinion articles, and interpretive journalism based on evidence and sound reasoning.

4. Apply professional copy-editing and proofreading techniques.

5. Write effective headlines, captions, and introductory paragraphs for feature publications.

6. Manage editorial workflows from story planning to publication.

7. Apply ethical and legal principles in feature writing and editorial decision-making.

8. Produce publishable editorial content for print and digital media.

3. Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will be able to:

• Distinguish between news stories, feature stories, editorials, columns, and opinion pieces.

• Produce well-researched feature articles using effective narrative and descriptive techniques.

• Conduct interviews and background research suitable for long-form journalism.

• Apply copy-editing principles to improve clarity, accuracy, style, and consistency.

• Write professional headlines, subheadings, captions, and editorial introductions.

• Analyse editorial issues using sound ethical and journalistic judgement.

• Collaborate within an editorial team to produce a publication.

• Demonstrate professional competence in feature writing and editorial practice.