Tips and Tricks for journalism

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, especially when starting university.

I looked into so many different courses, and none of them ever sparked my interest, so I decided to pursue a degree in primary education, which I knew would always have available jobs.

I went to the first week of lectures and hated it, so I looked around for different degrees and even considered dropping out. Thank god I didn't!

Eventually, with the help of my flatmates, I stumbled across journalism and thought it would be the right fit.

Initially, I was so scared and worried that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would until I remembered that I am a walking, talking storyteller.

I used to write about all of my trips abroad and review restaurants and movies, and I never thought that this was considered journalism until I got invested in the course. It turns out that maybe this course was something I had been doing my whole life.

so here are my tips and tricks for starting a Journo degree:

1. Write. This is one of the most underrated things to do! Document everything you do; if you're having trouble with a piece, Word dump it onto a page and fix it up later, and you'll realise that it actually makes more sense than you'd think.

2. Read the news. Keep yourself up to date with current affairs, and then try to rewrite the ones that interest you the most. It's difficult at first, but you get the hang of it.

3. find your niche. I still haven't quite found mine. However, if you find a topic that you're interested in, then it suddenly becomes a lot easier to write features and articles about that topic.

4. Start a web page like mine! It seems scary, but if you start your website and gain a small following, it will motivate you to keep writing and to keep being proactive.

5. Do your research! You do not want to accidentally report on something with false or untrue facts. Read up on the Ofcom codes of practice and familiarise yourself with media law so that you won't get into any trouble!

6. Have fun. Writing and creating things is supposed to be fun. If you're writing about something and just know that you don't feel any passion for the topic, move on and find something new. There are always other stories.

Having now completed my first semester, I can proudly say that switching my course to journalism was one of the best decisions I could have made. Had I stuck with the one I had no passion for, I would have dropped out in a heartbeat.