22 Best Free Online Journalism Courses

Our Favorite Free Online Journalist Course

Writing in the Sciences

Writing in the sciences

This beginner course is in English with subtitles in 10 other languages, if you are a scientist and wish to become more effective as a writer, then through practices examples and exercises you will achieve your goal. The items you will learn about are principles of good writing, how to be faster in your writing, how to layout a scientific manuscript or peer review. You will also learn how to write eloquently for grants, ethical issues, and also how to write for general consumption. This course covers how to remove clutter from your writing, how to use strong verbs, writing in the active voice, and how to re-frame from using verbs as nouns. You will learn complex punctuation and you will receive ideas on how to make writing easier efficient and organized. You will also learn about scientific formatting in manuscript and how to avoid plagiarism. Skills Acquired: Grammar, Medical Writing, Science Communication and Writing. Duration: Approx 30 hours over 8 weeks. Rating: 4.9/97%

What are the Top Free Online Journalist Courses

After much research on all online Journalist Courses on offer, we have found the top 22 business courses to make it easier for you 

22 Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking

Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive

This course is in English. In this controversial world we live in, our varied opinions on policy, economic, and political issues makes it essential that we provide constructive points of view, and be able to analysis the points of view of others. This will assist in civil communication with other people with different views. Conveying well thought out and presented argument will enhance your personal public and professional life. This course presents the theory and practice of Rhetoric, the art of persuasive writing and speech. Speeches from the likes of Martin Luther King jr., John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and others will be used to explore and asses the Rhetorical structure and style and you will learn how they use their speech to persuade people to adopt their points of view.

Duration: 2 to 3 hours per week for 8 weeks

21 Journalistic Ethics: Communication Studies

Journalistic Ethics

The course is in English with videos. It is an intensive course looking at ethical and policy issues coming out of interaction of various media organizations like print, film, broadcasting and through to new technologies, and societal institutions like legal fraternity, presidency, schools, churches and political groups. Duration: 14 videos of approx 1 hour 10 minutes each

20 Journalism under Siege

Journalism under siege

This course is in English and is weekly sessions: 

Week 1 covers part one and two of First Draft of History: How a Free Press protects Freedom

Week 2 covers Power to the People: Holding The Powerful accountable, in two parts 

Week 3 Review parts one and two of Picking Sides? How journalist cover bias, intolerance and injustice

Week 4 offers two parts of The Last Stand of Local News and finally

Week 5 covers The Misinformation Society which is also in two parts

Featured are 28 journalists and media experts offering insight on the emerging challenges facing media across the USA and the wider world. Among the guest speakers is Alex Stamos, the whistler blower on Russia’s manipulation of Facebook during the 2016 elections. 

19 Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Writing science fiction and fantasy

Thus course is in English. The course in video form looks at a short introduction on the lecturers philosophy on teaching writing. The introduction is followed by plot creation into two parts followed by building your fantasy world Attention is given to short stories in a shorten lecture and then you will explore how the lecturer builds and develops his characters. The final section introduces and covers the publishing of your work. Duration: 14 videos approx 1 hour 15 minutes each. Rating: 1 159 454 views

18 Memoir and Personal Essay: Managing your Relationship with the Reader

Memoir and Personal essay

This course is a beginner course in English with subtitles in 9 different languages. As can be attested to by many an author the most horrific obstacle in writing is the blank page. This course will equip you with a starter kit for approaching this page by developing useful and encouraging ways to think about writing as a whole. The course helps you to develop your own unique style of writing through different ways of thinking about your relation to your material. You will learn the Art of the Frame: Giving Context to Memories, by looking at structure, strategy and method. You will also learn about Avatar: The Messenger is the Message after which you will look at Diegesis and the Extradiagetic Frame: To Trains running and finally you will look at profiling: Our Relationship to the People in Our Work Duration: Approx 5 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.3/95%

17 Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series (Project-Centered Course)

Script Writing

The course is in English and has subtitles in 9 different languages. This course is based around projects, and in it your will create your own “Series Bible” as well as a pilot episode fro your own TV or Web series on whatever you subject you choose. You will break the creative process down into its components and you will learn a process to produce a pitch-ready and professional script in a short period of time. There is a link to a trailer for this course : https://thevimeo.com/423035246/6b3c18c4c5 This course is an active learning course and takes place within your own activity. In other words you will learn by doing. The lectures are short and direct but will unfold a step by step process to ensure your success. You will be guided but not shown how to write. To begin you will need a basic word processor software, and in week 2 you can download free script writing software like Celtx or Trelby or you can just continue using your word processor package and format the script. Duration: Approx 22 hour over 5 weeks. Rating: 4.5/96%

16 Creative Writing: The Craft of Character

Creative Writing:The Craft of Character

The course is in English with subtitles in 10 different languages. Key to an excellent story are the characters therein. You will find out how to build and bring to life complex, vivid, and unforgettable  character, you will look at the choices an author makes to bring these imaginary characters to life. Written exercises will be undertaken so you will develop an armoury of writing and pre-writing skills to create a variety of characters. Using your own life experiences and people you know will be taught in character developments. You will also develop the inner life – thoughts and feelings – and outer life appearance behaviors and habits for your characters and see how that leads to richer more absorbing stories. A brief synopsis of the curriculum leads you to Discovery Characters from your life and elsewhere, creating characters on the page, dialogue and monologue and finally you will set your characters free.. and give them somewhere to go. Skills Acquired: Building characters. Duration: Approx 6 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.5/96%

15 Start Fiction Writing

Start fiction writing

In English, this course covers how some established writers like Patricia Duncker, Alex Garland, Tim Pears, and Michele Roberts got started. You will be introduced to the rituals of writing and keeping a journal. How to develop you ideas. You will reflect upon your writings and editing and listen to writers discussing their research methods and you will start turning events into plots. In this course you will cover character creation, sources for characters, ways to present the character and reading as a writer. You will further cover writing practice with creativity, research, observation and editing.. And finally you will do peer reviews, workshops, and the importance of feedback. This course is intended for people wanting to start to write fiction or to improve their fiction writing and requires no previous knowledge and experience. Recommended for learners age 16 plus. Duration: Approx 3 hours per week over 8 weeks. Rating: 4.7

14 Discovering Science: Science Writing

Discovery Science: Science writing

This course is in English. Science needs writing to record experiments and publishing results of studies and discoveries because without writing science could not really exist. It can take many forms like press releases and video scripts. In this course you will learn the different types of scientific writing and look at the factors you need to write the story. You will uncover the gathering of accurate information as well as relevant opinions and how to conduct a successful interview. In this course you will also cover various factors in preparing to write your story such as the angle you will present from, your audience make up and why they should be interested in your story. You will learn how to structure your narrative and find the elements you need to write for press releases, blogs and news articles such as headlines. Finally, you will learn how to use video stories and explore interviewing techniques to use prior to and during a broadcast, and how to write the relative articles and reviews on the work of your fellow learners. This course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in science but who has very little or no previous knowledge or experience.

Duration: Approx 5 hours over 2 weeks. Rating: 4.7

13 Creative Writing: The Craft of Setting and Description

Creative Writing:The Craft of Setting and Description

This course is in English with subtitles in 10 different languages. You will learn techniques used by prominent fiction authors on how to base a story in the real world, You will learn to describe our world in clear tangible details no matter how realistic or fantastical your story may be. Further, you will build credibility through your research and you will use meditative exercises to intensify your understanding of your work so readers can visualize what you are imagining. The course covers Material like: Persuasive settings:Why description matters; If you build it they will come which covers looking at the works of authors and learners to see how detail-rich can enliven your story. You will also cover credibility and research, and realities. Skills Acquired: Story building and Creating Reality. Duration: Approx 7 hours over 4week. Rating :4.7/95%

12 Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot

Creative Writing:The Craft of Plot

The course is in English and has subtitles in 11 different languages. The most elementary yet challenging part of writing any story is the plot. This is covered for all of you who desire to write. You will learn how to keep it fluid, how the plot influences our feelings, expectations and desires. You will be taught how to make choices that will capture the imaginations of the reader and draw them into your story’s world and keep them there. The course teaches how to skeleton and fill a plot and you will discovery more about pacing, reversals and revealing the ultimate surprise, connecting the beginning the middle and the end. The syllabus covers Plotting a Course, The Power of Structure, A Scene in Motion and Cut it Out. Skills Acquired: Short story Writing, Fiction Writing, Creativity and Copy Editing. Duration: Approx 6 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.7/96%

11 Getting Started with Essay Writing

Getting started with essay writing

The course is in English with subtitles in 8 different languages. You will learn 3 distinct types of academic essays which will prepare you for work in college or it can be also used just to improve your own writing skills. On completion of this course you will be able to create thesis statements for your essays, plan and write comparison essays, cause and effect and argumentary essays. You will also learn to write well structured body paragraphs. The course starts with an introduction to writing essays and moves on to essay writing, followed by writing compare/contrast essays, and cause effect essays and finally writing argument essays. Skills Acquired: Essay Writing . Duration: Approx 20 Hours over 5 weeks. Rating: 4.7/96%

10 Grammar and Punctuation

Grammar and Punctuation

This course is in English with subtitles in 10 other languages. If you need to review your English grammar or forgotten what you once learnt then this course is the refresher you will need. This course has an introduction and is not intended to all aspects of English grammar, what you will do is what videos, do readings and practice exercises and depending on your option there will be quizzes. The course goes into Verb Tenses and Conjunctions, and how to use them correctly. Further, compound and Complex sentences will be covered together with some other uses for Commas, Parallel structure and Sentence Variety. Skills Acquired: English grammar,Punctuation, Grammar and Writing. Duration: Approx 17 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.7/96%

09 Advanced Writing

Advanced Writing

This course is in English and has subtitles in 11 different languages. The objective of this course is to prepare you for College level work by raising your standard of academic writing. By completing this course you will be able to plan and execute a more complex argument essay, identify and prevent plagiarism. You will be able to read, analyze and compose an opinion essay based on your readings, and make connections between several articles. You will be taught how to make thesis statements from your readings and how to use sources effectively when writing essays. This course syllabus start with an introduction covering plagiarism and synthesis essays to develop your critical thinking skills. This will be followed by advanced argument essays and, avoiding plagiarism, synthesis essays and finally documented essays. Skills Acquired: Essay Writing, Academic Writing, Creative Writing and Writing. Duration: Approx 20 hours over 5 weeks. Rating: 4.7/98%

08 Creative Writing: The Craft of Style

Creative Writing:The Craft of Style

The course is in English and has subtitles in 9 different languages. Writing style is total unique to you except you can work on your style and chose how you wish to come across and you can enhance your style in many different ways so suit you. You will be instructed to the art of placing pressure on written language and you will uncover the use of metaphor and imagery, and learn how word choice incorporating clarity, grace and inventiveness are essential to a story’s success. These tools are essential skills for all writers of good stories and prose. The syllabus covers Meaning, Sense and Clarity: Writing with Nouns and Verbs: Economy: and finally “No Ideas But in Things” where you will learn to balance the seeking of ideas and feelings, with the story’s needs for concreteness and reality. Skills Acquired: Creative writing and Personal Style. Duration: Approx 8 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.7/98%

07 An Introduction to Screenwriting

An intro to Screenwriting

The course is in English. As the screenplay is the start of most dramatic films, tender romance, action, and memorable lines they all begin at the screenwriter desk. This course introduces you to the elements and concept behind screenwriting. If you are new to script writing or looking to raise your script writing skills then this course is right for you. You will learn you will learn from basic theory, analysis and practical exercise where you will explore principals expressed in great films and apply these concepts to your own writing to create effective screenplays and have the language required to discuss form. The topics you will cover will include essential characteristics of story, developing your story line, and you will learn about the 3 act structure and other structures. The course also covers characters and developing their outlines, the construction of scenes and the workflow of your first draft. Lastly, you will format the screenplay and write and finish your first draft. There are no formal requirements but an interest in screenwriting is a must. Skills Acquired: Screenwriting. Duration: Approx 3 hour per week over 2 weeks. Rating: 4.8

06 Learn English: Advanced Grammar and Punctuation Specialization

Learn English

This course is in English and has subtitles in 9 languages and covers 4 separate courses. This course includes more advanced grammar concepts like noun clauses, and conditionals. You will learn to blend verb tenses and how to punctuate correctly. This course is very useful for those whose home language is not English and who want to improve their fluency. If you are a native speaker and want to improve your English for academic or professional purposes then this course is the right one for you. This specialization is a series of courses to assist you in mastering English. The time you take depends upon your requirements and time constraints. You will also for each course engage in a hands-on project. Their are 4 course in this specialization the first being Verb Tenses and Passives, Conjunctions, Connectives and Adverb clauses, Noun clauses and Conditionals, and lastly Advanced Grammar and Punctuation Project. Please note that each course follows on directly from the previous. Skills Acquired: English Grammar, Punctuation, Grammar, English Language and Perfect Tenses. Duration: Approx 5 months (4 courses).Rating:4.8

05 Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics

Songwriting

This beginner course is in English with subtitles in 4 different languages. You do not need any prior experience or knowledge to enrol in this course. Everyone has a songwriter hidden within, and this course will expose this side of you. This course will show you a highly effective process for building   songs to express your emotions and self. If you have already tried songwriting then you will look at your process from a different angle and take control of the aspects not noticed before. The course starts by looking at the available tools required, revolving around essential concepts of prosody. Using the tools will assist your message by working compositionally whilst developing your ideas. Though it is not required that you can read music or play an instrument, you will be working in your composition, both lyrically and musically. If you are not musically this course will present you with some musical loops to work with. Your work does not have to be polished as the course is about writing and not performing. Have fun with this course. Skills Acquired: Music, Music recording, Poetry and Song Writing. Duration: Approx 17 hours over 5 weeks. Rating: 4.8/97%

04 Sharpened Vision: A Poetry Workshop

Sharpened Visions

The course is in English with subtitles in 8 different languages. If poetry writing excites you then why write mundane poetry when it can be way better. Most exciting writing begins after draft 1. Poetry can change how you think about the world and its diversity. This course will give you the tools of composition which can be used in more ways to refine your poetic prowess. You will learn poetic terms and devices by studying a handful of modern and contemporary poet and then apply this to your own poem draft, through a series of prompts. The syllabus has an Introduction, Abstraction and Image, Metaphor and more tools for you to use. Skills Acquired: Music, Poetry Writing, Art and Creativity. Duration: Approx 8 hours over 6 weeks. Rating: 4.8/98%

03 Business Writing

Business Writing

The beginner course is in English and has subtitles in 8 different languages. One of the most important skills you can acquire is the art of successful written communication. People the world over both non native and native English speakers, with all levels of writing skill have used the techniques in this course to communicate and present ideas. The 10 top principals will be taught and you will be shown how to use these tools to organize, structure, and revise your communication to be highly effective. From the very first lesson the techniques will be applicable to your writing. This course will provide the basics for moving into graphic design and successful presentation so you can present your ideas successfully and powerfully. In module one you will discover the principals that are the foundation of this course and step the stage for further exploration and communication.  Skills Acquired: Grammar, Communications, Business Writing and Writing. Duration: Approx 13 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.8/98%

02 A Beginner’s Guide to Writing in English for University Study

A Beginners Guide to Writing in English for university Study

This course is in English and covers the skill of writing academic essays which are considerably different from other types of writing. This course will teach you the basics of academic writing as well as enhance English language skill. Further, you will become proficient in areas of academic grammar, the stages in writing an essay and finally produce your essay. You will also take a look at organizing your essay, writing in an academic style and be able to valuate your writing and those writings of others. To whet your appetite the first week covers the key features of academic writing, development of an essay idea and organizing your ideas of paper. Skills Acquired: Grammar, English Writing, Academic Writing and Vocabulary. Duration: Approx 3 hours weekly for 5 weeks. Rating: 4.9

01 Writing in the Sciences

Writing in the sciencesThis beginner course is in English with subtitles in 10 other languages, if you are a scientist and wish to become more effective as a writer, then through practices examples and exercises you will achieve your goal. The items you will learn about are principles of good writing, how to be faster in your writing, how to layout a scientific manuscript or peer review. You will also learn how to write eloquently for grants, ethical issues, and also how to write for general consumption. This course covers how to remove clutter from your writing, how to use strong verbs, writing in the active voice, and how to re-frame from using verbs as nouns. You will learn complex punctuation and you will receive ideas on how to make writing easier efficient and organized. You will also learn about scientific formatting in manuscript and how to avoid plagiarism. Skills Acquired: Grammar, Medical Writing, Science Communication and Writing. Duration: Approx 30 hours over 8 weeks. Rating: 4.9/97%