Program Overview
Course Breakdown
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Week 1: Precision and Attribution
Writing verifiable claims. Attribution standards for investigative work. Avoiding overstatement while maintaining impact.
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Week 2: Document Translation
Extracting key information from complex records. Presenting financial and legal material clearly. Practice exercises with real documents.
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Week 3: Structuring Complex Stories
Organizational strategies for multi-layered investigations. Timeline management. Introducing numerous characters and entities.
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Week 4: Explanation Techniques
Making technical subjects accessible. Using analogies effectively. Balancing detail with readability.
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Week 5: Building Narrative Tension
Creating forward momentum in dense stories. Strategic information release. Maintaining reader engagement over length.
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Week 6: Fairness and Balance
Representing opposing viewpoints accurately. Handling denials and conflicting accounts. Writing defensibly.
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Week 7: Editing for Legal Review
Preparing copy for fact-checking. Documenting sources. Removing vulnerabilities without weakening impact.
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Week 8: Capstone Project
Write a complete investigative piece from provided materials. Full editorial review. Revision and final submission.
Detailed Information
Investigative stories present unique writing challenges. You are often working with dense documentation, multiple sources with conflicting accounts, and information that must be presented with absolute precision. Poor writing can undermine months of reporting.
The key difficulty is making complex material accessible without oversimplifying it. Readers need to understand intricate financial arrangements, legal processes, or technical systems well enough to grasp why the story matters. This requires explaining without condescending and providing context without losing momentum.
Specific challenges addressed
Attribution becomes more complex in investigative work. You must be crystal clear about the source and strength of every claim. We practice writing that distinguishes between what you have documented, what sources told you, and what remains alleged. This precision protects both you and your publication.
Document-based reporting requires particular skills. You need to extract the significant details from dense records and present them in readable form. The course includes exercises in translating legal documents, financial filings, and government reports into clear English that general audiences can follow.
Narrative structure matters tremendously. Investigative stories often span years and involve numerous actors. You must guide readers through complex timelines and relationships without losing them. We analyze successful investigations to understand how they organize overwhelming material into coherent narratives.
What gets covered
- Organizing complex material into clear structures
- Writing precise, defensible attribution
- Translating technical or legal information for general readers
- Building suspense and maintaining reader interest
- Handling sensitive information responsibly
The assignments involve writing sections of investigative stories from provided source material. You will learn to evaluate your own work for accuracy, fairness, and clarity. The emphasis is on writing that can withstand legal review and public scrutiny while remaining engaging enough that people actually read it.