About Quill and Scroll

• Why join Quill and Scroll: This slideshow is specifically designed for those having a difficult time explaining Quill and Scroll to prospective members.
• Student Advisory Board: Want to know more about our Advisory Board? This outlines what we do and the expectations.
• Contests and critiques: This overview includes a year-long overview about Quill and Scroll’s contests, News Media Evaluation, Chapter of the Year and Scholarships.

Writing

• Headlines: Readers read the headlines. Use this quick lesson to help improve student headlines.
• Inverted pyramid: Have a breaking story to cover? Don’t be afraid to use the inverted pyramid.
• (NEW) Writing a narrative lead: Step up your narrative leads with this quick hit
• (NEW) Article leads versus photo captions: Figure out what information fits in the lead and what makes sense in the photo caption.

Editing

• Common copy mistakes: A quick copy slideshow highlighting five commonly confused issues.
• (NEW) Three steps to copy editing: Looking for a new editing workflow? Check out this three step copy editing process for cleaner copy.
• (NEW) Fact checking tips: Accuracy in reporting is of the utmost importance — and good fact checking procedures can help catch errors before they are published.

Video

• Embedded videos: There’s more to a story than just text. This quick lesson shows how to add and brainstorm embedded videos in your coverage.
• Shooting B-roll: Here’s a quick review of B roll footage as well as a few tips on shooting.
• Shooting A-roll: Here’s a quick review of A roll footage as well as a few tips on shooting.

Audio

• (NEW) Recording audio: Get started with the skills you need to record high quality audio.
• (NEW) Editing audio: Take a look at the top five things to consider when learning to edit audio products.
• (NEW) Writing a podcast script: Learn best practices for writing a podcast script before recording.

Photo

• Photo captions: Has an overview of how to write captions as well as examples.
• Rule of thirds: This simple photo technique can help improve composition. 
• Photos on a phone: Sometimes the only camera you have is your phone. Easy tips on improving photos on the phone.
• (NEW) Cropping photos: Has tips and tricks to get the perfect crop on photos.

Design

• Design brainstorm tips: Need a better approach to the design process? Here’s a quick link to some resources.
• (NEW) Creating a cutout in InDesign: Follow the steps to create a cutout to level up your print designs.

Social media

• Writing for social media: Not all social media is the same. Here’s some general tips for social media posts.
• (NEW) Script writing for social media: Learn the best practices for writing quick, engaging social media videos.

Coverage

• Interviewing basics: This slideshow highlights some basic interviewing tips and tricks.
• Interviewing for profiles: A good profile can be tricky. Here’s a quick lesson on preparing for the profile interview.
• Picking a format: The best way to show the story may not be as traditional as you might think. Use this to better select the format for the content being covered.

Sources

• Finding reliable sources: Here’s some tips and tricks for finding the right sources for your stories.
• Primary vs. secondary sources: Determining what sources count as primary sources can be hard. Here’s a quick lesson on telling the difference.
• Email tips: Email is a huge resource in journalism, but only if used effectively. Here are some tips on email etiquette.

Law & ethics

• Policy/guideline check: This slideshow, which is intended to span about two weeks, asks the group to examine some common policies and guidelines before they are needed.