Effective Writing for Digital: Advanced

How to write persuasively and understand the fundamentals of data journalism

This four-hour advanced digital writing course covers the art of crafting persuasive copy and how data journalism can boost your storytelling.  

What you’ll learn: Persuasive writing skills and how data journalism works

This Effective Writing for Digital: Advanced course encourages critical thinking to evaluate how the UK’s biggest publications subtly (or not so subtly) persuade readers in their news and features writing, as well as comment and opinion pieces.   

You’ll take a deeper look into what makes a compelling opinion piece, learning how to structure and deliver an impactful argument. The first half of the session will end with advice and insights from some of the media’s most prominent publishers.   

You’ll then delve into the world of data journalism and learn the fundamentals of what it involves. Compelling data can support a narrative or, in some cases, even be the story itself. By discussing real world examples, you’ll learn what makes a brilliant data-led article that really engages your reader, and how you can get the most out of statistics and numbers.  

How you’ll learn 

This two-module writing course will be led by an experienced editor, who will share their knowledge and expertise through presentations, discussion and practical exercises.  

Who the Effective Writing for Digital: Advanced course is for 

This course is for writers, early career journalists and PR professionals who want to brush up on their writing skills and techniques. It is a great follow-up to our Effective Writing for Digital: Essentials course.

We currently offer this course as bespoke training for teams and can deliver it remotely, or in your offices. Get in touch using the button below to discuss times and dates, as well as how we can tailor it to your needs. 

If you’re booking for yourself, find all of our scheduled courses here.

Course Modules

Persuasive Writing and Thought Leadership

  1. The morning’s papers
  2. Opinion writing: topic, theme, point
  3. Thought leadership writing tips
  4. Lessons from those who do it well

Storytelling with Data

  1. When data storytelling goes wrong
  2. When data is the story
  3. When data supports the story
  4. Best practice for data storytelling

Effective Writing for Digital: Advanced

How to write persuasively and understand the fundamentals of data journalism

Get in touch

What our students say

View all testimonials

The training scenarios are as real to life as you could possibly get. They took considerable time to research our current plans and issues and used these to design a series of true to life radio and TV interviews. The team is outstanding, and their expertise and knowledge has been invaluable. Book them – you’ll be glad you did.

NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group
, Communications Manager

The team is flexible, slick, well-resourced and overall simply first class. Their expertise and knowledge have been invaluable. I was delighted with our choice, so I’d have no hesitation in recommending them

Prostate Cancer UK
, Head of External Relations

I was able to count on excellent teachers and professionals who helped me push my limits and achieve my goals. I was impressed by the quality of the course and the motivation teachers put into it. It was a great experience and I would definitely do it again!

Laure Poncet
, Research Officer
, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes

I learned to write concise articles and features, while developing my skills in social media, interviewing sources, and producing stories for an increasingly online audience. The course has allowed me to start a full-time journalism career.

Jonathan Moynihan
, Social Media Producer
, Forces News

It’s a great place to make connections – networking with teachers, guest speakers and fellow students can be key to gaining advice or even job opportunities during and after the course. 

James Saunders
, Digital News Reporter
, GB News 

I really could not recommend Press Association enough to anyone who is looking to jump into the fascinating world of journalism. The course equips you with all the necessary skills you need to enter the industry and the wide range of topics covered leaves it hard for you to ever feel bored.

Holly Bishop
, Digital Reporter
, GB News

Contact us

For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.

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Contact us

For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.