Writing for the Periodical Press

Duration: 12 weeks to 2 years

Fee: £465 plus VAT

“Distance learning can be a bit isolating. I don't know what I was expecting from the course, but I hadn't imagined that there would be such a level of helpful feedback.” Jenny Knighton

"I really thought this course was excellent. I found the marking extremely fair, objective and very helpful. I've learned so much about the basics of journalism from the course and I would certainly recommend it." Kate Copestake

There are hundreds of English language journals and magazines published weekly and monthly, covering subjects as diverse as marriage, fishing, photography and catering, and many of them welcome news or features from contributors.

This course provides a solid base for those wishing to take up periodical journalism. The course is NOT equivalent to, nor does it lead to, the NCTJ certificate in journalism. If you are interested in studying for the NCTJ magazine qualification, click here.

As a guideline, we would expect completion of the course to take about12 weeks, although this will need considerable discipline.

Course materials are sent out by first class post in an A5 jiffy envelope. There are ten modules that come on a DVD-Rom. Each module introduces a new skill and requires three to five hours of work. There are also practical writing and editing exercises. Your work will be assessed and marked by working journalists with a special interest in training.

The modules are:

1. News gathering and the reporter

2. Effective news writing

3. Reporting news and news intros

4. Feature intros

5. Continuity in feature writing

6. Media law - libel and slander

7. Media law - contempt of court and copyright

8. Sub-editing

9. Typeface, captions and headlines

10. News and feature layout

Please complete the self-test before ordering the course; it is a way of ensuring the course is suitable for you. The NCTJ is not able to provide a refund under any circumstances after seven days of purchase.

Certification of completion

Learners are assessed on each module and will be awarded a grade - A (= excellent), B (= good), C (= satisfactory), or D (= fail) for each one. If the tutor does not feel the learner has completed the module satisfactorily, they will suggest how it can be improved before they give a final grade. If the tutor awards a fail and feels that retaking the module won’t make a difference to the outcome, the student can resit the module with a different set of exercises. Similarly, if a learner gets to the end of the course and feels they could do better on a module, to improve their final grade, they are able to resit ONE module. Resits incur a small administration fee. At the end of the course, a completion certificate will be awarded for the modules passed. Only final scores will be recognised - failed attempts are not included.

A minimum of eight As are required to get a distinction; a minimum of eight Bs (or a combination of As and Bs)are needed to obtain a merit. Below this, the certificate will confirm the student has passed the course at a satisfactory level.

We are anxious to maintain the high standards of the NCTJ, and therefore we may decide to withhold the certificate if we feel that work throughout the course has not been completed to a satisfactory level.

Related Documents: Enrolment Form for EU customers (PDF, 42Kb); Enrolment Form for Non EU customers (PDF, 42Kb); Self test (PDF, 37Kb); Self test answers (PDF, 42Kb)