How to Write, Lesson 4: Reporting & Quoting Like a Pro

Welcome to the fourth lesson of Fire Edits’ How to Write series!

Last week, you learned how to craft compelling body copy by following the 7 golden rules for writing well. In your third writing prompt, you created an outline for a full essay, article, or short-form piece, including a compelling intro, conclusion, and 2-5 main points that support your angle.

You are flying through this course!

Now, it’s time for the juicy behind-the-scenes work of collecting receipts for those points you want to make.

In journalism, this is called reporting, or the act of gathering, organizing, and presenting information on a given topic, event, issue, person, or place. The process includes finding various facts, data points, and voices to form an unbiased and well-rounded account that’s accurate, fair, and up-to-date.

Sure, it’s been bastardized, abused, politicized, and monetized over the years, but when reporting is done right, wow, is it the fastest way to build authority and credibility as a writer. Great reporting makes you an instantly trustworthy author—even in personal essays and opinion pieces where you may (wrongly) assume your voice is enough.

Herein lies your responsibility as a writer. If you intend to make your work public or pursue writing as a career—especially now during the age of misinformation—you owe it to the reader to be unwaveringly loyal to facts. And you can do so by reporting and quoting like a pro.