The course’s author, Roy Peter Clark, vice president, senior scholar and reporting, writing & editing faculty at The Poynter Institute, shares with you the writing tools he has compiled from reporters and editors, from authors of books on writing and from teachers and coaches. The essays illuminate these tools and teach everything from the importance of strong verbs to the necessity of learning from criticism.

The course is divided into four sections: Nuts and bolts, which include word choice and sentence structure; blueprints to create architecture for your stories; special effects to refine your writing voice; and useful habits that can help you become a more confident writer. Each tool is accompanied by exercises to help you apply what you have learned.