Writing for Change: How to Craft Effective Social Justice Articles with Sara Ramey

Mondays, September 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2024, from 6:30-8:30pm CST via Zoom
Instructor: Sara Ramey
Nonmember: $160; Member: $140; Student/Educator/Mil $75

*EARN CPE’S

TWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

Is there a social justice issue you’d like to draw more attention to? Do you wish the media would provide a fresh perspective on a matter close to your heart? Do you have a new approach to a social problem? Join this intensive workshop to turn those ideas into publishable articles!

In this four-week course, experienced social justice advocate Sara Ramey will combine lecture and group discussion to help participants gain an overview of writing effective social justice articles. Participants will learn how to understand key content and structure considerations, achieve the right tone and pacing, select the best format based on the topic, consider their audiences to maximize impact, and use one’s goal to derive the highest impact from an article. 

We will also explore a range of interviewing techniques, including preparing effective questions, tips for eliciting vivid details and descriptions, capturing authenticity in voice, making an interviewee comfortable, ethical considerations, and navigating challenges that arise. Participants will write and submit a 600-900-word article during the workshop. We’ll conclude with a discussion on how to pitch social justice articles. 

This class is open to writers of all skill levels interested in developing their written advocacy abilities, 18+. 

By the end of the class students will have: 

• A workshopped 600-900 word article on a social justice topic of their choice
• A toolbox of skills for persuasive factual and opinion writing
• An understanding of the market and the crafting process for short-form social justice journalism
• Insight into effective pitching to begin contacting publishers

An experienced interviewer, Sara Ramey has worked for over twelve years on the U.S.-Mexico border, meeting with asylum seekers to learn their stories and help them craft compelling narratives for U.S. immigration judges. She has also interviewed immigrants on various issues of public policy for community education initiatives and has written op-eds and journal articles in major publications, including The Dallas Morning News, The San Antonio Express News, The Austin-American Statesman, The Hill, The International Lawyer, Peace Review, and The Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration. As a lawyer and advocate, Sara has extensive experience condensing complex topics down to powerful stories that resonate with diverse audiences. She has written public comments to the federal government on proposed regulations, has hosted a legal podcast on migration issues, and has interviewed with the press, including MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, the Associated Press, VICE, CNN, Telemundo, and more. She most recently worked as an attorney mentor at Immigration Equality. In her free time, Sara writes urban and YA fantasy.