FINAL PAPER

 Andrew Brown

COM 332 Advanced Media Writing Final 

December 12th, 2024

In COM 332 Advanced media writing we as a class learned several different and effective ways to communicate. Whether we were writing on the page or talking in front of others, throughout the fall 2024 semester we learned several different techniques to communicate. One of these techniques we learned that stuck a lot with me was the inverted pyramid and what we learned when we went over obituaries in class.

One technique that Professor Rooke taught us and helped incorporate into our writing was the inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid is a style of writing where the style of writing starts with the most basic information for the reader. Who, what, where, when, and why make up the base of the pyramid and comes first. The reason for this is to start with the most important information first since it is what you as a writer should want your reader to know most of all. After the base of the pyramid coming first follows the middle section of the pyramid, the details allowing those who read to this point to learn more about what you are writing about. Lastly in the inverted pyramid is the rest of the subject like general information or background information. With the inverted pyramid the writer can prioritize important information first such as who, what, where, when, and why to hook the reader first then move on to other information.

Another lesson that stuck with me in class was when we went over obituaries in class. I thought the Professor's experience he shared with the class about writing his own family members obituary. From what our professor told us, and from what I can remember he stated how important obituaries are but can be difficult because you have to write about the life of a person in about 200 words. So, him telling us about his own experience and walking us through this process not only helped the class get to know more about our professor on a professional level, but also a personal one. Additionally, having us learn about this helped me personally in my own writing as being able to help sum up a subject in a few words is an invaluable skill in today's media world with the rise of social media.