Human rights content encompasses a range of social, political, economic, and environmental topics. Race, gender, sexuality, climate change, and international law represent a handful of the subjects a writer might cover in articles, newsletters, blogs, podcast scripts, books, and more. If you\u2019re writing about human rights – or want to start – here are ten tips to store in your toolkit:<\/p>\n
No matter what you\u2019re writing, knowing your audience matters. It determines the appropriate tone, style, and information you\u2019ll present. For human rights content, your audience could be people well-versed in human rights. They don\u2019t need a primer on foundational information like what human rights are or why they matter. For this audience, a more academic tone with more advanced terms might be appropriate.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, your audience could be readers only starting to learn about human rights<\/a>. They\u2019ll need background on things like human rights history, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and human rights activism<\/a>. An easier reading style that defines essential concepts and terms would be more appropriate for this audience.<\/p>\n How much detail is your piece of writing going to get into? What\u2019s your planned word count? Answering these questions helps you determine how much ground you\u2019ll need to cover and how much research is needed. If it\u2019s a short piece, you won\u2019t cover much beyond the basics, so research will be more limited. If it\u2019s long-form, you\u2019ll need to write a more in-depth piece supported with more research<\/a>. Thinking about a piece\u2019s scope also helps you estimate how long the writing will take, so you can plan accordingly and meet your deadline.<\/p>\n Need to expand a piece\u2019s scope to meet a word count? Avoid padding the piece with more complex language or irrelevant tangents. You can add more examples to flesh out your points if they strengthen your argument. If possible, you can also address other perspectives. This is an especially useful method if you\u2019re writing about something contentious. Depending on the nature of the piece, you can further clarify why your position makes more sense. If this kind of analysis isn\u2019t appropriate, you can describe other perspectives without adding your own opinion.<\/p>\n For writers who struggle with starting a piece, outlining is very helpful. Outlines focus the mind and give you something more than a blank page to work with. Because outlines don\u2019t have to be pretty, there\u2019s often less pressure and a writer is freer to just scribble. Depending on the length and style of your piece, outlines can look very different. Maybe yours includes just an Introduction, Point #1, Point #2, Point #3, and a Conclusion. An outline can also help you organize all your research, so you know exactly where a specific piece of information will go and what point it will support.<\/p>\n Transitioning from the outline phase to the writing phase looks different for each writer. Some writers use the outline as a very general guide while others stick very closely to the structure they\u2019ve chosen. There\u2019s no \u201ccorrect\u201d way. Sometimes an outline is just that – a bare-bones structure with a few points – while other times, an outline is a skeleton that a writer adds meat to until the piece is practically finished.<\/p>\n Most human rights content is non-fiction, but that doesn\u2019t mean it must be dry. Instead of only including statistics, look for narratives in the information you\u2019re writing about. That can include describing historical examples or being specific about what an issue like sexism can look like. If you\u2019re interviewing a person, make them come alive by describing where the interview took place, what time of day it was, and so on. Describing a subject\u2019s physical appearance can be tricky. A 2019 blog from ProPublica Illinois <\/a>discusses how if done well, descriptions can add \u201cuseful information about a person\u2019s character.\u201d Descriptions can distract from the main point, however, and even instigate prejudices based on race, class, and gender. Your job as a writer is to consider this and be intentional.<\/p>\n A lot of research goes into human rights content. In some cases, most of a writer\u2019s time is spent researching, not writing. Knowing which sources are reliable is essential. UN agencies<\/a>, major news organizations, organizations and universities with good reputations, and books by experts are good places to start. Ideally, you should cross-reference because even reliable sources make mistakes. If an article or blog cites a report or study, find the original piece and read at least the summary (or do a word\/phrase search for the piece of info you\u2019re checking) to make sure the source says what the article claims it says. These original sources often contain other relevant information you can use in your piece, too.<\/p>\n Academic citations are complex and taken very seriously, but let\u2019s assume you\u2019re writing content like blogs or articles. Things are a little looser in this space, so most of the time, you aren\u2019t expected to add detailed footnotes or bibliographies. The general rule is that if something is fact-based and accessible to the public (like UN stats on poverty), a link to the source and writing something like \u201cAccording to a UN report from 2019\u201d is sufficient, and proves you\u2019ve done your research.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re adding someone else\u2019s opinion, analysis, or quote on a topic, you do need to tell your reader where it came from. Again, you\u2019re showing your reader you\u2019ve done your homework, but more importantly, you\u2019re abiding by good writing ethics.<\/p>\n Language matters. Terms and phrases can empower or harm individuals or groups, so choosing the appropriate ones is important. As an example, you might wonder if it\u2019s better to use the term \u201cvictim\u201d or \u201csurvivor\u201d when discussing sexual violence. Different sources use different terms. You\u2019ll often find \u201csurvivor\u201d linked to empowerment, but some people who\u2019ve experienced assault prefer \u201cvictim.\u201d In general, unless you know for sure what the subject of your writing prefers, \u201csurvivor\u201d is likely the better term.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s no place for the term \u201cvictim,\u201d but it depends on the context. As an example, this article about gender prejudice<\/a> discusses the harmful phrase, \u201cShe was asking for it.\u201d When describing those targeted by the phrase, the term \u201csurvivor\u201d feels out of place. Since victim-blaming is the topic, the term \u201cvictim\u201d makes more sense. \u201cVictim\u201d is also appropriate if the subject died as the result of a human rights violation.<\/p>\n Depending on where you work, you might have an editor, but even then, it\u2019s important to polish your work before you send it off. That includes examining the flow of the piece. Think about the order of your points or arguments. Are they impactful in their current order? Is your strongest point buried or highlighted? Even if you\u2019re writing listicles, you can usually order the points in a way that feels natural. As an example, in this article about the ten causes of gender inequality<\/a>, uneven education access, employment inequality, and job segregation are listed in a row due to their thematic connection.<\/p>\n Flow applies to how the piece reads, as well. Reading your work aloud or using a text-reader gives you a good idea of a reader\u2019s experience. They\u2019re much more likely to keep reading the piece – and remember what\u2019s in it – if it flows nicely.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re writing human rights content, you\u2019ll interact with news, books, podcasts, films, photography, and so on. As you\u2019re exploring, don\u2019t simply absorb information. Question it. Assume that the media you engage with can\u2019t tell the whole story. Acknowledge that things may be more complicated than they appear and that biases – yours and whoever created the media – influence the presentation. Critical thinking encourages a deeper look.<\/p>\n While all media should be scrutinized, movies and podcasts<\/a> demand special attention. Why? These are often produced for entertainment as well as education. Creators employ methods to draw a consumer\u2019s attention, which can come at the cost of good ethics or even accuracy. Additionally, complex issues might be flattened for the sake of clarity, time, or \u201ca good story.\u201d Human rights photography also presents unique considerations as images can be stripped of context or exploitative. Keep these things in mind when researching and writing.<\/p>\n In his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft<\/em>, Stephen King wrote, \u201cIf you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.\u201d King mostly writes fiction, but his advice applies to all writers, including human rights content writers. You\u2019ll get the most direct benefit by reading books<\/a>, articles, and blogs<\/a> on human rights, social justice, and related fields. Not only will you learn what good (and bad) writing looks like, but you\u2019ll get lots of content ideas and sources you can use for research.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t limit yourself to academic texts or dense non-fiction. There are many memoirs, poetry books, novels, and even graphic novels that focus on human rights issues. Creative works illuminate stories through a unique lens, capturing emotions and nuances that a textbook or journalistic endeavor can miss. You most likely won\u2019t directly reference everything you read in your writing, but reading deepens your understanding and expertise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":19923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,12028],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-skills","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n#2. Think about a piece\u2019s scope <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#3. Outline <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#4. Use narratives to make your writing interesting <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#5. Stick to reliable research sources<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#6. Know when to cite information <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#7. Understand the appropriate terms <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#8. Consider the flow of your writing <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#9. Use critical thinking when approaching human rights media <\/strong><\/h2>\n
#10. Read a lot <\/strong><\/h2>\n