LSU Feature Writing

Curated from MC 3002

Pandemic and closings. Racial tensions and police killings. Sexual harassment investigations on campus and student anger. Fake news and mistrust.

When LSU students in a feature-writing class in the spring of 2021 were asked to report and write a first-person experience tied to the news, there wasn’t a moment of writer’s block.

Emotions and words flowed. The result is a time capsule of their anger and fear, their worries and dreams in this extraordinary moment. Each offering is personal and deeply felt. It shows in their writing.

This assignment was the third in a semester of writing profiles, trend stories and news features. As the assignments piled up, so did student growth and confidence in their work. The class met twice-a-week in a Zoom video conference. Not ideal for a writers’ workshop but the next best thing to in-class discussion.

The class owes considerable inspiration to Ed Pratt who wrote a weekly column in The Advocate of Baton Rouge often recalling first-person accounts of life in the Jim Crow era. Mr. Pratt spoke to the students about his writing and several of his columns were studied by the class.

First-person writing is becoming more frequent in journalism. The students said this was their first such assignment at the Manship School. My bet is it will not be the last.

As always, this website and booklet are possible due to the resources of my endowed chair named for Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. and the Manship School.

I hope you find that good writing makes for good reading.

-- Prof. Len Apcar,
Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. Endowed Chair

Professional in Residence

2021

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