JOUR 61: Test Yourself

This week we were required to test our journalistic abilities.

I scored 28 out of 30 on the “Got what it takes to be a reporter” test, which is high. I think the questions on the quiz were certainly relevant to the basic skills and tendencies needed to become a reporter. To get a good score on this quiz is obviously very reassuring , as that is a career which I desire. I feel I have the basic ingredients to be a reporter and this test backs that up. However, it is going to take a lot of hard work and talent to make that come to fruition.

The next test required analysis of a recent example of my writing. This is what I used:

"The catalogue of programs available to users via the BBC’s iPlayer is currently far greater than any of its competitors. However, the BBC’s television programs are for the moment only available to users in the United Kingdom, although the BBC they are working to provide an international version. PBS also offers some of its programs in full online. Other media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC only offer clips of their shows. If the BBC provides international access to their shows then they will be clear at the head of this new online television revolution."

The test wanted to know the average amount of words I used per sentence, which was 19.2, and also how many "hard" words (words with 3 syllables or more) I used, which was 12. This gave me a FOG index score of 12.4.

My score is above the recommended 7 or 8. This doesn’t altogether surprise me as I am aware that I tend to make my sentences a little long. This is something I have been trying to work on of late and I certainly to keep doing that. As for the number of hard words used, it is something that I haven’t considered too much previously. In my future writing I will also pay attention to ensuring that I don’t use them excessively.