Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer (Udemy.com)

Ex-Wall Street Journal Editor Teaches How To Write With Confidence, Style & Impact

Created by: Shani Raja

Produced in 2021

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What you will learn

  • Shani Raja, a former Wall Street Journal editor, will teach you the secret to making your writing sparkle. You will discover the four ingredients of exceptional writing: simplicity, clarity, elegance and evocativeness. After learning how to add those ingredients skilfully, your blogs, books and business writing will immediately begin to stand out from that of others in your field, profession or industry.

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Quality Score

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Overall Score : 94 / 100

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Course Description

WELCOMETOTHEBESTSELLING WRITING COURSE ON UDEMY, WITHMORE THAN 73,000 STUDENTS, THOUSANDS OF 5-STAR REVIEWS, ANDNEWLYUPDATED CONTENT AND RESOURCES.
The program is taught by Shani Raja, a former Wall Street Journal editor whose courses have attracted more than 240,000 students on this platform and been featured in Time and Business Insider.
Shani has trained journalists at The Wall Street Journal and written for other top news outfits, including The Economist, FT, Dow Jones and Bloomberg News. He is rated among the top 10% of most engaging Udemy instructors. In this newly extended version of his flagship program, Shani reveals to non-journalists the "superpower" tactics of the worlds best editors. Learning their secrets will help you stand out in almost any field of writing.
Cuts through everything to the heart of excellent writing... the best course of its type that Ive seen MICHELLE BULLAS, UDEMY STUDENTMr. Raja brings crystal clear enlightenment and a power to writing that many, who have not discovered his teaching, are unaware they can achieve CS. LAWRENCE, UDEMY STUDENTTaught me in a few hours writing principles that would have taken me years to learn on my own SEBASTIAN, UDEMY STUDENTThe most complete writing course I have taken. Im really blowing away the competition at work EDE OMOKHUDU, UDEMY STUDENTLearned more from Shani about the art of writing than I ever did at school... was hooked right until the end NIC JONES, UDEMY STUDENTImproved my technique exponentially NESTOR ARMSTRONG, UDEMY STUDENTUnravels the problems many of us face when writing STEPHEN, UDEMY STUDENTSaw a noticeable difference in the length of time visitors stayed on my blog PREM KUMAR, UDEMY STUDENTCarries the weight and authority of experience SEAN COOK, UDEMY STUDENTSimple, clear, elegant and evocative CLIFTON ZHUO, UDEMY STUDENTHis experience as a writer as well as a teacher shines through NAINA MERETE HOLSVE, UDEMY STUDENTWriting is no longer uncertain, confusing and ambiguous for me RUDYARD VON, UDEMY STUDENTCan see why this instructors course is a bestseller ANNEGRET HERGERT, UDEMY STUDENTPhenomenal course DAN BALLMER, UDEMY STUDENTTremendous value ELLIOT FINK, UDEMY STUDENTGroundbreaking MAXIM VOROSHILOV, UDEMY STUDENTWow DANIEL BACALLAO, UDEMY STUDENTJust Imagine being able to write with the style and flair of journalists on top newspapers who are skilled at producing punchy and potent articles for millions of readers every day.
What could having such a rare talent do for your career, your business, or your dreams of becoming a successful author or blogger?
In this program, Shani will introduce you to a range of exquisite writing tricks and tactics that most people outside the journalism profession are ignorant of, but which can make the difference between copy that is dull and flat, and prose that is dazzling and captivating.
In this acclaimed, 7-hour intensive writing training, Shani reveals how such accomplished editors do their magic. It boils down to mastering just four basic ingredients: simplicity, clarity, elegance and evocativeness.
Shani will show how a proper understanding of this "secret sauce" is all you need to become an exceptional writer in just about any field. A complete writing systemIn this program, you won't be getting the usual writing tips that you can find all over the internet, and in other online programs.
The four ingredients form the basis of a complete writing system designed to drive you to the summit of slick writing very fast.
The training is crafted to turn you into a confident author of blogs, books and business writing in as little as a few weeks. By the end, you'll understand precisely how to infuse power and beauty into the soul of your writing to make it stand out dramatically.
Whatever your ability now, you'll find yourself quickly transformed into an artistic composer of prose, whose copy sparkles with a rare kind of quality few people will understand, let alone be capable of emulating.
The secret sauce of flairYou will learn how to optimise each of the four ingredients so that, like the world's finest editors, you'll be able to turn humdrum writing into something extraordinary every time. As a result, your copy will always be punchy, sharp, graceful and stimulating the hallmarks of almost all exceptional prose. In the SIMPLICITY section, you'll discover how toWrite in plain, upbeat languageSteer clear of official words that weigh your writing downShun redundant words that make your sentences move slowlyDiscard filler and hedging language that produce "hot air"Avoid needlessly complex sentences that bog readers downStop yourself rambling and repeating yourself unnecessarilyEliminate pointless distractions that obstruct comprehensionClear away "sentence clutter" that can throw readers offIn the CLARITY section, how to...
Recognise fuzzy and out-of-focus ideas that blur your messagePrevent readers from getting confused or ever going blankSteer clear of imprecise jargonMake clear distinctions between contrasting ideasAvoid randomly mixing up time elements (past, present, future)Eradicate ambiguity and double-meaningsPlace "modifying" words carefullyAvoid tangled and "curly" writing that may baffle readersUse potentially confusing words like "this" and "that" more carefullyIn the ELEGANCE section, how to...
Maintain an elegant consistency throughout your writingKeep sentences neat and parallelCraft graceful, flowing narrativesCreate delightful sentence rhythmsAvoid inelegant "word echoes"Smoothly transition between ideasConstruct "pretty" paragraphsPresent your copy ultra-professionallyAnd in the EVOCATIVENESS section, how to...
Avoid soul-killing clichsAdd variety to sentence structuresBring a fresh scent to your proseAvoid the boring passive voiceStop tiresomely "reversing" into sentences Make your writing more dramaticCreate spectacular imageryMaster the tone of your writingGive life and character to your copy"A compass for those who set out bravely to explore the distant shores that only stories ever spoke of. To the North, Shani will guide you to the austere mountains; simplicity. To the East, Shani will guide you to the crystal forests; clarity. To the South, Shani will guide you to the golden palace; elegance. To the West, Shani will guide you to the hidden alchemists; evocativeness. Do not rush. Shani has charted a course that you may journey for many years to come. Congratulations, you have stumbled upon one of Earth's rare skeleton keys. Don't overlook this auspicious opportunity..." JULIEN MCLAREN, UDEMYSTUDENTThe world of elite writingYou already know that good writing isnt just another nice-to-have ability. Its one of the most important skills you need for conveying a professional image at work, landing a high-profile job, and getting noticed online.
But while plenty of people can write, few can do so with pizzazz of top journalists, who know heaps of fancy tricks and tactics to make their writing rise above the ordinary.
After taking this course, yo

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Instructor Details

Shani Raja

Shani Raja teaches top journalists how to improve their writing and has written and edited for some of the world's biggest news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Financial Times and Bloomberg News. Shani has also taught advanced writing skills to professionals and edited for leading global companies from Microsoft and IBM to PwC. He also teaches journalism to undergraduates.

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Reviews

4.7

312 total reviews

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By Nastasja Abel on 11/8/2020

Yes it is - I am tired of the expectation of a "good communication" based on big words and long winded sentences!

By Judith Casasampere on 11/8/2020

Interesting, Useful, Clear and Practical! Much appreciated!

By Anonymized User on 10/27/2020

It was a helpful course which allows me to draft my message according to the 4 points as taught. Lecturer was clear and concise.

By Maciej Wronski on 10/26/2020

Lots of amazing and to the point info; it's quite impressive how Shani managed to pack so much useful stuff in such a short course!

By Joseph Kimani Thuo on 10/24/2020

This course is definitely a quality course and so far, I think it matches what I was looking for.

By Marin Karahristov on 10/20/2020

The lector seems confident and professional. It gives me confidence that he will teach me well.

By Uri Mahler on 10/19/2020

yes- it is contributing to the way I write - which is a central task in my job

By Thomas T Thomas on 10/19/2020

Not really.. because I wanted more about writing fiction

By Limahl Ragunanan on 10/19/2020

This is the second course I am doing by Shani Raja and once again I am finding his course highly valuable in becoming a better writer. What I love most about the course is how it breaks down the misconception that writing is a talent. It explains the technical skills needed to be that exceptional writer and how best to apply it. I highly recommend this to anyone like me who has had no real training and has to do any form of writing, from technical to entertainment.

By Ratakane B Maime on 10/16/2020

It is relevant to me

By Ekaete Udo on 10/13/2020

I would normally wait till the end of the course, but with Mr Raja, I knew I would not be disappointed. I have been looking forward to taking this course for at least a year.

By Ralph Sandacz on 10/12/2020

Well done.