This lesson plan is designed to enable journalism trainers to teach students the importance of avoiding clichés, journalese, and jargon in their writing.
It’s based on the article ‘Clichés, journalese, and jargon‘ which we recommend trainers study before adapting the following lesson outline.
Learning objective
Students will identify and critique the use of clichés, journalese, and jargon in their writing. They will also demonstrate the ability to revise text to improve clarity and precision.
- Student-facing objective: By the end of this lesson the student will be able to spot clichés, journalese, and jargon in writing and make changes to make the text clearer and more precise.
- Standards: A training lesson designed to help students learn the importance of avoiding the use of clichés journalese, and jargon in their writing.
Learning activities
Warm-up
Present students with a short paragraph filled with clichés, journalese, and jargon. Ask them to read it silently and identify any phrases or words that seem overused or unclear. After a few minutes, have students share their findings with a partner. Then, facilitate a brief class discussion, asking students to explain why certain phrases might be problematic and how they could be improved for clarity. This primes students to recognise and critique these elements in writing.
Direct instruction
Conceptual understanding: Begin by explaining the definitions of clichés, journalese, and jargon. Use real examples from recent news articles to illustrate each concept. Discuss why these elements can hinder clear communication. Highlight how clichés can make writing predictable, journalese can obscure meaning, and jargon can alienate readers unfamiliar with specific terms.
Procedural skills and fluency: Provide students with a list of sentences containing clichés, journalese, and jargon. Ask them to work in pairs to rewrite these sentences for clarity and precision. Encourage them to replace vague or overused phrases with specific, straightforward language. Facilitate a class discussion to review their revisions, emphasising the importance of clear communication in journalism.
Application: Assign a short writing task where students must report on a simple event (e.g., a school announcement) without using clichés, journalese, or jargon. Have them focus on delivering the information clearly and concisely. Afterward, conduct a peer review session where students exchange their reports and provide feedback on clarity and language use.
Guided practice
Think, Pair, Share: Distribute a short article filled with clichés, journalese, and jargon.
- Think: Have students individually read the article and highlight problematic phrases.
- Pair: In pairs, students discuss their findings and suggest clearer alternatives.
- Share: Facilitate a class discussion where pairs share their revisions and reasoning.
- Collect and display: Record student suggestions on the board, organising them into categories (clichés, journalese, jargon).
- Reflection: Ask students to reflect on how their understanding of clear communication has evolved through this exercise.
Independent practice
- Exercise: Provide students with a worksheet containing sentences filled with clichés, journalese, and jargon. Instruct them to rewrite each sentence, focusing on clarity and precision.
- Peer Review: Once completed, have students exchange worksheets with a partner for peer review. Encourage them to provide constructive feedback on the clarity and effectiveness of the revisions.
- Reflection: Ask students to write a brief reflection on the challenges they faced in identifying and revising these elements, and how this practice might influence their future writing.
Assignment
Ask these questions:
- What is one reason why using clichés, journalese, or jargon can weaken writing?
- How can replacing jargon with straightforward language improve communication?
- What’s one question you still have from today’s lesson?
Suggested answers:
- Suggested answer to Question 1: They can make writing predictable and obscure meaning.
- Suggested answer to Question 2: It makes the text clearer and more accessible to a wider audience.
Teacher resources
Differentiation guide
- Advanced learners: Encourage them to identify and critique more subtle examples of clichés, journalese, and jargon. Challenge them to rewrite complex passages from professional articles, focusing on enhancing clarity and precision. Suggest they explore the impact of these elements on different audiences and contexts.
- Striving learners: Provide additional examples and practice opportunities. Use simpler texts to help them identify clichés, journalese, and jargon. Offer sentence starters or templates to guide their revisions. Pair them with peers for collaborative exercises to build confidence and understanding.
- Recommended reading: This lesson plan is based on the article ‘Clichés, journalese, and jargon‘ which we recommend trainers study before adapting the following lesson outline.
Notable definitions
- Cliché: An overused phrase or expression that has lost its originality and impact, often making writing predictable and uninspired.
- Journalese: A style of writing typical of newspapers, characterised by the use of sensationalised language and clichés, which can obscure meaning and clarity.
- Jargon: Specialised language used by a particular group or profession, which can be confusing or alienating to those not familiar with the terminology.
Required materials
- Copies of a short paragraph filled with clichés, journalese, and jargon for the warm-up activity.
- A list of sentences containing clichés, journalese, and jargon for the direct instruction activity.
- A short article filled with clichés, journalese, and jargon for the guided practice activity.
- Worksheets with sentences filled with clichés, journalese, and jargon for the independent practice exercise.
- Highlighters for students to mark problematic phrases.
- Whiteboard and markers for recording student suggestions during class discussions.
Lesson summary
- Warm-up
- Direct instruction
- Guided practice
- Independent practice
- Assignment
The free teaching tools at the Khan Academy were used in the production of this lesson plan.
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