How to Write Without Bias in Citizen Journalism

If you're a citizen journalist looking to get an edge on the competition, write with an unbiased stance. This skillful approach will put you in league with the professionals and will have your readers coming back for more.

One of the great benefits of citizen journalism is that you're allowed to write with or without bias. Not only that, you can include both biased and unbiased information in one article. That's something the professionals aren't always allowed to do.

What exactly is unbiased information? It is informative facts that don't include opinions. For example, if you're reporting the political race, you report all parties involved, not just one. After you have one paragraph devoted to each party, you can add your own thoughts in another paragraph. Even though the paragraph with your thoughts is bias, a well-written article allows the reader to make his or her own decisions.

Biased information shows through writing when you try to lead the reader into thinking a certain way. For example, if you're reporting on legislation to make casinos legal and you only display the pros of casinos, then you're writing with bias. To truly share unbiased information, you should report casino owner's thoughts as well as the thoughts of people who are against casinos. This creates balanced and fair writing.

Some helpful tips to create unbiased articles, is to proofread your work. If you have the word "I" anywhere in your piece, examine the sentence it is in. Does the sentence include your thoughts? Are your feelings coming through? Are you trying to lead someone into thing a certain way?

If you have trouble deciding if your work is persuasive, read it aloud to someone. This can be a daunting task because maybe you're afraid of family criticism about your writing. Always take any criticism as constructive because it will only make you a better writer. After you've read your article, ask your listener which sentence(s) were persuasive. Rewrite them and you're one step closer to writing without bias.

Why should you write without bias? Good writers keep their readers in mind. Every person that reads your article is completely different. Either they are a man or a woman, of a different race, different background, and have different belief systems. Always remember your audience.

How do you write to an audience of millions when they are all so different? It's simple. Don't use sexist pronouns. For example, "A middle school teacher should use the overhead projector to the best of his ability" is a sentence of bias. The writer should replace "his" with "his or her." You could even make it plural like this: "Middle school teachers should use the overhead projector to the best of their abilities."

Once you get in the habit of writing without bias, it will come natural. Unbiased information is accurate and strengthens your article tenfold. A citizen journalist who wants writing success should write without bias.