Investigate a Local Question With Real Records
Maps to: Investigative Journalist · Editor · Researcher · Civic Journalist · Data Analyst
You're going to pick a real question with a real answer (how much your school district spends on athletics versus arts, why a local landmark closed, what your city actually does with recycling) and answer it with primary documents, not opinion. The skill is reasoning from evidence: figuring out what the records actually prove versus what you assumed going in, and claiming only what you can defend. That's what investigative journalism actually is, proving something true with evidence, and doing one tells you fast whether chasing the real answer is your kind of work.
How this shows up on a resume or college app
I investigated [topic] using public records and primary sources, separating what the documents actually proved from what I assumed, and published the piece for [N] readers. I learned what journalism requires beyond opinion: you can only claim what you can prove.
When you finish, BuildMe drafts your Common App activity description from what you actually built.
The plan
- 1
Step 1
Pick a question with a real answer
Pick a specific, answerable question, one where a real number or document exists somewhere. Then find where that answer lives: a budget, a public record, a dataset, a set of meeting minutes. Vague questions ('is my city well-run?') don't work; specific ones ('how much did the district spend on X vs Y last year?') do.
- 2
Steps 2–4
Gather primary documents + interview
Get the actual documents, from an open-data portal, a public-records request, or by asking the agency directly (free). Interview 2–3 people if you can. This is the wall: records go unanswered and sources go quiet. The waiting and chasing IS investigative journalism.
- 3
Steps 5–6
Decide what the evidence supports, then write
The core judgment, and the one the Physician reasoning borrows: lay out what each document actually supports vs. what you assumed or hoped going in. Write the piece to what's PROVEN, and cut the rest, even if it was your favorite theory.
- 4
Steps 7–8
Publish + share
Publish the piece on Substack, share it, and get it read. If a real source or affected person reacts, that's the real thing.
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