Research + Publish a Deep-Dive Article
Maps to: Journalist · Analyst, Author, Researcher, Editor
You're going to pick a topic you care about, find a real angle, research it (verifying every source yourself), and publish a 1,500 word piece that actually argues something. The skill is building an argument you can defend: finding what the sources actually support, writing it in your own voice, and cutting any claim you can't back up. That's the core of journalism, having a real point and proving it rather than just summarizing, and doing one tells you fast whether that kind of thinking is your kind of work.
The plan
0/4 doneYou're 20% in just for starting, the hardest part. Mark your first step done to keep the momentum.
Pick a topic you care about, then find a SPECIFIC angle: a contrarian take, a 'why does X actually happen,' a local spin on a big story, a myth to bust. The angle is your claim; everything serves it.
Objective: A topic + a specific angle stated as a one-sentence claim.
- 1
Pick your angle: a contrarian take / 'why does X actually happen' / a specific local angle on a big topic / a myth-bust.
- 2
Write your claim in one sentence: the thing you're arguing that isn't already obvious.
Your call
Choose the topic and your specific angle (your claim) yourself.
Your one-sentence claim, the thing only you're arguing.
What good looks like: Your angle is a one-sentence claim that isn't already obvious, the thing you're actually arguing.
- No angle = a summary. Find the thing you actually believe about this.
- 1
The bar to look back against
A published 1,500 word piece with a real angle, 10+ verified primary sources, and prose that reads like thinking, not summary, and you can point to the sentence that's YOUR claim. The argument is the work: not 'I wrote about a topic,' but 'I made an argument, in my voice, backed by sources I checked.'
Finish the final step, then submit what you built. Your progress is saved.
Tools you'll use
Steps 2–3 · AI-assisted research + verify sources
Step 6 · Publish + get reads
How this shows up on a resume or college app
I researched and published a long-form piece on [topic], finding a specific angle, verifying 10+ primary sources, and writing the argument in my own voice. I learned the difference between summarizing what AI generates and actually thinking, which is the only thing that makes writing worth reading.