How to Fact-Check Your Writing
Fact-checkers are a rare breed at publications today and sometimes there’s no one to fact-check the writing, but the writer herself. Reviewing your work objectively for accuracy, not art, is a useful skill when writing non-fiction, fiction, poetry, or memoir. Regardless of whether an error is big or small, it can have a negative impact on your reader, like raising doubts about your research or disrupting the narrative flow. This session teaches you the basics by demystifying the fact-checking process and learning how to apply these skills to your craft. Through activities and discussion, we’ll cover primary and secondary sources, identifying trusted sources, avoiding plagiarism, giving proper attribution, as well as working with translations, scientific studies, and personal history. At the end of the two hours, you’ll leave with useful skills for fact-checking your writing. With Laura Trethewey