News & Screen Script Writing 101 is for middle and high school students. It combines news writing and screenwriting in one course. The two forms look very different on the surface, but they train the same thing: first work out what you want to say, then decide how to say it.

The News Writing Part of News & Screen Script Writing 101

  • Interviewing: How to prepare questions, how to ask follow-up questions after a person answers, and how to record quotations.
  • News stories and features: A news story uses the inverted pyramid structure, which puts the most important information first. A feature needs people, details and scenes. Students practice each structure separately.
  • Facts and verification: Students learn to separate facts, opinions and rumors, and build the habit of citing where information came from. This is the biggest difference between news writing and ordinary essay writing.

The Screenwriting Part of News & Screen Script Writing 101

  • Three-act structure: Setup, confrontation and resolution. Students first write a one-page story summary, then expand it into scenes.
  • Scenes and dialogue: A scene needs a goal and a conflict. The job of dialogue is not to deliver information but to move relationships forward.
  • Format: The standard way to write scene headings, action lines and dialogue, so that a script can be handed straight to a film crew.

Where News & Screen Script Writing 101 Work Can Be Used

Students’ finished pieces can be used in school media, in reports for the WeIrvine junior reporter team, and in writing competitions such as the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. To film a finished script, continue with Photography & Film 101. To go through the full new media production process, continue with Hollywood 101. Students who also need to strengthen academic writing should see Academic Writing: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced.

News & Screen Script Writing 101 Enrollment and Schedule

Creative workshops come in three enrollment units: full-year classes, term classes, and summer camps. This course runs as follows; dates follow the 2026-27 program guide.

  • Term class: 7 to 8 weeks per term, with one finished piece per term.
  • Switching direction: a creative workshop seat can move between directions, so a child can try 3 to 4 areas in a year, with finished work shown and discussed with parents at the end of each stage. To switch, confirm the transfer timing with a course advisor.

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Screenwriting 101: Frequently Asked Questions

How do news writing and screenwriting fit together?

Each has its own arc within the course. The news half covers interviewing, reporting, and the structure of news stories and features. The script half covers three-act structure and dialogue. Both rest on the same underlying skill, which is organizing raw material into a clear and defensible shape.

Where can Irvine students publish the work?

In school media, with the WeIrvine junior reporter team, and in writing contests such as the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The course is built to produce work that can actually be submitted rather than exercises that stop at the classroom door, so no separate preparation stands between training and publication.

Screenwriting 101 or Hollywood 101?

It depends on whether a student wants to write or to produce. This course stays on the page, with interviewing, reporting and scripts. Hollywood 101 covers the full chain from concept and shooting through screenwriting to directing, and is aimed at grades 3 to 8.

What grades in Irvine is it for?

Grades 6 to 12, so middle and high school. Both interviewing and script structure ask for a degree of organizational and written maturity, and reporting also asks a student to approach and question other people, which is why the entry point sits at middle school. EDUBUS is based in Irvine and runs the class as a small in-person group with an online section at the same time.

What if an Irvine student wants to film the script?

Photography & Film 101, also open to grades 6 to 12, covers camera movement, composition, lighting, sound and editing, and ends with a finished short film. A student can take the two in either order, depending on where the interest sits.