Mensah-Ayettey
Two books aimed at enhancing writing skills for communication students and practitioners will be launched at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.
The books, Eric’s Diary: A Guide To Writing Feature Articles Using The 5Ws And H + M, O/R and Eric’s Diary: Creatively Writing With The 5Ws And H were published by Adwinsa Publications Limited. The Bishop of Accra, Rt. Rev. Dr. Sylvanus Daniel Mensah Torto will perform the launch.
Mr. Mensah-Ayettey, the author, says the decision to put articles he has written over the past years together in these books, was informed by his quest to help in developing writing skills.
“Throughout my 25 years of practicing journalism, Public Relations and Advertising, I have observed that most people have difficulty in writing simple official letters, press statements, policy briefs, factsheets, talk less of position papers and speeches,” he explained.
“My real diagnosis is that many do not have a grasp of the rules of grammar. That’s mainly because they don’t read. Neither do they listen to good English,” said the author.
The award-winning journalist noted that, “this calls for more work to be done at the primary and secondary school levels. I urge teachers at these levels of our educational system, to evolve the right pedagogy methods to change this situation. As a communications practitioner, I believe I can contribute to improve the situation by offering some guidance to all persons whose work involves writing, hence this book.”
Mr. Mensah-Ayettey acknowledges that the 5Ws and H (Who, What, Where, Why, When and How) are classically meant for news report writing, “however, in my 25 years’ experience as a journalist and Public Relations practitioner, I dare say that the concept can be applied to speech writing, fact sheets and feature writing,” he added.
The launch is expected to be attended by students of journalism, journalists, Public Relations practitioners, media owners, media regulators, Ministers of State as well as his friends and family.
The author is a Communications Consultant with over 20 years’ experience in the practice of Public Relations and Journalism, and is currently an Editor at myjoyonline.com, a subsidiary of the Multimedia Group Limited.