Examiners have warned would-be senior journalists that shorthand “should not be underestimated” following the latest sitting of the National Qualification in Journalism.

The March sitting of the exams saw 16 out of 28 candidates qualify as seniors at a pass rate of 57pc.

In their report, the examiners repeated past concerns about shorthand, saying the required standard of the “vital skill” was “lacking” from some candidates.

“Formulaic” stories written by some candidates in the news interview exam were also criticised, although a “good round” of logbook submissions saw a 100pc pass rate recorded in that section of the exam.

Some media law and practice papers were also described as “excellent”.

Here is a summary of the examiners’ comments in each section.

MEDIA LAW AND PRACTICE

Candidates: 23
Passed: 18
Pass rate: 78pc

Examiners praised a “pleasing set of papers, with few candidates failing and a couple of excellent papers”.

Most candidates did well with questions which tested topics including sexual offences, defamation, confidentiality and the public interest defence, as well as contempt, filming in court precincts and ethical issues of harassment and payments to associates of criminals.

However, a question on privacy yielded some answers which showed “either lack of knowledge or poor judgement”, with it appearing some candidates had not given themselves enough time in which to work out the problems, why they existed and what to do about them.

Examiners encouraged future candidates return to the latest edition of Essential Law for Journalists to brush up on some topics, while visiting HoldtheFrontPage regularly for coverage of IPSO rulings and other law and ethics articles was also recommended.

NEWS REPORT

Candidates: 28
passed: 16
Pass rate: 57pc

The news report exam detailed a story of a rare snow leopard that escaped from Moorhills Wildlife Park following storm force winds which damaged fencing on its enclosure.

Careless mistakes regarding accuracy, such as the snow leopard’s name being quoted incorrectly, had put some candidates at a disadvantage, while the required standard of shorthand was lacking and not all candidates demonstrated they were not capable of coping with the 90-120 wpm speech.

The examiners reminded candidates that shorthand is a vital skill for a journalist and should not be underestimated, while some papers which demonstrated clumsy writing with awkward or misleading sentences and lack of structure.

Congratulations were offered to the journalists who passed the March 2019 exams and examiners hoped they would have long and memorable careers.

NEWS INTERVIEW

Candidates: 27
Passed: 17
Pass rate: 63pc

This was a topical story in light of the rise in the number of stabbings hitting the headlines at the time of the exam, and documented the death of a man who had been stabbed by a gang member while trying to stop his car from being stolen.

The examiners said some stories were “formulaic” and read as a series of facts and details on the page, with a lack of drama, while story structure was an issue for some candidates not mentioning the man’s girlfriend, who had cradled him in her arms as he lay dying, until more than halfway through the piece.

There were some good intros, but some stuck to the unimaginative “A police investigation…”, while shorthand again appeared to be an issue with evidence of partial quotes, errors in details and missing facts.

However, it was pleasing to see that the candidates who did score a pass mark wrote largely error-free stories which would have pleased any newsdesk.

LOGBOOK

Candidates: 20
Passed: 20
Pass rate: 100pc

These were described as a good round of submissions overall which showed that candidates have developed well during their period of training, but it was noted that some of those who submitted logbooks struggled to both complete entries in the correct key tasks and also take care to avoid duplication of submissions.

Examiners said extra checks of content are always advised, while help should be sought from their editor or trainer in the first instance.

The NCTJ is also happy to give advice ahead of submitting for marking.