2026-27 UIL Journalism Practice Packets

Practice the Skills That Make Strong Journalists and Strong UIL Competitors

Build confidence and sharpen contest-day skills with Hexco's 2026-27 UIL Journalism Practice Packets. These competition-focused materials give journalism students opportunities to practice the writing, editing, decision-making, and headline skills required in the UIL Journalism contests.

Each UIL Journalism Practice Packet includes 6 tests per subject:

Save 50% on Previous Journalism Practice Packets

Looking for even more practice? Select past-year UIL Journalism Practice Packets are available at 50% off. Email our office at orders (at) hexco.com for a quote and mention the 50% website discount.

UIL Journalism Practice Packet Authors

Bobby Hawthorne

Bobby Hawthorne is the former director of the Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC) and author of the UIL Journalism Contest Manual. A longtime writer and journalism educator, Hawthorne has created instructional resources covering news writing, feature writing, leads, journalistic style, story structure, interviewing, and other fundamentals of strong scholastic journalism. Hexco's new 2026-27 Journalism products are written by Bobby Hawthorne.

Susan Duncan, MJE

Susan Duncan, MJE, is a retired journalism teacher who currently works in freelance writing and design. She began writing for her hometown newspaper after graduating from high school and has been writing ever since. Duncan advised 29 yearbooks and 15 years of newspapers in print and online. She is a past president of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators, which recognized her with its Texas Treasure Award in 2019. She is also a recipient of the UIL Edith Fox King Award and UIL Sponsor Excellence Award.

Rhonda Moore

Rhonda Moore is a retired journalism teacher who taught for 30 years, most recently at McCallum High School in Austin, and wrote a number of Hexco's journalism and copy editing practice packets published before 2020. She is the 2004 Max R. Haddick Teacher of the Year and an Edith Fox King Award recipient. Her students' publications earned honors including the National Scholastic Press Association's Pacemaker Award, Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Silver Crown, and the Interscholastic League Press Conference's Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stars. She is a former executive director of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and received a CSPA Gold Key in 2008.

Suzanne Bardwell

Suzanne Bardwell was a professional journalist and former high school journalism teacher who wrote and co-wrote many Hexco Journalism Practice Packets. Suzanne and her husband, Jim, owned Bardwell INK, LLC, which produced three community newspapers. Her students consistently qualified for and excelled in UIL and ILPC competition, and her high school yearbook program earned ILPC's Lone Star Award for more than a decade of excellence.

Bardwell taught workshops for ILPC, CSPA, NSPA, Balfour, and Herff Jones. Her honors included ILPC's Max R. Haddick Journalism Teacher of the Year for Texas, the Edith Fox King Award, and the Texas Exes Excellence in Teaching Award. She also served on the Texas Press Association's Legislative Action Committee and as scholarship chair for the North & East Texas Press Association. Hexco is proud to continue offering Suzanne's distinctive practice materials and to honor her contributions to journalism education.