Good Writing

1. Good Writing The Editor’s Role

2. Editing another writer’s copy • Make copy fair, accurate and grammatically correct • Don’t change copy just because you can • Think of the writing as a human voice telling a story

3. Usage and style skills • Simple words and sentences • Use words known to most people • Use words that express concrete ideas • Look for precise wording • Look for a preference for the familiar

4. Brevity • Make story short and sweet for two reasons: • Time and space are in short supply in the media • Audiences have short attention spans

5. Common phrases • That can be shortened: • In the near future = soon • Prior to = before • Went on to say = said • Due to the fact that = because • At the present time = now

6. Redundancies • Get rid of them • Examples (underlined words are repetitious): • The runner set a new record • The city is building a new courthouse • Widespread epidemic

7. Hidden redundancies • Time elements • Example: The summer months – how else is summer measured? • Intensifiers that modify a word that is already superlative or absolute • Example: The flood completely destroyed the house. Something’s either destroyed or it’s not.

8. When repetition is OK • As a dramatic device to create movement • To help explain or clarify • As transitions • Repeating a word or phrase • Conjunctions and other linking words • Cause and effect linking phrases • Time elements – order of occurrences

9. More on transitions • Missing transitions leave holes in stories • Incorrect transitions can mislead or create false impressions • Make sure all transitions are supported by facts

10. Misused words • Right word in the wrong place • Example: Headline about a political wife upset her husband dropped out of an election: Wife objects to husband’s withdrawal • Words that are close in meaning or spelling • Example: The plane’s fusillade (should be fuselage) was destroyed.

11. Other misused words • Homonyms – words that sound alike but don’t mean the same thing • Example: She couldn’t bare (should be bear) to leave her mother

12. Avoiding misused words • Insist on precision • Look up questionable or unfamiliar words • Know common technical terms • Stay abreast of the language • Some academic and scientific terms enter the mainstream, i.e. in vitro fertilization • Explain a concept in plain language. Avoid jargon

13. Rely on active verbs • Avoid passive voice • Create energetic, dynamic sentences • Example: The ball was thrown by her (passive) • She threw the ball (active)

14. Active voice • Better for three reasons: • Passive voice slows readers. Makes them wait for the object of the sentence and involves more words • Passive voice can be confusing • Passive voice sometimes masks responsibility. That’s why politicians love it • Example: A tax increase was enacted today. Who enacted it?

15. When passive voice works • When the doer or agent is known or understood • Example: The president was re-elected (by the voters). • When the details of an action are more important than who did it • Example: The toys were recalled • To show a victim • A gay student was forced to move …

16. Rewrite these sentences • There is a problem many reporters struggle with. The sentences that are written by them are passive. Their phrasing is made awkward because of this (25 words) • Answer: Many writers struggle because they write passive sentences. This makes their phrasing awkward.

17. Active voice difference • Strengthen the syntax by starting sentences with subjects • Eliminated clunky phrase such as “there is” • Replaced verb “to be” with active verbs. • Sentences should be emphatic. Avoid weak, flabby verbs. Zap them. Whack them. Give them the heave-ho. Gun them down and snuff them out.

18. Minimize negatives • Too many negatives means the audience will get lost • Example: A group opposing animal rights wants legislators to vote against a ban on not letting dogs roam freely. • Rule of thumb: No more than two negatives in a single sentence or phrase • Audiences want to know what happened

19. Cliches, jargon and slang • Cliches – trite, overused formulaic expressions that substitute for real thought. Eliminate • Jargon – specialized vocabulary of a profession • Shuts out anyone unfamiliar with profession • Translate to plain English • Slang – language meaningful to a select subculture. Excludes. Avoid

20. Jargon • Bureaucrats love to use words like “utilize,”“finalize” and “structured.” • Cops like to say suspects are “apprehended” and “incarcerated.” • Campus spokesman: “The salary scale revision will adversely affect the university’s financial stability” means “The school can’t afford pay raises.”

21. Jargon II • Editors strive to filter out the bloated, convoluted jargon. • Those who don’t should be “downsized,”“redirected,”“transitioned,” or “subject to personnel surplus reduction” – in other words, “fired”

22. Journalese • The peculiar language that newspapers have evolved • For example: Negotiators yesterday, in an 11th-hour decision following marathon talks, hammered out agreement on a key wage provision they earlier had rejected. • That’s a problem because it’s full of:

23. Cliches! • Beyond the shadow of a doubt, you should work 24/7 to avoid cliches like the plague. It’s a no-brainer. Go ahead – make my day. • Tired, worn-out cliches instantly lower the IQ of your writing.

24. Cliches II • Ex: The close-knit community was shaken by tragedy. Tempers flared over a laundry list of complaints. The embattled mayor is cautiously optimistic, but troubled youths face an uncertain future sparked by massive blasts in bullet-riddled, shark-infested waters. So now begins the heartbreaking task of cleaning up. • Cliches can come in handy. A skilled writer can use them cleverly – once in a blue moon. (Go to other slide show first)

25. Metaphors • Figure of speech that takes a word or phrase ordinarily used in one context and applies it to another to make a comparison or dramatic point • Good metaphors help reader visualize an image • Usually uses the word like: • Example: The trees stood tall and straight, like a medieval army advancing on the meadow

26. More on metaphors • Bad metaphors become stale • Three kinds of failed metaphors: • Straight • Example: Their leaves, shiny like shields, spread overhead like helmets. Their outthrust branches grasped at the unwary in hand-to-hand combat. • Mixed • Different metaphors combined in ways that defy sense and logic. Confusing • Journalese • Stale, formulaic cliches

27. Quotations • Quotation marks pledge that the words between them are the exact words of someone speaking or writing • Sacred because they are direct and put the audience in contact with the reality of the event

28. Why quotes are important • Should have at least one quote in any full news story • Adds credibility • Enlivens or dramatizes story • Reveals personality • Reserve quotes for emphasis and dramatic impact • Avoid partial quotes

29. Importance of quotes II • Adding real words spoken by real people gives your story personality, authenticity, humor. • Quotes provide the emotion, opinions and flavor missing from objective news writing

30. Be selective • Don’t run every quote you see, why? • People lie. Exaggerate. Fudge facts. Bend the truth to win our approval. Be skeptical. Old journalism adage: “When your mother says she loves you, check it out.” • People yammer and stammer and fumble around to express ideas that we could say better.

31. Example • Would you want to read this actual quote from former president George Bush in a news story? • “Well, I’m going to kick that one right into the end zone of the Secretary of Education. But, yes, we have all – he travels a good deal, goes abroad. We have a lot of people in the department that does that. We’re having an international – this is not as much education as dealing with the environment – a big international conference coming up. And we get it all the time, exchanges of ideas. But I think we’ve got – we set out there d I want to give credit to your governor McWherter and to your former governor Lamar Alexander – we’ve gotten great ideas of a national goals program from, in this country, from the governors who were responding to, maybe, the principal of your high school, for heaven’s sake.

32. More on quotes • Direct quote: Captures exactly, word for word, what someone said. Should always begin and end with quotation marks. • Partial quote: A part of a quote inserted into a story because a direct quote is too long or awkwardly phrased. Avoid partial quotes when possible

33. Quotes again • Paraphrase: Summarizing what a source told the reporter without using the exact words or adding quotation marks. Also known as indirect quote. Common way to clarify or condense someone’s statements. Necessary because people don’t always speak articulately or efficiently. Lets editor rephrase ideas in the most concise, precise way. • Dialogue: To capture a conversation between two speakers, reprint the dialogue.

34. Problems to avoid with quotes • Don’t bore readers with dull, obvious quotes. • Remove quote as lede. • Don’t read people’s minds • Ex: Barb Dwyer dreams of being a rodeo clown someday. (Have you observed her dreams? Attribute) • Beware of monologues – don’t let windbags seize control of the story. Limit quotes to no more than two grafs at one time.

35. More problems with quotes • It’s best not to mimic someone’s dialect. • If yoo fookit UP, den peepuh git veddy, veddy, MAD adjoo. • Insults the speaker • Beware of foul language • Don’t distort a quote’s meaning by deleting words or altering phrasing. It’s OK to clean up minor hemming, hawing and grammatical errors.

36. Punctuation advice for quotes • Use double quotation marks at the beginning and end of direct quotes • Use single quotation marks for quoted statements inside other quoted statements • Put periods and commas inside quotation marks • If you’re quoting someone’s question, put the question mark inside the quotation marks

37. More punctuation advice • Colons, semicolons and dashes go outside quotation marks • Capitalize the first word of a direct quote – • But you don’t need to capitalize partial quotes

38. Redundancy in quoted passages • Avoid echoing • Example: President Bush said the United States will do everything in its power to stop terrorism. “We will do everything we can to stop terrorism,” the president said. • Quotes should provide new info or a new angle

39. Correcting grammar in quotes • Many news organizations allow the reporter or editor to clean up a quote for grammar as long as the meaning isn’t altered • Check profanity and racial slurs against the newsroom policy

40. Condensing quotes • Use ellipses • Ellipses = series of three periods telling readers that something has been omitted from quote. Use carefully • Avoid deletions that distort meaning • Use to condense long or repetitive phrases • Treat ellipses like three-letter words • Not necessary at beginning and end of direct quotes

41. Parentheses in quotes • To insert crucial explanatory info that quotes are missing • To complete or clarify a reference • Brief explanatory or background info • Info inserted must be short and unobtrusive • Use as a last resort

42. Other uses for quote marks • To set off nicknames • Titles • To indicate that a word is being used in an ironic or suspicious sense. Use carefully because not everybody may get it. May be misunderstood (Show other slide show first)

43. Attribution • Tells who spoke a quotation or supplied information • Needed for: • All direct quotes • Most paraphrases • Not needed for: • Events or facts the reporter witnessed • Obvious facts or points of public knowledge

44. More on attribution • Include attribution often enough that the source of the info is clear • Attribution words: • Said – the best. Simple. Neutral • Told - OK for news conference or public forum • Said in a statement – indicates the quote is from a press release • According to – no direct quote or material is being summarized. Use with printed documents

45. Nine guidelines for wording and positioning attributions • The first time the story IDs a source, use the full name and title. After that, use the last name • For most attributions, put the noun ahead of the verb. Put the verb ahead of the noun if it helps avoid awkward phrasing. • When quoting a single sentence, the attribution usually follows the quote

46. Guidelines II • When a quotation uses more than one sentence, put the attribution at the end of the first sentence. • When to start a quote with the attribution • Using a partial quote • Avoid forcing readers to scan a long quote without knowing the speaker • Acceptable to set up long quotes with an attribution followed by a colon

47. Guidelines III • When inserting an attribution into a quote, find a logical spot for it. • Once the first sentence of a quote is attributed, you don’t need to attribution for subsequent sentences • Start a new paragraph when you change speakers. Add new attribution as soon as possible to avoid confusion.

48. Order and placement of attribution • She said. The mayor said • Exception: When a long title separates the speaker from said. Then, put said first • Attribution usually at end of sentence • Exception: when several people are quoted and the speaker has changed

49. Said or says? • Said in news stories but … • Says is appropriate for: • Reviews that describe the drama as if it’s happening now • Feature stories where all the action seems to be occurring now

50. Building graceful prose • Introductory phrases • Drawbacks • Needlessly complicates sentences and delays info • Breeds dangling participles • Can unfairly dictate how readers should think