Journalism: Writing and Style

Journalism: Writing and Style

• 1.
  Spring 2010Good Writing, Style
• 2.
  Questions from Ch.1 and Ch. 3 How news is gathered Associated Press, Reuters and other wire copy like PR Newswire Reporters gather news
• 3.
  Week Three ReadingsThe Oatmeal Media College Grammar Girl
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  More on GoodWriting Avoid long, complex sentences Put the best information first Sentence organization Write in active voice Avoid technical terms and jargon Avoid unnecessary words Get a thesaurus/dictionary
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  More on GoodWriting (cont.) Avoid clichés If using slang , remember Can the sentence be written another way? Some slang words/terms are not well known Avoid generalizations and if List titles of sources first
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  Capitalization – titlesCapitalize title of authority before a name President Barack Obama or President Hosni Mubarak Use lowercase when standing alone or following a name The president met with the attorney general.
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  Capitalization – directions Capitalize names of specific regions and areas Middle East, East Allegheny Use lowercase when referring to a compass direction They headed east.
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  Capitalization Capitalize the if is part of organization The American University in Cairo Capitalize titles of poems, films, books, songs, TV shows , artwork, etc. Use quotation marks around titles “ The Grapes of Wrath”
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  Capitalization Capitalizeand spell out first through ninth in street names 129 Fourth St. Use numerals for 10 th and above 1549 21 st Ave.
• 10.
  Abbreviations Abbreviate monthswhen used w/specific dates Oct. 2, 2007 In most cases, do not abbreviate the months of March, April, May, June or July Proper names are always capitalized Spanish book or French department
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  Abbreviations Spell outfirst mentions of most organizations Subsequent references may use an acronym The American University in Cairo AUC Abbreviations of well known organizations should not be spelled out YMCA, FBI, IBM
• 12.
  Abbreviations Abbreviate doctor in all references Abbreviate most professional and government titles Dr. Lisa Anderson Do not abbreviate president or vice president or titles of cabinet officers
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  Names and TitlesUse a sources complete name on the first reference Use only the last name on subsequent references Do not use Miss , Mr. , etc. unless it is a part of an accepted pseudonym Mister Rogers
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  Numbers Spell outnumbers from zero to nine He gave me three dollars. Use numerals for 10 and above There were 16 apples in the basket. Numbers at the start of a sentence are spelled out Ten days later …
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  Numbers Use numeralsw/distance, weight, ages, etc. He is 5 feet 8 inches and weights 197 pounds. The store offered a 15 percent off coupon. And spell out symbols like percent, point, etc. When specifying time, use numerals, a.m. or p.m. and day or date 4:15 p.m. Tuesday
• 16.
  Numbers / MoneyMoney in millions or more, round numbers take the dollar sign; million and billion are spelled out The lottery is only $1.35 million this week. Numerals are used in amounts less than a million The company earned $125, 000 on that project. Spell cents in amounts less than $1 My brother found 15 cents.
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  Comma Drop thecomma before the and when you list items in a series Her dress was bright yellow, pink and red. Tight Writing Exercise #1 See handout
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  "Remember , the easiest thing for the reader to do is to quit reading .“ ~Barney Kilgore, Wall Street Journal
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  Project #2: AudioEssay Blogging Assignment