notes and stuff from class today, my dearestNOTES:
Style
- style
implies that the communicator is precise not only with writing, but also
with facts and thoughts
- consistency
is a sign of professionalism
- shows
that you care about what you write
- in
media writing, style is the general orientation a writer has oward his or
her work
- style
uses the generally accepted rules of writing and usage for a particular
medium
- three
concepts of media style are
- ABC:
ACCURACY, BREVITY, CLARITY
Accuracy
o Get
it right
o Truth
and honesty
o Mass
audiences believe what they see and hear in the media
o People
will not watch or subscribe to media that they perceive as inaccurate
o Integrity
o Open
mind
o Read
o Pay
attention to detail
o spelling
Brevity
- get to
the point
- redundancies
and repetitions
- unnecessary
words are not your friend
Clarity
- write
simply and straightforward
- avoid
jargon
- be
specific
- check
the time sequence
- avoid
pronouns
“The difference between the right word and the nearly right
word is the same as that between lightening and the lightening bug”
--Mark Twain
Attribution
- balance
and fairness
- impersonal
- keep
your opinion to yourself
- official
sources—not just white and male
- attribution
and quotations—grammar—
- quotations
can be more than strings of words with marks around them
- they
can generate emotion, provide vivid description, anecdotes, explain,
provide exclusive material
- Quotations
can be the soul of a news story. They can bring a dull story to life
- three
kinds: direct, partial and indirect (paraphrased)
- for
specific vivid statements
- for
descriptive statements
- for
inner feelings
- to
capture personality
- to
supplement statements of fact
- for
dialogue
- to
reduce attribution
Things to avoid when quoting
- inaccuracies
- rambling
quotations
- incomprehensible
quotations
- do
not reconstruct partial quotes
- avoid
fragments
- avoid
illogical quotations
- use
good taste—be careful with obscenities
Some sources are believable
without attribution:
o
government or reliable sources (mayor, census)
o
facual information (weather, game scores)
neutral varbs
--said, told, added, commented
verbs to avoid
asserted, cried, hinted, bellowed,
opined, stammered
yellow book
chapter twelve, conciseness
exercise book, page 93 and 94
Friday—test over chapters 1,2,3, and 4
WORKSHEET
Chapter 12
Conciseness
Practice
Tightening Words and Phrases
- Rewrite, when possible, using
single-word verbs rather than phrases
1. Assessed a fine--fine 7.
Head up--head
2. Costs the sum of--costs 8.
Gather up--gather
3. Give consideration to--consider 9.
Hurry up--hurry
4. make mention of--mention 10.
Is situated at—in, at
5. put emphasis on--stress 11.
Makes her home--lives
6. has got to--must
B. Rewrite, where possible, without using to be verbs as helping verbs
1. Is representative of--represents
2. Will be a participant in—will participate in
3. It is her intention—she intends
C. Rewrite, where possible, using single-word modifiers and connectives
rather than phrases.
1. A great deal of--many 6.
Despite the fact that--despite
2. All of a sudden--suddenly 7. As a consequence of--because
3. Off of--off 8. For the reason that--because
4. At this point in time--now 9. Prior to--before
5. In large measure—
D. Rewrite, where possible, without redundancies
1. Blazing inferno--blaze 4. Freewill
offering--offering
2. Consensus of opinion--opinion 5. General rule--rule
3. Fatal killing--fatal 6. Personal friend--friend
7. 12 noon--noon 10. Self-confessed--confessed
8. Armed gunman--gunman 11. Completely destroyed--destroyed
9. Blue in color--blue 12.
Whether or not--whether
E. Rewrite, where possible, using simpler, shorter words.
1. amidst--amid 7. maximize—increase as much as possible
2. coequal--equal 8.
orientate--adjust
3. contusion--bruise 9. prioritize--rank
4. effectuate--cause 10.residence—house,
home
6. finalize—finish,
complete,end 11. terminate—stop,end
6. imbibe--drink 12.
utilize--use
| 
Stephers_Layoutsx
