9.3 Grammar, style, and consistency in news writing

Grammar, style, and consistency are the building blocks of effective news writing. They ensure clarity, professionalism, and credibility in reporting. Mastering these elements is crucial for journalists to convey information accurately and engagingly to their audience.

In the broader context of editing and fact-checking, these skills are essential. They help writers craft polished articles that meet industry standards and effectively communicate complex ideas to diverse readerships.

News Writing Mechanics

Grammar Rules

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• News writing follows standard American English grammar rules
  • Proper verb tense agreement (past tense for completed events, present tense for ongoing actions)
  • Parallel structure (ensuring sentence elements follow the same grammatical pattern)
  • Active voice (clearly stating who is doing the action)
  • Complete sentences (containing a subject and a predicate)

Punctuation and Spelling

• Punctuation marks must be used correctly according to established rules to ensure clarity and professionalism
  • Commas (separating clauses, items in a list, and introductory phrases)
  • Periods (ending sentences and abbreviations)
  • Quotation marks (enclosing direct quotes and titles of shorter works)
  • Hyphens (joining compound modifiers and separating syllables)
  • Apostrophes (indicating possession and contractions)
• Spelling should be double-checked and all proper nouns verified to maintain credibility
  • Commonly misspelled words (accommodate, embarrass, liaison)
  • Homophones (their/there/they're, your/you're, its/it's)

Sentence and Paragraph Structure

• Sentence structure should be concise and easy to follow
  • Favoring shorter sentences (generally under 25 words)
  • Using simple vocabulary (avoiding jargon and obscure words)
  • Maintaining logical word order (subject, verb, object)
• Paragraphs are kept short, usually under three sentences
  • Focusing on one key idea per paragraph
  • Accommodating skim reading (enabling readers to quickly grasp main points)

Style Consistency in News

Style Guides and Conventions

• News organizations often follow standardized style guides to maintain consistency
  • Associated Press Stylebook (widely used by U.S. news media)
  • The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (specific to The New York Times)
• Key style conventions include:
  • Using numerals for 10 and above, writing out numbers under 10
  • Using a dollar sign and numerals for money ($5,$10, $1 million)
  • Writing dates in month-day-year format (June 1, 2023)
  • Expressing times in the 12-hour system with a.m. or p.m. (8:30 a.m.)
  • Capitalizing titles before names (President Joe Biden), using lowercase for job descriptions after names (Joe Biden, the president)

Abbreviations and Acronyms

• Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out on first reference unless universally recognized
  • Exceptions: U.S. (United States) and U.K. (United Kingdom)
  • Example: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case. The FBI declined to comment.
• Acronyms are usually capitalized (NASA, UNICEF, NATO)
• Abbreviations with periods are used for most two-letter state names (Calif., Fla., N.Y.)

Formatting Elements

• Consistent punctuation and capitalization of formatting elements creates a cohesive style
  • Headlines (title case, active voice, present tense)
  • Subheads (sentence case, summarizing section content)
  • Captions (complete sentences, describing image and providing context)
  • Bylines (writer's name, sometimes with job title or affiliation)

Writing for Different Audiences

Adapting Structure and Style

• Print news articles traditionally use the inverted pyramid structure
  • Presenting the most newsworthy information first (who, what, when, where, why, how)
  • Tapering down to less essential details (background, context, quotes)
• Online news can experiment with alternative structures to engage digital readers
  • Nut graf (starting with an anecdote or example before main points)
  • Charticle (listicle-style article with added graphics and data visualizations)
• Broadcast news writing is meant to be spoken
  • Using shorter, punchier sentences (generally under 20 words)
  • Employing phonetic spelling of difficult names (KAH-muh-luh for Kamala)
  • Including cues for the anchor (inflection, pauses, pronunciation)

Tailoring Content to Audience

• Consider the target audience's characteristics when crafting the message
  • Age (using age-appropriate vocabulary and examples)
  • Education level (explaining complex topics for a general audience)
  • Interests (focusing on aspects most relevant to the audience)
  • Familiarity with the topic (providing background for the uninitiated)
• Social media posts should be even more concise and engaging
  • Using active language (action verbs, strong adjectives)
  • Including hashtags (to join larger conversations and aid searchability)
  • Incorporating links (to drive traffic to the full article or related content)
  • Encouraging interaction (asking questions, soliciting feedback)

Common News Writing Pitfalls

Verb Tense and Voice

• Mixing past and present verb tenses in the same story can confuse readers
  • News articles generally use past tense for completed events and present tense for ongoing actions
  • Example: The city council voted (past) to approve the measure, which goes (present) into effect next month.
• Overusing passive voice can make writing wordy and vague
  • Active voice clearly states who is doing the action
  • Example: Active: "The mayor announced the new policy." Passive: "The new policy was announced by the mayor."

Modifier Placement

• Misplaced or dangling modifiers can unintentionally change the meaning of a sentence
  • Misplaced: "While walking my dog, a car almost hit me." (implies the car was walking the dog)
  • Corrected: "While I was walking my dog, a car almost hit me."
  • Dangling: "Having finished the project, a celebration was planned." (implies the celebration finished the project)
  • Corrected: "Having finished the project, the team planned a celebration."

Pronoun Agreement and Parallel Structure

• Singular/plural pronoun disagreement is a common mistake
  • Indefinite pronouns like "everyone," "each," "nobody," and "someone" always take singular pronouns
  • Example: "Everyone should bring his or her ID," not "their ID."
• Nonparallel structure occurs when sentence elements like lists don't follow the same grammatical pattern
  • Nonparallel: "I like hiking, swimming, and to fish."
  • Parallel: "I like hiking, swimming, and fishing." (all gerunds)
  • Parallel: "I like to hike, swim, and fish." (all infinitives)