Journalism grammar, style, and usage

1. Journalism grammar, style, and usage Miss Wadycki Mrs. Verpooten Mrs. Lolkema

2. Parts of Speech • Noun- A word or phrase that names a person, place, thing, quality, or act. • Pronoun - A word that substitutes for a noun and refers to a person, place, thing, idea, or act that was mentioned previously or that can be inferred from the context of the sentence (he, she, it, that ). • Verb - A word or phrase that expresses action, existence, or occurrence (throw, be, happen ).

3. Parts of Speech • Adjective - A word or combination of words that modifies a noun (blue-green, central, half-baked, temporary ). • Adverb- A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb (slowly, obstinately, much ). • Preposition - A word or phrase that shows the relationship of a noun to another noun (at, by, in, to, from, with ). • Conjunction - A word that connects other words, phrases, or sentences (and, but, or, because ).

4. Pronouns • Indefinite pronouns give us a lot of trouble in agreement because some are singular, some are plural and some can be singular or plural depending on their use. • The other major pronoun trouble area is getting the pronoun to agree with its antecedent. An antecedent of a pronoun is the word to which it refers. • Make sure that your pronoun agrees with the collective nouns. • Wrong: The team will play their final game of the season at 8 p.m. Wednesday. • Right: The team will play its final game of the season at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

5. Who/Whom • A pair of words that seems to cause many people difficulty is who and whom . Today we will consider how to use those words. • Who is in the nominative case and is used as the subject of a verb or as a predicate nominative. Other pronouns used the same way are I , we , you , he , she , it and they. • Whom is in the objective case and is used as an indirect object, as the object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition. Other pronouns having the same case are me , us , you , him , her , it and them. • Note that the pronouns it and you are the same for both cases .

6. Who/Whom • The words whoever and whomever follow the same rules as who and whom. All four of these words are used to introduce relative or subordinate clauses and as interrogative pronouns. • The following steps might help in making the correct word choice: • 1. If the word is introducing a relative clause, be sure to work only with that subordinate clause. • 2. Omit any expressions such as I think or you know if the thought is complete without them. • 3. Arrange the subordinate clause in subject-verb order. • 4. Substitute he or him for the relative pronoun. If he makes sense, use who ; if him makes sense, use whom.

7. That/Which • When referring to objects, though, the rule for using “that” and “which” correctly is simple: • THAT should be used to introduce a restrictive clause (a restrictive clause helps with the meaning of the information). • WHICH should be used to introduce a non-restrictive or parenthetical clause (is added information not necessary in understanding the information).

8. Modifiers • Modifiers can be a word, a phrase, a clause that limits the meaning of another word or phrase. • Misplaced modifiers are the things that will cause your boss to laugh out loud when he or she reads your • copy. When your boss gets done laughing, she'll say, "I don't think this is what you meant to say." • Misplaced modifiers are bloopers. And there are all kinds of misplaced modifiers. Let’s look at your worksheet and fix a few of our own.

9. Adjectives Versus Adverbs • Most but not all adverbs end in -ly (clearly, happily) , but some common adjectives also end in -ly (friendly,lively) . Some words have the same form whether used as an adjective or as an adverb (fast, hard) . • Linking verbs, especially those of the senses (taste, smell, feel, etc.), are usually followed by an adjective that modifies the subject. Some verbs (for example, looked) might be used as a linking verb and as an action verb. To determine the correct form of modifier, you must decide what the word modifies.

10. Subject-Verb Agreement • If the subject is singular, use a singular verb; if the subject is plural, use a plural verb. Problems sometimes arise, however, in determining what the subject is or in deciding whether the word is singular or plural. • Today we will deal with some of those special situations. • When the subject is a fraction, measurement, amount of money, weight, volume or interval of time, use a singular verb when referring to a single unit: One half of the cake is gone. Use a plural verb when referring to a number of separate units: One half of the club members are present. Works that are joined to the subject by words such as with , as well as , and including do not affect the number: His fishing gear, including rod, reel and tackle box, was lost overboard.

11. Subject-Verb Agreement • The title of a book, play, painting, musical composition or other such work is singular. The name of a country or of an organization is singular when it refers to an entire country or group. • Finally, when one subject is affirmative and another is negative, the verb agrees with the affirmative subject: He, not I, is in charge of the program.

12. Active and Passive Voice • In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. • In a sentence using passive voice, the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb. The agent performing the action may appear in a "by the..." phrase or may be omitted. • Sentences in active voice are also more concise than those in passive voice because fewer words are required to express action in active voice than in passive.

13. News Judgment Look at your worksheet!!

14. Inverted Pyramid Format • Avoid introducing new information at the end of the story. • All aspects of a story should usually be introduced or outlined in the first few paragraphs. • Use transitions to show the reader that you have a sense of direction.

15. Inverted Pyramid L Lead Q1 T1 Quote Q2 Transition T2 Q3 T3

16. Comma Usage • Use a comma with "according to." Example: ... , according to the news release. According to John Jones, ... . • There is no comma between time, date and place. Example: The accident occurred at 4:32 a.m. Monday one-half block north of Central Dairy on Third Street South. • When in doubt about the use of a comma, leave it out. • Avoid comma splices and comma blunders. If a comma is placed between the subject (noun) and predicate (verb), it's called a "comma splice." • Example: The Fountain of Youth, is not in Florida. (The comma is NOT needed.)

17. Comma Usage • A comma should precede "such as," "especially" and "including" when these words introduce examples. • Examples: The advertised price of the tour does not cover some personal expenses, such as laundry, entertainment and tips. He likes fruit, especially oranges. • In newswriting, students study various approaches to writing, including the inverted pyramid, chronological, narrative, personalized and first person. • When "such as" is used with a restrictive application, the comma is omitted. • Example: Magazines such as these should be thrown in the trash. • Quotation marks go outside commas (,") and periods (."). They go inside semicolons (";) and colons (":). • In a series, a comma is NOT needed before the "and." • Example: red, white and blue.

18. Rules on Writing Leads • Maximum 30 words! • Key thought – 1st 5 words • Don not begin with a, an, or the – wasted words • Do not begin with “There will be…”

19. Dates January 2010 --------------------- Older than one week date only ------------------------------ Next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Etc. More than one week Tuesday, January 26 More than 2 weeks DATE ONLY

20. Dates • Capitalize the names of months in all uses • When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. • Example • The dance will be held on Feb. 14. • Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone. • Example • Her birthday was in December. • Myra was born on January 1984.

21. Attribution • Attribution is needed when opinions are expressed or when “professional” opinions from physicians, scientists, engineers and others are used. • Attribution is also needed with direct quotation and indirect quotations (paraphrased information) • Attribution is NOT needed when facts are commonplace and not subject to dispute or when they are accepted and historically true.

22. Attribution • Attribution is usually noun + verb. • Example: Verpooten said. • It may be verb + noun when the source’s title follows his or her name. • Example: Said John Jones, chairman of the department of English • Attribution should be placed at the end of the first sentences when the quote is made up of two or more sentences. • “Said” is the best word from attribution. Other words can be used, but they should accurately represent how something is said. • Use past tense verbs (Said vs. Says) for attribution in news stories. • Each time a different source is cited start a new paragraph.

23. Attribution • Use attribution only once per paragraph • Adults • 1st time: title, first name, last name, identification – what they teach • Example • Mrs. Nancy Hastings, journalism teacher • Mr. Dave Franklin, biology teacher • 2nd time: title, last name • Example • Mrs. Hastings • Mr. Franklin • Students • 1st time: first name, last name, identification • Example • Joe Smith, sophomore, or sophomore Joe Smith • 2nd time: Last name only • Example • Smith • Double Identification • Why would we use double idents? To show authority to a story • Example • Adademic Team sponsor Mr. Don Ullman, chemistry teacher • Pitcher, Joe Smith, Junior

24. Fact vs. Opinion • letters to the editor • restaurant reviews • sports scores • weather prediction • birth announcements • rainfall measurements • advice columns • astrology reports • obituaries • calendar of events • wedding announcements • movie reviews

25. Eliminate Wordiness • Do not repeat a word unless you need it again for clarity or emphasis. • WORDY: When I was a child, my favorite relatives were the relatives who treated me like a grown-up. • REVISED: When I was a child, my favorite relatives treated me like a grown-up. • Avoid redundancy. Don't say the same thing twice using different words or phrases. • WORDY: The hero begins to behave strangely and in odd ways following his tryst with a witch he meets secretly at midnight. • REVISED: The hero begins to behave strangely following his midnight tryst with a witch. • In general, don’t start sentences with There is, There are, or There were. • WORDY: There are many ways in which we can classify houses. • REVISED: We can classify houses in many ways. • Avoid cluttering sentences with nouns. • WORDY: The reason for George's refusal to be a member of the secret society was his dislike of its elitism. • REVISED: George refused to join the secret society because he disliked its elitism.

26. Eliminate Wordiness • Remove adjective clauses like who are, which was, and that were. • WORDY: The antique dealer who is on Allen Street has a pair of silver candlesticks that were designed by Paul Revere. • REVISED: The antique dealer who is on Allen Street has a pair of silver candlesticks designed by Paul Revere. • Replace prepositional phrases with single adjectives or adverbs. • WORDY: She regarded me in a stern way. • REVISED: She regarded me sternly. • Remove to be whenever possible. • WORDY: Vince Lombardi was considered to be an excellent football coach. • REVISED: Vince Lombardi was considered an excellent football coach.