Good writing rests on a solid and working knowledge of the English language. Writers should know the rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Knowledge and application of the rules expand rather than limit creativity. To conceptualize, research, write and in some cases produce, short and medium length, broadcast or print news quality.
The way to clearer writing
Writing often moves from the general to specific, and this chapter is following such a path. At the outset, we discussed broad principles of accuracy, clarity, completeness, and fairness. We then looked at the basic tenets of good writing and the components of any piece of writing: words, sentences, and paragraphs.
Now for the specifics. Additional guidelines can help you say it straight. Keep the guidelines in mind as you write, but do not be so tied to them that you stop after every sentence to analyze whether it meets the standards of good writing. Go ahead and write, then go back and apply the guidelines in editing.
Write the first draft as you would say it
Writing coach Robert gunning said writers should write the way they talk. He argued that all writing would improve if people simply talked and wrote down what they said. Gunning was onto a great idea: first draft are most effective when a writer puts down on paper what he or she would tell some one about a topic. Most people talk in subject-verb- object order that is easy to understand. The result is text that is conversational, uses simple language, and is easy to revise into a well organized written message.
Don’t begin at the beginning
After seeing a four-car collision, the typical observer arrives home and blurts out,” I saw an incredible wreck on highway 501. Four cars collided; all the drivers were injured, and one car burned.” Only then will the observer back up and give background:” I was in the left lane, coming home from the mall,” and so on.
Like urgent conversation, writing needs to jump straight to the point, then fill the reader in. This technique gives writing a conversational tone and at the same time gets to the ever-so-important point of the message.
Starting with salient facts is a natural way to tell about important information. Unfortunately, it is a form that most people forget after years reading stories and writing essays, both of which usually start with formal introduction. If your goal is to say it straight, say it-your main point-soon in your message. Suspenseful beginnings work best in drama.
Writing and editing: two compatible tasks
When you spill ou8t your conversational first draft, write it without stopping to edit. Mixing writing and editing wastes time and effort. If you edit as you go , you may fuss over a sentence that you eventually eliminate. At the very least, you will interrupt your own thought processes and conversational flow. So write first. If you pause to ponder sentence structure or information that’s okay. But do not wander or stray from the effort.
Some beginning writers lack the confidence to sit down and write. But author Joel Saltzman points out that we all are more competent wordsmiths than we think:
When you’re talking, odds are that 98 percent of the time you don’t even think about grammar. You’re doing fine and it’s just not an issue… I am suggesting that you don’t worry about it right now; because the more you worry about grammar, the less you’re going to write.
After you finish your outpouring of prose, let copy cool by taking a short break before you begin to edit. This separates the writing and editing processes and allows you to see your copy in a different way. If you edit or rewrite immediately after your draft is finished, you will read what you think you wrote rather than what is actually on the page.
Stick with subject- verb order
Most human languages prefer to place subjects before verbs, and English is no exception. Curious people want to know who did something, than what they did. Keep these audience interests and preferences in mind when you write. Subject-verb-object order generally gives the sentence action.
A man wearing a stocking mask robbed the university dinning
Hall late Tuesday night and locked the dinning services
Manager in a closet
A massive earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale
Rocked Japan early Tuesday morning.
Readers get confused if subjects and verbs are scrambled, regardless of how aritistic the result may be.
Came he swiftly to her bower?
Not in the information age.
Choose active verbs
Verbs are action words, but not all verbs are active. Some show no action at all, such as the verb” to be” in all its forms(is, am , are, was, were, be, being). Such verbs are less interesting and harder to picture than active verbs.
Writers prefer active verbs because they contain more information and sensory detail.” He was president” is vague compared with” he dominated the country as president.” Good writing is filled with active verbs that evoke images in the mind of the reader or listener.
Lightner whacked the ball with such force that is sailed
Over the outfield wall- his first home run of the season.
Babies cried, children clamored, balls thunked into holes,
Tickets ching-ching-chinged into eager hands, the noise competing against the chuck E. cheese theme song in the background.
Choose the active voice
When writers use active verbs, they write in active voice.
“Lightner whacked the ball.” The subject, lightner, performs the action. The object, the ball, receives action. This sentence format is called active voice, and it is the natural order of English.” A man wearing a stocking mask robbed the university dinning hall” carries more action than “ the university dinning hall was robbed by a man.”
Every now and than, sentence has no obvious subject and must be written in another format, called the passive voice. Take, for example, this sentence:” the law was changed several years ago.” It is in passive voice. The probably because a long legislative process kept the writer from isolating a single person or session responsible for changing the law.
Research shows that people prefer active sentences over passive ones. The sentence” congress passed the bill” is easier to read and comprehend than its passive equivalent,” the bill was passed by congress.” Skilled writer s prefer the active voice and use passive sentences only when necessary. example about lightner, a passive structure would hardly have the same impact:” the ball was whacked by lightner.”
Sometimes writers use passive sentence for emphasis:” the anticrime bill was passed by congress.” Here the writer wants to focus on the provisions of the bill rather than on congressional action and writers the lead accordingly.
Generally put time elements after the verb
Because verbs are stimulating to readers, they should come before less interesting elements. Audiences need to know when something happened, but they can wait to find out. The time element, a necessary but often dull part of a message, can be relegated to a place after the verb. Some writers prefer to put it immediately after the verb. Here are few examples:
Former mayor Barry Anderson was married Tuesday morning in a small private ceremony.
Grand applications requesting up to $100,000 for research on learning disabilities may be submitted through June 15 to the national institutes of health.
Sometimes, however, the time element carries importance and needs to go elsewhere- even first in the sentence.
Wednesday a 14-year-old youth collected $125,000 that he found in a paper bag a year ago. The money was never claimed.
In the above example, the beginning and end of the sentence set up the time span: On Wednesday the youth cashed in after waiting a year.
Beginning this weekend the city planetarium will offer extra weekend shows to expand its offerings for people who work and school children.
Right away, people know that an event is coming soon.
Be specific rather than general
Always give the most specific information you can. Significant details enlighten and delight readers and pack information into a few words. Instead of saying that actress Helen Hunt went shopping, tell what she bought: cosmetics. What kind? Inquiring minds want to know! Instead of saying that a reporter had a messy desk, try
On his desk Howard had a can of unsharpened pencils and two potted ferns, both of them dead.
Watch out for words that have almost a generic quality, such as “ facility.” Be specific: bank, gymnasium, recreation center, high school. Use the specific noun.
When in doubt, leave it out
Unless you are able to check the accuracy of a number, spelling, or surprising fact, leave it out or hold publication until you can check it. Accuracy is linked, in the minds of audience members, with quality- with media quality and writer quality. Your reputation is riding on what you write.
Avoid making everything look important
Some writer like to add emphasis by underlining text or by using capital letters, exclamation marks, bold type, and even quotation marks. Frequent use of such elements detracts form professional polish. Once in a while, every one needs to add emphasis. Save it for when it really counts. In some messages, such email, emphasis can be interpreted as anger, exasperation, and even sarcasm.
Avoid a message that looks like this sentences:
If you don’t get your information sheet in today, you WON’T be in the new directory AT ALL.
Try:
If you don’t get your information sheet in today, you won’t be in the new directory.
