3 Chapter 3: Writing Work
To be an effective news writer, you need to write well. This textbook will teach you news writing, but it also is designed to make you a better writer overall. The ability to write in an effective and intelligent way will serve you in whatever career path you choose. The first step is to rid yourself of any lingering grammar, punctuation or phrasing issues. Bring on the broccoli.
Misspellings and Grammar Goofs
Hopefully, your computer’s spell check function will catch most of your spelling mistakes and grammar problems, but it can’t catch everything. And you might not be able to use it in all of your communication.
I once had a lovely boss who I really enjoyed working for. But she had one issue that I will always remember. She would use “Irregardless” in conversation quite often. It isn’t a word. What she meant to say is “regardless.” It made me think less of her. Don’t be like my boss.
Wikipedia has a good list of commonly misspelled words that would be great to review. You might not have realized you were spelling something wrong. It also has an impressive list of common grammar errors. Skim through it and see if phrases that you use in your daily life made the cut.
Beyond basic grammar, we need to review sentence structure. The Writing Textbook by Josh Woods examines three common sentence construction errors: fragments, run-on sentences and comma splices.
Fragments
A sentence fragment is a common error in which an incomplete sentence is presented as if it were complete, writes Woods. It is a phrase that should have been part of a previous sentence. It can be fixed by attaching it with commas to the complete sentence it refers to.
Example:
- Incorrect: He can’t find her. Because she left the house.
- Correct: He can’t find her because she left the house.
Run-on Sentences
A run-on sentence is a common error in which two independent clauses are combined without any punctuation, according to Woods.
Example:
- Incorrect: I am frightened of the roller coaster it looks too high.
- Correct: I am frightened of the roller coaster; it looks too high.
Comma Splices
A comma splice is an error in which two independent clauses are combined by a comma without necessary coordinating conjunctions such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Example:
- Comma splice: I don’t like studying grammar, it’s too hard.
- Corrected version: I don’t like studying grammar; it’s too hard.
- Comma splice: I ran, the dog chased me.
- Corrected version: I ran, but the dog chased me.
Commas
Most students have a decent command of commas. A comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a pause in a sentence or a separation of things in a list. Commas can be used in a variety of ways, but we use fewer in news writing than in English classes. New journalists tend to overuse commas. Journalism style does not use the so-called Oxford comma. More on that later in this chapter.
Let’s review the rules so that your news writing effectively uses this common punctuation.