DON’TS FOR THE NEWS WRITER
A vast deal of the slipshod and prolix stuff which we are
compelled to read or to listen to is, of course, born of
idleness. When, as so often happens, a man takes an hour to
say what might have been as well or better said in twenty
minutes, or spreads over twenty pages what could easily have
been exhausted in ten, the offense in a large majority of
cases is due, not so much to vanity, or to indifference to the
feelings of others, as to inability or unwillingness to take
pains.--From an address, “Culture and Character,” delivered
before the University of Aberdeen by the RIGHT HONORABLE H. H.
ASQUITH.
The following list of “Don’ts” has been compiled from a considerable
experience in reading newspaper copy and in directing the work of
students in journalism classes. Practical application is made of some
of the principles discussed in preceding chapters:
1. Don’t think it necessary to call a child a “tot.”
2. Don’t hesitate to repeat a name for the sake of clearness. Too many
personal pronouns lead to confusion.
3. Don’t say a wedding “occurred.” Things occur unexpectedly; they take
place by design.
4. Don’t use “loan” as a verb. The verb is “lend.”
5. Don’t say “Smith graduated,” but “Smith was graduated.” A school
graduates its pupils; they are graduated.
6. Don’t say “a number of” when you can avoid it. Nothing could be
more vague. Try to give the exact number or at least an approximation.
“Several” is usually better than “a number of.”
7. Don’t advertise a particular revolver or other manufactured article
by naming it in your story, except for special cause, as when this
information may furnish a clew to a person’s identity. Also it is
seldom desirable to give the caliber of a firearm.
8. Don’t use “amateur” when you mean “novice.” An amateur is not
necessarily unskilled; he is simply not a professional. An unskilled
beginner is a novice.
9. Don’t make the mistake that appeared in this published headline:
“Audience of 5,000 See Aëroplane Flight.” An audience hears; spectators
see.
10. Don’t spell “forward,” “backward,” “toward,” “homeward” and
similar words with a final “s.”
11. Don’t use stories that are not fit for any member of any family
to read. If a mob makes such a demonstration against a man accused of
criminal assault that the story has to be covered for that feature, a
mere hint will be sufficient to cover the revolting part.--From the St.
Louis _Star_ Style-Book.
12. Don’t use “burglarize.” The dictionary contains no such word.
13. Don’t say “he had his arm cut off.” That means literally that he
got someone to perform the operation of cutting off his arm. Say, in
case of accident, “his arm was cut off.”
14. Don’t say “Smith sustained an injury.” To sustain is to bear up.
Say he “suffered an injury.”
15. Don’t use “over” in the sense of “more than.” Say “more than 300
persons heard the lecture.”
16. Don’t use “party” for “person.” “Party,” outside of legal
documents, means a group of persons.
17. Don’t leave out essential words, trusting that the copy reader
will be able to guess what you mean. The omission of the little word
“not” may cause serious trouble. Whenever possible go over your story
carefully before turning it in.
18. Don’t use a word in different senses in the same paragraph.
19. Don’t use “state” for “say.” A statement is formal. Most persons
merely say they are going fishing.
20. Don’t divide a word at the end of a page.
21. Don’t fail to read your story in print and note the changes that
have been made. Don’t make the same mistake twice.
22. Don’t use “purchase” for “buy,” “remainder” for “rest,” “portion”
for “part” or any long word when a short one can be found.--From the
Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_ Rules.
23. Don’t confuse “beside” and “besides.” “Beside” is never anything
except a preposition; “besides” can also be used as an adverb, in the
sense of moreover.
24. Don’t use “female” for “woman.”
25. Don’t confuse “plurality” and “majority.” A winner in an election
has a plurality over his nearest opponent; he has a majority if his
vote exceeds the combined vote of his opponents.
26. Don’t use two or more words where one will do as well, as “put in
an appearance” for “appear.”
27. Don’t overwork the word “secure.” It is often loosely used where
“get,” “obtain,” “procure,” “collect” or some other word would more
exactly express the thought.
28. Don’t say “tried an experiment.” Experiments are made.
29. Don’t say “the above statement.” “Above” is an adverb; “foregoing”
is the right word here. You wouldn’t write “the below statement.”
30. Don’t say “at the corner of Ninth street and Broadway.” “At Ninth
street and Broadway” is sufficient unless you desire to specify one of
the four corners.
31. Don’t use “suicide” as a verb. Say “he killed himself” and tell how.
32. Don’t use a foreign word or phrase when English will answer the
purpose--and it nearly always will. “A dollar a day” is better than “a
dollar per diem.” Don’t mix languages, as in “a dollar per day.”
33. Don’t say “fifty people were present.” Use “persons.” “People,”
according to Webster’s Dictionary, means primarily “the body of persons
who compose a community, tribe, nation or race; an aggregate of
individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation”--as “the people of
the United States.” “Persons” refers to individuals.
34. Don’t say “united in marriage” or “joined in the holy bonds of
matrimony.” Say they were “married.”
35. Don’t use “depot” when you mean “station.” A depot is a storehouse
for freight or supplies; railway passengers arrive at a station.
36. Don’t call a fire a “holocaust” or a “conflagration” unless
circumstances warrant. Consult the dictionary.
37. Don’t call the wife of Dr. Jones “Mrs. Dr. Jones.” She is simply
Mrs. Jones. A woman does not gain a title by virtue of her husband’s
rank or profession.
38. Don’t make a practice of using a man’s occupation as a title, as
in “Barber Smith.” He is “Smith, a barber.” Certain exceptions are
permitted by most newspapers, as in “Policeman Riley.”
39. Don’t fall into the habit of describing every bride as “blushing,”
or every five-dollar bill as “crisp” or every gold piece as “bright,
new.”
40. Don’t say “among those present were ... and others.” Leave out “and
others.”
41. Don’t tell the reader “this is a pathetic story.” If it is, he will
find it out for himself.
42. Don’t overwork “well-known” and “prominent.” In revolt against
a long line of “well-known grocers” and “prominent saloon keepers,”
some newspapers have prohibited the use of these words altogether in
referring to persons. It is always better to identify your characters
specifically. Tell how a man is prominent.
43. Don’t say “Jones was present at the meeting and spoke.” Of course
he was present. Simply say he spoke.
44. Don’t call a dog a “canine.” “Canine” is an adjective. You wouldn’t
call a cow a “bovine.”
45. Don’t call a body found in a stream a “floater.”
46. Don’t use “lady” for “woman” under the impression that you are
paying a compliment. “Woman” is a good, stanch word at which no real
woman can take offense.
47. Don’t write anything in violation of confidence.
48. Don’t say “an old man 80 years of age.” It’s sufficient to say that
he is “80 years old.”
49. Don’t say “5 o’clock P. M. yesterday afternoon.” Say either “5 P.
M. yesterday” or “5 o’clock yesterday afternoon,” according to the
style of your paper.
50. Don’t write “at an early hour this morning” when “early this
morning” will do as well.
51. Don’t say “completely destroyed.” “Destroyed” is sufficient.
52. Don’t say “he was presented with a gold cane.” “A gold cane was
presented to him” is the correct form.
53. Don’t say “the money was divided between Smith, Jones and Brown.”
It was divided among them. Use “between” in reference to two only.
54. Don’t overwork “that.” Some newspapers favor its omission in
indirect discourse when the meaning is plain without it, as in the
sentence: “He said (that) John was his friend.” Never omit, however, at
the sacrifice of clearness.
55. Don’t call every girl pretty. If a girl is pretty, you are usually
justified in telling something more about her.
56. Don’t say “less than fifty persons were there.” Use “fewer.” “Less”
refers to quantity, “fewer” to numbers.
57. Don’t make a collective noun plural unless you mean to convey the
idea of plurality. The word “audience” is singular when you mean the
audience as a unit. It is plural when you have in mind the individuals
that compose the audience, as “the audience waved their hats.”
58. Don’t call a policeman a “minion of the law.”
59. Don’t use “enthuse.” There is no such word.
60. Don’t waste your energy on trivialities.
61. Don’t use “illy” for “ill,” which may be either adjective or
adverb. “Illy” does not exist in good usage.
62. Don’t overwork “very.” Through abuse the word has lost much, if not
all, of its force. “He’s a very good man,” as spoken, usually gives the
idea that he is only passably good. “He’s a good man” is stronger. Be
sparing in the use of superlatives.
63. Don’t use dialect to the disparagement of any nationality. Don’t
use it at all unless you are sure of your ground.
64. Don’t color your story with modifying words that imply approval or
disapproval.
65. Don’t write 300 words when you are told to keep your story within
100.
66. Don’t say “at the present time.” Say “at present” or “now.”
67. Don’t say “Miss Smith presided at the piano.” She merely played the
piano.
68. Don’t say that “this town was thrown into a state of great
excitement,” “business was entirely suspended,” “a great sensation was
created,” or any other of the conventional things. They are usually
untrue and never interesting.--From the Chicago _Record-Herald’s_
Instructions to Correspondents.
69. Don’t speak of “tasty” decorations. They are tasteful.
70. Don’t fall into a groove in sentence building. Seek variety.
A series of three or four sentences each beginning with “the” is
monotonous.
71. Don’t begin a story with “there is” when you can find a better way.
72. Don’t try to show superior knowledge by writing above the heads of
your readers. News writing should express, not conceal, thought. Leave
stilted phrases for the campaign orator.
73. Don’t use technical terms that are not generally understood.
74. Don’t say “he plead guilty.” The past tense of “plead” is “pleaded.”
75. Don’t use “further” referring to distance; the right word here is
“farther,” as “a mile farther east.” “Further” should be used in other
senses, as “further, he said, etc.”
76. Don’t say “partially” for “partly.” “Partially” means with
prejudice. A building is partly of brick.
77. Don’t use an abbreviation that can be misunderstood.
78. Don’t say “a man by (or of) the name of Smith.” Say “a man named
Smith.”
79. Don’t confuse the words “prohibition” and “temperance.”
80. Don’t say “the then governor.” “Then” is an adverb.
81. Don’t begin a sentence with figures. Spell out, or re-cast the
sentence.
82. Don’t say “his whereabouts are unknown.” “Whereabouts” is singular;
so also “politics.”
83. Don’t say “in our midst.”
84. Don’t use “inaugurate” for “begin.” A movement is begun; a
president is inaugurated.
85. Don’t abbreviate names, as “Geo.” for “George,” “Jno.” for “John,”
etc.
86. Don’t contract “all right” to “alright.” There is a good word
“already” (not of the same meaning, however, as “all ready”) but
“alright” has no justification.
87. Don’t say “one of the most unique.” “Unique” expresses an absolute
condition; it has no degrees.
88. Don’t use an apostrophe before the “s” in “its” (possessive of
“it”), “hers,” “ours,” “yours,” “theirs.” “It’s” means “it is.”
89. Don’t use “don’t” when you mean “doesn’t.” Be careful to place the
apostrophe between the “n” and the “t.”
90. Don’t call every little flurry a panic.
91. Don’t write “capitol” when you mean the seat of government--the
city. The building is the capitol; Washington is the capital of the
United States.
92. Don’t say “he walked a distance of a mile.” Omit “a distance of.”
93. Don’t begin your story with a general statement such as “a terrible
accident occurred last night.” Tell what really happened.
94. Don’t forget to use quotation marks at the end of quoted matter.
95. Don’t write it variously “street,” “Street” and “st.” Find out the
style of your paper and stick to it if you would gain the good will of
the copy reader.
96. Don’t try to save money for the office by crowding your copy on a
sheet without margins. Leave plenty of white space at the top and the
bottom so the sheets can be pasted together.
97. Don’t say “he secured a position as janitor.” Most persons simply
get jobs.
98. Don’t make the mistake of the reporter who wrote of a
“three-cornered duel.” A duel (from the Latin duo) is a fight between
two persons.
99. Don’t speak of a climate as “healthy.” Persons are healthy, places
healthful.
100. Don’t use “gentleman” for “man.” “Gents” is atrocious.