A few tips....

For those of you who know Professor Broadwater, she worked at the Baltimore Sun for many, many years and picked up quite a vault of tips and "tricks of the trade" along the way. As her students, we are fortunate enough to hear these pointers and should always apply them to our writing.

1. Omit "on" before a day of the week and before a month and date.

Bad: The party will take place on Wednesday, January 15.

Correct: The party will take place Wednesday, January 15.

2. Don't report opinions and accusations as fact.
One careless word can give the wrong impression and/or lead to a libel case.

Bad: The university's inferior science program is the main reason Acme State has failed to gain approval, the student body president said today.

Correct: Acme University has failed to gain approval to start a medical school because of it's "inferior science program," the student body president said today.

3. Maintain Parallel Construction

• consistent structure w/ subjects and adjectives

Correct: I have been sleeping later, eating later and going to bed later.
Not: I have been sleeping later, eating later and go to bed later.

4. Quickly identify the person being quoted. When attribution is given in the first sentence of a direct quote, none is needed in the second.

Example: "I like pastries," said Colin. "I enjoy all types of sweets really," he continued.



In addition to these, Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is a handy, compact little book with many tips like these. Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, a journalism student should never be without it.