Chapter 4: Effective Newswriting

Question 1

After years of writing long, elaborate, and wordy essays for the English course, this needs to relearn writing with simplicity and brevity.

Answer 1

would-be journalist

Question 2

Cater to a mass readership that comes from diverse backgrounds and levels of education. To reach everyone, these try to find the common denominator so that no one is alienated. This is usually achieved by making sure that all stories in the paper are clear, concise, correct, credible, and complete.

Answer 2

Newspapers

Question 3

A news story’s _ depends on three basic things: the logical order of the story, the simplicity of the words used, and the corrections of the sentence structure.

Answer 3

Clarity

Question 4

A news story’s clarity depends on three basic things:

Answer 4

• the logical order of the story
• the simplicity of the words used
• the corrections of the sentence structure

Question 5

The logical order for a news story is achieved by maintaining an _?

Answer 5

inverted pyramid format

Question 6

Apart from choosing simple words, a news story should be written with brevity, since newspapers often have more articles than the number of pages allow. A good news story is one that has complete information yet is written without verbosity.

Answer 6

Conciseness

Question 7

Another cause of wordiness.

Answer 7

Redundancy

Question 8

The _ of a news story can be understood from two perspectives: technical and conceptual.

Answer 8

correctness

Question 9

The correctness of a news story can be understood from two perspectives:

Answer 9

technical and conceptual

Question 10

Refers to the structure, grammar, and style of the news story.

Answer 10

Technical correctness

Question 11

One staple among journalists’ references is this title book, which gives the basics of good writing.

Answer 11

Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White

Question 12

This in a news story is achieved by maintaining an inverted pyramid format and by making sure that the lead is supported with details in the body of the story. There should be a paragraph unity and a correct sentence structure.

Answer 12

Coherence

Question 13

_ from sources add authenticity to a news story because they allow the source to speak directly to readers.

Answer 13

Quotations

Question 14

Three types of quotations.

Answer 14

direct quote, partial quote, paraphrase

Question 15

Use the quotations marks and are the verbatim words of the source, whether that source is a person or a document. The quote is attributed to the source with words such as “he said” or “it said”. This type of quote is used for succinct remarks or controversial or colorful statements.

Answer 15

Direct quotes

Question 16

If the source is wordy, but what he/she says is controversial or colorful, then opt for this type of quote, meaning, quote only the contentious phrase. However, the danger of partial quotes is that the controversial words could be taken out of context.

Answer 16

partial quote

Question 17

If the source is wordy, then the journalist should choose to _ the original instead.

Answer 17

paraphrase

Question 18

_ is simply stating the source’s words in your own words without altering the original message.

Answer 18

Paraphrase

Question 19

Refers to the accuracy of the data presented in the story. A journalist should be obsessed with making sure his/her data is factual, objective, and fair.

Answer 19

Conceptual correctness

Question 20

For a news story to be _, it has to be complete.

Answer 20

credible

Question 21

For a news story to be credible, it has to be _.

Answer 21

complete

Question 22

While _ is largely established over time by a news organization, a journalist achieves this by going to the right sources. This shows readers that the story is based on facts rather than hearsay.

Answer 22

credibility

Question 23

This is also established if the news story strives to be fair and not biased. Biased stories are usually one-sided. It examines an issue from a single point of view usually under the influence of an ideology, a prejudice, or an inflexible attitude on the part of the journalist.

Answer 23

Credibility

Question 24

This is necessary to maintain credibility. This means getting both sides of the story—a journalist’s dedication in seeking the truth.

Answer 24

Fairness

Question 25

This is necessary to maintain credibility. This means getting both sides of the story—a journalist’s dedication in seeking the truth.

Answer 25

Fairness

Question 26

It means that the story has all the necessary facts. A complete story goes beyond the 5 Ws and H. It gives context and background to the event, issue, or idea being written about.

Answer 26

Completeness