The Associated Press Guide To Newswriting

by Cappon, Rene J.

• ISBN13: 9780768919790
• ISBN10: 0768919797
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-19
• Publisher: Arco (Peterson's)

Summary

A former AP General News Editor offers novices and seasoned professionals practical advice and lively commentary on writing like a pro. He covers all the essentials of researching, generating, and writing: developing a hook, choosing the right words, constructing a good lead, and more.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
About the Author	xi
Author's Note	xiii
Language: Pompous, Pedantic and Plain	1	(4)
News Writing: Information Is Not Enough	5	(18)
Wasted Words, Wasted Space	7	(2)
The Anemia of Abstractions	9	(1)
People Power	10	(3)
Hold the Adjectives	13	(2)
Qualifiers: Hedge If You Must	15	(1)
Put Verbs to Work	16	(1)
Be Short, Familiar, Specific	17	(1)
Corral Those Modifiers	18	(1)
Who's Who?	19	(1)
The Elegant Variation	19	(1)
Avoid Palling Passives	20	(1)
Mismanaged Background	21	(2)
Leads: The Agony of Square One	23	(14)
Don't Bury the News	24	(1)
Too Much, Too Little	25	(1)
Try Writing ``Visually''	26	(1)
What's the Difference?	27	(1)
Action Speaks Louder	28	(1)
Pitfalls of Attribution	29	(1)
Horse First, Then Cart	30	(1)
Second-Cycle Woes	31	(2)
Watch the Bouncing Ball	33	(1)
Legalistic Leads	34	(1)
The Time Element	35	(2)
The Case for the Period	37	(6)
Journalese	43	(6)
Tone: The Inner Music of Words	49	(10)
Avoid Sudden Shifts	50	(1)
We Are Not Amused	51	(1)
Beware the Personal Touch	52	(1)
Don't Be Absurd	53	(1)
Dealing with Motive	54	(1)
No Hints, Please	55	(1)
Watch It, Kiddo	56	(1)
Euphemism: Use and Misuse	56	(2)
Simplicity Will Do	58	(1)
Pitfalls: Attributive Verbs and Loaded Words	59	(6)
Said Usually Says It Best	59	(1)
Some Widely Misused Attributives	60	(2)
Beware Loaded Words	62	(3)
Quotes: Your Words or Mine?	65	(14)
When to Quote?	66	(2)
The Uses of Quotes	68	(1)
Pertinence May Decide	69	(1)
Help Wanted (Sometimes)	70	(1)
The Said of Trap	70	(1)
Haphazard Attribution	71	(1)
Fragmentary Quotes	71	(1)
Watch the Context	72	(1)
Overextended Attribution	73	(1)
A Band-Aid May Help	74	(1)
Expletive Deleted	75	(1)
Paraphrase to the Rescue	76	(3)
Color: Dip Your Brush in Small Details	79	(6)
Small, Specific Details	80	(2)
Pseudo-Color Won't Work	82	(1)
Don't Overdo It	83	(1)
When Color Works	84	(1)
Pseudo-Color: Cliches and Other Trespasses	85	(10)
Cliches at Arm's Length	86	(1)
Sports Page Pariahs	87	(2)
The Overreachers	89	(1)
Metaphors: Mixed and Protracted	90	(1)
The Personification Peril	91	(1)
Other Poisonous Mixtures	91	(1)
Words to Swear At	92	(2)
Doubleheaders	94	(1)
Features: A View from the Poets' Corner	95	(20)
First, the Beginning	95	(3)
The Interest Is Human	98	(1)
No Precooked Dinners	99	(2)
Chronological Approach	101	(3)
Where Solemnity Palls	104	(1)
Poetic License Forbidden	105	(1)
Artists at Work	105	(10)
Usage: Handling Those Hectoring Hangups	115	(12)
Split `n' Polish	115	(1)
Genderly Speaking	116	(1)
Substitutions: Terminal and Incipient	117	(1)
It's All Relative	118	(1)
Legalism	118	(1)
Subjunctivitis	119	(1)
Dash It All	120	(1)
Lay On, MacDuff	120	(1)
Et Cetera	121	(1)
Numbers Game	121	(2)
That's That	123	(1)
What's in It for Me?	124	(3)
Bestiary: A Compendium for the Careful and the Crotchety	127