Part 2

If the subject of the verb in the first deck is not written, it should be the first word of the second deck, as,

INVESTIGATE WET VICTORY

Texas Senators All Agreed to Inquire Into Late Election.

Omit all forms of the verb _to be_ whenever possible. This head,

ASKED HOW HE GOT STOLEN AUTOMOBILE

is more effective than this,

IS ASKED HOW HE GOT THE STOLEN AUTOMOBILE

Avoid expressions that are awkward because of omission of some form of the verb _to be_ such as this:

U. S. WEATHER MAN SAYS SUMMER HERE

Negatives should be avoided. The head should as a rule tell what happened, not what did not happen.

Avoid the word _may_. The head should as a rule tell what happened, not what is going to take place, perhaps.

Beware of heads that contain words of double meaning, as,

NURSES HOPE TO WIN GAME

The word _nurses_ may be taken as a noun or a verb.

In this head the first word might be read as a noun or as a verb:

SCOUTS CLAIM KAISER IS TO BLAME FOR WAR

Use as little punctuation as possible in the first deck.

Avoid alliteration.

Use few abbreviations.

Use figures sparingly.

Insert subheads in long stories at intervals of 150 to 200 words. Use at least two subheads or none.

When there is a paragraph ending, _The President spoke as follows:_, place the subhead before this paragraph and not between it and the quoted matter.

Avoid such makeshift constructions as

M A Y O R WILL RESIGN, SAID WILSON WON'T REPLY, RUMOR

Avoid beginning a head with quotation marks because the white space destroys the balance of the head. When it is unavoidable, use single quotation marks.

Avoid heads in which a dash takes the place of _says_, as,

SHIPPING BOARD MUST GO--WILSON

When this style is necessary, use quotation marks.

It is permissible to make the first deck of a head a quotation without quotation marks, writing the name of the person quoted in full-face caps immediately below the deck. One need seldom resort to this expedient.

Be careful of the present tense in writing of historical events. The head on a story about the legality of Christ's trial should not read,

JESUS CHRIST IS ILLEGALLY SLAIN

nor should it read

JESUS CHRIST WAS ILLEGALLY SLAIN

but it should read

SAYS CHRIST WAS ILLEGALLY SLAIN

Remember always in writing heads that although a newspaper man seldom reads more than the first deck, deciding by that whether to read the story, many readers of the paper read no more than the head, and for them it should summarize the story, embodying all its salient features.

GRAMMAR

The most common errors in grammar to be found in copy are in:

The agreement of a verb with its subject.

The relation of pronouns to their antecedents.

The position of participles in relation to the words they modify.

The use of co-ordinate conjunctions to connect elements of the same kind.

The position of correlative conjunctions with relation to the elements they connect.

To gain grace in writing one must either be born with a natural aptitude in the use of words--and such men: Stevenson, Poe, Walter Pater and others, are geniuses--or one must study the writings of these masters of prose and attempt to discover the secret of their success. It is not necessary that a good writer should know rules of grammar, but he must know enough to observe them. A writer may be unable to tell why a dangling participle is faulty English by testing it with a rule, but he may nevertheless avoid such a construction because his ear tells him it is not the best style.

Copies of the best grammars may be found in the office library and should be consulted when reporters and copy readers are in doubt.

SIMPLICITY

In character, in manners, in style and in all things the supreme excellence is simplicity.--Longfellow.

NOTES

DICTION

The newspaper writer must beware of two pitfalls in writing: Fine writing and dialect. Stilted English, pompous and high-sounding, is in just as bad taste as garish clothing or pungent perfume. Reporters often give to their stories a wordy and turgid flavor by their refusal to repeat a word, preferring a synonym. One often sees such sentences as this: "The policeman took his pistol away as he was about to shoot at the bluecoat's partner, another officer of the law." This is a quite unnecessary avoidance of the repetition of the word policeman.

Fine writing is quite out of place at all times in a newspaper and is particularly obnoxious when a reporter quotes a person of inferior mentality in polished--or what the reporter thinks are polished--phrases. Things like this shouldn't get into the paper: _"It is with poignant grief that I gaze on the torn frame of my dear spouse," said Mrs. Sowikicki, as she stood beside a slab in the morgue._

On the other hand reporters should not try to be funny at the expense of someone inexpert in the use of the language. If a person interviewed uses bad grammar, correct him when you write the story. To make a person say _Hadn't ought to of_ or _Hain't got no_ is not only insulting to that person and to your readers, but is poor comedy.

Dialect must be absolutely accurate if it is used. Finley Peter Dunne can write Irish dialect and not many other persons in America can write as good. Probably no reporter on The News can write it. Dialect that might hurt the feelings of others who speak the same way should not be used. In fact as a general rule: DON'T WRITE DIALECT. The greatest masters of humor, such as Moliere, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, have obtained their best effects by writing their language straightforwardly.

THE GRIT OF COMPACT, CLEAR TRUTH

I began to compose by imitating other authors. I admired, and I worked hard to get, a smooth, rich, classic style. The passion I afterwards formed for Heine's prose forced me from this slavery, and taught me to aim at naturalness. I seek now to get back to the utmost simplicity of expression, to disuse the verbosity I tried so hard to acquire, to get the grit of compact, clear truth, if possible, informal and direct. It is very difficult. I should advise any beginner to study the raciest, strongest, best spoken speech and let the printed speech alone; that is to say, to write straight from the thought without bothering about the manner, except to conform to the spirit or genius of the language. I once thought Latinized diction was to be invited; I now think Latinized expression is to be guarded against.--W. D. Howells.

A. P. STYLE

What M. E. Stone says to his correspondents on story writing may be read with profit by any newspaper man. The following is clipped from the monthly bulletin issued by the Associated Press to its correspondents:

A plain statement of fact is the best introduction to a news story. A simple, direct style--which does not mean a wooden style--is always desirable. In the opening sentence it is of particular value.

The news which a story contains is the one thing which entitles it to place in the Associated Press report. It is the news, not the manner of telling the news, on which the story must stand. It is therefore essential to present the vital point at the outset, in such form as will enable the reader to grasp it quickly, clearly and easily. For this purpose there is no acceptable substitute for plain English.

In an effort to make the most vivid and emphatic impression at the opening, objectionable forms of construction often are employed. A highly-colored or strained introduction almost always fails of its purpose of enlisting interest at once, since it tends to divert the attention of the reader from the subject-matter of the story to the writer's manner of telling it. This renders the introduction cloudy and lessens interest instead of stimulating it. Once the main point is established, the well known rules of news writing should be observed.

To say that "'William Brown may obtain a fair trial in Greene County,' Judge Smith so ruled today," is to misstate the facts. It places the Associated Press on record as making a statement made by the court. Use of this and similar introductory sentences which require subsequent qualification is objectionable.

Opening sentences frequently lose directness and clearness because of the effort to crowd too much into them. All that is essential is to cover the vital point, leaving details for subsequent narration.

Introductions must be impartial. It is possible to take almost any given set of statements and present them in such a way as to convey any one of several shades of meaning. This may depend merely on the order of presentation. Associated Press stories must be accurate and accuracy involves not only the truthfulness of individual statements but the co-relation of these statements in such a way as to convey to the reader a fair and unbiased impression of the story as a whole. An account of a court proceeding, a political debate, or any other event which involves conflicting claims or interests, should not be introduced by singling out a particular phase of the story which is limited to one side of the controversy, simply because that is the most striking feature. Such a form of introduction tends to place the emphasis on one side of the case, giving bias to the entire story.

Stereotyped introductions should be avoided. One of the most common is the "When" introduction, as: "Two men were killed when a train struck ..." etc. "If" and "After" often are used similarly. Inverted sentences are also frequent; as "That the prisoner was guilty was the opinion expressed by ..." etc. Constant employment of these fixed styles becomes monotonous. Moreover, it is possible to state the facts more simply, directly and effectively without them.

BROADEN THE VOCABULARY

Edward Harlan Webster gives this excellent advice on how to broaden the vocabulary:

Practice is the first aid. Actually get hold of new words and then use them. You will perceive that you will not startle others so much as yourself. Gradually the words will begin to assume a standing in your vocabulary, and before long, they will seem like old friends.

To obtain these words, various practical methods are possible. Here are a few:

1. Find synonyms for words which you have a tendency to overuse.

2. Record words with which you are familiar but you never use--and then "work" them.

3. Make a list of important, unfamiliar words which you hear, or discover in your reading.

4. Listen carefully to the conversations or addresses of educated people.

5. If possible, try to translate from a foreign language. In this way a fine perception of shades of meaning, almost unattainable by any other method, is acquired.

6. Get interested in the dictionary, where you can trace the life history of words.

THE PICTORIAL POWER OF WORDS

"Words have a considerable share in exciting ideas of beauty--they affect the mind by raising in it ideas of those things for which custom has appointed them to stand. Words, by their original and pictorial power have great influence over the passions; if we combine them properly, we may give new life and beauty to the simplest object. In painting, we may represent any fine figure we please, but we never can give it those enlivening touches which it may receive from words. For example, we can represent an angel in a picture by drawing a young man winged: but what painting can furnish out anything so grand as the addition of one word--'the angel of the Lord'? Is there any painting more grand and beautiful?"--Edmund Burke.

CAPITALIZATION

Capitalize titles preceding names, as, Chief of Detectives Fox, Gen. Bell. Lower-case titles following names, as John Downey, superintendent of police, except these which are capitalized always:

President } Vice-President } Cabinet } of the United States. Government } Administration } Supreme Court } Governor (of Michigan). Lieutenant-Governor (of Michigan). Mayor (of Detroit). Supreme Court (of Michigan). Judges and Justices of all courts of record. The names of all courts of record. King, Emperor, Czar, Kaiser, Sultan, Viceroy, etc. The Crown Prince. The Duke of Blank. The Prince of Dash.

Do not capitalize _former_ preceding a title, as _former Senator Wilson_. _Former_ is preferred to _ex-_.

Capitalize the full names of associations, clubs, societies, companies, etc., as Michigan Equal Suffrage Association, Detroit Club, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Star Publishing Company. _The_ preceding such a name is not to be capitalized. Do not capitalize _association_, _club_, etc., when not attached to a specific name.

Capitalize _university_, _college_, _academy_, etc., when part of a title, as University of Detroit, Olivet College. But do not capitalize when the plural is used, as the state universities of Michigan, Kansas and Ohio.

Capitalize the first word after a colon in giving a list, as, _The following were elected: President, William Jones; vice-president, Sam Smith_, etc. _Try this menu: Rice, milk and fruit._ When the colon is used merely to indicate a longer pause than a semicolon, it is not followed by a capital, as, _A tire blew out: the car skidded: we were in the ditch_.

Capitalize _building_, _hall_, _house_, _hotel_, _theater_, _hospital_, etc., when used with a distinguishing name, as Book Building, Hull House, Cadillac Hotel, Garrick Theater, Harper Hospital.

Capitalize the names of federal and state departments and bureaus, as Department of Agriculture, State Insurance Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics. But lower-case municipal departments, as fire department, water and light department, street department.

Capitalize the names of national legislative bodies, as Congress, House of Representatives or House, Senate, Parliament, Reichstag, Duma, Chamber (France).

Capitalize _state legislature_ and synonymous terms (_legislature_, _assembly_, _general assembly_) only when the Michigan Legislature is meant.

Capitalize the names of all political parties, in this and other countries, as Democratic, Republican, Progressive, Socialist, Liberal, Tory, Union. But do not capitalize these or similar words, or their derivatives, when used in a general sense, as republican form of government, democratic tendencies, socialistic views.

Capitalize _pole_, _island_, _isthmus_, _cape_, _ocean_, _bay_, _river_, and in general all such geographical terms when used in specific names, as North Pole, South Sea Islands, Cape Hatteras, Hudson Bay, Pacific Ocean, Mississippi River, Isthmus of Panama.

Capitalize _county_ when used in a specific name, as Wayne County.

Capitalize the _East_, the _West_, the _Middle West_, the _Orient_ and other terms used for definite regions; but do not capitalize _east_, _west_, etc., when used merely to designate direction or point of compass, as "west of here." Do not capitalize _westerner_, _southerner_, _western states_ and other such derivatives.

Capitalize sections of a state, as Upper Peninsula, Western Michigan, etc., but not the _northern part of Michigan_, etc.

Capitalize, when used with a distinguishing name, _ward_, _precinct_, _square_, _garden_, _park_, etc., as First Ward, Eighth Precinct, Cadillac Square, Madison Square Garden, Palmer Park.

Capitalize _Jr._ and _Sr._ after a name.

Capitalize _room_, etc., when followed by a number or letter, as Room 18, Dime Bank Building; Parlor C, Normandie Hotel.

Capitalize distinctive names of localities in cities, as North End, Nob Hill, Back Bay, Happy Hollow.

Capitalize the names of holidays and days observed as holidays by churches, as Fourth of July, Dominion Day, Good Friday, Yom Kippur, Columbus Day, Washington's Birthday.

Capitalize the names of notable events and things, as the Declaration of Independence, the War of 1812, the Revolution, the Reformation, the Civil War, the Battle of the Marne.

Capitalize _church_ when used as a specific name, as North Woodward Methodist Church, First Christian Church. But write: a Methodist church, a Christian church.

Capitalize the names of all religious denominations, as Baptist, Quaker, Mormon, Methodist.

Capitalize names for the Bible, as the Holy Scriptures, the Book of Books. But do not capitalize adjectives derived from such names, as biblical, scriptural.

Capitalize all names and pronouns used for the Deity.

Capitalize the Last Supper, Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, Book of Ruth, etc.

Capitalize the names of races and nationalities, as Italian, American, Indian, Gypsy, Caucasian and Negro.

Capitalize titles of specific treaties, laws, bills, etc., as Treaty of Ghent, Eleventh Amendment, Workmen's Compensation Act, Good Roads Bill. But when the reference is general use lower-case, as the good roads legislation of the last congress.

Capitalize such terms as Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, Union Jack, Stars and Bars, etc.

Capitalize U. S. Army and Navy.

Capitalize names of military organizations, as First Regiment, B Company (do not quote letter), National Guard, Grand Army of the Republic, Michigan State Militia, University Cadet Corps (but University cadets).

Capitalize such names as Triple Alliance, Triple Entente, Quadruple Entente, Allies (in the European war).

Capitalize the fanciful titles of cities and states, as the City of the Straits, the Buckeye State.

Capitalize the nicknames of base ball, foot ball and other athletic teams, as Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, Tigers.

Capitalize epithets affixed to or standing for proper names, as Alexander the Great, the Pretender.

Capitalize the names of stocks in money markets, as Federal Steel, City Railway.

Capitalize college degrees, whether written in full or abbreviated, as Bachelor of Arts, Doctor of Laws, Bachelor of Science in Education: A.B., LL.D., B.S. in Ed.

Capitalize _high school_ when used thus: Central High School (but the high school at Port Huron).

Capitalize, but do not quote, the titles of newspapers and other periodicals, the New York World, the Outlook, the Saturday Evening Post. Do not capitalize _the_, except The Detroit News.

Capitalize and quote the titles of books, plays, poems, songs, speeches, etc., as "The Scarlet Letter," "Within the Law," "The Man With the Hoe." _The_ beginning a title must be capitalized and included in the quotation. All the principal words--that is, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and interjections--are to be capitalized, no matter how short; thus: "The Man Who Would Be King." Other parts of speech--that is, prepositions, conjunctions and articles--are to be capitalized only when they contain four or more letters; thus: at, in, a, for, Between, Through, Into. The same rules apply to capitalization in headlines.

Capitalize adjectives derived from proper nouns, as English, Elizabethan, Germanic, Teutonic. But do not capitalize proper names and derivatives whose original significance has been obscured by long and common usage. Under this head fall such words as india rubber, oriental colors, street arab, pasteurize, macadam, axminster, gatling, paris green, plaster of paris, philippic, socratic, herculean, guillotine, utopia, bohemian, philistine, platonic. When, however, a name is comparatively recent, use capitals, as in Alice blue, Taft roses, Burbank cactus.

Capitalize the particles in French names, as _le_, _la_, _de_, _du_, when used without a Christian name or title preceding, as Du Maurier. But lower-case when preceded by a name or title, as George du Maurier. The same rule applies to the German _von_: Field Marshal von Mackensen, but, without Christian name or title, Von Mackensen. Always capitalize _Van_ in Dutch names unless personal preference dictates an exception, as Henry van Dyke.

Capitalize the names of French streets and places, as Rue de la Paix, Place de la Concorde.

Do not capitalize _street_, _avenue_, _boulevard_, _place_, _lane_, _terrace_, _way_, _road_, _highway_, etc., as Ninth street, Boston boulevard, Maryland place, Rosemary lane, Seven Mile road.

Do not capitalize _addition_, _depot_, _elevator_, _mine_, _station_, _stockyards_, etc., as Wabash freight depot, Yellow Dog mine, Union station, Chicago stockyards.

Do not capitalize _postoffice_, _courthouse_, _poorhouse_, _council chamber_, _armory_, _cadets_, _police court_, _women's parlors_.

White House, referring to President's residence, should be capitalized.

Capitalize only the distinguishing words if two or more names are connected, as the Wabash and Missouri Pacific railroad companies. (In singular form, Wabash Railroad Co.)

Do not capitalize the seasons of the year unless they are personified.

Do not capitalize _a. m._ and _p. m._ except in headlines.

Capitalize O. K., write it with periods, and form present tense, O. K.'s and past tense, O. K.'d.

Capitalize _Boy Scouts_ (referring to organization). Make _Campfire_ (referring to the girls' organization) one word, capitalized.

Capitalize _Constitution_ referring to that of the United States. But state constitution (lower-case).

NOTES

PUNCTUATION

A series of three or more words takes commas except before conjunctions, as: _There were boxes of guns, bayonets, cartridges and bandages_. Separate members of the series with semicolons if there are commas within the phrase, as: __There were boxes of guns, bayonets and cartridges; casks of powder, high explosives and chemicals; and many other prohibited articles_._

Use asterisks to indicate that part of quoted matter has been omitted, as, _He said: "I favor all measures that * * * will help the people."_

Use leaders to indicate a pause in the thought.

_He said he would never return . . . . . ._

_When the news reached his mother, she fainted._

Commas set off an explanatory phrase but not a restrictive phrase of inclusive qualification. One writes: Poe, a poet of America, wrote "The Raven." But one writes: Poe the poet is a finer craftsman than Poe the fiction writer.

Use commas before conjunctions in a sentence made up of separate clauses, each with its own subject nominative, as, _The horse is old, but it is still willing_. If the same subject, write it: _The horse is old but willing_.

Use no period after letters used in place of numbers, as, =B Company=. (Companies of soldiers are designated as _B Company_, not _Company B_.)

Use hyphen and no apostrophe when dates are joined, as, _1861-65_.

Write the _caliber_ of a revolver or rifle with a period, as _.22_.

Use no commas in years and street numbers, as, _1904_, not _1,904_; and _2452 High street_. But write: _2,156 persons_ and _$1,560_.

Follow this style in date lines:

CHICAGO, May 10.-- BROWNSVILLE, Mich., May 10.--

Avoid this form as hackneyed: _His wealth (?) has disappeared._

Place a comma or a colon after _said_, _remarked_ and similar words when quoted matter follows.

THREE RULES

Writes the Duke of Argyll: I have always held that clear thinking will find its own expression in clear writing. As to mere technical rules, there are very few that occur to me, except such as these--first, to aim at short sentences, without involution or parenthetical matter; second, to follow a logical order in construction of sentences, and in the sequence of them; third, to avoid absolutely such phrases as "the former" and "the latter," always preferring repetition to the use of such tiresome references. The last rule, and in some measure the other, I learned from Macaulay, and have found it of immense use. There is some mannerism in his style, but it is always clear as crystal, and this rule of repetition contributed much to this.

QUOTATIONS

Quotation marks are not needed when matter is indented, thus: _The speaker said in part_:

_I do not believe that, etc._