{"id":41,"date":"2023-12-05T22:54:45","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T22:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/introtojournalism\/chapter\/broccoli-and-chocolate-a-beginners-guide-to-journalism-2\/"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:05:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T15:05:18","slug":"broccoli-and-chocolate-a-beginners-guide-to-journalism-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/introtojournalism\/chapter\/broccoli-and-chocolate-a-beginners-guide-to-journalism-2\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 3: Writing Work\u00a0","rendered":"Chapter 3: Writing Work\u00a0"},"content":{"raw":"
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\n\nTo be an effective news writer, you need to write well. This textbook will teach you news writing, but it also is designed to make you a better writer overall. The ability to write in an effective and intelligent way will serve you in whatever career path you choose. The first step is to rid yourself of any lingering grammar, punctuation or phrasing issues. Bring on the broccoli.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<\/div>\n
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Misspellings and Grammar Goofs<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nHopefully, your computer\u2019s spell check function will catch most of your spelling mistakes and grammar problems, but it can't catch everything. And you might not be able to use it in all of your communication.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nI once had a lovely boss who I really enjoyed working for. But she had one issue that I will always remember. She would use \u201cIrregardless\u201d in conversation quite often. It isn\u2019t a word. What she meant to say is \u201cregardless.\u201d It made me think less of her. Don\u2019t be like my boss.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nWikipedia has a good list of commonly misspelled words<\/a> that would be great to review. You might not have realized you were spelling something wrong. It also has an impressive list of common grammar errors.<\/a> Skim through it and see if phrases that you use in your daily life made the cut.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nBeyond basic grammar, we need to review sentence structure. The Writing Textbook <\/a>by Josh Woods examines three common sentence construction errors: fragments, run-on sentences and comma splices.\n\n<\/div>\n
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Fragments<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nA sentence fragment<\/strong> is a common error in which an incomplete sentence is presented as if it were complete, writes Woods. It is a phrase that should have been part of a previous sentence. It can be fixed by attaching it with commas to the complete sentence it refers to.\n
\n\nExample:<\/em>\n