{"id":67,"date":"2023-12-06T19:51:39","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/introtojournalism\/chapter\/chapter-7-basics-of-writing\/"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:05:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T15:05:35","slug":"chapter-7-basics-of-writing","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/introtojournalism\/chapter\/chapter-7-basics-of-writing\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 7: Basics of Writing\u00a0","rendered":"Chapter 7: Basics of Writing\u00a0"},"content":{"raw":"
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Top of the News Story<\/span><\/h2>\nThe main goal of this textbook is to teach you how to write a hard news story effectively and accurately. We've introduced the tools of ethics, newsworthiness and interviews. Now it's time to start building a story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nWriting in a news style is difficult because it requires simplicity. You should write clear and simple sentences. Every word is important. Every sentence needs only one idea that tells the reader something new and important. The point of news writing is not to impress the reader with your vast vocabulary, but to provide information succinctly and creatively. If you waste words, you lose readers.\n\n<\/div>\n
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Nut Graf<\/h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_63\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]\"A Always include a nut or summary paragraph near the top of an article.[\/caption]\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nPerhaps the most important part of any news story is something called the nut paragraph or nut graf. The nut graf<\/strong>\u00a0is the nut or summary of the story. If the reader sees no other part of the story, the nut graf summarizes the story in general terms.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThe Poytner Institute is a nonprofit founded in 1975 that provides journalism training, information and courses. Its website<\/a> features writing tips, including an article on the nut graf<\/a>.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nPoynter trainer Chip Scanlan writes that the \u201cnut graf tells the reader what the writer is up to; it delivers a promise of the story\u2019s content and message. It\u2019s called the nut graf because, like a nut, it contains the 'kernel,' or essential theme, of the story.\u201d\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nScanlan outlines the purposes of the nut graf:\n\n<\/div>\n
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