Week 3 

Why do we have ap style?

Why do we have AP Style?

∙ Consistency

o Orlando - MCO and ORL (orl is wrong)

∙ Clarity

o To be clear about what you are writing about

∙ Accuracy

o Have the correct name

∙ Brevity

o FBI, UFO

∙ Avoid Stereotypes

o If under 18 = child

What does AP style cover?

∙ Grammar

∙ Spelling

∙ Punctuation If you want to learn more check out What is a disorder of connective tissue that creates hyper elasticity in connective tissue?

∙ Language usage

Common AP mistakes - Abbrevs, Titles & Numbers

∙ Widely known abbreviations OK: NATO, ALCO, CIA

What does ap style cover?

o If unsure, consider the context of the story

o Some are ok - even to start a sentence

o Avoid alphabet soup

∙ Unless you are the New York Times, no courtesy titles except… o Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., the Rev., and Sen. Are required before a name  if they occur outside a direct quote

o Only use them on the first reference

o Wrong: the Rev. Cr. John Jackson

o Right: The Rev. John Jackson

∙ Months" Abbreviate those with more than 4 letters

o June

o Sept.

∙ Addresses: Always use number

o Unless the number is the street name "North 10th Street" o Abbreviate directional cues (North, South, etc.) when you have a  number

What are the types of leads?

o Abbreviate types of roads with a number unless it is road, drive or alley ∙ Ages: Always use numbers Don't forget about the age old question of How well am i measuring what i want to measure?

o Use hyphens will the age is modifying

∙ Write out numbers on through 9; make numerical for 10 & up ∙ Dates: Write out the month when not with a day

o Sept. 1, 1999

o September 1999

∙ Only capitalize formal titles when the precede an individual's name o Mayor Bridget Jones is having a baby

o Bridget Jones, mayor of Gainesville, is having a baby

∙ Never use an "S"

o Forward

o Backward

o Toward

o Upward

o Downward  

∙ Common mistakes with Which/That

o That and Which are referring to inanimate object or animals without  names

o That for essential clauses, important to the meaning od the sentence o Which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary ∙ Common Mistakes with Further/Farther

o Farther refers to a physical distance

∙ Professor spiker walked farther than prof foley

o Further refers to an extension of time or degree

Big changes between 2015&2016

∙ Internets (lowercase i)

∙ Web (lowercase w)

∙ New entry for mistress

∙ New entry for prostitute

∙ Voicemail is now one word If you want to learn more check out What are the two types of errors for measurements?

∙ New explanation for when to use accident/crash

∙ Whiskey/Whisky

∙ Spree is only to be used for shopping not shootings

Writing a Hard News Story

Lead: Main Facts

∙ Who

∙ What

∙ Where

∙ When

∙ Subject-verb-object-order

o Who did what: A 20-year-old UF student was charged with exposing  himself in a parking garage Saturday night.

Active vs. Passive Voice

∙ Active voice: who is doing the action

∙ Passive voice: stresses to whom the action w done We also discuss several other topics like What are the five basic tasks of society?

o Common in police/crime stories

∙ Active: A dog attacked a 3-year-old girl in Depot Park Monday ∙ Passive: a 3-year-old girl was attacked by a dog in Depot Park Monday ∙ Put the most important information first

Types of Leads

∙ Summary

o The who, what , why

o 1-2 sentences

∙ Hard-news lead

o More direct, there's more details to come

∙ Feature/Anecdotal

o More personable, sometime draws out emotion

o Nut graph: sentence that states the focus of the story, comes after the  anecdotal lead

Body: More details

∙ Why?

∙ How?

∙ What is the impact on readers?

∙ Quote: support out first 2-3 paragraphs

o Reinforce  

o Don’t want it to retell what we already know If you want to learn more check out What are the 3 ways to examine relationship between technology and society?
If you want to learn more check out Who is anthony johnson?

o Formula: "I throw the dough into the air, and when I can start to see  the light through it I know it is ready for the toppings," said John Smith,  pizza chef at Big Lou's

Direct quote, to use or not to use

∙ Use:

o Interesting or informative?

o Does it back up the lead?

o Memorable?

o Add emptions

∙ Don’t use:  

o Repetitive

o You can state better in your own words (paraphrasing)

Tail: More detail/more comments

∙ The further we go down the less direct the info needs to be ∙ Can provide background info

o Perspective or context

∙ Elaborate

o Other points of view

o More quotes

Tail: Ending

∙ Future actions

∙ Call to action

∙ Quick summary

∙ End when there is no more new info to reveal