It’s based on the article ‘Using the right words‘ which we recommend trainers read before adapting the outline below for your own purposes.

Learning objective

Students will analyse and apply the correct use of words in journalism by identifying and correcting common word usage errors. They will evaluate the impact of word choice on clarity and accuracy in journalistic writing.

• Student-facing objective: By the end of this lesson the student will be able to spot and fix common word mistakes in journalism and understand how word choice affects the clarity and truthfulness of news stories.
• Standards: Students will understand the power of words and what to use and what not to use.

Learning activities

Warm-up

Begin with a brief discussion about the importance of word choice in journalism. Ask students to think of a recent news story they read or heard. Prompt them to consider how the choice of words might have influenced their understanding or perception of the story.

Next, present a short sentence with a deliberately incorrect word choice, such as “The politician was assassinated in a car accident.” Ask students to identify the error and suggest a correction. Discuss how the incorrect word changes the meaning and impact of the sentence.

Conclude by emphasising the role of precise language in conveying accurate information. This activity primes students for the lesson’s focus on identifying and correcting word usage errors.

Direct instruction

Conceptual understanding: Introduce key word classifications in journalism. Explain the roles of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and prepositions in sentence construction. Use real examples from recent news articles to illustrate how each word type contributes to clarity and meaning. Discuss the impact of incorrect word choice on the reader’s understanding.

Procedural skills and fluency: Present common word usage errors in journalism, such as “affect/effect” and “fewer/less“. Provide sentences with these errors then ask students to identify and correct them. Use examples such as: “The new policy will effect many changes” and “There are less people attending the event”. Guide students through the correction process, emphasising the importance of precision in word choice.

Application: Assign a brief writing task where students draft a short news report on a given topic. Instruct them to focus on using precise language and avoiding common word usage errors. After writing, have students exchange reports with a partner to peer-review for word choice accuracy. Encourage them to provide constructive feedback and suggest improvements.

Guided practice

Think, Pair, Share: Begin by presenting a sentence with a word usage error, such as “The team was decimated by injuries”. Ask students to individually identify the error and think of a correction.

• Pair: Pair students to discuss their thoughts and agree on a corrected version of the sentence. Encourage them to explain their reasoning to each other.
• Share: Invite pairs to share their corrections with the class. Discuss the impact of the incorrect word on the sentence’s meaning and clarity.
• Collect and display: As students share, write their corrections and explanations on the board. Organise these into categories of common errors and correct usage.

Conclude with a class discussion on the importance of precise word choice in journalism, reinforcing the lesson’s learning objective.

Independent practice

• Assign students a set of sentences containing common word usage errors. Direct them to identify and correct each error, focusing on clarity and accuracy.
• Provide a list of frequently confused words and ask students to create sentences using each word correctly.
• Encourage students to rewrite a short news article, replacing vague or incorrect words with precise alternatives.
• Circulate to observe and support students as they work.

Assignment

Ask students:

1. What is one example of a word usage error you corrected today?
2. How does precise word choice affect the clarity of a news story?
3. What’s one question you still have from today’s lesson?

Some suggested answers:

• Suggested answer to Question 1: “I corrected ‘effect’ to ‘affect’ in a sentence about policy changes.”
• Suggested answer to Question 2: “Precise word choice ensures the reader understands the intended message without confusion.”

Teacher resources

Differentiation guide

Advanced learners: Encourage deeper analysis by having students explore the etymology of commonly confused words. Challenge them to create a mini-presentation on how word origins influence current usage. Offer opportunities to write more complex news articles, focusing on nuanced word choice and style.

Striving learners: Simplify tasks by providing sentence starters or word banks for writing exercises. Use visual aids, such as charts or diagrams, to illustrate word classifications and common errors. Pair them with peers for collaborative learning and provide additional examples for practice.

Recommended reading: Trainers using this lesson outline should consider reading the article ‘Using the right words‘ which we recommend you read before adapting the material for your own purposes.

Notable definitions

• Noun: A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., journalist, city, article).
• Verb: A word that expresses an action or a state of being (e.g., write, report, is).
• Adjective: A word that describes or modifies a noun (e.g., accurate, detailed, recent).

Required materials

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed handouts with sentences containing word usage errors
• List of frequently confused words
• Copies of a short news article for rewriting exercise
• Peer review checklist for word choice accuracy
• Access to computers for digital writing and editing
• Access to the article ‘Using the right words‘ on which this lesson plan is based.

Lesson summary

• Warm-up
• Direct instruction
• Guided practice
• Independent practice
• Assignment

The free teaching tools at the Khan Academy were used in the production of this lesson plan.

Related article

The power of words

The post Lesson: Word Power first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Basic literacy is a core element of the job of a journalist. Words are powerful and they need to be used properly.

Words are classified according to the job they do in a sentence.

Word classifications

The following are the most important word classifications that journalists will use in their work. It is important to understand their role in sentence construction:

• Noun
  • Common nouns are naming words (editor, television, albatross).They can be singular or plural.
• Proper noun
  • Proper nouns are names which usually start with a capital letter (Denmark, Mars, Angela). Nouns which refer to collections of people and things are called collective nouns (the team, the Cabinet).
• Verb
  • Verbs express action or a state of being (write, hit, be).
• Pronoun
  • Pronouns take the place of nouns (he, her, we, them).
• Adjective
  • An adjective is a describing word (Welsh, big, blue).
• Adverb
  • An adverb describes a verb or adjective (clearly, gracefully, finally, suddenly).
• Preposition
  • Prepositions are the little words which hold a sentence together, often by showing direction or location (in, to, from, by, with, beyond).

Word usage basics

The first rule of writing is to know what you want to say. This may seem a statement of the obvious, but items are often broadcast and published which are not exactly what the writer intended

“For the second time in six months, a prisoner at Durham jail has died in his cell.”

The ability of some people to die more than once is also illustrated in this headline:

“A suicide bomber has struck again in Jerusalem.”

The key to good writing is simple thoughts simply expressed. Use short sentences and short words. Anything which is confused, complicated, poorly written or capable of being misunderstood risks losing the listener, viewer, or reader, and once you have done that, you might just as well not have come to work.

In broadcasting, the basic sentence structure Subject-Verb-Object works every time. The
audience grasps what you are saying straight away. Anything more flamboyant, such as a subordinate clause, is a potential barrier to understanding.

• Do not describe news as good, bad, shocking or horrendous. Tell the story and let the listener/reader decide.
• Do try to get a strong active verb in the first sentence. You want to make an impact and keep people listening.
• Do not start a news report with a question. The audience wants to be informed, not take part in a quiz.
• Do not begin a story with “As expected…‘ If your item was predictable and you have nothing new to say, why should the listener or viewer pay attention?
• Be positive. Make assertions wherever possible, and try to avoid negatives. It is more direct to say “The plan failed” than “The plan was not successful“.

The most interesting writing often involves creating something unexpected, and rules tend to get in the way, but daily journalism has its discipline that should be observed.

Frequently confused words

English is full of traps for the unwary. Words which sound similar can mean very different things. The audience expect the right words to be used.

Consider these examples:

“A boy of twelve is in intensive care in hospital after a group of teenagers doused him in inflammatory liquid and then threw a lighted match at him.”

The writer did not mean this. She meant inflammable, capable of being set on fire, not inflammatory, tending to stir up trouble.

This writer of the sentence below also chose the wrong word.

“The union’s decision will mitigate against a settlement.“

The word required was militate, working against. Mitigate means to appease, to soften, as in mitigating circumstances, which means circumstances that reduce the seriousness of an offence.

Here is a list of frequently confused words. If you are not confident about their meanings, look them up. If you want a longer list, along with definitions, see our article ‘Frequently confused words‘.

• Affect/effect
• Alternate/alternative
• Appraise/apprise
• Biannual/biennial
• Continual/continuous
• Dependent/dependant
• Discreet/discrete
• Disinterested/uninterested
• Distinctive/distinguished
• Flounder/founder
• Flout/flaunt
• Fortuitous/fortunate
• Inflammable/inflammatory
• Loathe/loath/loth
• Luxuriant/luxurious
• Meter/metre
• Militate/mitigate
• Peddle/pedal
• Practical/practicable
• Principle/principal
• Refute/rebut
• Regretful/regrettable
• Repel/repulse
• Resistant/resilient
• Stationary/stationery
• Titivate/titillate

Confusing sentence structure

There are some topics which seem to have an inexhaustible ability to cause confusion and sow doubt in people’s minds.

Fewer and less

Fewer means not as many, less means not as much. A commonly quoted example used to highlight the distinction is “There are fewer cars on the road”, which means there is less traffic.

These two sentences offer another useful reminder of the difference:

“The fewer people know about this the better.”

“The less people know about this the better.”

The rule does not work if the number is counted as a quantity or as a unit.

“She paid less than ten pounds for it.”

“His last jump was less than fifteen feet.”

Over and more than

Over refers to height, more than refers to quantity.

Consider these sentences:

“Over 10,000 people attended the first day of the festival.”

“More than 10,000 people attended the first day of the festival.”

The second sentence is correct.

That and which

This is not something to get too concerned about. It is not right to suggest that which is somehow grander than that, and on many occasions you can miss out the pronoun altogether, as “The car she was driving”, or “This is the outfit I’ll be wearing tonight“.

When you do use it, a useful guide is that defines, which informs. This is not a cast iron rule but it can help:

“This is the house that Jack built, but I think the one next door, which Jack also built, is more attractive.”

This is another example which illustrates the point:

“The police stopped the second car that was driven by a woman.”

“The police stopped the second car, which was driven by a woman.”

Split infinitive

There is no grammatical rule which says you cannot split an infinitive, but there are people who get almost upset if they hear one.

Sometimes, it is definitely better to split:

“Can dot.com companies ever hope to fully recover their share values?”

This sounds much better than moving fully in front of to recover or behind it. The main consideration is not to write anything which is ambiguous or inelegant.

May or might

The difference between these two words is gradually being eroded and there are many occasions now when they are quite interchangeable.

They offer varying and subtle degrees of certainty.

“The governor might resign” – suggests a possibility.

“The governor may resign” – indicates a little more probability.

May have and might have cause even more difficulty.

“We may have beaten Australia” suggests a lack of knowledge; perhaps we did, perhaps we didn’t, I’m not sure.

“We might have beaten Australia” suggests that if things had been different (wetter, drier, breezier), if that disputed try had been given, or if our forwards had been a little more effective, there was a chance that victory could have been ours.

Superlatives

If you are ever tempted to use a superlative, think about it. Are you absolutely confident that you are right? The audience is an enormous reservoir of information, and it does your reputation no good if you write about things which are incorrect.

Do not try to add impact to your stories by using superlatives you cannot justify, so make sure of your facts before you use words such as:

• exceptional
• exclusive
• fastest
• first
• greatest
• heaviest
• inimitable
• irreplaceable
• largest
• last
• least
• longest
• matchless
• most
• only
• record
• slowest
• smallest
• sole
• tallest
• unique
• unmatched
• unprecedented

If possible, it is best to attribute claims: “A Bridlington man has made what he says is the world’s biggest model of the Empire State Building using only matchsticks”.

If he is challenged, he can slug it out with the competition.

Simple words

Simplicity is the central to understanding. Short words in short sentences present listeners, viewers, and readers with the fewest obstacles to comprehension.

In many cases there are longer, more decorative alternatives but think twice before you use them. They take up more time and they can give the audience more to think about.

Here are some examples:

• approximately = about
• apprehend = catch
• ameliorate = improve
• ascertain = learn
• assistance = help
• attempt = try
• commence = start
• exceedingly = very
• discontinue = stop
• magnitude = size
• manufacture = make
• numerous = many
• possesses = has
• purchase = buy
• remuneration = pay
• requested = asked
• residence = home
• subsequently = later
• terminate = end
• utilise = use

Troublesome words

Some words are often misused. Using the wrong word detracts from your journalism, and prevents you from saying what you really wanted to say. Here are some words to look
out for:

• Anticipate and expect are thought by some people to be interchangeable, but that takes away a useful distinction. If I am playing chess and I anticipate my opponent’s next move, I see it coming and act accordingly. There is action as well as expectation. So if you think Liverpool will beat Manchester United, say you expect a Liverpool victory rather than anticipate one. It is simpler and more direct.
• Assassination should be kept for the violent deaths of royalty and seriously prominent members of society, such as political or religious leaders. Everyone else is murdered or killed.
• Cohort originally meant the tenth part of a Roman legion, and when statisticians use it, they mean a group with a shared characteristic. Despite recent American usage, it does not mean a group of colleagues, cronies, friends, Romans or countrymen.
• Crescendo is a gradual increase culminating in a climax, so it is wrong to say that something rose to a crescendo.The word you want is climax.
• Decimate originally meant to kill every tenth person but is now often used to indicate the destruction of a large part of something. Devastate or destroy are just as good.
• Disinterested means impartial; uninterested means not interested in.
• Draconian is much overused, usually by people with no idea who Draco was. (If asked, say he was an Athenian judge who ruled that the penalty for almost everything should be death.) Try severe or harsh instead.
• Effectively is often confused with in effect. If something is effective, it produces a satisfactory result, so effectively means with a satisfactory outcome. “The outbreak of plague in Birmingham has been effectively contained” means the rest of us are safe. In effect means in practice, and often indicates an unplanned outcome, as in “The new tax has in effect made it more sensible for Jane to remain on benefits”.
• Electrocution means death by electric shock. As such, it is always fatal.
• Enormity does not mean large size. It means great wickedness or outrage, although the correct usage seems to be under attack from all sides.
• Evacuate The rule used to be that only places or buildings were evacuated, not people (unless they had been given an enema). This is at odds with common usage so let the people be evacuated.
• Execute means to put to death after a legal process. Terrorists or criminals do not execute people, they murder them.
• Fatwa is often misused. It is a formal legal opinion handed down by a Muslim religious leader or court. It may or may not be a death sentence.
• Forensic does not mean scientific. It means belonging to courts of law, so a forensic expert knows a lot about the legal process. Forensic scientists produce evidence that might be useful in court cases. Avoid forensic tests; you probably mean scientific tests.
• Fulsome is not a close relative of full, and does not mean generous. It means gushing, cloying, effusive or sickeningly fawning. If that’s how to want to describe a speech or tribute, then this is the word for you.
• Go missing is inelegant and unpopular with many people, but its use is widespread. There are no easy synonyms. Disappear and vanish do not convince and they suggest dematerialisation, which is rare.
• Historic is a popular word with journalists. It is nice to think that the events we are describing will resonate down the decades, but who are we to judge? Use with great care, and never confuse with historical, which means belonging to history.
• Hopefully generates much heat in some quarters. It certainly means in a hopeful manner, as in “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive”, but it is now generally also used to mean it is to be hoped that, as in “Hopefully there will be an improved train service to London”. There is no confusion, so it can justifiably be used in both senses.
• Immolate is not another word for burn. It means to sacrifice or give up something in exchange for something else.
• Infer does not mean the same as imply. If I imply (suggest indirectly) that my programme has an interview with Elvis Presley, and you believe me, you infer (come to the conclusion) that we have the greatest showbiz scoop of all time. Put simply, the inference follows the implication.
• Innocent bystanders and their close friends perfect strangers should not be in your contacts book.
• Ironically does not mean by an odd coincidence. Irony is using words to say the opposite of what they literally mean, and something is ironic if it is the opposite of what might have been expected. It is a subtle concept and is probably best avoided.
• Major is so overused as to be almost meaningless. Think at least twice before you write major operation, major speech, major incident or major changes.
• Massive is regularly misused.As the word implies, it concerns mass, weight and bulk, not quantity.
• Momentarily properly means for a moment, not in a moment, but its misuse is common. If the aircraft pilot says he’ll be landing momentarily, does he mean the plane will touch the ground briefly and then take off again? Probably not.Try to be one of those who uses it correctly.
• Near miss is understood by everyone, even though some people argue that near collision is more accurate. Think of it as shorthand for a miss that came very near to being a collision.
• Refute has a particular meaning. To refute a statement means to prove it wrong. So do not write “The Chancellor refuted opposition claims that he had mishandled the economy”, because it is very unlikely that he did so. Refute is not a synonym for deny, disagree or contradict.
• Surrogate means substitute, so it is the mother who is a surrogate, not the baby.
• Transpire means to come to light or become known, as in “It transpired that the editor had been to school with his secretary’s brother”. It does not mean happen or occur.
• Unique has a unique meaning, and it is that there is only one of something (uni as in unicycle, unicorn or unisex). Nothing can be almost unique. You should be saying distinctive or unusual.
• Viable gets knocked around by many journalists and is often misused. It does not mean workable or feasible, but capable of living and surviving, capable of normal growth and development. If a foetus is not viable it means it cannot survive outside the womb.

Other words are a problem because they are tendentious. For example:

• Ethnic cleansing. This apparently inoffensive term covers a multitude of sins, including massacres, murders, concentration camps, and the forced removal of people from their homes. Not to be used lightly.
• Pro-life is used in the United States to denote the lobby which opposes abortion. In the UK, there is an implication that if you are not pro-life then you are anti-life or pro-death. Avoid this moral minefield by using anti-abortion.
• Reform can also cause problems because it carries a suggestion of improvement, of making things better. When politicians call for the reform of the health service, local government, or the police force, there is no guarantee that their proposals will be positively received by the people directly involved. One man’s reform is another man’s misguided, ill conceived, impractical, vindictive political interference.
• Modernisation is another word to be wary of. It can be used to mask a lot of unpleasant things like job losses, changes in working practices, and getting employees to do more for less. But there’s just a chance it can also mean improved working conditions, new equipment or premises, more flexible hours and a better life for everyone.

Vogue words

There is fashion in language as in most things, and some words are suddenly everywhere. Islamist is regularly used as a synonym for Muslim and seems set to have a long and happy life in stories about terrorism and the threat posed by terrorists.

A raft used to mean a flat structure made up of planks or logs tied together so they formed a floating platform, but journalists and politicians have seized on it as a synonym for a lot of, and they are doing it to death.

• “We are putting together a raft of measures to tackle homelessness.”
• “The bill has attracted a raft of amendments.”
• “The government has unveiled a sweeping raft of proposals.”

What is a sweeping raft? When was the last time you heard someone in the pub say I must get home. I’ve got a raft of ironing to do?

Another word much loved by politicians, diplomats and journalists is broker. Again, do you hear people saying We have brokered a good price for our house? They would be much more likely to say negotiated.

Some people use vogue words because they think it shows they are clever and up with the times. Others believe it demonstrates a lack of original thought and individuality.

Good writers will try to avoid vogue words because they know everyone else is using them.

Here is a brief list of words and phrases. None of them is banned, and nor should they be, but you should approach them with care.

• asymmetrical
• caring
• dichotomy
• ecosystem
• epicentre
• eponymous
• exponential
• fashionista
• infrastructure
• interface
• kickstart
• leading edge
• lifestyle
• meaningful
• overarching
• parameter
• pivotal
• quantum leap
• scenario
• step change
• surgical strike
• synergy
• take on board
• traumatic
• underpin
• warfare

Superfluous words and phrases

English is full of groups of words which go round together filling up sentences. We know them and we are comfortable with them.

But if you want to be concise and clear in your writing you might want to discard them. Here are some examples:

• At this moment in time = now
• By virtue of the fact that = because
• In the absence of = without
• Made good their escape = escaped
• Leaves much to be desired = poor
• Was of the opinion that = thought
• Put in an appearance = appeared
• On account of the fact that = because
• In conjunction with = and
• A large proportion of = many
• Placed under arrest = arrested
• In the event that = if
• With the exception of = except

There are lots more, and none of them should earn a place in your text.

Another way to save time is to be aware of words which go together but actually mean the same thing.

For example, an added bonus does not need the word added because by definition a bonus is something additional.

An aircraft need not plummet down to earth because plummet means falling down. Nothing plummets in any direction other than down.

Here are some more repeater phrases. You can add your own examples.

• New innovation = innovation
• Surrounded on all sides = surrounded
• Red in colour = red
• Razed to the ground = razed
• Exactly the same the = same
• Close proximity = close
• Free gift = gift
• In the field of biology = in biology
• Collaborate together = collaborate
• Temporary reprieve = reprieve
• Consensus of opinion = consensus
• Personal opinion = opinion
• Oblong in shape = oblong
• Future plans = plans
• Close scrutiny = scrutiny
• Minute detail = detail
• Shorter in length = shorter
• Prior experience = experience
• Combine together = combine
• Revert back = revert
• Patently obvious = obvious
• Exact replica = replica

By John Allen

The original text for this article first appeared in a BBC Style Guide. The BBC gave Media Helping Media permission to rework this material and publish it.

Questions

1. What is the primary role of a noun in a sentence?
2. How do proper nouns differ from common nouns?
3. Define the term “collective noun” and provide an example.
4. Explain the difference between “mitigate” and “militate“.
5. Why is it important for journalists to use short sentences and simple words?
6. Analyse the sentence structure of “The plan failed” and explain why it is preferred over “The plan was not successful.”
7. Discuss the significance of using active verbs in the first sentence of a news report.
8. Evaluate the use of the word “unique” in journalism and explain why it should be used cautiously.
9. Synthesise the guidelines provided in the text for avoiding confusing sentence structures.
10. How does the text suggest journalists handle the use of superlatives in their writing?

Answers

1. A noun primarily serves as a naming word in a sentence, identifying people, places, things, or ideas.
2. Proper nouns are specific names that usually start with a capital letter, while common nouns are general names for a class of objects or concepts.
3. A collective noun refers to a group of individuals or things considered as a single entity. An example from the text is “the team.”
4. “Mitigate” means to make less severe or to appease, while “militate” means to work against or hinder.
5. Short sentences and simple words help ensure clarity and prevent misunderstanding, keeping the audience engaged and informed.
6. “The plan failed” is direct and assertive, making it clearer and more impactful than the passive and less direct “The plan was not successful.”
7. Active verbs in the first sentence create impact and engage the audience immediately, encouraging them to continue reading or listening.
8. “Unique” should be used cautiously because it implies that something is one of a kind, and misuse can lead to inaccuracies or exaggerations.
9. The text suggests avoiding complex structures such as subordinate clauses and using clear, direct language to prevent confusion.
10. Journalists should ensure they can justify the use of superlatives with facts, as incorrect use can damage credibility and mislead the audience.

Lesson plan for trainers

If you are a trainer of journalists we have a free lesson plan: ‘Word power‘ which you are welcome to download and adapt for your own purposes.

Related article

We have another article covering this topic which you might want to read.

The post The power of words first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Journalists should not waste words. Their writing should be concise and tight. Adjectives and adverbs clutter up news stories and should be avoided wherever possible.

When it comes to writing – not just news writing but any kind of writing – adjectives and adverbs have a bad reputation.

Mark Twain said: “When you catch an adjective, kill it.” Stephen King said: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs”.

For many decades, the conventional wisdom in journalism has been that you do not, usually, need adjectives and adverbs. Your sentences will be better if you cut them out.

But wait! I just used “usually”, an adverb, and “better”, an adjective. If I cut them out, the first sentence will no longer be accurate, since I am trying to say that there will, occasionally, be a need. And the second sentence does not work at all if I remove “better”.

So you cannot ban the use of adjectives and adverbs.

But you should keep them to a minimum. Mark Twain, in fact, modified his advice:
“I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them (adjectives) – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart.
“An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.”
Instead, make a virtue of economy: use as few words as possible. The newspaper guru, Leslie Sellers, in his 1968 guide, “The simple subs book”, put it this way: “fewer words, better sense”. Apply this across the board, but especially (a permissible use of the adverb in this case) with adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives and adverbs are words that modify. Adjectives change the meaning of nouns. Adverbs change the meaning of verbs, phrases, clauses or sentences. You should always test whether the modification is necessary.

Here are a few examples of commonly-used but unnecessary modifiers, in which the first word can always be cut:

• completely untrue
• strictly necessary
• broad daylight
• considerable difficulty
• firm decision
• together with
• along with
• grateful thanks
• high-speed car chase

Adjectives to do with size are often too broad to add any useful meaning, like “big”, “huge”, “massive”, “astonishing” . They can be cut or replaced with something that adds to the understanding of the story.

Adjectives like “tragic”, “improved” “sad”, “incredible” “unfortunate” are especially dangerous since they include value judgements. Leave it to your readers or listeners to make their own judgements.

Two of the most objectionable words are “really” and “very”. They seldom add any meaning. Mark Twain suggested that every time you are tempted to write the word “very” in your story, substitute the word “damn” – then, as he put it, “your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be”.

Mark Twain was also down on adverbs. He said they were the tool of the “lazy writer”. In their most common form they end in “ly” and are attached to verbs. Here are some sentences which would be better without their adverbs:

“She tiptoed silently into the room.”
“He glared aggressively at the traffic warden.”
“She knew perfectly well he was lying.”
“He completely rejected the allegation.”

In all these cases, the adverb states the obvious. The verb does the job without needing modification. Always try to let the verb stand alone – if it needs strengthening with an adverb, it is the wrong choice of verb.

Journalists choosing their words are the same as carpenters choosing a piece of wood or tailors choosing a length of cloth. We are all craftspeople and our success depends on using the right raw materials – in our case, words.

So be sparing in your use of adjectives and adverbs. It is one of the qualities that marks a professional.

Journalists, like any craftsperson, wield words as their tools. Just as a sculptor chisels away excess stone to reveal the form within, journalists must prune unnecessary words to expose the core of their story.

This principle of concision isn’t merely about brevity; it’s about clarity, impact, and respect for the reader’s time.

While the conventional wisdom in journalism cautions against the overuse of adjectives and adverbs, the issue is more nuanced than a blanket ban.

Using adjectives and adverb properly requires an understanding of their function, and then careful and precise usage.

A single, well-chosen adjective can illuminate a noun, while a cluster of them obscures it.

The same holds true for adverbs. They can add subtle shades of meaning to verbs, but often they merely state the obvious or, worse, mask a weak verb choice.

The problem with excessive modifiers isn’t just wordiness; it’s that they often introduce subjectivity and weaken the writer’s authority.

Words such as “tragic,” “incredible,” or “astonishing” tell the reader how to feel, rather than letting the facts speak for themselves.

Similarly, adverbs such as “really” and “very” rarely add substantive meaning; they are intensifiers that often intensify nothing.

The real skill lies in choosing strong verbs and nouns that carry their own weight.

This isn’t to say that adjectives and adverbs are inherently evil. They have a legitimate role to play in adding detail and nuance.

The job for the journalist is to understand their purpose.

A well-placed adjective can sharpen an image, while a carefully chosen adverb can clarify an action.

The key is to ask: Does this modifier add essential information, or is it merely decorative? Does it enhance the reader’s understanding, or does it simply clutter the sentence?

The journalist’s craft is to choose each word with care, considering its weight, texture, and purpose.

A journalist shouldn’t rely on a weak verb propped up by an adverb when a stronger verb would do the job better.

The pursuit of concision isn’t about stripping language bare; it’s about using it with precision and power, allowing the story to resonate with clarity and impact.

It’s about showing, not telling, and trusting the reader to draw their own conclusions.

By mastering the art of economy, journalists can elevate their writing from mere reporting to compelling storytelling.

Questions

1. What is the main argument presented in the text regarding the use of adjectives and adverbs in writing?
2. How do Mark Twain and Stephen King view the use of adjectives and adverbs, according to the text?
3. Identify two examples from the text where adjectives or adverbs are deemed unnecessary. Explain why they are considered unnecessary.
4. What is the role of adjectives and adverbs in modifying language, as described in the text?
5. Discuss the potential impact of using adjectives that include value judgments, such as “tragic” or “incredible,” in journalism.
6. How does the text suggest journalists should approach the use of adjectives and adverbs in their writing?
7. Analyse the metaphor comparing journalists to carpenters and tailors. What does this metaphor suggest about the craft of writing?
8. What criteria does the text provide for determining whether an adjective or adverb is necessary in a sentence?
9. Evaluate the effectiveness of Mark Twain’s suggestion to replace “very” with “damn” in writing. What is the intended outcome of this advice?
10. Synthesise the text’s recommendations into a set of guidelines for writing concisely and effectively without overusing adjectives and adverbs.

Answers

1. The main argument is that journalists should write concisely and avoid unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, as they often clutter writing.
2. Mark Twain and Stephen King view adjectives and adverbs negatively. Twain suggests eliminating adjectives, while King warns against adverbs, implying they lead to poor writing.
3. Examples include “completely untrue” and “high-speed car chase.” They are unnecessary because the first word does not add meaningful information to the sentence.
4. Adjectives modify nouns, and adverbs modify verbs, phrases, clauses, or sentences. They change the meaning of the words they modify.
5. Using adjectives that contain value judgements may unduly influence the reader towards the journalist’s view, instead of simply presenting the facts and letting the reader form their own opinions.
6. Journalists should be sparing in their use of adjectives and adverbs, ensuring that each one adds necessary meaning to the sentence.
7. The metaphor suggests that writing, like carpentry or tailoring, requires careful selection of materials (words) to create a quality product.
8. The text suggests testing whether the modification is necessary by seeing if the sentence retains its meaning without the adjective or adverb.
9. Twain’s suggestion aims to highlight the redundancy of “very” by replacing it with “damn,” which would be removed by an editor, thus simplifying the writing.
10. Guidelines include: use adjectives and adverbs sparingly, ensure they add necessary meaning, avoid value judgments, and let verbs stand alone when possible.

Lesson plan for trainers

If you are a trainer of journalists we have a free lesson plan: ‘Adjectives and adverbs in journalism‘ which you are welcome to download and adapt for your own purposes.

For further reading on this subject, you might want to read the excellent “A journalist’s guide to the use of English”, by Ted Bottomley and Anthony Loftus. It was written in 1971 and has been updated for this website by Ted’s son John.

The post Adjectives and adverbs in journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Many news stories are about action. You want to capture that in your writing and seize the attention of your audience. One of the ways is by choosing the active voice.

Strong verbs are the best words for suggesting action: run, leap, hit, accuse, rescue, build, explore, kick, ride, catch, etc. And verbs have two “voices”: the active and the passive.

In the active voice: I wrote this module.

In the passive voice: This module was written by me.

In the active voice, somebody is doing something. In the passive voice, something is being done.

They are both perfectly correct, grammatically, but the active voice is shorter, stronger and more direct. It works much better in news stories. There are exceptions, which we will come to later, but in the vast majority of cases, the active voice gives your story impact and vitality.

Here are two ways of writing the same story:

Passive voice: After several months of better trading conditions, the annual bonus to staff at the Fred Smith store group will be paid for the first time in four years.

Active voice: Staff at Fred Smith stores will get their first annual bonus in four years, after the group reported better trading conditions.

The active voice works better – it is less wordy and it puts the human interest angle first.

So the active voice is a basic part of a journalist’s toolkit. It is the default way of writing an interesting story. But the passive voice is not all bad! Sometimes it is the right choice.

“A lion has eaten the president” is much less effective than “The president has been eaten by a lion”.

This is because the overwhelmingly important subject of the story is the president, not the lion, and you want the president mentioned at the beginning of the story. The passive voice serves better in this case.

So the starting point for news writing is to favour the active voice – and to recognise the comparatively rare occasions when it will be better to use the passive.

But there is another reason to understand the use of the active and passive voices. They do not just affect style and impact, they can also affect meaning.

People in the public eye, particularly politicians, sometimes use the passive voice to obfuscate, confuse and mislead.

The classic example is “mistakes were made”.  From the politicians’ point of view that is better than “I made mistakes” because it sets up uncertainty about what happened.

“I made mistakes and I’m sorry” is a very different statement from “mistakes were made and I regret them”.

In the latter case, the politician leaves open the possibility that the mistakes were made by someone else and his regret could easily be about someone else’s error. Because of the way he has phrased his statement, we cannot tell.

It is the skilful use of the passive voice to evade accountability.

Notice that when politicians describe their successes, they say “We took swift action to deal with the situation”. But when they talk about things that have gone wrong, they use words like “it was considered that…”, or “it was felt necessary….”, distancing themselves from the decision-making process through use of the passive voice.

I remember a philandering politician was asked at his latest wedding whether he would now be a faithful husband. He replied: “When a man marries his mistress, a vacancy is created.”

He was saying, in effect, that he would continue to have extra marital affairs – but in his choice of the passive voice, “a vacancy is created”, he was implying that some external force was creating the new opportunities for infidelity that he would no doubt later take up.

Again, the passive voice suggests the politician is an observer of what is happening, rather than the author of it.

So when you are quoting some public figure, make sure to point out any ambiguities created by his use of the passive voice.

You might want also to look at these thoughts on use of  the passive voice by David Poulson at the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.

by Bob Eggington

The choice between active and passive voice significantly impacts clarity, conciseness, and the perceived objectivity of news reporting. While both voices have their uses, understanding their nuances is crucial for effective communication.

Understanding active and passive voice

• Active voice

  • Subject: performs the action.
  • Structure: Subject + Verb + Object (e.g., “The reporter interviewed the witness.”)
  • Characteristics: Direct, clear, and emphasises the actor.

• Passive voice

  • Subject: receives the action.
  • Structure: Object + Verb + Subject (e.g., “The witness was interviewed by the reporter.”)
  • Characteristics: Emphasises the action or the recipient of the action, can obscure the actor.

Applications in news reporting

• Active voice: Best practices

  • Clarity and directness: Active voice promotes clear and concise writing, making news easier to understand.
  • Accountability: It clearly identifies who performed an action, holding individuals or entities accountable.
  • Emphasis on the actor: When the actor is essential to the story, active voice is preferred.
  • Examples:
    • “The police arrested the suspect.” (Clear and direct)
    • “The CEO announced the company’s new strategy.” (Emphasises the actor)

• Passive voice: Appropriate uses

  • Emphasis on the action or recipient: When the action itself or the recipient is more important than the actor.
    • Example: “The museum was vandalised.” (Focus on the vandalism)
  • Unknown or unimportant actor: When the actor is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant.
    • Example: “The road has been closed.” (Actor is implied or unimportant)
  • Avoiding blame or accusation: In sensitive situations, passive voice can soften the impact of a statement.
    • Example: “Mistakes were made.” (Less accusatory than “Someone made mistakes.”)
  • Formal or technical writing: Passive voice is sometimes used in formal reports or scientific writing.
    • Example: “The data were analysed.”

Pitfalls of overuse of passive voice:

• Obscuring accountability: Passive voice can hide who is responsible for an action, leading to a lack of transparency.
• Vagueness and ambiguity: It can create unclear or confusing sentences.
• Weak and impersonal tone: Overuse can make writing sound distant and detached.
• Example of bad passive voice: “It was decided that the budget would be cut.” This phrase does not say who made the decision.

Suggested best practices

1. Prioritise active voice: The active voice is usually the better choice for clarity, directness, and accountability.
2. Use passive voice strategically: Employ passive voice only when it serves a specific purpose, such as emphasising the action, hiding the actor, or softening a statement.
3. Avoid unnecessary passive constructions: Review your writing to eliminate passive sentences that weaken the narrative.
4. Identify the actor: When using passive voice, consider whether the actor should be revealed to provide context and accountability.
5. Maintain consistency: Choose a voice and stick to it within a paragraph or section, unless there’s a specific reason to switch.
6. Read aloud: Reading your work aloud can help you identify awkward passive constructions.
7. Consider your audience: Who is your audience, and what is the best way to present the information to them.
8. Training and review: Regularly review news copy for excessive or inappropriate use of passive voice and provide training to journalists on effective writing techniques.
9. Ask “who?”: When reviewing a passive sentence, ask “Who performed this action?” If the answer is important, rewrite the sentence in active voice.

Conclusion

Mastering the use of active and passive voice is essential for producing clear, accurate, and impactful news reporting. By prioritising active voice and using passive voice strategically, journalists can enhance their writing and ensure they are effectively communicating information to their audiences.

Questions

1. What is the primary advantage of using the active voice in news writing?
2. Provide an example of a sentence in the active voice and then convert it to the passive voice.
3. Why might a journalist choose to use the passive voice in a news story?
4. How can the use of passive voice affect the meaning of a statement?
5. Explain how politicians might use the passive voice to their advantage.
6. Compare the impact of the sentences: “A lion has eaten the president” and “The president has been eaten by a lion.” Why is the passive voice more effective in this case?
7. Discuss the role of strong verbs in conveying action in news writing.
8. Analyse the sentence: “Mistakes were made.” What ambiguity does the passive voice introduce here?
9. How does the choice between active and passive voice influence the reader’s perception of responsibility in a statement?
10. Reflect on the statement: “When a man marries his mistress, a vacancy is created.” How does the passive voice shape the interpretation of this statement?

Answers

1. The primary advantage of using the active voice in news writing is that it is shorter, stronger, and more direct, which helps capture the attention of the audience and gives the story impact and vitality.
2. Active voice: “The journalist wrote the article.” Passive voice: “The article was written by the journalist.”
3. A journalist might choose to use the passive voice to emphasise the subject of the story or when the doer of the action is unknown or irrelevant.
4. The use of passive voice can obscure who is responsible for an action, creating ambiguity and potentially misleading the audience.
5. Politicians might use the passive voice to evade accountability by distancing themselves from actions or decisions, as it allows them to avoid directly stating who is responsible.
6. In the sentence “The president has been eaten by a lion,” the passive voice is more effective because it places the focus on the president, who is the more important subject of the story.
7. Strong verbs are crucial in news writing as they suggest action and help convey the story’s dynamics, making it more engaging for the reader.
8. The sentence “Mistakes were made” introduces ambiguity because it does not specify who made the mistakes, allowing the speaker to avoid taking direct responsibility.
9. The choice between active and passive voice influences the reader’s perception of responsibility by either clearly identifying the doer of an action (active) or obscuring it (passive).
10. The passive voice in the statement “When a man marries his mistress, a vacancy is created” implies that the creation of a vacancy is an external event, distancing the speaker from personal responsibility for his infidelity.

Lesson plan for trainers

If you are a trainer of journalists we have a free lesson plan: Using the active or passive voice in news writing which you can download and adapt for your own purposes.

The post The active and passive voices in news first appeared on Media Helping Media.

This is another training module from The News Manual, part of a series reproduced on this site about language and style in news writing.

The importance of language

In this modules, we offer guidance on how to write sentences for maximum understanding and why care over language is important.

Your main task as a journalist is to help people understand what is happening around them; in their village, in their country and in the world. Most readers or listeners will not have your knowledge of language, so you must simplify it for them.

You should be able to examine the most complicated issues and events, then translate them into language which your audience can understand. If you fail in this, people will stop buying your newspaper or tuning in to your radio or television station. You will be failing in your job.

For many journalists today, English is the main language used for newspapers or magazines, radio, television or the Internet. This training module is written in English, so it concentrates on the English language. It is worth remembering, however, that even a language as common as English is not exactly the same all over the world.

There are differences between, for example, UK English and American English. There are often also differences in the way English is written or spoken within individual countries. It may sometimes be difficult to decide what is correct in the English used in your country.

Language is developing all the time, and your country may not yet have a well-established set of rules for English. If this is so, you should use the form which is accepted as correct by the most literate educated people in your country. Above all, use words and grammar which are most easily understood by your readers or listeners.

Although you are reading this in English, you may do a lot of writing in other languages. Many of the general points we make about writing style will apply to these other languages. Learn the general points and try to apply them to your own language or languages.

You may get some guidance on such things as sentence length, punctuation or word usage from your organisation’s style books. These are books which lay down rules for language you must follow in your particular paper or broadcasting station.

You should ask your editor or chief of staff for a copy of your organisation’s style book. Unfortunately, many small or new organisations do not have their own style book. In these chapters, we try to give you some general guidelines for language use and writing style. Use this advice to create your own style guide.

Short, sharp, clear sentences

Whether you write for newspapers, broadcasting or the Internet, you should always aim for words and sentences which provide the maximum amount of understanding with the minimum risk of confusion.

This generally means keeping words and sentences short and simple. You can use long words, but you must be sure they are doing their job properly. There is no room in your sentences for fat and lazy words. If words do not add to understanding, get rid of them.

Sentence length

There is no single rule about the length of sentences in news writing, but you should set yourself a target for the maximum number of words you use.

We suggest that you never use more than 20 words in any sentence, except in special circumstances. If you follow this rule, your sentences will be simpler, there will be less room for error and you will make a more efficient use of words.

An alternative way of judging the best length for your sentences is to count the number of ideas or concepts you expect your reader or listener to understand. Compare these two examples of the same story. Notice how version A tries to pack all the ideas into one sentence, whereas version B splits them into three separate sentences:

• Story A: Four aircraft passengers, the pilot and three people travelling in a car were killed when a twin-engined Beechcraft Baron aircraft hit an electric power line and crashed near Nadi airport this week.
• Story B: Eight people died when an aircraft crashed near Nadi airport this week.
  The pilot and four passengers died when their twin-engined Beechcraft Baron hit a power line. The plane then crashed into a car on a road near the airport, killing three more people.

Notice that, although Story B is 12 words longer than Story A, it is split into three sentences. None of the sentences in Story B is longer than 20 words. Get someone to read both stories out loud to you, and you will quickly see that Story B is easier to understand.

The reason is simple. Story A contains six separate ideas for the reader or listener to understand at one time:

1. the people in the plane;
2. the people in the car;
3. the type of plane;
4. the cause of the crash;
5. the location of the crash;
6. the time of the crash.

Story B, by comparison, has fewer ideas in each sentence. The first sentence has just four simple ideas:

1. the total number of dead;
2. a simple description of the type of plane;
3. where it crashed;
4. when it crashed.

The second sentence tells us:

1. how many died in the plane;
2. the exact type of plane;
3. the exact cause of the crash.

The third sentence tells us:

1. how the people in the car died;
2. where the car was;
3. how many died in the car.

You may argue that Story B, as well as being longer, gives a total of 10 ideas to understand. However, many of those ideas are not separate. They relate to details in the preceding sentence. Linking ideas and repeating details often helps understanding. More important, those ten ideas are not thrown at our audience in one breath. The full stop at the end of each sentence (which comes as a pause on radio and television) allows the reader or listener time to digest one set of facts before moving on to new details.

We recommend that you try to limit each sentence to no more than three separate ideas. You can occasionally use four ideas per sentence, as long as those ideas are not complicated. We fitted four ideas into the intro of Story B above because two of the ideas – the time and place – are very simple and easy for the reader to understand.

Lively language

The words you use will help to make your story easy to understand. Long words are not bad in themselves, if they are the only words available to explain a particular meaning accurately. However, the English language is large and varied so there are usually shorter alternatives which do the job just as well as long words.

Many young journalists think that they have to use the whole of their vocabulary when writing even the simplest news story. You may wish to show off your knowledge of the language, but your knowledge is not what matters. The vocabulary of your reader or listener is more important.

Some journalists also believe that they can only add drama or depth to a story by adding words. We get sentences like:

The man ran swiftly across the street to help the defenceless boy who was being brutally beaten.

Take out the adjectives and adverbs in italics. They are unnecessary and only slow the sentence down. The word swiftly is unnecessary because people do not usually run slowly. The boy is obviously defenceless, otherwise he would not be being beaten. And the word brutally is unnecessary, as most beatings are brutal. The sentence is now much livelier and sharper:

The man ran across the street to help the boy who was being beaten.

The most effective way to add drama to a sentence is to choose the verbs carefully. For example, try changing the verb “ran” to “strolled”, “walked”, “flew” or “thundered”. See how they alter the whole picture of what happened. We do not suggest that you change verbs simply to add drama. Every word must accurately describe what happened. But it is better to choose the correct verb than to add unnecessary adjectives and adverbs. The use of a variety of verbs is most common in sports reporting, where we read of players kicking, shooting, powering or rocketing the ball into the net.

Using new words

Many careless writers introduce new words without thinking how they will be understood. Sometimes they change nouns into verbs, in order to make sentences shorter. The danger with this is that the resultant verb is often less precise than the original phrase and is less readily understood by people. Avoid using verbs such as:

• To author (use to write)
• To hospitalise (use to admit to hospital or to be in hospital)
• To parent (use to be a parent or to act like a parent)

You must be very careful about introducing new words which your readers or listeners might not understand. This is especially important if the word is in their second language. Stay with familiar words.

However, if you cannot avoid using a new word, you must follow it immediately with an explanation. For example, many English language newspapers and broadcasters use the Russian word glasnost quite freely when speaking of the changes in the Soviet Union. When they first began to use it, they needed to explain that glasnost means “the opening up of a society which has previously been rigidly controlled”.

There are also times when new words or usages have been readily accepted by society before the media decide to use them. It would be foolish, for example, to fight against the use of farewell as a verb in the South Pacific. People often speak of `farewelling a friend’.

Sentence structure

It is not enough to write short sentences using simple words. You also have to construct your sentences in such a way that the ideas are easy to understand.

The sentence “the man hit the table” is in the active voice (where the man is the hitter). The sentence “the table was hit by the man” is in the passive voice. Wherever possible, write in the active voice. That is the way most people speak. People do not say “the bus was missed by me”, they say “I missed the bus”.

See ‘The active and passive voices in news‘.

However, there are times when you cannot avoid using the passive voice. This is particularly so when it is not clear who is responsible for the action or when the subject of the sentence is unimportant or unclear. For example we would write:

Three children have been admitted to hospital with suspected food poisoning. (Passive voice)

It would be wrong to use either of the following versions, the first because it is not clear who admitted them (was it a doctor or a nurse?), the second because we are not sure that it was food poisoning:

Someone admitted three children to hospital with suspected food poisoning.

or:

Food poisoning put three children in hospital.

Other factors which can make sentences too complicated for your reader or listener to understand include:

Subordinate clauses

You should avoid starting a sentence with a subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses usually begin with words such as “while…”, “as…”, “although…”, “even though…”, “because …” and “despite…”. They are separate phrases within a sentence which help to put the main part of the sentence in context. In the following example of bad sentence construction, the subordinate clause is in italics:

BAD: Although there has been a 20 percent increase in murders this year, the Prime Minister has vowed not to bring back hanging.

The main point of the sentence is that the Prime Minister has said he will not bring back hanging. The subordinate clause sets this promise in the context of the rising crime rate. In the example above, putting the subordinate clause at the beginning of the sentence may confuse your readers or listeners. They expect to hear the main facts first. Rewrite the sentence as follows:

BETTER: The Prime Minister has vowed not to bring back hanging, despite a 20 percent increase in murders this year.

And and but

Even simple joining words like and and but can cause confusion if they are not used wisely. These words are called conjunctions because they join things together. The word and is quite acceptable when used to join together two words or phrases:

The man and the woman had two daughters and a son.

However, it should not be used to join together long lists of ideas which can quite easily be split into separate sentences. In the two examples which follow, the first version is confused by using and and but. By splitting it into separate sentences we do not alter the meaning, we simply make it easier to understand, for reasons we discussed in the section on sentence length:

• RIGHT: Import duty on meat and vegetables will be reduced by ten percent.
  The special subsidy for rice exporters will be increased by five percent. These changes will come into effect after the next budget.
• WRONG: Duty on imported meat and vegetables will be reduced by ten percent and the special subsidy for rice exporters will be increased by five percent but these changes will not come into effect until after the next budget.

Paired negatives

Paired or double negatives in English are not only bad grammar (“he has not got no pawpaw”), they usually create confusion, especially in the spoken word. Although logically paired negatives simply cancel each other out, many people do not use them in this way. Many other languages have totally different rules about paired negatives, and even some British dialects use the paired negative to add stress to a negative idea.

For example, the sentence “He was happy” is easy to understand. So is the sentence “He was unhappy”. But what do you understand by “He was not unhappy”. Was he happy or unhappy? Do you see the confusion? Make it a rule: avoid paired negatives.

Objectivity

Your language must not only be easily understood, it must be fair. You should not use words which give a biased view of a person, an event or a situation.
Many words develop special, biased meanings because of the way they are commonly used in a community. In some cases, you cannot avoid using such words. Take care that the words you use reflect the meaning in the community and not your own opinions.

In particular, you should be careful about using words which describe disputes or conflicts. In these cases, each side to the dispute may choose to use the words which reflect well on them and badly on their opponents. As a journalist, you should try to steer the middle course.

The most obvious cases of bias are introduced by the use of adjectives and adverbs. A protester’s peaceful resistance may seem like violent obstruction to a policeman on duty. An injured person waiting for an ambulance may think it arrived slowly when the ambulance driver believes he drove fast.

Verbs too can be loaded with bias. The same protester who lobbed a stone at a police van may be seen by the men inside to have hurled it at them. A boss sees his workers go on strike, the workers may say they withdraw their labour. Words like sack, retrench and make redundant describe similar situations in which people lose their jobs, but they mean quite different things to the bosses and workers involved. Some American companies even speak of letting workers go, even though the workers themselves have no choice.

Nouns can also express bias. A building can be a house to a poor person, yet seem like a shack to the rich observer. It may seem to be in a suburb to its owner, and in a slum to the rich man. And who is rich? If you have $100 you will be rich to a beggar, but poor to a millionaire.

It is impossible to list all the words which may contain bias. You must look at each word individually and ask yourself if it is fair and accurate.

Quotes

You are on safer ground when you use words in quotes. That way the reader can judge the bias through the eyes of the person you quote. (In radio or television, it is better to use a recording of people speaking the actual words, called actuality.) In the following example, look at the difference between these two sentences describing the same crime. Notice how the magistrate and the accused see the crime in opposite ways:

• The magistrate said: “These were mean and despicable thefts, carried out against a defenceless family for no good reason.”
• The accused said: “I never robbed anyone. I just took from the rich people and gave it back to the poor.”

Do not pass judgment. Give the words in quotes and let you readers or listeners judge for themselves.

An added advantage of using quotes is that you can use much livelier language – the words the people themselves used.

To summarise

• You must keep your language clear and simple so that your readers or listeners can understand.
• Sentences should be short – no longer than 20 words or three concepts (ideas).
• Sentence structure should be simple; it is best to write in the active voice.
• Explain any new words whenever you use them.

This module is taken from The News Manual’s Chapter 10: Language & style basics.

Questions

1. What is the primary task of a journalist?
2. Why is it important for journalists to simplify language for their audience?
3. How should journalists handle differences in English language usage across different regions?
4. What is the recommended maximum number of words per sentence for news writing
5. Compare Story A and Story B in the text. Why is Story B considered easier to understand?
6. What role do verbs play in adding drama to a sentence, and how should they be used effectively?
7. Why should journalists be cautious when introducing new words to their audience?
8. Explain the difference between active and passive voice, and why the active voice is generally preferred in news writing.
9. How can the use of quotes help maintain objectivity in journalism?
10. What are some potential sources of bias in language, and how can journalists avoid them?

Answers

1. The primary task of a journalist is to help people understand what is happening around them, whether in their village, country, or the world.
2. Simplifying language is important because most readers or listeners may not have the journalist’s knowledge of language, and simplifying helps ensure understanding.
3. Journalists should use the form of English accepted as correct by the most literate educated people in their country, while also considering the ease of understanding for their audience.
4. The text recommends that journalists should not use more than 20 words in any sentence, except in special circumstances.
5. Story B is considered easier to understand because it splits the information into three separate sentences, allowing the reader to digest one set of facts before moving on to new details.
6. Verbs add drama by accurately describing actions. Journalists should choose precise verbs rather than adding unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.
7. Journalists should be cautious because new words might not be understood by the audience, especially if the word is in their second language. If unavoidable, the word should be immediately explained.
8. Active voice is when the subject performs the action (e.g., “the man hit the table”), while passive voice is when the action is performed on the subject (e.g., “the table was hit by the man”). Active voice is preferred because it is clearer and more direct.
9. Quotes help maintain objectivity by allowing the audience to judge the bias through the eyes of the person quoted, rather than the journalist’s interpretation.
10. Bias can arise from adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and nouns that carry subjective meanings. Journalists can avoid bias by choosing words that are fair and accurate, and by using quotes to present different perspectives.

Lesson plan for trainers

If you are a trainer of journalists we have a free lesson plan: ‘Language and style‘ which you are welcome to download and adapt for your own purposes.

The post Language and style – basics first appeared on Media Helping Media.

If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.

Whether you gather the information in one language and write the story in another, or whether you write a story first in one language and then rewrite in another language, you face the task of translation.

However, if you have a good command of both languages and follow a few simple rules, translation should not be difficult.

This module is written only in English, but the processes we describe always involves two or more languages. It is possible that English will not be one of the languages you work in when translating.

To avoid confusion, we will call the language which you are translating from (or conducting interviews in) the source language; and we will call the language you are translating into (or writing the final story in) the target language.

The principles of translation

The first thing to remember is that translation is the transfer of meaning from one language to another. It is not the transfer of words from language to language.

You must translate the meaning of what is being said, rather than do it word-for-word. This is because languages are not just different words.

Different languages also have different grammar, different word orders, sometimes even words for which other languages do not have any equivalents.

The English spoken by a scientist may have words which a simple farmer cannot even start to imagine. And the farmer is likely to have words for things the technologist never dreamed of.

Simple steps in translation

We will start by talking about the simplest form of translation – the one where you already have a story written down in one language (the source) and you want to translate it into another language (the target). The steps to follow are:

• Read the whole of the original source story through from beginning to end, to make sure that you can understand it. If you cannot understand everything that is said, you cannot translate it. If there are any words or phrases that you do not understand, you must clarify these first. You may decide that the ideas they express are too difficult to translate or not worth translating, but you need to know what they are before you can judge.
• Do a first draft translation, trying to translate all the source material. But do not translate word-for-word. Remember that you are translating the meaning. When you have finished the first translation, you will now have a draft story in the target language.
• Go back over the whole of your draft translation and polish it without looking at the source original. (You might even like to turn the source story face down on your desk so you cannot cheat.) Make sure that your translation reads well in the target language. Compare the final version of your translation with the source original to make sure that you have translated it accurately. This is when you can make any detailed adjustments in individual words or phrases.

False friends

Beware of words or phrases we call “false friends”. These are words in the original source language which you retain in your translation, often because you cannot think of the correct translation.

If you cannot think of the right word, how can you expect your reader or listener to? Of course, languages borrow from each other all the time. If a society comes across a new idea, it may simply use the foreign word without inventing a word of its own.

H however you are translating meaning, not words. If you come across a word in your original language which has no equivalent in the target language, perhaps you can use a phrase (i.e. several words) instead.

For example, many languages do not have a word for “computer”. Instead of retaining the English word “computer”, can you translate it as “a machine which does brain work” or something similar?

Be careful, though, that you do not try to re-invent the community’s language to suit your own way of thinking. If you have problems with translating words, consult experts or ask your colleagues to see if you can reach agreement on the correct translation.

If you are a journalist working in a small language community, the words you decide upon could become the standard usage.

Of course, some foreign words will inevitably creep into other languages. Words such as “computer” are becoming widely accepted by speakers of non-English languages and may eventually be understood by everyone. The problem arises in the time between the foreign word being first introduced and it being understood by everyone.

During such transition periods, use the word untranslated, but follow it immediately with a translation or explanation. For example, you might write in your target language the equivalent of:

The provincial government is to buy computers for each of its local offices. The computers are machines which will help office staff to keep accounts, write letters and do other jobs.

Dictionaries

You cannot translate words in isolation. Words get their meaning from how they are used in each situation – what we call their context. You must do a contextual translation.

You should use a bilingual dictionary where one is available, but be careful when looking up translations for individual words. Dictionaries are useful, but there is very often more than one translation for individual words. The best dictionary is one which defines the word in its various contexts.

For example, a simple English word like “skip” has several quite different meanings. It can mean any of the following, depending on the context: to move lightly, especially by jumping from one foot to another; to omit or leave something out; to deal with something quickly and without much thought; a large container for transporting building materials, especially waste. It can even be short for “skipper”, the captain of a ship or sports team. You can see that using the wrong translation of “skip” could have some unfortunate results.

Listen to the little voice in your head if it tells you that a translation seems strange. It is better to ask advice than to write something silly. You may not know all the uses for each word, especially slang words which you cannot find in dictionaries. For example, mechanics often refer to an adjustable spanner as a “monkey wrench”, when it has nothing to do with monkeys.

Writing style

You do not have to be an expert in linguistics to make good translations. If you know your target language well, you can usually hear in your head whether the sentence sounds correct in your translation.

Your translation should not try to duplicate the word order or grammatical construction used in the source language unless it is also correct in your target language. For example, some languages put the verb (the “doing word”) at the beginning of a sentence, some in the middle and some at the very end.

You do not have to use all the words from your source material for translation if your target language can cope without them. For example, we may say in English “The ship sank lower in the water”, whereas in another language the words “in the water” may be unnecessary because the words for “sink” in relation to “ship” already includes the idea of “water”.

Also, do not be afraid of using more words in your translation than in the original. Although in journalism you should aim to keep your sentences short and crisp, this must not be allowed to interfere with the clarity of the ideas you are trying to communicate.

Some other problem areas

Translation is a very big and complicated field which we cannot discuss in great detail here. However, the following are some other problem areas you might want to keep in mind:

Understatements and euphemisms

Be aware of the cultural differences in languages. Some languages like to hide unpleasant facts beneath understatements or euphemism. Euphemisms are mild or inoffensive words which are used in the place of harsh or hurtful words.

Some speakers might use humour in one situation which another language would not permit. Again, you must understand the meaning in context.

Linking words

Words such as “although”, “but”, “from”, “even” and a host of others are usually very important in English, as they are used to show the relationships between the words in your sentences. Getting these small words wrong can alter entirely the sense of the sentence.

Verbs

These can sometimes cause problems in their different forms. There are, for example, quite distinct meanings for the words “can”, “may”, “must” and “should”. If you are not sure, it is best to avoid the construction altogether and say it a different way.

Accuracy

Some languages are more accurate than others in certain areas. For example, many language groups in Papua New Guinea have more than 10 different words for varieties of sweet potato. The Inuit Indians of Canada have different words for 20 separate things which in English we just call “snow”.

English is not a precise language in many areas. Be aware that a vagueness in English may not be acceptable in another language. For example, we can say “Doctor Smith” in English, whereas in Chinese we have to know the gender of the doctor to translate the word “doctor”.

Ambiguity

Sometimes the exact meaning in the source language is left unclear (ambiguous) on purpose, in which case you should try to keep it that way. This is especially so when reporting claims, accusations and hearsay evidence in such things as police stories.

For example, a person might be charged in English with “unlawful carnal knowledge”, which usually means a sexual offence against a person under the age of consent. You should not translate that as “rape of a child” or “sodomy of a little boy” or any other specific sexual act unless that is part of the charge. It is better in this case to use a phrase similar to “a sexual offence against a young person”.

Names and titles

There is still a debate about the need or otherwise of translating names from one language into another.

For example, would you retain the English title “Education Department” or translate it into something like “office for schools”? Of course, a lot depends on how the rest of your community use the term, especially those people who are most closely involved, such as the Education Department itself.

Your newspaper, radio or television station may have a policy on this. If not, perhaps you should get together to decide on a policy, taking into account how the community in general deals with names and titles.

Get a large, hard-bound exercise book for the newsdesk, thumb-indexed A to Z down the side. You can call this your Translation Style Guide. Once you have agreed on the correct translation for any problem word, enter the word with its translation on to the correct page in the book.

Revise the book every so often to make sure that all the entries are still relevant. If your newsroom computers are networked, create a common file which everyone can access.

There are two ways people use names (or titles). The first is to identify the place or person, the second is to describe their function.

It is usual to leave untranslated names which act as signposts for people, but translate those names which describe a function.

For example, you would not translate the word “Baker” in the name “Baker Street”, because it acts as a signpost, but you would probably translate the name “Police Station”.

If a language used by your community is also used elsewhere in the world, you should remain aware of how it is spoken in other countries.

For example, French may be commonly used in your society, so you need to keep up-to-date with how French is used in other French-speaking countries. Remember that all languages change, especially in their motherland.

onstantly refresh your understanding of the way the language is developing both in your own society and elsewhere.

Translation during news gathering

So far, we have talked mainly about rewriting a story in one language into a story in another language. But your work may involve interviewing in one language and writing the story itself in another language.

For example, your newspaper may be printed in English, but you have to interview a villager in his mother tongue which is not English.

The best way of doing this is to conduct the interview in the villager’s language and make your notes in that language too. You can then translate your quotes into English as you write your story.

This method means that, while you are conducting the interview, you can ask questions in the villager’s language to clarify any doubtful points. You can also check your story back with him in his language to make sure you have the facts correct.

However, some languages may have been written down only recently and so may not have a clear and easy written form in which to make your notes. If this is so, and if you are fluent in both languages, you may be able to listen in the villager’s language while making your notes in English. You are translating as you listen and write.

This may work perfectly well, but a word of warning: Trying to translate while also concentrating on what the villager is saying may introduce errors into your notes. Ask the villager to slow down a little so that you can make your notes, then check your notes at the end of the interview by translating them back into the villager’s language for him.

Radio and television journalists can overcome this problem by using their tape recorders, but newspaper reporters might also find a tape recorder useful in such situations. You should still make notes, but have a tape recorder running at the same time so that you can check later to make sure that you made the correct translation during the interview.

There is one final complication of which you must be aware. This comes when you are interviewing in a source language, writing your story in a target language and then having to translate the same story back into the source language.

This might occur if you have to produce a special language bulletin or an edition of your newspaper in the source language. The danger is that you might not get an exact translation back into the source language, and so you might misquote someone.

When writing a story which has to be translated twice, always refer back to your original notes when writing your second story, so that you can get the quotes exactly right.

This module is taken from The News Manual’s Chapter 13: Language & Style – Translation.

Questions

1. What is the primary task of a journalist working in a multilingual society according to the text?
2. Define the terms “source language” and “target language” as used in the text.
3. Explain why translation is described as the transfer of meaning rather than the transfer of words.
4. What are “false friends” in the context of translation, and why should they be avoided?
5. Describe the process of contextual translation and its importance.
6. How can cultural differences impact translation, particularly with understatements and euphemisms?
7. Discuss the challenges that linking words and verbs can pose in translation.
8. Why is it important to consider the precision of language when translating, as illustrated by the example of sweet potatoes and snow?
9. How should a journalist handle names and titles during translation, and what factors should influence this decision?
10. What are the potential complications of translating a story back into the source language, and how can they be mitigated?

Answers

1. The primary task is translation, which involves working in more than one language to gather information and write stories.
2. The “source language” is the language from which you are translating, and the “target language” is the language into which you are translating.
3. Translation is the transfer of meaning because languages have different grammar, word orders, and sometimes no direct word equivalents.
4. “False friends” are words retained in translation due to a lack of correct translation, leading to potential misunderstandings.
5. Contextual translation involves understanding words in their specific context, as words can have multiple meanings.
6. Cultural differences can lead to misinterpretations if euphemisms or humor are not appropriately translated.
7. Linking words and verbs can change the meaning of sentences if not translated correctly, affecting the overall message.
8. Precision is important because some languages have more specific terms for certain concepts, which can affect clarity.
9. Names and titles should be translated based on their function and community usage, considering how they are used locally and globally.
10. Translating back into the source language can lead to inaccuracies; referring to original notes can help ensure accuracy.

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