CHAPTER XIV
DON’TS FOR THE NEWS WRITER
A vast deal of the slipshod and prolix stuff which we are compelled to read or to listen to is, of course, born of idleness. When, as so often happens, a man takes an hour to say what might have been as well or better said in twenty minutes, or spreads over twenty pages what could easily have been exhausted in ten, the offense in a large majority of cases is due, not so much to vanity, or to indifference to the feelings of others, as to inability or unwillingness to take pains.—From an address, “Culture and Character,” delivered before the University of Aberdeen by the Right Honorable H. H. Asquith.
The following list of “Don’ts” has been compiled from a considerable experience in reading newspaper copy and in directing the work of students in journalism classes. Practical application is made of some of the principles discussed in preceding chapters:
1. Don’t think it necessary to call a child a “tot.”
2. Don’t hesitate to repeat a name for the sake of clearness. Too many personal pronouns lead to confusion.
3. Don’t say a wedding “occurred.” Things occur unexpectedly; they take place by design.
4. Don’t use “loan” as a verb. The verb is “lend.”
5. Don’t say “Smith graduated,” but “Smith was graduated.” A school graduates its pupils; they are graduated.
6. Don’t say “a number of” when you can avoid it. Nothing could be more vague. Try to give the exact number or at least an approximation. “Several” is usually better than “a number of.”