EXERCISES FOR THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER

  1. Collect human interest and newspaper feature stories.
  2. Watch for material for human interest stories; look at the facts in your other news stories in a sympathetic way and see how they could be made into human interest stories.
  3. Write human interest stories on facts given by the instructor and on facts discovered by the students.
  4. Write animal stories, and witty comments on the weather.
  5. Write up some timely local subject as a 1500-word feature story.

EXERCISES FOR THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER

  1. Gather good theatrical reports and watch for those in which the whole report is written around a single idea.
  2. At the theater watch for things to comment on; try to bring away one definite idea about the play—with illustrations.
  3. Write dramatic criticisms that are the embodiment of a single idea or criticism on the play.
  4. Try to point out the bad things in a play without being bitter or personal.
  5. Write a half-column of copy on a vaudeville show, supposing that the copy is paid for and must praise, not only the show as a whole, but each individual act.

EXERCISES FOR THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER

  1. Notice the form and punctuation of the date line: MADISON, Wis., Feb. 29.—
  2. Notice the writing of street addresses: 234 Grand avenue, 4167 Twenty-sixth street; 3857 138th street; (without "at").
  3. Notice in the use of figures—sums of money, hours of day, ages, figures at the beginning of sentence.
  4. Notice use of titles; use of Mr. before a man's name—always give a man's initials or first name the first time you mention it in any story.

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APPENDIX II
NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED

(The following stories have been prepared to illustrate some of the most usual mistakes in newspaper writing. They may be rewritten or used as exercises in copy-reading. As a class exercise, the student may revise and correct these stories without recopying, just as a copy-reader revises poorly written copy.)