COMMON MISTAKES IN THE HOMEWORK

OK Gang

Let's start practicing AP Style when we write, not just when we do an AP Style test.

Too many of you are still not using numbers for amounts from 10 up.

Measurements, distances, weights etc. do take numbers so check those out in your style book.

Remembers ALL ages takes numbers.

Except on rare occasions, do NOT begin a news story with the day of the week or time of day.

ACCORDING goes with records, documents not humans. Fire chief John Brown said. According to the Declaration of Independence.

DON'T PUT THINGS IN QUOTES THAT ARE NOT DIRECTLY QUOTED IN THE EXERCISE. THERE WERE NO DIRECT QUOTES IN THE HOMEWORK.

Try not to use unnecessary words. Give us the facts please, NOT your opinions. Get to the meat of the story. Readers don't have the patience to wade through flowery phrases.

On second reference to something use the instead of a... e.g.

A plane crashed into the hills over Denver.

The police officer said the crash caused two deaths and massive damage.

People think about things. They believe in God. Only use believe in a religious context.

Read your stories aloud - some of your leads didn't even make sense because of dropped words or muddled thinking. If they don't make sense when you say them to yourself, then rework them.

Remember - I want you to be the best you can be, so I'm going to keep on nagging and docking you points until you get it right.

Ann H.