Fundamentals of Journalism (JOUR 1033)
Journalistic style -- especially in punctuation -- is spare. There are some marks we rarely use. We have our own rules about others. The guiding rule, though, is: Don't use more than you have to but enough to make your writing perfectly clear.
The tricky parts:
The serial comma -- That's the comma that comes before the "and" or the "or" in a series of equal words or phrases. Example: The flag is red, white, and blue.
But journalists don't use it. We write: The flag is red, white and blue.
Also: He wanted to be a rock star, to climb Mt. Everest or to tour Europe.
There's an exception -- see Commas, below.
The semicolon -- Journalists use it in a very specific way and seldom use it otherwise.
Example: The winners were Mary Jones, first grade; Jimmy Smith, second grade; and Johnny Brown, third grade.
We use semicolons to separate phrases that contain commas. Notice that we do use the "serial" semicolon.
Otherwise: It would be grammatically correct to write: "He was tired; therefore, he lay down for a nap." But we don't often use the semicolon that way. We're more likely to write: "He was tired, so he lay down for a nap." Or: "He was tired. He lay down for a nap."
Single quotes in headlines -- That's just the way we do it. We don't use regular quotation marks in headlines. When we quote someone directly, we use single quote marks.
We don't use exclamation marks.
Two quick rules to make your life easier: Commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks. Periods that end sentences ALWAYS go inside quotation marks.
The Rest of the Rules
These rules shouldn't vary much from what you already know about punctuation.\
THE PERIOD
1. Use the period to end sentences that are statements.
2. Use periods with most abbreviations:
D.C. M.D. Dr. B.C. B.A. a.m. Ph.D. Lt.
** When an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, use only one period:
Government is the business of Washington, D.C.
** Periods are usually dropped from abbreviations for organizations, corporations and government agencies
when more than two words are abbreviated:
IBM USMC NFL AFL-CIO
But not U.S. or U.N.
THE QUESTION MARK
Use the question mark after direct questions:
Will economists ever understand the economy?
** Never combine question marks with other question marks, exclamation points, periods or commas.
** Question marks may go inside or outside quotation marks, depending on the meaning:
Who wrote "Gone With the Wind"?
He asked, "How long will it take?"
EXCLAMATION POINTS
Journalists don't use them, but if you do, treat them as question marks.
COMMAS
1. Use commas between items in a series and between coordinate adjectives:
SERIES: Breakfast consisted of coffee, eggs and toast.
** Do not use a comma before the conjunction at the end of a series unless needed for clarity:
' Exception: He bought a can of corn, a can of peas and carrots, and a can of beans.
COORDINATE ADJECTIVES: The dirty, rusty, dented car was an eyesore.
** Try to avoid stacking adjectives. Journalistic writing is simpler.
2. Use commas according to AP style with dates, long numbers, addresses, place names and ages:
DATES: July 4, 1776, was the day of independence.
LONG NUMBERS: A kilometer is 3,281 feet.
ADDRESSES/PLACES: Use the address 5262 Lolly St., Memphis, Tenn., for all correspondence.
AGES: Maude Finlay, 48, of Tuckahoe, N.Y., was injured.
** Place commas that follow quotations within quotation marks.
** Use a comma after the attribution when introducing a quotation that is a complete sentence:
Ollie North said, "I thought it was a neat idea."
** Do not use a comma to set off a partial quotation:
Ollie North said he thought the arms trade was "a neat idea."
QUOTATION MARKS
1. Use quotation marks to set off direct quotations.
** Direct quotations are best used for statements that are highly controversial, colorfully phrased, or ironic; for facts rendered inaccurate or ideas made ineffective by paraphrasing; and for unusual combinations of words.
2. Use quotation marks to set off titles of speeches, articles, books, poems, plays, operas, paintings, television programs:
"Pride and Prejudice" "Aida" "M*A*S*H"
** Do not put quotation marks around names of newspapers or magazines.
SEE "Composition Titles" under "C" in the AP Stylebook.
3. Use quotation marks for nicknames in full names:
John "Bud" Smith but not when used alone: Bud Smith
4. Use single quote marks for quotations within quotations. NEVER use the single quote mark unless it is within a double quote mark.
"The movie 'Henry and June' is pure pornography," he said.
"My son likes to be called 'Slim,'" Smith said.
5. Quotation marks always follow adjoining periods or commas.
6. In a series of quoted paragraphs, use quotation marks at the beginning of each of these paragraphs and at the end of the last paragraph only.
The Rest Of The Marks
THE COLON
1. Use the colon as a formal introducer to call attention to what follows:
The following winners were announced: Mary Mills, Bill Brown, Joe Jones, and on and on......
2. BUT do not use superfluous colons:
(Incorrect) The winners were: Mary Mills, Bill Brown and Joe Jones.
(Correct) The winners were Mary Mills, Bill Brown and Joe Jones.
3. Use colons between figures in time and scriptural references and between titles and subtitles:
At 2:15 a.m., the phone rang.
The preacher quoted Mark 2:12.
His new book is "Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives."
THE DASH (LONG DASH)
1. Use the dash to mark a sudden break in thought, an abrupt change in tone or faltering speech:
It was as close as any of them had ever come to danger -- or I, for that matter.
2. Use a dash to set off a parenthetic element for emphasis or, if it contains commas, for clarity:
EMPHASIS: Lightning is an electrical discharge -- an enormous spark.
CLARITY: The four men -- Smith, Jones, Brown and White -- were arrested Tuesday.
3. Use the dash after an introductory list or series:
Strong verbs, concise phrasing and sound construction -- these are the elements of good writing.
** The long dash is written by typing two hyphens with no space between them, but spaces on either side.
PARENTHESES
Use them sparingly in journalism to set off parenthetical, supplementary or illustrative matter.
ELLIPSES
Used in journalism only when quoting written material.
** If an ellipsis comes at the end of sentence, you must use the three periods for the ellipsis followed by another period to end the sentence.
THE APOSTROPHE
1. Use the apostrophe to indicate the possessive case of nouns (including acronyms) and indefinite pronouns:
Sue's idea a day's work NASA's aim
anyone's guess ( NOT The dog buried it's bone.)
2. Use the apostrophe to mark omissions in contractions and numbers:
didn't he'll class of '91 o'clock
3. Use the apostrophe and S to form the plurals of stand-alone letters:
four B's p's and q's three A's
4. Do not use the apostrophe with personal pronouns (except one) or plural nouns not in the possessive case:
its (not it's) his hers theirs ours yours
HYPHENS
1. Use the hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
It was a well-built house. BUT The house was well built.
2. Use the correct spacing when hypenating suspended compounds:
They were looking for a two- or three-story house.
3. Use the hyphen with spelled-out compound numbers:
twenty-one (might be used to begin a sentence)
twenty-first
two-thirds
4. Use the hyphen to avoid awkward or misleading combinations of letters or syllables with prefixes and suffixes:
re-sign a petition resign a position
semi-independent shell-like
** See "prefix" entry in Stylebook
5. Use the hyphen with prefixes ex-, self-, all-, and with suffix -elect and between a prefix and capitalized word:
ex-wife self-help all-inclusive
mayor-elect mid-September
When to use a hyphen and when not to
When do they express a single concept? When they are thought of as a single modifier. To test, try them individually:
The three-alarm fire burned last night.
The three fire, the alarm fire ....
Test: If they don't make sense individually, they need to be linked.
The bright red dress.
The bright dress, the red dress -- makes sense, don't use the hyphen.
BUT: Don't hyphenate compound modifiers that use the word "very" and adverbs that end in -ly.
CORRECT: The best-kept secret was that he was kind.
INCORRECT: The very-tired woman sat down on the stump.
INCORRECT: The beautifully-dressed woman entered the room.
Often when same words are used after the noun, they are not hyphenated:
a first-quarter touchdown The team scored in the first quarter.
a bluish-green dress The dress, a bluish green, was attractive.
a full-time job He works full time.
a know-it-all attitude His attitude suggested that he knew it all.
Even though sometimes the hyphen is left off, always use it when confusion might occur.
The child was well educated. (Was the child well or sick?) Better: was well-educated.
The boss was ill tempered. (Was the boss ill?) Better: was ill-tempered.
These two sentences begin with the same words, but they have very different meanings:
The small-business men celebrated the new tax structure.
The small businessmen celebrated the lowering of the counters at the laundromat.
Ages -- AP Stylebook
He was a 3-year-old child. He was 3 years old. He was a 3-year-old.
Prefixes and suffixes
In stylebook: See prefixes as well as specific prefix (pre-, sub-, re-)
Generally, do not hypenate when root word starts with a consonant.
EXCEPT: Confusing words: re-press, repress re-creation recreation
DO hyphenate to avoid duplicated vowels with prefixes:
re-election anti-intellectual
EXCEPT: coooperate, coordinate, and common "un" words BUT: co-op coop
DO hyphenate with prefixes and proper nouns or a number
un-American pre-1940
Always use hyphens after self-, all- and ex-
See suffixes as well as specific suffix ( -ness, -off, -like)
If not listed in stylebook, use the dictionary. In general, use two words for verb form; hyphenate any noun or adjective forms.
The blastoff was delayed. The rocket would not blast off.
Some verbs do use hypens, but they're rare: tape-record, window-dress, air-condition.