WRITING LEADS: Try to limit leads to one or _______ sentences.

WRITING LEADS: Avoid starting leads with the ________ unless the time or place is unusual. Most leads start with _________.

WRITING LEADS: Avoid beginning leads with _____, ______, or ________

WRITING LEADS: Use _______ and ______ leads sparingly.

WRITING LEADS: The first five to 10 words determine if the lead will be an attention-getter.

WRITING LEADS: Remember, what happened makes a better story than the fact that _________.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Vary your sentence lengths. Stories become dull when sentences are all the same length. If you notice that happening, try turning one long sentence into _____________ shorter ones.

THE REST OF THE STORY: If you must write a long sentence, try using a _______ sentence before or after it.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Always use several prepositional phrases in a sentence. Prepositional phrases start with some of the following words: about, during, for, from, in, like, on, over, through, to, toward, under, up, until, upon, with.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Remember that short paragraphs ________ readers to continue reading.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Try to limit paragraphs to:

____________, or ___________, or, _______________.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Paragraphs should generally contain only ________ idea.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Avoid introducing new information at the end of a news story. All aspects of a story should usually be introduced or outlined in the _____________ paragraph(s.)

THE REST OF THE STORY: Transitions - linking words such as bur, and, also, besides, however, meanwhile, subsequently, finally, etc. - are necessary to show the reader that the writer has a sense of direction. Carefully placed transitions guide the reader from one thought to another.

EDITING AND STYLE: Use words such as when asked and concluded. These are strong transitions. Helps report what was said.

What is wrong with this sentence: The quarterback says that he's ready.

The correct order for writing __________ ________, __________ and _______.

Hint: The concert begins at 8 p.m. Friday in Fox Hall.

Eliminate the words ________ and _______.

Use the day of the week for events occurring within six days of a specific day; use the date for events occurring seven or more days before or after a specific day.

On first reference, identify a person by his or her first and last names. On second reference, refer to the person by his or her _________ only.

On second and all other references, use Miss, Mrs., Ms., Mr. or Dr especially if it's a style requirement of the news outlet you're writing for.

A long title should follow, not precede someone's name. A title that follows the name should be lowercased and set off in commas.

If none means no one or not one, use a singular verb

When you use a pronoun to refer to a team or a group, the proper pronoun to use is _____________, not they.