Qualities of Good Writing

1. Qualities of Good Writing

2. Short Paragraphs • In English class, you may have been encouraged to write long paragraphs for your essay. • In many kinds of writing, including technical writing, writing for the web and news writing, your paragraphs are kept short. .

3. Traits of Good Writing • Take charge and develop your own ideas • Develop strong leads • Examine the story from all angles • Revise and rewrite • Do a grammar, spell and APA check

4. Principles of Clear Writing • K.I.S.S. • Avoid tangled sentences • Don’t show off with “big words” • Use active voice not passive voice

5. Active Voice • Active voice uses a subject-verb-object structure • ACTIVE: Joe Smith wrote the book. • PASSIVE: The book was written by Joe Smith.

6. Spelchek Yer Werk • Everyone makes spelling mistakes…so use computer spellcheck technologies to your advantage

7. Proper Nouns • In reporting, it is critical that you get the name correct of the individual or business • Many well-known businesses are commonly misspelled

8. Common Mistakes • J.C. Penney – not Penny • Marriott: hotel chain • Men’s Wearhouse: not warehouse • Procter & Gamble • Berkeley, Calif. • Columbia – University or Washington, D.C. • Colombia – South American country

9. Commas • Use commas to separate items in a series, except just before “and” (example: Red, white and blue) • Use comma with semicolons when dividing complicated materials, such as names and titles • Example: • “Alexis Lew, president; Stephen Ro, vice president; Cathy Smith, treasurer, and Natalie Hack, secretary.” • Note that you switched from the semicolon to a comma before the “and”

10. Beware! Exclamation Point! • Use exclamation points sparingly • Usually a period or question mark will be sufficient

11. Hyphen • Use hyphen as follows: • 13-year-old girl • 30-second commercial • One-minute break • 15-page paper • Three-day cruise • 24-hour hotline • Queen-size bed

12. Quotes • When quoting a source, make sure that the quotation marks are placed outside the other punctuation. • Example: • “I enjoy teaching,” she said. “I created this guide to help you.”

13. Writing Tight Sentences • Do not repeat key words in the same sentence • Example: • “The University of Hawaii students have been attending University events…”

14. Numbers & Things • Spell out single-digit numbers (nine and below) • Use figures for numbers 10 and above unless: • the sentence begins with a number • You are expressing money, age, dates, etc.

15. Writing Tips • When writing about the current date, do not use the year. It’s obvious. • When dealing with money, omit the decimal point when the amount is even • $25 not $25.00 • In writing amounts with many zeros, use the word “million,” “billion,” etc.

16. Said vs. Says • Use “said,” NOT “says” in interviews and quotes • Use “says” when referring to a printed document or sign

17. Other common mistakes • “In regard to…” NOT “In regards to…” • “Toward” NOT “Towards” • “Often…” NOT “Often times…” • “Try to…” NOT “Try and…”