Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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a. Check content
Check
facts Delete irrelevant or improper material. Improve news value. Expand or reduce copy. Guard against criticism on ethics and good taste. Write or check headlines. Correct instances of editorializing.
errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage, organization. Make copy simple and clear. Make copy conform to the papers style book. Polish and improve the style of writing. Dont write vertically in the margin
corrections by using accepted symbols. Do not erase original. Place marks in the body at the exact spot where correction is to be made. Indicate column width (in ems, usually 12 ems for a single column), size (in points, usually 8-10 points), kind of type (roman, italic, boldface, etc.)Indicate with heavy colored pencil, any deviation from the usual way of setting up type; i.e. box double column, italics instead of the
Be
accurate
Eliminate
doubtful facts that cannot be verified. Check facts against each other to insure consistency. Confirm facts and verify names. Check figures. See that the totals tally. Check dates and time.
Be
acquainted with important events and tendencies. Know your paper and its policies. Be alert. Know books, plays, magazines, reviews. Know your school and the community.
Be
skillful in the use of sentences and paragraphs. Master the use of words. Write concisely. Edit copy consistently with the style book.
Distinguish
sound inference from editorializing. Recognize effective writing. Have a creative imagination. Be able to see a good story even in a poorly-written one.
Be
a super-reporter. Be neat and clean in marking copy. Write legibly. Consult references Be careful and patient.
Use
of the Period
Omit
the period in abbreviations of offices, schools and organizations. EX.: LSGH, STC, MI. Use the period instead of parenthesis with numerals or letters accompanying.
a.
Use
of the Comma
Use
not use commas between a mans name and Jr., Sr., III, etc. commas in age, time distances, measurement, etc.
Use
EX.:
Do
of the Comma
not use comma between two nouns, one of which identifies the other. EX.: The noted biographer Quirino is interested in the study of old maps.
Use
Use
of the Colon
the colon to introduce a series of names, statements, etc. EX.: Officers elected were: Juan dela Cruz, President; Jose Reyes, Vice President; and Emily Marques, Secretary. Do not use the colon together with the dash. EX.: Elected were:
Use
of the Semicolon: Use the semicolon to separate a series of names, addresses or identifications. EX.: David David, 401; Manuel Sison, 404;
Use
of the Dash In a sentence containing commas, dashes may be sued to set off parenthetical expressions.
EX.: The household rushed to her aid, but Santos- the man who could have prevented the incident- was nowhere in sight.
Use
the dash between two figures to indicate the inclusion of all intervening figures.
Use
of Hyphen
the hyphen in the title. EX.: Vice Principal Use the hyphen in compound title. EX.: Secretary-Treasurer Use a hyphen in writing figures or fractions. EX.: Thirty-four three-fourths
Omit
Use
Use
of Hyphen
the hyphen in prefixes to proper names. EX.: Anti-American un-Filipino Use the hyphen in compound adjectives. EX.:
10-year-old boy
old-fashioned dress
Use
Do
of Hyphen
not use the hyphen in compound adjectives the first word of which is an adverb.
Use
Do
of Hyphen
not use the hyphen in compound adjectives the first word of which is an adverb.
Use
Use
of Parentheses
Use
parentheses in a direct quotation to insert words which are not the speakers.
will be tried outside Vigan, he said.
Use
of Parentheses
Use
EX.: Gen. Ramos told the reporter that he would order an investigation of the officer involved in what he (Ramos) described as a black on the armed forces.
Use
of the Quotation Marks: Do not use quotation marks in names of newspapers, magazines, ships or animals Use quotation marks in titles of speeches, and discussion subjects which are long or involved. EX.: The Conventions subject will be: Student Activism and the School Crisis: Where will it end?
Use
using quotation marks in titles of motion pictures, books, operas, and paintings. Be sure to precede the name, at its first mention, with a description word or phrases. EX.: He saw the film The Color of Money.
Avoid
Use
of the Quotation Marks: Use quotation marks to set off coined words or unusual words or expressions the first time such words or expressions are used in the story. Close quotation marks always come AFTER periods and commas.
Use
of the Quotation Marks: Use close quotation marks after the question mark, colon, semicolon, and dash if such punctuation marks are a part of a quoted matter. Otherwise the close quotation mark precedes the punctuation mark. EX.: Did you join the discussion on The Bankruptcy of Filipino Leadership? He asked, Did you see the movie The Color Purple?
Use
of the Quotation Marks: When the full name is used, use the quotation marks to set off nicknames. Otherwise when the nickname is used instead of the full name, do not use quotation marks.
Use
Do
of the Apostrophe
not use the apostrophe to form plural of capital letters or the plural of figures. EX.: SPs 1960s But plurals of lower-case letters need apostrophes: EX.: xs and ys
College
degrees Abbreviate scholastic degree. EX.: A.B., B.S.E. ETC. Use the periods and leave out space between letters. Companies, Corporations Abbreviate Company, Corporation, Incorporated, Brothers, Limited, at the end of the name of the business enterprise.
Countries,
Provinces, Places The names of some countries may be abbreviated. EX.: RP, US, UK, USSR, etc. For headlines, Sino may be used for Chinese, and Russ for Russians. Never use Jap for Japanese and Nip for Nipponese. Abbreviate Saint, Santo, Santa, Fort and Mount in names.
Countries,
Provinces, Places Names of the provinces are generally not abbreviated in body matter, except the ones ending in Oriental and Occidental, such as Negros Or., Misamis Occ. Some provinces suc as Nueva Ecija, Nueva Viscaya, may be abbreviated in headlines as NE, NV.
Headlines
are made for abbreviations or contractions in headlines. Some word which should not be used in body matter may be used in headlines, such as Xmas or govt. Streets, Avenues Abbreviate streets, avenue, boulevard, drive, road, after a name.
Allowances
Organizations
of government, civic and school agencies and organizations do not have periods. EX.: SWA YMCA UN PNB YLAC UNECO Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation; do not use an abbreviation before you use the full name.
Abbreviation
Symbols
per cent not the symbol % in body matter. The symbol may be used only in tabulations. Use and not the symbol & except when part of name. Use each instead of the symbol @. Time Abbreviate names of months when followed by a date. Spell out when no definite date follows. Do not use comma between month and year.
Use
Titles
Titles
are abbreviated when used before a persons full name or before his first names initial and his surname. Titles are spelled out when only the surname follows. The titles of Dr., Mr., and Mrs. Are always abbreviated. In a list of names use the titles singly, NOT Mesdames, or Doctors, followed by several names.
Spelling
Our
fundamental rule is to use the simpler, shorter form when a word has more than one spelling. This idea is to save space and to enhance reading ease. Judgment not judgement, enrolment, not enrollment. The standard authority for spelling is Websters New International Dictionary. It should be consulted in all unfamiliar words.
Spelling
Avoid
Briticisms. Thus use honor, not honour; organize not organise; clue, not clew. Hyphens should be dropped in nominative forms, particularly in verb-preposition combinations, such as clean up, getaway, kickoff, etc. There are exceptions (cast-off, cavein, head-on).
Plurals
Data,
agenda, memoranda, and similar words derived from the Latin are plural and take plural verbs. The English plural form of words derived from other languages is preferred.
UNIT
COUNTS
unit jilft and all punctuations except the em dash (), and the question mark (?) 1 unit the question mark, space, all figures, capital JILTF, and all lower case letters except jiltf. 1 units the em dash , lower-case m and w, and all capital letters except capital M,W and JILTF 2 units capital M and W.
Federer
st 1 netter
to earn $7m
SHANGHAI- Roger Federer became the first player to win more than $7 million in one season at the Masters Cup this week and believes he is pulling away from his rivals in mens tennis.
Manny to climb ring again February LAS VEGAS Whether it will be against reigning World Boxing Council super featherweight champion Juan Marquez or world lightweight champion David Diaz, Manny Pacquiao is looking for a February date for his next fight.
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