Avoid Trite of Hackneyed Expressions

Vague: Thousands of fans were turned away that afternoon. Specific: Three thousand fans were turned away before game time. A V O I D T R I T E O R H A C K N E Y E D EXPRESSIONS.— These are the mark of either an amateur or a lazy writer. Some particularly bad examples include the following: Cheap as dirt Smart as a whip Fat as a pig Nipped in the bud Good as gold Blushing bride Grim reaper Wee hours Ripe old age Picture of health Crystal clear Quick as lightning Bouncing baby boy/girl USE STRONG, ACTIVE VERBS.— Whenever possible, use active voice and the simple past tense. The use of these injects life, action and movement into your news stories. In using strong verbs, you will find some of the tendency for you to rely on adverbs to do the work is eliminated. In newswriting, adverbs often do nothing more than clutter writing. Consider the ^-following example: Weak (passive voice): The visitors were warmly received by Capt. Smith in his office. Stronger (active voice): Capt. Smith greeted the visitors in his office. AVOID MILITARY JARGON.— For those in the Navy, the phrase “general quarters” is clear enough. Yet for others, the phrase may mean nothing; to some, it may seem to mean the area where the general is housed. When you assume that all your readers know general quarters means the command to man battle stations for crew members aboard ship, you make a false assumption. You do not impress your readers by using words and phrases they do not understand; you only imitate them. For example, an unidentified Navy official issued a statement explaining that the purpose of an overtime policy was “...to accommodate needs for overtime . which are identified as a result of the initiation of the procedures contained herein during the period of time necessary to institute alternative procedures to meet the identified need.” In some situations, it is appropriate to use common military phrases, such as “fleet training exercise,” “ship’s galley” and “weapons system.” WATCH SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.— A JO, or a person interested in becoming a Navy journalist, should have better than average spelling ability. This person should also have a good command of the English language as far as correct grammar is concerned. Therefore, no extensive lesson is given in this area of study, although some basics are presented in Chapter 6. One goal of every good writer is not to learn to spell perfectly, but to learn to spell well enough so that a mistake can be spotted when words are put on paper. When in doubt, use the dictionary. Dictionaries are standard stock items in the Navy, and every public affairs office should have one. (For style, usage and spelling questions not covered in The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, use Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Third College Edition.) Additionally, keep in mind that virtually all word processing software packages contain a spell check feature that you should use at every opportunity. USE A STYLEBOOK.— In newswriting, the word style refers to the spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation and similar mechanical aspects of grammar used in preparing copy (a term used to describe all news manuscripts). Most newspapers and other periodicals have their own style sheets or local interpretations of style rules. The important thing for you to remember about style is consistency. The recommended guide for preparing military news is The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. However, any locally prepared style guide or style sheet is fine as long as it is internally consistent and is suitable for your purpose. For further information on stylebooks, consult Chapter 7 (Newspaper Staff Supervision) of the JO l &C TRAMAN. 2-9