Really a great book

 (“Neither nurse mutual hatred, nor jealousy, nor enmity, and become as fellow. brothers and servants of Allah. It is not lawful for a Muslim that he should keep his relations estranged with his brother beyond three days.”) Muslim :: Book 32 : Hadith 6205

·        This great book has two parts: the part that has artistic merit is not original; the part that is original has no artistic merit.

What is a journalistic style of writing?

Daily news came in the form of newspapers or television news programs, while the less urgent stories could be found in magazines or weekly newspaper supplements. ... Journalistic writing is the style of writing used to report news stories in newspapers, television broadcasts, on radio and on the Internet.

What is the language of journalism?

Language journalism is writing and reporting, using the tools and conventions of journalism, about aspects of language, languages, and the people who use and study and work with them. ... Ideally it uses linguistics to open up avenues in a topic, even when it's not ostensibly about language.

Like any type of writing, journalistic writing has a specific style that is identifiable by it's characteristics. Through this lesson, you will learn about the function of journalism and explore several important characteristics of journalistic writing.

What Is Journalistic Writing?

Not too long ago, in the pre-Internet days, people had limited options for accessing the news. Daily news came in the form of newspapers or television news programs, while the less urgent stories could be found in magazines or weekly newspaper supplements. Nowadays, we have instant 24/7 access to any type of news in any format, thanks to the Internet. Yet, while the ways in which people consume the news have changed dramatically, the style and principles that guide journalistic writing have remained largely unchanged.

Journalistic writing is the style of writing used to report news stories in newspapers, television broadcasts, on radio and on the Internet. Unlike other styles of writing, which can be flexible and casual, the characteristics of journalistic writing are pretty easy to spot. For instance, if you opened a book to a chapter and set it next to a newspaper article, you'd probably notice that, unlike the book, the article is written in short sentences and paragraphs and quickly gets to the point.

In addition to their brevity, news stories have a particular structure that is easily recognizable. The big, bold headline, for example, is intended to grab readers' attention, while the first sentence or paragraph lays out the story so the reader knows what to expect. These are the most common elements of journalistic writing and, as you'll see, they have a lot to do with the function of journalism in society.

The Social Function of Journalism

The primary function of journalism is to inform the public by reporting on local, national and global news and events. Given that, journalists strive to write articles that have wide appeal and can be easily understood. You'll remember that one of the obvious characteristics is short sentences and paragraphs, which are intended to make the article easy to read and understand.

In most cases, journalistic writing is objective, meaning that it relies on facts and evidence, rather than opinions or emotional appeals. Many journalists view their work as a public service, and journalistic ethics set a very high standard for objectivity and fact-checking. Journalists are tasked with providing readers with accurate information on an event as it happened, including the different and sometimes conflicting opinions on the subject. Moreover, a strong news article will present the facts of the story, sometimes including charts or graphs, and take the time to explain the numbers or contributing factors so the reader better understands the material.

Although the majority of traditional journalism strives for objectivity, many news outlets do offer opinions or arguments in a specific format known as an editorial column or section. These columns often focus on controversial social issues, like gun control or education, and they give the journalists and outlets the opportunity to make their position on these issues known to their readers.

The emphasis on verifiable evidence is the foundation of good journalism, which brings us to another important characteristic: quotes. Journalists often use quotes extensively because they provide credibility. Additionally, because they are attempting to be unbiased, most journalists will try to include quotes from all involved in a story, regardless of whether or not they agree with the individual. This can be particularly important when the story reports controversial or dangerous events. For example, if you were writing about a public safety issue like a major flood, your story would be greatly enhanced by having quotes from public safety officials who readers are likely to trust more than they would an unfamiliar journalist.

Elements of Journalistic Writing

The previous sections explored some of the characteristics that are common or essential in journalistic writing, but there are others that are less obvious and have more to do with whether or not the article will be successful or well read. In the 1965, sociologists Johan Galtung and Mari Ruge published a study that identifies many of these aspects, including the following:

Relevance: Journalists report on news that is important and has some bearing on their audiences. For instance, if Americans were asked to choose between an article about a German political campaign or an American political campaign, they'd probably choose the American article because it will be more relevant in their lives.

Grammar:

A run-on is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses (i.e. completesentences) are joined without an appropriate conjunction or mark of punctuation. For example:

It is nearly half past five we cannot reach town before dark.

What to do you if a sentence is a run on?

Use a period.

1.    Use a period. The easiest way to fix a run-on is to split the sentence into smaller sentences using a period. ...

2.    Use a semicolon. Inserting a semicolon between independent clauses creates a grammatically correct sentence. ...

3.    Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction. ...

4.    Use a subordinating conjunction.

An independent clause (or main clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a simple sentence. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate and makes sense by itself.

Coordinating conjunction a conjunction placed between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences of equal rank, e.g. and, but, or.

Recognize a coordinating conjunction when you see one. And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—these are the seven coordinating conjunctions. To remember all seven, you might want to learn one of these acronyms: FANBOYS, YAFNOBS, or FONYBAS.

Subordinating conjunctions are parts of speech that join dependent clauses to independent clauses. Sometimes referred to as subordinators or subordinate conjunctions.

Important subordinating conjunctions

Conjunction	Function	Example
because as since	show a cause/effect relationship between ideas	I lost my job because I was often late. Since I have no money, I can't go to the movie.

What are some examples of subordinating conjunctions?

Subordinate Conjunctions
after although as because before even if even though if in order that	once provided that rather than since so that than that though unless	until when whenever where whereas wherever whether while why

Splice: join or connect (a rope or ropes) by interweaving the strands at the ends.

 

 

In English grammar, a comma splice or comma fault is the use of a comma to join two independent clauses. For example: It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.

 

Comma splices can be fixed three different ways:

1.    Add a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) after the comma.

2.    Change the comma to semicolon.

3.    Change the comma to a period.

 

Fused Sentences. A fused sentence (also known as a run-on sentence) occurs when two independent clauses are joined without any punctuation or connecting word between them.

 

 

Run-On Sentences

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses (also known as complete sentences) are connected improperly.

Example: I love to write papers I would write one every day if I had the time.

There are two complete sentences in the above example:

Sentence 1: I love to write papers.
 
Sentence 2: I would write one every day if I had the time.

---

One common type of run-on sentence is a comma splice. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined with just a comma.

Example of a comma splice: Participants could leave the study at any time, they needed to indicate their preference.

Sentence 1: Participants could leave the study at any time.
 
Sentence 2: They needed to indicate their preference.

Some comma splices occur when a writer attempts to use a transitional expression in the middle of a sentence.

Example of a comma splice: The results of the study were inconclusive, therefore more research needs to be done on the topic.

Sentence 1: The results of the study were inconclusive
 
Transitional expression (conjunctive adverb): therefore
 
Sentence 2: More research needs to be done on the topic

To fix this type of comma splice, use a semicolon before the transitional expression and add a comma after it. See more examples of this on the semicolon page.

Revision: The results of the study were inconclusive; therefore, more research needs to be done on the topic.

---

You can correct a run-on sentence by connecting or separating its parts correctly. There are several easy ways to connect independent clauses.

Correcting Run-On Sentences

A run-on sentence can be fixed by connecting its parts correctly. There are several ways to connect independent clauses.

1.    Use a period. The easiest way to fix a run-on is to split the sentence into smaller sentences using a period. This revision works especially well with longer sentences. Check, however, to make sure that this solution does not result in short, choppy sentences.

Revision example: I love to write papers. I would write one every day if I had the time.

2.    Use a semicolon. Inserting a semicolon between independent clauses creates a grammatically correct sentence. Using a semicolon is a stylistic choice that establishes a close relationship between the two sentences.

Revision example: I love to write papers; I would write one every day if I had the time.

3.    Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction. A comma, paired with a coordinating conjunction (such as and, but, or or), corrects a run-on sentence. This method emphasizes the relationship between the two clauses.

Revision example: I love to write papers, and I would write one every day if I had the time.

4.    Use a subordinating conjunction. Turn one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause. A subordinating conjunction (such as because, unless, and although) connects two clauses to create a complex sentence. This option works to cement the relationship between the two parts of the sentence and may improve the flow of the clauses.

Example: Because I love to write papers, I would write one every day if I had the time.

However you decide to revise for run-on sentences, remember that maintaining sentence variety helps to keep the writing clear and interesting for your readers.

Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment is a string of words that does not form a complete sentence; there is a  necessary component of a complete sentence missing. This missing component may be a subject (usually a noun) or a predicate (verb or verb phrase) and/or when the sentence does not express a complete idea.

Here is an example of a fragment with a missing subject.

Example of a fragment: Shows no improvement in any of the vital signs.

The sentence above is a fragment since there is no subject (Who shows no improvement?). Fragments can be corrected by identifying the missing element and including it.

Revision: The patient shows no improvement in any of the vital signs.

Here is an example of a fragment with a missing predicate, or action:

Example of a fragment: The doctors, who were using peer-reviewed research articles that contributed to the body of knowledge in their fields, which was obstetrics.

Notice here that although the sentence is quite long, it still contains no action (What are the doctors doing?). Once identified, the sentence can be corrected easily.

Revision: The doctors, who were using peer-reviewed research articles that contributed to the body of knowledge in their field, improved their knowledge of obstetrics