Twin Peaks Assignment

• Ask for the spelling of names (including first names) and double-check• In real-life, double-check what you wrote down with Google/411 search• Get people’s titles correct• Titles are capitalized only when directly before a name, no commas, and that’s

almost always the best way to write it.• Good: “Twin Peaks School Superintendent Seymour Skinner.”• Awkward: “Superintendent of the Twin Peaks School District, Seymour Skinner.”

• Know the difference between titles and occupations (not capitalized)

• “Said” is your friend.• Not “stated,” “remarked,” “told us.”• Lots of wasted words in saying things like, “Skinner offered his own perspective

on the topic in telling us that …”

Twin Peaks Assignment

• Punctuation always goes INSIDE quotation marks.• Right: “Murder,” she wrote.• Wrong: “Murder”, she wrote.

• Use commas for clarity and to set off subordinate phrases.• When in doubt, break it up into multiple, shorter sentences.

• Using “that” and “which” correctly.• “Which” should always be preceded by a comma.

• “The lawsuit, which was filed yesterday, seeks damages of $1 million.”• “Dogs, which make great pets, can be expensive.” vs. “Dogs that make great pets can be

expensive.”• “That” does not. (But is so very often unnecessary anyway.)

• “Dogs that bark scare me.” vs. “Dogs, which bark, scare me.”• Unnecessary: “The lawsuit that they filed seeks damages of $1 million.”

Twin Peaks Assignment

• Write in the third person• If you’re quoting someone, assume they know you talked to them.

• Keep opinion out of it• Unattributed statements expressing an opinion about what happened or

drawing a conclusion when the conclusion is very much debated or in doubt.• If you use questions (unattributed) in a story, keep them to unanswered facts,

not matters of opinion. “The superintendent wouldn’t say how many complaints have been received about safety issues” instead of “Are Twin Peaks’ schools safe for students and faculty?”

Twin Peaks Assignment

• The words we use are important! “Loaded” words can slant a story or be inaccurate.• Admitted• Overjoyed• Irritated• Evasive• Severe• Shocking• Offended• Displeased• Controversial• Embattled

Twin Peaks Assignment

• Use precise language• “Many complaints”• “Not doing well”• “In turmoil”• “Failing”• “Unsafe”• “Plagued”

• Use active voice• Definitely avoid: “It is known that …”

Self-Editing Tips• Read it out loud• Change the font or blow up the font.• Print it out.• Change it to a two-column format with

narrower columns.• Correct titles, formal names?• Read from bottom to top• Spell Check

Self-Editing Tips• Outline key facts before starting• Write a headline before starting• Write the whole story in a tweet• Who will be reading this and what do they

want to know?• How do you know this?• Is it fair?

Self-Editing Tips• Create a review checklist for yourself• Names spelled right?• Numbers check out?• Correct titles, formal names?• Redundancies (ask for each sentence … is this

thought already expressed in the story? Does it introduce a new fact? If not, what is justification for it being included?)

Self-Editing Tips• Is everything attributed?• Is this language vague or precise?• Could this sentence or phrase mean

something else or be misinterpreted?• Am I leading with the most important thing?• What questions are not answered?

Self-Editing Tips• Look at subordinate clauses: “When staff

fatigue was high during the fourth quarter because of lower earnings than projected, he led an initiative to improve morale." Instead, “He led an initiative to tackle staff fatigue and improve morale in the wake of disappointing fourth-quarter earnings."

Self-Editing Tips• Do sentences fit subject-verb-object

simplicity? Or are they run-on?• Paragraphs short and focused?• Kill adjectives and adverbs and instead use

specific facts, details, verbs.• What is based on an assumption you’ve made

vs. firsthand knowledge or research?• When in doubt, do more reporting