Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebot’s newsletter.
Well known but not accurate
|
Writing about abortion is a good reminder of why language matters. In fact, the terms “pro-choice” and “pro-life” are so well known that they scarcely need explanation. But the reason you know the terms so well is precisely the point: They are the preferred terms of advocates, who choose their words carefully to frame the issue in a way that advances their arguments. With the 2024 election on the horizon, we’re devoting some issues of this newsletter to writing about election-related topics. It’s all part of our efforts to help newsrooms prepare for this unprecedented election season. We told you a few weeks ago how we’re expanding our style guide to include research-backed advice on everything from writing about polls to responding to conspiracy theories. You can access it all by signing up for Stylebot or by applying for free access through the Knight Election Hub. You can also stay tuned in this newsletter for advice on writing about issues that will be top of mind this election season. We asked you a few weeks ago which topic you wanted to learn more about first, and most of you who weighed in chose abortion. So that’s what we’re tackling this week. And it turns out it’s much more than just a campaign policy position or talking point this year. At least eight states will have abortion-related ballot measures in November. Even though “pro-choice” and “pro-life” are highly recognizable, they’re not the go-to terms in news stories because they’re inherently political and aren’t particularly accurate. Instead, use pro-abortion rights or antiabortion. Another key thing to remember is to default to the word “people” instead of “women” when writing about both abortion and pregnancy. Some people who get pregnant and seek abortions are transgender or nonbinary, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now defaults to gender-neutral language for pregnancy. That doesn’t mean you can never use “pregnant women,” though. Want to be prepared for other potential election-writing pitfalls? Take our quiz to test your knowledge. ❤ Team Stylebot
💌 A tip a weekIf someone forwarded you this email, subscribe here to get one writing tip a week in your inbox. 💬 Get reliable, ethical writing advice at your fingertipsImproving your writing means making better choices every day. Stylebot makes it easy with our Slack, Teams and Google Chrome extensions. Try Stylebot for free today. 📝 About StylebotStylebot helps media professionals save time without sacrificing quality by answering editing questions on Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chrome. We're on a mission to make editing faster, easier and more fun ✨ Learn more about Stylebot or follow us Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
|
Stylebot
Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebot’s newsletter.
Did you see any flags flying at half-staff on Memorial Day? What about at half-mast? These terms are often used interchangeably to describe flags that are flown only halfway up the flagpole, and the answers to last week's quiz on the terms were pretty evenly split. We probably should have added an "it depends" answer choice, though. Everyone technically got it right, but we recommend using "half-staff" as the default term, as it's what's used for flags on land. Reserve "half-mast" for flags...
Dangling modifiers creep into our speaking and writing all the time, but you all are pretty good at spotting one 🧐 If you didn't take last week's quiz, you might be thinking, "What are dangling modifiers and how can I avoid them?" Dangling modifiers occur when a sentence begins with an adjectival modifier but the subject of that modifier is misplaced in the sentence or simply isn't there at all. Longtime newsletter readers will be familiar with our favorite high-profile example that's easily...
To write the phrase do's and don'ts, you need to create your own list of do's and don'ts. Do you, for example, stay consistent on apostrophe use, or do you instead insert an extra apostrophe for clarity? You can see that we opt for the latter, but that's not what you prefer. The vast majority of you who took last week's quiz like "dos and don'ts." We can relate. As longtime newsletter readers know, one of our pet peeves is when people unnecessarily add an apostrophe along with the "s" to make...