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On Writing Good Well: Jeff Kart - Managing Editor

This document provides guidelines for writing articles for Earthzine, an online publication focused on earth science and sustainability issues. It discusses Earthzine's history and focus on ocean-related topics. It provides information on article types, themes, the review process, and writer guidelines. It also summarizes the Associated Press (AP) style guidelines and conventions used by Earthzine, including capitalization, abbreviations, numbers, punctuation, and other formatting tips. The document emphasizes writing for a global, non-specialist audience and includes examples and best practices for article structure, citations, hyperlinks, opinions, visuals, and the editing process.

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Jeff Kart
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471 views30 pages

On Writing Good Well: Jeff Kart - Managing Editor

This document provides guidelines for writing articles for Earthzine, an online publication focused on earth science and sustainability issues. It discusses Earthzine's history and focus on ocean-related topics. It provides information on article types, themes, the review process, and writer guidelines. It also summarizes the Associated Press (AP) style guidelines and conventions used by Earthzine, including capitalization, abbreviations, numbers, punctuation, and other formatting tips. The document emphasizes writing for a global, non-specialist audience and includes examples and best practices for article structure, citations, hyperlinks, opinions, visuals, and the editing process.

Uploaded by

Jeff Kart
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 30

On Writing Good Well

Jeff Kart Managing Editor

About me
Writing

Introduction ME

Reporting
Blogging

Editing
Social Media

Introduction EARTHZINE

Originally launched in November 2007 as an


activity of the IEEE Committee on Earth
Observation (ICEO)
In 2013, Earthzine became a part of the IEEE
Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) under a
reorganization of the ICEO.

New focus on the oceans:


expanded coverage of oceanrelated issues.

second-quarter Ocean
Acidification Theme:

Coverage

Including - Pacific Walrus and


Coastal Alaska Native Subsistence
Hunting
http://earthzine.org/2015/04/24/paci
fic-walrus-and-coastal-alaskanative-subsistence-huntingconsidering-vulnerabilities-fromocean-acidification/

- Mini-theme on ocean
sensors

Including How Acoustic Waves


Help Us to See the Sea Floor:
An Interview with Gerardo
Acosta

Coverage 2

http://earthzine.org/2015/10/21
/how-acoustic-waves-help-usto-see-the-sea-floor-aninterview-with-gerardo-acosta/

Themes quarterly http://earthzine.org/themes-page/

Types of
articles

Quick Looks

General Submissions
Blogs

Virtual Poster Sessions

Guest Editors

Review
process

http://earthzine.org/writers-guidelines/

Writing

http://earthzine.org/about/reviewer-guidelines/
Formatting, Plagiarism

Earthzine uses
Associated Press (AP)
style for its articles,
and IEEE citation
style for references.

Writers
Guidelines

Less than $15

We adhere to AP style, with some variations

Ins and Outs of


AP Style

We capitalize Earth
We spell out names of cities, states, etc. (global publication)

Earthzines audiences:
Every effort should be taken to make an articles
language free of jargon and as accessible as possible to
a non-specialized reader.

Acronyms
AKA Alphabet
Soup

For instance, use examples to show how a new


technology or application would mitigate or solve a
real-world problem.
Earthzine serves an international audience. Therefore,
articles should be written with a global perspective that
does not assume specific regional or national
knowledge by the reader.

Articles are typically between 500 and 2,500 words,


depending on topic and scope.

Examples:
Capitalize titles if they come before a name, not after

Managing Editor Jeff Kart


Jeff Kart, managing editor

Follow the
Stylebook

Capitalize names of official programs, etc.


Use Websters New World College Dictionary for things not in
the stylebook
Search online for AP stories to doublecheck questions

Earthzine primarily serves three sources of readership:

Audiences 2

1. Professional and technical readers in the IEEE and GEO


communities
2. Users and potential users of Earth information in governments,
industry and non-governmental organizations
3. The general public seeking reliable Earth information.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Stylebook
examples

As a general rule, use only commonly recognized abbreviations.


The most common, such as NASA, FBI and CIA, can be used on all
references. Less well-known but still common ones such as OSHA
and NATO can be used after you spell out the full name on first
mention. In most cases, however, the stylebook suggests using a
generic reference such as the agency or the alliance for all
references after the first. We vary on this and spell out first, then
initials in ( )s

Use an apostrophe and spell out academic degrees: She holds a


bachelors degree. Use abbreviations for degrees only when you
need to include a list of credentials after a name; set them off with
commas: Peter White, LL.D., Ph.D., was the keynote speaker.
Abbreviate junior or senior directly after a name, with no comma
to set it off: Justin Wilson Jr. Same with Inc. Microsoft Inc., not
Microsoft, Inc.
Via Towson U https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2Fpages.towson.edu%2Flieb%2FMCOM3
58%2FAPcheatsheet.doc

* Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific


date: Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used
with a specific date: Sept. 28. Always spell out those with five or
fewer letters: May 15. Not May 15th
* In writing news stories, never abbreviate:

Examples 2

* The days of the week.


* Percent as %.

* Cents as .
* Dont use & unless it is an official part of a name.

Capitalization
The AP Stylebook uses whats known as downstyle; that is, words
are lowercased unless a rule says to capitalize them. If you cant
find a rule for capitalizing a word in the stylebook, use it in
lowercase.

Examples 3

* Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when


they are part of a proper name for place, person or thing: the
Libertarian Party, the Ohio River. But lowercase these common
nouns when they stand alone or in subsequent references
* Lowercase the names of the seasons unless they are used in a
proper name: the Summer Olympics.
* Lowercase directional indicators except when they refer to
specific geographic regions or popularized names for those
regions: the Northeast; the Midwest.
* Never capitalize job descriptions: shortstop, police officer,
attorney and so on.

Numbers
* In general, spell out numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers 10 on up. There
are exceptions that always take figures. Most involve units of measurement.
* Temperatures: 2 degrees.
* Spell out numbers used at the beginning of a sentence: Ten thousand people marched on
the capital. Exception: Never spell out years: 1999 was a terrible year for technology
companies.
* Use commas to set off each group of three digits in numerals higher than 999 (except for
years and addresses): 12,650.

Examples 4

10 million, not 10,000,000

and $1 million, not 1 million dollars


* Use decimals (up to two places) for amounts in the millions and billions that do not require a
precise figure: $3.74 billion.

About not approximately


Use not utilize
More than not over

* Add an s but no apostrophe to a number to make it plural: She kept rolling 7s. The same
rule applies to decades: the 1980s. Use an apostrophe on a decade only if cutting off the initial
figures: the 80s.

Examples 5

Punctuation and Miscellaneous


* Use a semicolon to clarify a series that includes a number of
commas. Include a semicolon before the conjunction: Parts for the
carrier are made in Tampa, Fla.; Austin, Texas; and Baton Rouge, La.
* Time should be expressed as a figure followed by a.m. or p.m.: 8:33
p.m. You do not have to add other words (night, morning, and so on)
to distinguish between day and night. Use noon or midnight rather
than 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.
* Use hyphens to link all the words in a compound adjective: The
five-volume report called for cleaning up the area over a 10-year
period. Do not use a hyphen if the construction includes very or an
adverb ending in ly: a very big project, barely legal procedures.
* Titles of books, movies, recordings, television shows and similar
works are set off in quotation marks, with all principal words
capitalized: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Letters from Iwo
Jima, Memory Almost Full, Greys Anatomy. Titles of magazines,
newspapers and reference works get no special treatment:
Newsweek, The Boston Globe, The Associated Press Stylebook.
Web, but website and Internet
No http://s in web addresses. No wwws if unnecessary.

Call for Papers


Marking stories:
* Each article should be classified by the author(s) in the following ways: These items should
appear at the top of a submitted article:

Follow
Instructions

- Topic (pick at least one: Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate, Disasters, Ecosystems, Education,
Energy, Health, Oceans, People, Policy, Quick Looks, Reviews, Sustainability, Technology,
Water, Weather)
- Category (including Original, with additional categories as applicable, such as Water for
Agriculture Theme, Op-Ed, Announcements, GEO/GEOSS)
- Region (pick at least one: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Global, India, North America, Out of
this World, Pacific Islands, Polar, South America)

- By Interest Level (Generalist or Specialist)


- Tags: More specific tags also should be included, to note additional topics, agencies, etc.

You want your article to


be found

Marking
Stories for
Earthzine

IEEE Citation style and/or hyperlinks


http://www.ieee.org/documents/ieeecitatio
nref.pdf

Cite Sources

When you refer to an article, study, paper, organization, etc.,


hyperlink it
Over the words

Hyperlinks

Not in parentheses next to the words


Look for official, mainstream/verifiable sources (universities,
government, associations, respected NGOs, peer-reviewed, etc.)

Earthzine publishes columns and reviews, but personal opinions


dont belong in stories
Attribute statements

Opinions

Blogs are a different animal, you can write in a conversational style


and offer news with perspective, but it needs to be clear from the
start.
Great examples of blogs at TreeHugger.com

Earthzine does not use


photos, illustrations, etc.,
without permission of the
creators.

Visuals

Good sources for


photos/illustrations include
governments, public
universities, Creative
Commons
http://creativecommons.org/
Or just ask can we use this
photo for this story? Well
credit it however you like and
link back to the source/your
page.

Ice Waves. Image Credit: NASA

Read and
reread (and
reread)

Your name is on the story

Pay attention to tracked changes in Word

Tracked
Changes

Revise with tracked changes, accept changes, respond to


comments
Resave as name-of-article-v2-yourinitials
Ex: saving-the-earth-v2-jk

Closing
Thoughts

1. Make journalism out of your experience


2. Use your moral outrage
3. Get a good quote up high
4. Follow the buck
5. Dont miss a deadline
6. Be a self-starter. Devise your story ideas
7. Be counter-phobic: Do what you fear or dislike doing
8. Work seven days a week, 18 hours a day
9. If they like you, youre doing something wrong
10. Misspell a word and the reader presumes youre stupid
11. Dont trust an expert
12. Keep your opinions to yourself
13. Check the numbers
14. Dont report from the office chair
15. Follow the facts wherever they take you

Via Poynter.org http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/377292/30-cranky-bits-of-wisdom-on-the-craft-of-journalism/

Closing
Thoughts

16. Read your copy closely before turning it in


17. Know everything
18. Put human interest in your copy
19. Good writers abound. Be a good reporter
20. Dont fear using the word said
21. Write tightly
22. Get the details
23. Dig, dig, dig
24. Dont tell us what you can show us
25. You can always get a job if you know how to write a lead (lede)
26. Do not fear telling the truth
27. When in doubt, check it out
28. Dont take the easy way out
29. Follow your hunches
30. It is immoral not to be excellent in your craft.

Via Poynter.org http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/377292/30-cranky-bits-of-wisdom-on-the-craft-of-journalism/

Questions

???

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