Missing: Second References

In first references, we often use the full title of an organization, in caps: the U.S. Justice Department, Wayne State University, ect.

But in subsequent references -- after we established the group in the first reference -- we can use a generic version in lower case or an appropriate common acronym: the justice department, the department, WSU, the university, ect.

Missing: Uh, Well ...

Some of you used quotes where the interview subject stammered. Like here:

"So, uh, I met this guy who was moving to New York. He didn't want to take me, said I was too young, but I, uh, got him to change his mind."

You may find the information to be useful, but the "uh's" are awkward. You have options on how to handle this.

First, you can translate the quotes into paraphrases, like this:

She said she met a man who was moving to New York City who didn't want to take her because she was too young, but she convinced him to change his mind.

Or, you could use quote fragments to work around the "um's" like this:

She said she "met this guy who was moving to New York. He didn't want to take me, said I was too young," but she "got him to change his mind."

Having a poorly-constructed quote doesn't mean you have to use a poorly-constructed quote. Our goal is to provide clarity to the reader, and the best way to do that is via a quote so the reader can see the subject's actual words.

But in lieu of that, making sure the information is clear and concise will suffice, as long as it's contextually correct and factually accurate and properly attributed.

Squirrels: Ledes I Liked

The good news with the squirrels exercise is, no fatals! Congrats to all.

Additionally, you guys took different lede/nut graf approaches, offering a sampling of different ways to do the story. Here's a few examples. This first one was a basic lede/nut graf that did the job well. The lede summed up the problem; the nut graf detailed the consequences, and then you launch into the individual examples of squirrel-insipred woe:

-->

         Lansing Community College officials are blaming squirrels for a recent run of car damage across campus.

-->

          Students, teachers and staff members have faced repair bills amounting to hundreds of dollars after squirrels began nesting in their cars.


Here, you did an anecdotal lede that took several grafs before getting to the nut graf:


-->

           For the past few weeks, Oliver Brookes couldn’t figure out why one headlight on his van refused to work.

Despite having it replaced, the associate professor of English at Lansing Community College said he had continual problems with the headlight in his van. When he opened up the hood to poke around, he was greeted by more than just wires and machinery.

            “There was a big squirrel’s nest in the corner where the light wires were,” he said.

            Lately, squirrels have been causing quite the hassle for many LCC students and staff members by finding refuge under the hoods of cars.

In these next two, you had some fun with word play with fun alternate ledes followed by more to-the-point nut grafs:

-->

         Nutty car problems have been occurring for the student body and faculty members of Lansing Community College this past school year.

          University officials have determined that squirrels are to blame for the issues students, teachers and staff members have been experiencing with their vehicles.

... and ... 

-->

                  Problems with your car? A furry friend may be the cause.

                  College officials at Lansing Community College are blaming squirrels for car problems being had by students, teachers, and staff members. 

... and ...  

-->

             Students, teachers, and staff members at Lansing Community College are going nuts courtesy of many problems caused by a familiar animal: the common squirrel.

             Officials at LCC are blaming squirrels for an influx of car problems affecting individuals who work at and attend the institution.

And these silly ledes are okay. Why? Because this is a silly story. It's not because of your writing preference; it's because the tone is true to the facts. And the facts are unexpected and weird and yes, silly.

As long as you let the facts dictate the tone, then you're doing it based not on opinion but on factual context.

Each of these ledes is a good, solid lede. But which ones do you think worked best? And why?

With each of these lede/nut graf sequences, the writers followed by offering the fact/quote sequences that we talked about earlier. So does this story -- which I will show you in its complete form -- that starts with an alternative lede, then goes to two nut grafs, then launches into the compartmentalized individual examples. This is a good structure which to aspire to:

-->

       In Lansing, there is a new addition to the squirrel’s diet — electrical wires.

       The squirrels on Lansing Community College’s campus have been making homes and feeding on the electrical wires in cars on campus.

       The damage from the squirrels is costing students and staff money to replace ruined wires.

       LCC dietitian Linda Kasparov said an attendant at a service station found a squirrel’s nest as the cause of broken a oil-pressure gauge, speedometer and headlights on Kasparov’s car.

        “The attendant put up the hood and then jumped back exclaiming, ‘My God, what have you got in there!’” Kasparov said.

       Kasparov said the attendant found three baby squirrels in a nest built of string, sticks and plastic bags. 

       Kasparov said the damage cost her more than $400.

       Laura Ruffenboch, a wildlife professor at LCC, said the soybean-based insulation on many electrical wires may be appealing to the squirrels.

        Ruffenboch said squirrels building nests in a car which is used regularly is an uncommon phenomenon.

       Oliver Brookes, an associate professor of English at LCC, also said he found a squirrel’s nest under the hood of his car.

       “There was a big squirrels nest in the corner where the light wires were,” Brookes said.

       Brookes said the squirrels chewed through the headlight wiring in his car, which cost more than $180 to replace.

Squirrels: Show Me, Don't Just Tell Me

Many of you were very light in offering quotes. Why?

Quotes are good. Quotes allow us to elaborate on things and to put a human voice in the conversation and to give readers the confidence that they're not just taking your word for it; there's somebody else saying something to support what you're claiming.

Look at the way a quote graf helps support and build upon the first graf in this sequence:

After pulling into a gas station to get help, Kasparov said the attendant found a nest containing three baby squirrels under Kasparov's hood.

"The attendant put up the hood and then jumped back exclaiming, 'My God, what have you got in there?'" Kasparov said.

The first graf tells your readers, based on your summarization of events. The second graf shows your readers, via the direct words of a direct particpant.

Don't just tell readers. Show them.

Squirrels: FYI On Acronyms, BTW

Many of you referred to Lansing Community College in first reference. And in most first cases, it's best to spell out the full title of an entity.

But how do you handle subsequent references?

You have a few options. One is to refer to the college in the generic, like I just did: as the college, lower-cased.


A second option would be to consider using an acronym, if there is a common acronym for the group. An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words, such as MSU (which is the acronym for Michigan State University). In this case, the correct acronym is LCC.

If an acronym is well-known -- like NASA or FBI or USA -- then generally it is acceptable in a second reference, or even in a first reference.

This is where I'm going to refer you back to AP Style. Please carefully read and review the listing for abbreviations and acronyms.

Squirrels: How Do You Know ...

... Brookes spent $184 to get his car's wiring replaced?

Were you there when he had the wiring replaced? No.

Did you pay for the repair bill? No.

So, how do you know?

It's because he said so, right?

So, why not let readers know your sourcing? Brookes said he spent $184 to get his car's wiring replaced?

How do you know Kasparov was driving home one night when her car fritzed out? Because she said! So add "she said" as attribution.

How do you know how her mechanic found squirrels under the hood? Because she said!

Pretty much everything not witnessed by you should have some sort of attribution. He said; she said; according to records; whatever.

Make sure you have properly attributed everything in your story. Basically, every paragraph after the lede and nut graf should have some sort of attribution affixed to it.

I know that's gonna look a bit weird, having graf after graf with so-and-so said this and this other dude said that and so on. But we do it as journalists to make sure that readers know exactly where we got our information. It promotes transparency and illustrates the factual basis for a story.

Over the next few days, when you're doing your daily newspaper readings please note attribution. See how frequent it is. See how writers offer it. Get a sense of how it's supposed to look in a finished product.

And don't fret too much. This is not uncommon for a young reporter, but something that needs to be fixed, pronto.

Squirrels/Missing: Writing With (AP) Style

On first reference, you use a first and last name: John Smith. But what do you do on a second and subsequent references?

Here is AP Style, under names:

In general, use only last names on second reference.

So if you mention John Smith in the first reference, it should be just Smith from that point on.

But what if there is more than one person with the same last name? AP Style has that covered, too. Also under names:

When it is necessary to distinguish between two people who use the same last name, as in married couples or brothers and sisters, use the first and last name.


Also, does punctuation go inside a quote, like this:

"I rule," Omar said.


or outside, like this:

"I rule", Omar said.

It's the former.  Punctuation goes inside a quote.

Now, let's talk about titles.

If someone's title precedes their name, then you capitalize: East Lansing Athletic Director Hugh Baker

If someone's title follows their name, then it's lower-case: Hugh Baker, East Lansing athletic director

Also, titles in most cases should not be included after a first reference. You may start out by saying Professor Laura Ruffenboch, but in subsequent references it's just Ruffenboch, minus the professor and Laura.


If you're referring to an organization by formal title, then it's usually caps: the East Lansing School Board

However, on second reference -- once you've established what group you're referring to -- you can use a generic title in lower-case: the school board

And if you break up the title or rearrange the sequence in an informal way, then drop to lower-case: the school board in East Lansing

Moving on, on first reference, is it Sergeant Manuel Cortez, or Sgt. Manuel Cortez?

It's Sgt. I know, because I looked in AP Style, under military titles.

On second reference, is it Sgt. Cortez, or just Cortez?

It's the latter. Under the same:

In subsequent references, do not continue using the title before a name. Use only the last name.
Also, some of you referred to Jason Abare as Jason in second references. Is that okay under AP style rules? No. This is what it says under names:

In general, use last names only on second reference.

Some of you were all over the board in whether to write a number as a digit or a word. Here's the most basic AP guideline, in your style book under numerals: In general "Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above."

So two should be two, not 2. And 10 should be 10, not ten.

So then, is this correct to start a sentence, under AP Style rules?

Twenty-two . . .

Actually, that IS correct number use. This is under the numerals heading:

Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence. Now, there are situations where you have a number that would be very awkward to spell out. Like with very large numbers, like 48,384. I would suggest not using such a number at the start of a sentence. Or start such a sentence with attribution so the number conflict doesn't matter (e.g., "According to the U.S. Justice Department, 48,384 . . . ).

Some of you faced a dilemma here with whether to change 3 to 1 to three to one, if used inside of a quote. Here's the general rule of thumb:

If the quote was spoken to you in an oral interview, then it's perfectly okay to change words to adhere to AP style, since it doesn't change what was spoken. If you are quoting a document, then you need to replicate how the document actually readers, whether it conforms with AP Style or not.

In this instance, since you did not know if the quotes were spoken or written, I noted the AP style rule but did not dock you for it.

Now, when the girl was referring to "my Mom," should "mom" be lower-case or upper-case?

It's lower-case. AP Style, under mom:

Uppercase only when the noun substitutes for a name as a term of address: Hi, Mom!

Did anyone think to look under "mom"?

Moving on, was it U.S. Justice Department or U.S. Justice Dept.? Did it depend on whether it was a first reference or a second reference? What does it say in AP Style under department?

Finally, is it Alzheimers disease or Alzheimer's disease? Did anybody look in AP Style under Alzheimer's disease?

I would strongly suggest you review AP Style headings under titles and numerals and names and department. And Alzheimer's disease wouldn't hurt.

Controversial: We Had Some Fatals

Most folks did pretty well in this assignment. Some grafs were too long (some people need to hit the "return" key more often and make shorter grafs) and too many people need to remember to double-space your work so I can fit comments in the margins.

Unfortunately in this exercise, we did have some fact fatals. Three, to be exact.

In one, we wrote a very nice story that had a solid lede and gerat fact organization. But in the nut graf, we said that the board policy permits boys from playing on girls' teams. In fact, the policy prevents such an action.

The incorrect word -- which spell check wouldn't have caught, because it is an unintended word that happens to be spelled correctly -- changes the meaning of the sentence in question, and therefore is a fatal.

In a second case, we referred to the school district as that of Lansing. In fact, it was East Lansing. The two are not the same, and so this also changes the meaning of the story and is a fatal.

In a third case, we misspelled the name of Jane Tribitt as Tribett. Misspelling a name is a fatal.

Now, do fatals suck? Yes, they do. You automatically get a 1.0 on the assignment, no matter how well you did otherwise.

That's so we can emphasize how the root of journalism isn't writing, it's getting it right. There is no such thing as getting a "little" thing wrong, as any error mars our credibility.

The good news is, practice story assignments like this one make up just over one percent of your final grade. And that's by design, so we can build good fact-checking habits into our routines so that when we get to much higher-weight assignments like the out-of-class stories, we've identified our bad habits and worked them out of our systems with the practice stories.
 

Controversial: A Good Lede/Nut Graf/Body Sequence

Let's take a look at this lede/but graf/body grouping.

The East Lansing School Board unanimously voted Tuesday night to ban boys from playing on girls' teams, after concerns were raised that male athletes could pose a hazard for female players.

The policy, which will take effect immediately, was implemented after four boys made the East Lansing High School girls' field hockey team. Many teams from opposing schools forfeited their games in order to avoid the possibility of their players being injured by the male athletes.

After receiving complaints in home and away districts, school board member Jane Tribitt decided it was time for a policy change.

"The boys are just too big and physical and it intimidates the girls on the team," Tribitt said. "It is a matter of safety."

Senior Jacob Stevens, who played on the field hockey team, thinks the policy is unfair and while he was on the team, none of the girls complained about his presence, he said.

East Lansing High School Athletic Director Hugh Baker said he believes the policy will hurt the school's athletics program, because the school would have to forfeit games against teams with male players due to safety concerns.

"It would be unfair to force our field hockey team to have a losing record every year because it has to forfeit all those games," Baker said.

East Lansing resident Sandra Adler, who has a daughter on the field hockey team, is in favor of the new policy.

"I just don't think it's healthy mentally or physically to have the boys and girls playing on the same team," Adler said.

First, you have a nice lede that says what happened (boys were banned), when it happened (Tuesday), who did the decision making (the board) and who is going to be affected (boys), and why it was made (safety concerns).

 Then the nut graf expands on that: it says exactly when the decision takes effect (immediately), and exactly why it was made (after four boys were on the team, and it forced other schools to forfeit games).

It mines a second layer of supporting info that is helpful for the reader to have to make sense of what happened.

Then, once the lede and nut graf is established, you get into the he-said and she-said and quotes and the supporting evidence that lays down what your lede concluded and your nut graf expanded upon.

You start with getting a paraphrase from a board member -- a decision-maker on this issue -- on why she voted yes; then you pair it with a related quote.

Then, you get an opposing viewpoint -- that from an affected player -- and pair that with a related quote.

Then, you get the perspective of someone caught in the middle -- the athletic director, who opposes the policy but is responsible for enforcing it -- followed by a related quote.  

Then, you wrap it up with an outside but relevant viewpoint; that of a parent of a athlete. And you also pair it with a related quote.

So you have a lede that meets the Peanut Barrel rule; a nut graf that helps expand on the lede and provide a pivot into the greater story; and then information sets in descending order of criticality to the story, each paired with quotes.

What do you think of the job done here?

Controversial: Break Up Those Grafs!

In journalism, we generally try to write in very short paragraphs. What we try to do is limit a paragraph to one main idea OR one supporting idea OR one fact to support an idea. Not all of the above.

In general, that means many paragraphs will be just one or two sentences; the exact opposite of English comp writing styles that encourage massive paragraphs.

Let's look at this example of a mega-graf that can easily be cut up:

High school athletic director Hugh Baker told the board, “If safety is the issue of concern for the board, then our girls teams would have forfeit games if there are boys on the opposing teams." Last year alone the team would have had to forfeit 10 of the 18 games, therefore creating a losing record every year. Many think its very unfair, including Jacob Stevens. Stevens, a senior at ELHS said, “I don’t think it is fair. There are countries in the world where men’s field hockey is a recognized sport. Not every guy wants to play football, basketball, or baseball." Stevens was really looking forward to playing on the team his senior year.

Now, each unit of thought and each unit of supporting information has its own graf. It's easier for readers to pick out each independent thought or supporting fact. It's easier for editors to identify key points and supporting info, and find where such facts and info are lacking.

Okay, this single graf contains several elements: the first sentence is a quote from one source. The second sentence is a fact that provides evidence to support the quote's position. The third and fourth introduce and allow a quote from a second source. The final sentence offers a new level of detail that helps build upon the quote.

So, you can break this graf up into four separate grafs, like this:

High school athletic director Hugh Baker, told the board, “If safety is the issue of concern for the board, then our girls teams would have forfeit games if there are boys on the opposing teams."

Last year alone the team would have had to forfeit 10 of the 18 games, therefore creating a losing record every year.

Many think its very unfair, including Jacob Stevens. Stevens, a senior at ELHS said, “I don’t think it is fair. There are countries in the world where men’s field hockey is a recognized sport. Not every guy wants to play football, basketball, or baseball."

Stevens was really looking forward to playing on the team his senior year.

Now, each unit of thought or supporting bit of evidence has its own graf. Now, it's easier for readers to identify each key point, in the same way an outline allows readers to visualize key points in a text-heavy draft. Now, it's easier for editors to identify key points, or the lack thereof.

I know it's gonna look weird, given years and years of bad English comp habits that you've picked up. But this is how we write in journalism. It's a more practical style for writers, editors and readers.

And FYI, if you see on your graded assignments that I wrote an L-shaped symbol at the start of a sentence, that is the copy-editing symbol for starting a new graf.

Controversial: Be Efficient With Words

It's important that you look for unnecessary words and strip those out of your work. Like in this lede:

The East Lansing School Board has made a decision on Tuesday to implement a ban to no longer allow boys from competing in girls' sports.

It's a good lede, but wordy. First, do you need to say has made a decision to when just saying decided would suffice?

Second, isn't saying implement a ban and no longer allow the same thing? I'd get rid of one of those, or even both. After all, doesn't ban say all that in just one word? What we have left is this:

The East Lansing School Board decided Tuesday to ban boys from competing in girls' sports.

Is there any difference in meaning or context or detail than the first lede? I'd say not. It's just a lot shorter and less wordy.

Controversial: The Satisfying Ending

In one story, you wrote about the vote and the ban and the pros and the cons. Then you ended with this graf:

It is impossible to make both sides of a proposal happy. However, the East Lansing School Board took a progressive leap forward in an attempt to protect their female athletes.

Here's my question: why did you add that? First, readers already know what happened; this simply repeats it. Second, you are adding a bit of opinion here, which we should refrain from doing.

In traditional English comp we write what is called a satisfying ending; that is, a closing statement that wraps everything up. Happily ever after, and so on.

But in journalistic writing we start with the ending in the lede, and then backtrack to let people know how we got to that ending and what facts support it.

That means in many journalistic stories, the ending will seem kind of abrupt. But that's okay. Just let the story end where it ends. Don't essentially repeat the lede by adding a satisfying ending.

Controversial: How Do You Know ...

... that the athletic director disagreed with the move? Could you read his brain?

No. You know that because he said that.

So, you need to say that the athletic director said he disagreed with the policy.

How do you know the boy field hockey player was disappointed? Did he write you a note?

No. You know because he said that, too.

So you need to say the boy field hockey player said he was disappointed.

Controversial: It's SAID

It's not so-and-so explained. It's so-and-so said.

It's not so-and-so commented. It's so-and-so said.

It's not so-and-so continued. It's so-and-so said.

It's not so-and-so described or told or stated or exclaimed.

It's so-and-so said. No need to find another word saying the same thing.

Ledes: What Does My Grade Mean?

Overall, nice work on the graded ledes exercise. Plus, for the first time you're getting very specific evaluations in numerical form. That's called a grade.

From the syllabus, here's a roundup of what the funny numbers atop your returned work means:

4.0: Story could be published virtually as is. It shows superior command of the facts, news judgment, story organization, reporting and writing.

3.5: Could be published with very minor revisions. Generally well-written, accurate copy containing all relevant material, but requires minor editing for maximum precision and clarity.

3.0: Better-than-average story. The story was handled well. Copy needs some rewriting and polishing before it could be published.

2.5: A little above average. The story might have a significant problem with reporting, organization, completeness, ect. Certainly needs rewriting.

2.0: Average job. Not a story most readers would read unless they really needed the information. The story may have reporting, organization or writing problems.

1.5: A weak story. The story may have a buried lede, problems in news interpretation, problems in story organization, omission of some important fact or source. The story needs substantial revision.

1.0: A non-story. The story lacks news judgment, displays major flaws in reporting and writing, omits important facts. The story needs substantial rethinking. Also, a story with any fact error automatically gets this grade.

0.0: Story is late or failed to receive instructor's approval. Story is misleading or unethical. Organization of writing flaws make the story incoherent.

Ledes: We Had Some Fatals ...

... on the last exercise, but not this one. Congrats on a perfect record! And keep building on your fact-checking diligence.

No matter what we do, we're going to have more fatals. When you process thousands of words of content a day on deadline, some goofs just happen. The goal is to use best practices in fact-checking to keep those errors down to an absolute minimum.

Still, nice work, you guys.

Ledes: Needle In A Haystack

There were a significant number of problems with the latter of the two lede exercises, regarding the cell phone driving ban.

We had a number of people end up writing ledes that really didn't get to the gist of the story: ones that centered on the legal debate on whether to allow cell phone use while driving, for example.

But that's not what the story was about. This lede I thought summed up the central point nicely:

A representative who opposes the banning of cell phone usage while driving caused a car crash Wednesday evening while discussing postponing a vote on the bill.

Now, was that evident in the material you had to read? No. It was overstuffed with secondary and nebulous crap. And that was by design.

Rarely -- if ever -- is a news story easy and immediate to identify. Most of the time, you have to sift and root through information (much of which is irrelevant or secondary in nature) to find what is the latest happening, ultimate outcome and/or what is of most interest/relevance/utility.

So you had the info about Constance Wei trying to block a cell phone driving ban. You had some background on a fatal accident that prompted sponsorship of the bill. You have that Wei was driving and talking on the phone about that very same bill when she got into an accident. And you have there were minor injuries in the accident.

A lot of that info was there to distract you, just like in real life you'd go through a ton of info to get to what mattered. Your job was to take a full accounting of what you have, fix in on what was most newsworthy, and discard the rest.

And I think what was most unique,most immediate, most contextual and best adhered to the Peanut Barrel rule was what the aforementioned lede focused upon.

It's like having to find a needle in a haystack. It's hard, yes. But that's the job. Readers don't need us to tell the easy stories; they need us to cut through the clutter and report the hard tales.

Ledes: Good, Gooder and Goodest

When we're doing a lede, we have many options that are correct. But what we're looking for is the one that's the best; that covers the major bases and telling nuances simply and directly.

Let's look at some examples. First, this:

Rep. Constance P. Wei, an opponent to a ban on phone use while driving, was involved in a car accident while on her phone and driving, leaving the other driver with minor injuries.

It's a fine lede that covered the major bases. But it's missing a central irony. This lede had it:

While on the phone trying to postpone a vote on a bill banning cell phone usage while driving, Rep. Constance P. Wei crashed into a car on Wednesday afternoon.

Now, you get the extra irony: not only is she against the bill, she was talking about the very same bill at the time of the crash!

Context is one angle. The latest happening is the next. Did this lede have the latest news first?

A robbery and kidnapping occurred around 2 p.m. today at a convenience shop on 2752 Michigan Ave., according to Police Chief Barry Kopperud.

Structurally it's a sound lede, but it fails to go to end result and ultimate outcome: how did the crime end? This lede gets there:

A 6-month-old baby was found in her mother's truck 40 minutes after he mother was carjacked by a man who robbed a convenience store.

That lede gets to ultimate outcome, but this next lede gets even more up-to-the-minute:

East Lansing police are looking for a man suspected of an armed robbery and carjacking that resulted in a search for a 6-month-old child Wednesday afternoon.

This last lede is what I call a forward-looking lede, where it not only looks at what's happened up to now, but what's happening from here on out: police are continuing their search for the suspect.

Now, are any of these ledes wrong? No, none are. But I would argue the ones that go more to total context and end result are the best ones to use.

Ledes: Writing With (AP) Style

Let's take a look, shall we?

First, let's revisit number rules: in general, spell out numbers nine and under; use numerals for 10 and above.

Exceptions include ages (always use numbers; e.g., a 6-year-old) and numbers at the start of a sentence (always spell out; e.g., Forty-year-old Joe Smith died today).

Also, when talking abut Constance Wei, is is State Representative Constance Wei; or State Rep. Constance Wei; or Constance Wei, a State Representative; or Constance Wei, a state representative?

It's State Rep. Constance Wei; or Constance Wei, a state representative. How do I know that? AP Style, under titles:

In general confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual's name ... capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names ...  the following formal titles are capitalized and abbreviated as shown when used before a name both inside and outside quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., Sen., and certain military ranks listed in military titles. All other formal titles are spelled out in all uses. 

There are a ton of exceptions under titles, so that's a section you probably want to check frequently.


In writing about this robbery, one of you referred to the robber as a thief. Are those terms interchangeable? No. How do I know that? AP Style.

This is what it says under burglary, larceny, robbery, theft:

Legal definitions of burglary vary, but in general a burglary involves entering a building (not necessarily by breaking in) and remaining unlawfully with the intention of committing a crime.

Larceny is the legal term for the wrongful taking of property. Its nonlegal equivalents are stealing or theft.

Robbery in the legal sense involves the use of violence or threat in committing larceny. In a wider sense it means to plunder or rifle, and may thus be used even if a person was not present: His house was robbed while he was away.

Theft describes a larceny that did not involve threat, violence or plundering.

So, based on that information, was he a robber or a thief? Why or why not?

Also, was the address 2752 Michigan Ave or 2752 Michigan Ave. or 2752 Michigan Avenue?

Let's revisit AP Style, under addresses:

Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues.

Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names; use figures with two letters for 10th and above: 7 Fifth Ave., 100 21st St.So in this case, it's 2752 Michigan Ave.

And if you referred to the intersection of 29th Street and Melrose Avenue, that would be the corerct reference, not just 29th and Melrose.

Let's be sure we're getting familiar with these larger AP Style points.

JRN 200: The Body Of A News Story

The most basic story structures are very specific in style yet simple in design. So let's look an imaginary story done in a basic news style, starting with what you already know -- the lede:

School was canceled forever today after a 42-year-old college instructor won a multi-billion dollar lottery, quitting his job and sparking a walkout among his students.

The lede is usually followed by what is called the nut graf. The role of that paragraph is to elaborate and expand upon the details of the lede.

Consider the general identifiers posed in the lede: an unnamed instructor, an unnamed school, an unspecified big-money lottery ect. Try to follow up on those generalities with specifics in the nut graf, like this:

Omar Sofradzija, who teaches a journalism class at Michigan State University in East Lansing, won the $99 billion Amazeballs drawing Monday, after which he quit Tuesday, lottery officials said.

That was followed by a mass walkout by MSU students, and then cancelation of MSU classes the next day, university officials said.

In journalism, we try to keep paragraphs fairly short -- usually limited to one main point or idea per graf, and/or one or two sentences per graf. In this case, I thought the nut graf was running a bit long, so I split it into two grafs.

We try to keep paragraphs short and specific for two big reasons: one, to make it easy for the reader to identify key points and specific quotes and such; and two, to make it easy for editors to do the same so they can more quickly edit the story by easily finding what may be worth emphasis or cutting out.

The point after the nut graf is a great place to consider putting in a telling quote; something that goes to the heart of the story's theme or context or ultimate meaning. Something like this:

"If there's no Omar, there simply isn't any point in having school," MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon said.

At this point, the lede/nut graf/key quote package creates sort of a mini-story. In the same way the lede gives you the bare minimum of what you need to know about the story, this grouping of grafs gives readers the minimum amount of information AND supporting detail and evidence.

From this point on, you have a couple of options: you can add more supporting facts and quotes, in descending order of importance. This is called the inverted pyramid style of story organization. You start with the most important piece of background, then the next most important, and so on. Like with short paragraphs, it allows for faster reading and editing. Like this:

Sofradzija, who has been making just $2 an hour teaching an introduction-to-journalism class, said he plans to never teach again.

"Seriously, eff those little brats," he said.

But a number of students said that losing Sofradzija as an instructor has sapped their will to learn.

"If I can't learn from Omar, I can't learn. I'm that stupid," said Elvis Presley, a sophomore journalism major from Canada.

Sofradzija said he did not know what exactly he's spend his fortune on, but he promised it would be something stupid.

Notice how pieces of telling information are paired up with quotes supporting, amplifying and humanizing that raw data. It's not necessary that every graf of info is followed by a related quote, but it does help in reinforcing the points that are made throughout a story.

Also, please note attribution is liberally used throughout the story, in every graf after the lede. That's for the benefit of readers, who get to see exactly where you get each bit of information that supports the original claim you make in your lede. Not only are you transparent, but you essentially rely on the expertise of your sources by citing them, building your credibility.

Another approach is to offer a chronological telling, looking at things from the start. It's important that you weigh the facts you have and the context of the story to decide if an inverted pyramid, chronology or some other method best tells the story. Like this:

Events quickly began to unfold around 8 p.m. Monday, when Sofradzija was named the Amazeballs winner. His resignation was submitted to MSU by 6 a.m. Tuesday, school officials said.

"Seriously, eff those little brats," Sofradzija said.

Word quickly swirled around campus of Sofradzija's departure, with students walking out of their classes em masse throughout the day Tuesday, school officials said.

"If I can't learn from Omar, I can't learn. I'm that stupid," said Elvis Presley, a sophomore journalism major from Canada.

University leaders met that night before making the cancellation of the semester official at 8 a.m. today, officials said.

And that's it. Notice how the story seems to end sort of abruptly. Looks weird, right? Well, in journalism that's okay is your story lacks what writers call a satisfying ending. Why is this okay? Because you already have an ending: your lede.

Now that we looked at these two structures in pieces, let's put it all together and look at the pieces as stories. First, the inverted pyramid:

School was canceled forever today after a 42-year-old college instructor won a multi-billion dollar lottery, quitting his job and sparking a walkout among his students.

Omar Sofradzija, who teaches a journalism class at Michigan State University in East Lansing, won the $99 billion Amazeballs drawing Monday, after which he quit Tuesday, lottery officials said.

That was followed by a mass walkout by MSU students, and then cancelation of MSU classes the next day, university officials said.

"If there's no Omar, there simply isn't any point in having school," MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon said.

Sofradzija, who has been making just $2 an hour teaching an introduction-to-journalism class, said he plans to never teach again.

"Seriously, eff those little brats," he said.

But a number of students said that losing Sofradzija as an instructor has sapped their will to learn.

"If I can't learn from Omar, I can't learn. I'm that stupid," said Elvis Presley, a sophomore journalism major from Canada.

Sofradzija said he did not know what exactly he's spend his fortune on, but he promised it would be something stupid.

*****

Now, the chronological style:

*****

School was canceled forever today after a 42-year-old college instructor won a multi-billion dollar lottery, quitting his job and sparking a walkout among his students.

Omar Sofradzija, who teaches a journalism class at Michigan State University in East Lansing, won the $99 billion Amazeballs drawing Monday, after which he quit Tuesday, lottery officials said.

That was followed by a mass walkout by MSU students, and then cancelation of MSU classes the next day, university officials said.

"If there's no Omar, there simply isn't any point in having school," MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon said.

Events quickly began to unfold around 8 p.m. Monday, when Sofradzija was named the Amazeballs winner. His resignation was submitted to MSU by 6 a.m. Tuesday, school officials said.

"Seriously, eff those little brats," Sofradzija said.

Word quickly swirled around campus of Sofradzija's departure, with students walking out of their classes em masse throughout the day Tuesday, school officials said.

"If I can't learn from Omar, I can't learn. I'm that stupid," said Elvis Presley, a sophomore journalism major from Canada.

University leaders met that night before making the cancellation of the semester official at 8 a.m. today, officials said.

Now, which is the best structure to use: inverted pyramid or chronology? Again, it depends on what best tells the story.

If you're writing about something complex where impact and meaning doesn't necessarily happen in sequence -- like a tuition increase or comparing on-campus and off-campus housing -- then structuring things based on an analyzed importance may be the way to go.

But of the story you're looking into naturally and dramatically unfolds in order -- like a bank robbery or 9/11 -- then a chronology probably works best.

A lot of it depends on what kind of facts you dig up while reporting. Note in each approach, some facts get greater or lesser emphasis, and some facts get entirely left out. You should think about which approach best uses the most important, relevant, interesting and useful facts. Whichever does is probably the highest and best approach to take.

Let me be clear, though: these are NOT the only two story structure options you have. As you've read in the book and probably noticed in your newspaper readings, there are endless ways to write ledes and detail nut grafs and add quotes and cascade facts throughout a story.

You're first and foremost looking for the best way to tell a story, based on what makes meaning and context and accuracy clear and easy to follow.

These are just two basic ways to do that. Master this, and then start practicing other ways.