Full Comprehensive Guide to Editing a News Article

You’ve done the first few drafts. You’ve put pen to paper, or finger to key, or finger to screen (or whichever medium you choose to publish your work) and gotten the words down (if you haven’t, check out our guide to structuring a news article). Now it’s the difficult bit; editing the article. Thankfully we’ve put together a comprehensive guide with individual checklists to go through, for everything that needs to be done to produce a high quality story.

9 Initial checks to make after writing

After completing your first draft, read it again and ask yourself:

Is it readable?
What have we done to make it interesting and add to it?
What are we doing to keep their attention?
Can we say the same thing in a shorter way? Speak in an active rather than a passive voice
Are all the details correct?
Are names and titles correct and consistent?
Spelling and grammar correct
Is there anything libellous or defamatory?
Could a quote be paraphrased and shortened if it’s too long?

Check the numbers

Ensure all numbers add up
Write one to nine as words
Write 10 to 999,999 as digits
Above that write the numbers as one million, 5.3 billion, 10 trillion etc
After the first mention of the number it’s then simply 1m, 5.3bn and 10tn
Use commas to break up every 3 digits from 1000 upwards
Write ‘percent’ not %
All the months from August to February should be abbreviated. March to July should be spelt out fully.
Dates written with just the number e.g. Dec. 1 not Dec 1st.
Street and road numbers don’t need to be separated with a comma The same applies with years.
If a number is used at the start of a sentence then spell it out in words.
If larger numbers are not a neat figure, it may be advisable to round it.
Use the third person single form of the verb e.g. £20,000 was raised
When presenting visual data, first write the number of the table or figure, followed by the verb e.g. Table 1 shows…. Then tell them what the data means with that+subject+verb+object and be specific by moderating the claims from the data e.g. Figure 1 shows that young people in Chicago like Politician A more than Politician B.

Grammar & syntax checklist

Can use ‘Un-’ as a prefix to words that usually stand alone; ‘unfreedom’ or ‘undivorced’ etc, in certain nuanced ways.
Use the rule of three where appropriate
Use alliteration sparingly
Use ‘who’ when referring to people, and ‘that’ (for restrictive/essential clauses e.g. all bags that are over 50kg will not be permitted) and ‘which’ (for nonrestrictive/nonessential clauses e.g. My bedroom, which is on the 3rd floor, is very messy) for objects.
Reporting Verbs – Neutral examples are said, asked, stated and reported. Examples of strong reporting verbs are urged, warned, emphasised and advised.
Ensure Subject Verb Agreement
Use capitals for titles when the title comes before the noun. If it comes after the noun, it doesn’t need to be capitalised.
For books/films etc only the first word, nouns and verbs are capitalised e.g. The Name of the Rose.
For words ending in ‘y’, if it has a vowel before it, it ends with ‘s’ e.g. ‘says’. If it has a consonant before it, it ends ‘babies’
Use ‘Have’ if it’s I, We, You or They. Use ‘Has’ if it’s She, He, It or any noun.
Make use of chiasmus where appropriate – ‘You don’t stop running because you get old. You get old because you stop running.’ or ‘All for freedom, freedom for all.’ It need not reverse the order, it could be an antimetabole ‘Some rise by sin, some rise by virtue fall’.

Make appropriate use of tenses

Use the present perfect form when something started in the past and is expected to have a development in the future e.g. Russia has written up a peace agreement it hopes to sign. If there’s no chance of it happening again, then you use the simple past form e.g. Mozart wrote music. (He died so there’s no chance he will write any more.

Using active voice and present progressive helps convey to the audience that the news is taking place now and they are a part of it. Use the active voice when the doer of the verb is important. Often used in news writing. E.g. the Russian team won 10 gold medals.

Use the passive voice when the focus is on the verb or the receiver of the verb, not the doer of the verb, or to understand who the doer is from the rest of the information in the sentence. E.g. President Obama was elected as president of the United States. When changing a quote to reported speech, you must change the verbs and tense.

Structuring sentences

Use semicolons sparingly (some people get irritated by them)
Comma splicing – Don’t use a comma for what are two separate sentences or clauses; use a full stop or in certain circumstances, a semicolon.
Independent clauses work on their own. Dependent clauses need another.
An independent clause before a dependent clause requires no comma. A dependent clause before an independent clause generally doesn’t require one.
If you have two independent clauses/sentences, you can’t just put a ‘however’ between them. Generally shouldn’t start a sentence with however, but few actually follow this rule.
Use ‘almost’ and ‘even’ to communicate subtle gradations and point to something without fully committing to it.
Coordinating Conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. When you have two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction, it’s generally a good idea to include a comma. Begin a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’ only if it’s appropriate.
Adverbial Conjunctions / Conjunctive Adverbs – Adds emphasis such as ‘moreover’ or ‘therefore’ and contrast such as ‘instead’, ‘however’ or ‘otherwise’. When an adverbial conjunction connects two independent clauses in one sentence, it’s preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.

Structuring paragraphs

Create paragraphs based on their ideas, arrangement, shape, balance and pace. You want paragraphs to progress and develop; create a natural sense of movement from one idea to the next. Use one sentence paragraphs sparingly. Don’t multitask in one sentence and try to do too much. Break your points into smaller more targeted groups and accomplish one thing at a time.

Accept that your article may not be perfect

Whilst grammar, spelling and syntax rules should be followed, most of the above rules are often subjective and can be deviated from if needed. Be a reader of your work as well as its writer. Make sure you proofread and then edit (these two aren’t the same thing). When dealing with statistics and numbers, attach them to a recognisable benchmark to make them relatable.

As far as the facts of the article are concerned, if you don’t know something after doing all of the above, accept that often you can’t know everything and the story might not be fully up to date and perfect. News is not static so ensure you’re changing your report as the situation changes. Look at what‘s happening around you and how it lines up with your news gathering, evaluate your quotes and keep on top of the facts as they change. Report what is now, not what you had. Use social media and update content online to stay on top of developments. Constantly update but don’t speculate.

Be honest and upfront. Let the audience know you’re doing real time reporting, that the situation is changing and you don’t know everything. You may not have perspective yet and give credit to other sources if they give you information. Don’t fill in what you don’t know with rumours. Write sentences that stand out, are vivid and original. Don’t write like other people, but ensure everything is correct and isn’t senselessly provocative or offensive.

For a different perspective, check out the Independent story on how they changed their editing style.

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