I've read through most of the first practice assignment submissions, and I have high hopes for this class. That said, we need to address several pervasive, fundamental issues in your writing before we progress to more advanced styles.
- Accurate spelling, particularly of names is crucial. It's not an option.
- Cut down on the length of those sentences. Some submissions contained sentences that began with one point, lost it, and then meandered into a totally different area of the interview. Keep it shorter and simpler for now.
- Don't hype or market whatever you're writing about. Let the person or thing speak for itself.
- Please adhere to the submission rules. Double-space and use the correct font size. And please don't send your assignments in the body of your e-mail. Attach a Word document to your e-mail. Use your name as the title of the document.
Read the first three chapters (The use of English, Grammar: the rules, and Grammar: mistakes and confusions) in your English for Journalists textbook. They'll act as a good primer for the work we'll be doing in class on Monday.
We'll be doing a few other exercises as well.
See you tomorrow.
