Coaching Staff
Run through big picture items first in a quick "teaching" session a week or so before writers have to turn in their first rough draft. You can look at the tips and tricks slideshow from 2020-21 school year for a basis. Staff will be more likely to remember big ideas than small quick and dirty style rules such as italicizing titles or linking sources. Writers may needs reminders about avoiding passives, you/we, etc. Here are (ironically, a passive) some big things to bring up from the very beginning:
Passives
You should know this by now. Essentially, stay away from is, was, and are. Emphasize that editors will be very strict with this. VERY important that you give an example of how a sentence could be changed to take out the passive (of how writers can change the sentence to take out the passive. See what I did there?). Be very strict when editing out these passives--few exceptions. Writers can (rarely!) break the rule once they have gotten to the point of automatically avoiding passives.
First Person
Avoid you, I, or we. Sometimes for editorials in which the author uses a lot of personal experiences, reviews, or quizzes, first person is acceptable. But try not to tell them this until they ask.
Hook
Stress that newspaper articles aren't the same as english papers. If it's boring, no one will read it. Articles should have a fun hook. News articles may cut more to the chase.
Sources
A good rule of thumb is one reputable and non-biased source per paragraph. Editorials and news articles especially are very source-heavy. Sources go in italics. No URLs; instead you can SHOW not TELL (share screen or demonstrate on computer) how to hyperlink the source name in Google Docs.
Student-focused
Sad, but true: not every random current event or topic of interest is news-worthy. Articles should be student or local-focused. This is often overlooked but absolutely essential. If the articles are boring, no one will read the paper. Teach writers how to spin less relevant stories (for example, an animal going endangered) and make them more student focused (school Environmental Club advocates for animal rights at protest in Raleigh, or AFHS animal rights activist comments on animal endangerment). Also, stop irrelevant stories in their tracks by ensuring that all article ideas from the start are somehow linked to AFHS. If the tie-back isn't added in until later, it will usually be a little weak.
This is more difficult to teach, but the best writers are the ones who take out initiative and seek out stories, interviews, and quotes from teachers and students. These types of articles are more engaging. Encourage your staff to get over any initial nervousness and to get out into the school to interview students! Ask Mrs. Briggs to teach you how to use the student bible. Preach the wonders of using social media to gather quotes.
Quick and Dirty Style Rules
You don't need to run through all of these individually, but include a slide with all of them or share a document with them. Make sure to catch these errors when you're editing, and if it's the first few times, make a comment saying what you're fixing and why. If you change without telling them why, they'll just make the mistake again.
Some things that go in italics: movie titles, sources, website names, album titles, book names.
Some things that go in quotation marks: quotes (duh), song names, article names (of sources, not staff articles)
Check for grammar and spelling errors BEFORE turning in rough
Paragraphs should not exceed five to seven lines. If more, do a break.
If using an acronym, spell out the first time and then use the acronym. She went to Apex Friendship High School. Later, she left AFHS and moved to Florida.
When talking about people interviewed, politicians, authors, famous people you don't know...Say their full name the first time, then revert to their last name only. Kamala Harris received the honor of being selected as Joe Biden's vice presidential candidate. Later, Harris became Biden's official vice president.
Number 1-20 ish get spelled out, after that they are written in number form.
Avoid exclamation points.
Avoid really long sentences.
Avoid too many parenthesis.
When Editing
After the teaching section, this is the best place to catch errors and correct style. Leave a comment at the end saying what was good and what could be improved. Add comments throughout explaining big changes. If necessary, don't be afraid to ask them to rewrite sections (rewriting is not your job, so don't do it for them if it's too much) or add a connection to AFHS.
Nip things in the bud and tell writers before their first ever round of edits not to take things personally. As editors you have to make changes to writing, grammar, phrasing, titles, everything, and this is necessary.
Good luck!
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