Feature Story Editing Notes

• Point of View- Needs to be in 3rd person- No I, We, My, (except commentary pieces)
• Tense- Feature stories for our case at least should be past tense.
• Names- use 1st name last name to start. From then on last name only. People with the same last name, Ex. Ted Reeves, Reeves, Reeves then Jerry Reeves and you use the first names Ted or Jerry then Tom Reeves so its Ted, Jerry, or Tom. If a Sr. or Jr. comes in you refer them to that.
• Quote/Transition Style- The statement should go before the quote always. Statement->Quote. 
• Storytelling- Don't want the story of the interview. Want the story about the topic. Don't insert questions or take away from the story. Have them tell the story with you backing up with small facts of what happened.
• "Said"- you want to use "said" almost every time. Saying "exclaimed" or "wondered" is interjecting your opinion of how they said it into the story.
• Simple & Concise- No run on sentences. No more than 4 commas on prepositional phrases. No paragraphs that are more than 2 sentences. 4 to 5 sentences in one is wrong. Statement & Quote in different paragraphs always. 25- 30 word sentences.
• Word Use- Write so a 6th grader could understand. The average newspaper reader reads at an 8th grade level. Big word use can be bad, be careful.
• Formatting- Always have separate paragraphs for statements and quotes.
• Spell Checks & Grammar- No excuses for spelling things wrong if using spell check. Work on grammar. Helpful tips: For Grammar, read it out loud. For spelling, read it backwards.

Edit Marks-

• WW- means Wrong Word. if word is crossed out and squiggles are above it, its probably WW.
• backwards S with quote marks- switch
• Box Z- switch the words.
• L-  new paragraph
• SP- spelling error
• check mark- remove
• slash- lowercase
• check mark on exclamation point- take it out.
• Brackets- Something wrong with part/entire sentence or paragraph.
• 2 Vertical Lines- Extra space or needs space.