Product Description

Fully revised and updated,with a brand new  introductory chapter, this new edition of English for Journalists is an invaluable guide not only to the basics of English, but to those aspects of writing, such as reporting speech, house style and jargon, which are specific to the language of journalism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70014 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From the Back Cover

Reviews of the first edition:

‘For those uncertain of their word power and those who know in their bones that they are struggling along on waffle, a couple of hours with this admirably written manual would be time well spent.’

Keith Waterhouse British Journalism Review

‘English for Journalists is a jolly useful book. It’s short. It’s accessible. It’s cheap. And it tells you what you want to know.’

Humphrey Evans Journalist

‘It makes a simple-to-use guide that you could skim read on a train journey or use as a basic textbook that you can dip into to solve specific problems.’

Short Words

English for Journalists is an invaluable guide not only to the basics of English, but to those aspects of writing, such as reporting speech, house style and jargon, which are specific to the language of journalism.

Written in an accessible style, English for Journalists covers the fundamentals of grammar, the use of spelling, punctuation and journalistic writing, with each point illustrated by concise examples.

This revised and updated edition includes:

• an introductory chapter which discusses the present state of English and current trends in journalistic writing
• a new chapter in the grammar section featuring 10 of the most common howlers made by journalists
• up-to-date examples of spelling, punctuation and usage mistakes published in newspapers and magazines
• a specimen house-style guide reproduced in full
• an extended glossary of terms used in journalism

Wynford Hicks is a freelance journalist and editorial trainer. He has worked as a reporter, subeditor, feature writer, editor and editorial consultant in magazines, newspapers and books, and as a teacher of journalism specialising in the use of English, subediting and writing styles. He is the author of Writing for Journalists and Quite Literally, and the co-author of Subediting for Journalists.

Media Skills

Series Editor: Richard Keeble

Series Advisers: Wynford Hicks and Jenny McKay

Journalism/Media and Communication

Customer Reviews

a great guide to getting it right
Wynford Hicks was my tutor on the City University Journalism degree course, and although he had been working on this book for a long time, it was after despairing at the quality of his student's standard of English that he finally got around to getting it into print. It is an excellent reference for all the usual grammar and spelling pitfalls, and a guide to avoiding the many, many errors, malaproprisms and other misuses of English that pedantic sub-eds love to punish lazy hacks with. I've recommended the book to numerous colleagues in the past and I've still got a copy on my desk for solving arguments. An essential tool for anyone who writes for a living.

A wonderful guide for the industry
Wynford Hicks, currently spending the rest of his days teaching cricket to locals in his adopted French home, thoroughly deserves his idyllic existence after helping thousands of journalists through their exams and careers with this stunning guide. He describes in plain English when and where to use different forms of punctuation, how to properly construct a sentence and make enjoying an article as easy as possible for today's busy reader. The section on journalistic style sticks two elegant fingers firmly in the face of English teachers who cry bad grammar at the merest hint of beginning a sentence with a proposition or dabbling with the GCSE demons of the split infinitive. The chapter on tabloidese is hilarious, chatting as it does about a employee who slammed his boss in a bid to win favour with colleagues and now fears he will be axed. The question he asks is do you ever here people conversing in this manner at a bus stop? He also launches an offensive against 'posh' and 'trendy' words, and helps writers resist the urge to use them simply to impress their colleagues, while bewildering the hapless reader. Invaluable.

Excellent grammar reference for clear writing
Grammar is something we all confuse at one time or another, and journalists must be able to write with good grammar quickly. This book shows you how to use grammar to communicate ideas more effectively and concisely, with sections on style to help keep your prose flow. It is more a good reference book than a cover-to-cover read; useful when you're not sure how to convey exactly what you mean. The book won't turn you into a fabulous journalist, but it will make your prose more precise and readable.