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Tips for Writing News Stories

Are you interested in journalism? Do you want to write a news story, but are unsure of grammar and punctuation rules? Are you confused about whether you should use the Oxford comma? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this post is for you.


The Associated Press has a writing style that is used by most news organizations. All the rules are compiled in the AP Stylebook. Here are a few tips from the AP Stylebook to help you excel in journalism:


Say “all right”, not “alright”.

Say “toward”, not “towards”.

Spell out numbers one through nine and use figures for 10 and above.

Capitalize formal titles such as president when used before a name: President Joe Biden. Otherwise make it lowercase: The president held a press conference.

Do not use the Oxford comma. Here is an example of how a list should look: apples, oranges and lemons.


If this interests you, consider taking Introduction to Media Writing here at NDSU. The AP Stylebook is the textbook!


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