Vague:  Thousands  of  fans  were  turned  away that  afternoon. Specific:   Three   thousand   fans   were   turned away before game time. A V O I D    T R I T E    O R    H A C K N E Y E D EXPRESSIONS.—  These  are  the  mark  of  either  an amateur   or   a   lazy   writer.   Some   particularly   bad examples include the following: Cheap as dirt Smart as a whip Fat as a pig Nipped in the bud Good as gold Blushing  bride Grim reaper Wee hours Ripe old age Picture of health Crystal clear Quick as lightning Bouncing baby boy/girl USE  STRONG,  ACTIVE  VERBS.—  Whenever possible, use active voice and the simple past tense. The use of these injects life, action and movement into your news stories. In using strong verbs, you will find some of the tendency for you to rely on adverbs to do the work is eliminated. In newswriting, adverbs often do nothing more  than  clutter  writing.  Consider  the ^- following example: Weak  (passive   voice):   The   visitors   were warmly received by Capt. Smith in his office. Stronger  (active  voice):  Capt.  Smith  greeted the visitors in his office. AVOID MILITARY JARGON.—  For those in the Navy, the phrase “general quarters” is clear enough. Yet for others, the phrase may mean nothing; to some, it may seem  to  mean  the  area  where  the  general  is  housed. When you assume that all your readers know general quarters means the command to man battle stations for crew   members   aboard   ship,   you   make   a   false assumption. You do not impress your readers by using words  and  phrases  they  do  not  understand;  you  only imitate  them. For  example,  an  unidentified  Navy  official  issued  a statement  explaining  that  the  purpose  of  an  overtime policy  was  “...to  accommodate  needs  for  overtime  . which are identified as a result of the initiation of the procedures contained herein during the period of time necessary  to  institute  alternative  procedures  to  meet  the identified  need.” In some situations, it is appropriate to use common military   phrases,   such   as   “fleet   training   exercise,” “ship’s galley” and “weapons system.” WATCH SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.— A JO, or a person interested in becoming a Navy journalist, should have better than average spelling ability. This person should also have a good command of the English language   as   far   as   correct   grammar   is   concerned. Therefore, no extensive lesson is given in this area of study, although some basics are presented in Chapter 6. One goal of every good writer is not to learn to spell perfectly,  but  to  learn  to  spell  well  enough  so  that  a mistake can be spotted when words are put on paper. When  in  doubt,  use  the  dictionary.  Dictionaries  are standard  stock  items  in  the  Navy,  and  every  public affairs  office  should  have  one.  (For  style,  usage  and spelling questions not covered in The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, use Webster's New World Dictionary  of  the  American  Language,  Third  College Edition.)  Additionally, keep in mind that virtually all word  processing  software  packages  contain  a  spell check  feature  that  you  should  use  at  every  opportunity. USE A STYLEBOOK.— In newswriting, the word style refers to the spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation  and  similar  mechanical  aspects  of grammar used in preparing copy (a term used to describe all  news  manuscripts).  Most  newspapers  and  other periodicals   have   their   own   style   sheets   or   local interpretations of style rules. The important thing for you to remember about style is consistency. The  recommended  guide  for  preparing  military news  is  The  Associated   Press   Stylebook   and   Libel Manual. However, any locally prepared style guide or style sheet is fine as long as it is internally consistent and is suitable for your purpose. For further information on stylebooks,   consult   Chapter   7   (Newspaper   Staff Supervision) of the JO  l &C TRAMAN. 2-9