WRITE
AVOID
Money
10-THOUSAND DOLLARS
,000.00
Fractions
TWOTHIRDS
2/3’s
FIVE-TENTHS
05
ONE AND SEVEN-EIGHTS
1 7/8’s
Percentages
SIX PERCENT
6%
ONE-TENTH OF A PERCENT .1%
Address
4951 WEST 14TH LANE
4951 W. 14 LN.
Telephone Number
555-1212
5-5-5-1-2-1-2
Ages
12-YEAR-OLD MARY SMITH
MARY SMITH, 12
Time
10:30 THIS MORNING
10:30 A.M.
10:30 A-M
1030 HOURS
6 O’CLOCK THIS EVENING
or 6 P-M
6:00 PM.
Decimals
1l-POINT-25 or
11-POINT-TWO-FIVE or
11 AND A QUARTER
11.25
SIX-POINT-FIVE or
SIX AND A HALF
6.5
12-POINT-FIVE or
12 AND A HALF
12.5
Roman Numerals
LOUIS THE 16TH
LOUIS XVI
POPE JOHN PAUL THE THIRD
POPE JOHN PAUL III
Ratings
THE NUMBER ONE TEAM
#1 TEAM
Scores
9 TO 4
NINE TO FOUR
23 TO 6
23 TO SIX
Odds
THREE-TO-ONE
3-1 or 3:1
License Plates
H-L-S 121
HLS-121
Military Units
SECOND FLEET
2ND FLEET
Height
FIVE-FEET-FIVE-INCHES
5 FT. 5 IN. or 5-5
Figure 13-1.—Using numbers in broadcast copy.
That is not to say there is nothing you can do in the
Writing for the ear can be tricky business. Reducing
meantime. To the contrary, there is plenty you can do to
a complicated issue or concept into shorter and simpler
prepare yourself for success in this challenging field.
terms is required of a good broadcast writer.
As an aspiring broadcast writer, you should study,
The most successful broadcast writers write the way
carefully, examples of good broadcast writing. In
people talk in their daily conversations. They write as if
addition, as you begin to write, remember the principles
they were telling the story to a friend. As an experiment,
and techniques covered on the following pages.
start noticing the lengths of sentences used in normal
13-7
