Self Editing

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Summary

Developing a critical eye for your work.

Always self-edit. Developing a professional critical eye takes a long time, but you can start to build your skill immediately.

The Method

Begin with the conceptualization process.

• Is your title a pledge to the reader? Is it analytic?
• Do you have a clear focus and only one?
• Does your statement of synthesis capture what? and so what? In only one sentence?
• Can you trace a succinct, clear line of reasoning?
• If you have a table of contents: Can you read it and understand your argument in its briefest form?

Then look at the sections.

• Have you used the internal formula to lay out your piece? And your Summary?
• Can you read your Summary and understand your entire piece?
• Is each section as a whole a large inverted pyramid?
• Can you track your argument by only reading your core assertions?

Go into each paragraph and diagram it.

• Annotate each paragraph in the margin.
• Force yourself to answer this question: Is the first sentence of each a core assertion? Put CA in the margin.
• Do the remaining sentences directly support the core assertion?
• Force yourself to explain to yourself what each kind of support is. Put E for evidence, SJ for secondary judgments, and CD for contextual data.
• If E and CD are facts, look for the source descriptions. Add the unless you have a good reason not to.
• If you have S Js, include phrases like "we judge" or "we believe."

After you annotate every paragraph and can explain the function of each sentence, look at the order of sentences within each paragraph.

• Have you put them in decreasing order of importance or from highest to lowest level of generality or detail?
• Is CD last?
• Is your transition language between paragraphs found in the core assertions and not at the end of the paragraphs?

Check each sentence for good writing.

• Is it active instead of passive?
• Is it succinct?
• Is it clear? Have you chosen simple, straightforward, and precise words? Can your reader see what you are saying?
• Is your grammar correct?
• Do pronouns match antecedents?
• Are words spelled correctly?
• Do your sentences fit smoothly together?

Read your entire piece to see if it flows smoothly.

Edit again.

• Editing a sentence or paragraph often changes the logic of the sentences or paragraphs that come before and after it.
• Editing also can introduce choppiness.
• You must go back and reread as much of your piece as necessary to ensure that these problems haven't cropped up.

Index

What Is Spero News

• Who and what is Spero News and how do the writers create news?

Developing A Case

• Developing a case: The internal formula

Level Of Generality

• Finding the the right level of generality

Core Assertion

• Your analytic topic sentence

Inverted Pyramid Paragraph

• The basic structure of journalistic writing.

Expanding A Single Paragraph

• How to create a multiparagraph line of reasoning.

Principles Of Analytic Writing

• Writing smartly for busy readers.

Reminders About A Paragraph

• Summarizing how a paragraph works.

Topic Sentence Outline

• How making a topic sentence outline can save you time.

Concept Paper

• Creating your blueprint.

When To Write

• How to know when to write an article

Self Editing

• Developing a critical eye for your work.

Guide To Gisting

• How to evaluating and distill raw facts.

Key Intelligence Questions

• Questions to ask for any project.

Assessing Information Needs

• Realizing your Core Assertions

Getting Started With Methodologies

• Why bother using a methodology when you can just start writing what you know?

Alternative Scenarios

• When and why you should use alternative views.

Competing Hypothesis Analysis

• Looking at all possible solutions.

Finding The Angle

• An exercise in finding the angle of story by using a real press release.

Indentifying News

• Discovering news and finding an idea.

_Template Idea To Article

Advancing An Argument

• Advancing your line of reasoning in multiple paragraphs.

Ideas Are Event Driven

• Knowing when to write is important, dealt with here, but recognizing an event is a learned skill.

Daily Calendar of events

• Maintaining a Daybook

Conceptualization Process

• How to crystallize your main judgment or point and lay out your argument for it.

Crafting Titles

• How to create titles, your contract with the reader

Zeroing In On The Focus

• How to summarize your bottom line in one sentence.
Who and what is Spero News and how do the writers create news?
10/8/2007 1:56:50 PM - -76.30.20.161
Developing a case: The internal formula
10/8/2007 1:55:29 PM - -76.30.20.161
Finding the the right level of generality
10/8/2007 1:57:48 PM - -76.30.20.161
Your analytic topic sentence
10/8/2007 1:58:02 PM - -76.30.20.161
The basic structure of journalistic writing.
2/5/2006 6:26:35 PM - -66.69.144.12
How to create a multiparagraph line of reasoning.
2/5/2006 6:33:19 PM - -66.69.144.12
Writing smartly for busy readers.
2/5/2006 6:36:46 PM - -66.69.144.12
Summarizing how a paragraph works.
10/8/2007 1:54:13 PM - -76.30.20.161
How making a topic sentence outline can save you time.
5/2/2008 5:09:48 PM - -76.30.20.161
Creating your blueprint.
2/5/2006 6:46:20 PM - -66.69.144.12
How to know when to write an article
2/5/2006 7:30:09 PM - -66.69.144.12
Developing a critical eye for your work.
10/8/2007 1:56:22 PM - -76.30.20.161
How to evaluating and distill raw facts.
2/5/2006 6:51:53 PM - -66.69.144.12
Questions to ask for any project.
2/5/2006 6:54:41 PM - -66.69.144.12
Realizing your Core Assertions
10/8/2007 1:56:09 PM - -76.30.20.161
Why bother using a methodology when you can just start writing what you know?
10/8/2007 1:54:55 PM - -76.30.20.161
When and why you should use alternative views.
2/5/2006 7:08:20 PM - -66.69.144.12
Looking at all possible solutions.
10/8/2007 1:58:27 PM - -76.30.20.161
An exercise in finding the angle of story by using a real press release.
2/5/2006 7:20:35 PM - -66.69.144.12
Discovering news and finding an idea.
10/8/2007 1:54:40 PM - -76.30.20.161
Click to read this topic
10/8/2007 1:57:05 PM - -76.30.20.161
Advancing your line of reasoning in multiple paragraphs.
2/5/2006 6:29:44 PM - -66.69.144.12
Knowing when to write is important, dealt with here, but recognizing an event is a learned skill.
2/5/2006 5:46:24 PM - DEDJ201-spero
Maintaining a Daybook
2/5/2006 5:51:49 PM - DEDJ201-spero
How to crystallize your main judgment or point and lay out your argument for it.
2/5/2006 6:04:47 PM - -66.69.144.12
How to create titles, your contract with the reader
10/8/2007 1:59:49 PM - -76.30.20.161
How to summarize your bottom line in one sentence.
7/19/2006 4:39:05 PM - -67.10.170.21

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