Media Writing: Chapter 2

Which sentence is punctuated correctly? a. "Eighty percent of success is showing up," Woody Allen said. b. "Eighty percent of success is showing up", Woody Allen said. c. "Eighty percent of success is showing up" Woody Allen said. d. "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Woody Allen said.

a. "Eighty percent of success is showing up," Woody Allen said.

Which statement is true? a. You don't need to attribute information if it is common knowledge or indisputable. b. You need to attribute all information contained in printed material (like a book or a report). c. You need to attribute every fact in a story, even if you observed an event yourself. d. You don't need to attribute information that people could look up themselves on the Internet.

a. You don't need to attribute information if it is common knowledge or indisputable.

Which statement is correct? a. You must attribute information that is someone's opinion. b. You don't need to attribute accusations if they come from the police. c. You don't need to attribute opinions if they reflect the views of the majority of people. d. You must attribute all opinions AND facts in a story, even if facts are general knowledge.

a. You must attribute information that is someone's opinion.

A lead quote is a. a strong quote that is high in the story to support the lead. b. a strong quote by the most official source in the story. c. the quote that is contained in the lead. d. a quote pulled out and highlighted in a box next to the story.

a. a strong quote that is high in the story to support the lead.

Which statement is true about plagiarism? a. If you change enough of a passage you borrow from another publication, you don't need to attribute it. b. It is plagiarism if you paraphrase information from another publication and you don't attribute it. c. Information from online resources is in the public domain and doesn't need to be attributed. d. It is plagiarism if you use ideas from other publications, even if you attribute it to that publication.

b. It is plagiarism if you paraphrase information from another publication and you don't attribute it.

The most common lead for a hard-news story is a ________ lead. a. delayed b. summary c. feature d. quote

b. summary

Which is the BEST rule for the wording of attribution? a. Try to make attributions as lively as possible by using words like "exclaimed" and "claimed." b. "Says" is the preferred attribution for text stories. c. Use "said" for humans and "according to" for reports and other objects. d. Use "said" for feature stories and "says" for hard news stories.

c. Use "said" for humans and "according to" for reports and other objects.

Which is MOST true about using direct quotations? a. Use quotes to repeat what was already paraphrased so that you can emphasize key facts to readers. b. Quotes should rarely be used in news stories; if they have to be used, a long quote is best. c. You should avoid quotes that don't relate directly to the focus of your story. d. Everything a source says should be put in direct quotations.

c. You should avoid quotes that don't relate directly to the focus of your story.

A hard news story is called that because it is a. hard for people to read because of the death and destruction included. b. hard to read because of the grammar and sentence structure. c. structured so that the key facts are in the first few paragraphs. d. structured so that people have to read until the end to find out what happened.

c. structured so that the key facts are in the first few paragraphs.

The focus of a story is a. an interesting anecdote or unusual fact that gets the reader to focus on the story. b. the last thing that happened. c. the main idea of the story. d. the first thing that happened.

c. the main idea of the story.

Choose the sentence that is punctuated correctly. a. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a famous speech: "I have a dream". b. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a famous speech, "I have a dream". c. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a famous "I have a dream", speech. d. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a famous speech, "I have a dream."

d. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a famous speech, "I have a dream."

Which is NOT a question typically answered in a summary lead? a. Why? b. Who? c. Where? d. So what?

d. So what?

A facts or highlights box is a. a list of facts inserted in a story to help give context. b. a list of facts of less importance that you don't have room to include in your regular story. c. a list of historical facts about a newspaper in a box on the editorial page. d. a list of facts, information or key points in a box typically placed next to a story.

d. a list of facts, information or key points in a box typically placed next to a story.

What is the structure of most basic news stories? a. lead quote, nut graph, lead, supporting facts, more quotes and comments, additional information, ending b. lead, lead quote, supporting facts, nut graph (if needed), more quotes and comments, additional information, ending c. nut graph, lead, lead quote, supporting facts, more quotes and comments, additional information, ending d. lead, nut graph (if needed), lead quote, supporting facts, more quotes and comments, additional information, ending

d. lead, nut graph (if needed), lead quote, supporting facts, more quotes and comments, additional information, ending

A nut graph a. is pulled out and used as a headline. b. summarizes the focus at the end of the story. c. sets up your best quote. d. states the main point of the story, typically before the third to fifth graph.

d. states the main point of the story, typically before the third to fifth graph.