Editing and AP Style

Here's where you learn how to edit stories that conform to the gold standard of newswriting - Associated Press style. You'll see how to keep stories tight and concise by cutting unnecessary words and phrases, and how to make sure you don't bury your lede.

What Do Different Kinds of Editors Do?

Just as the military has a chain of command, newspapers have a hierarchy of editors responsible for various aspects of the operation. See what different kinds of editors do in the newsroom.

An Editor's Checklist: Micro and Macro Editing

Things to Make Sure You Cover When Editing Any News Story

An Assignment Editor's Checklist

A Checklist for Editors Dealing Directly With Reporters

A Copy Editor's Checklist

Things to Watch for When Copy Editing the News

Ledes - What To Put In And What To Leave Out

Cut Unnecessary Words From Every Sentence

A "Before and After" View of Sentences That Have Been Cut

Exercises in Cutting Unnecessary Words

See How Short You Can Make These Sentences

Long, Complex Words vs. Shorter, Simpler Ones

Complex words vs. simple words

Keep it Short And To The Point

Writing Tight - Newswriting - Writing Tight

Editing Exercises

Edit the following stories for grammar, punctuation, AP style, spelling and content. If you have any questions about the story, put them in the form of an editor's note at the bottom of the story. Want to know how you did? Show them to your journalism instructor. Journalism instructors, feel free to use these exercises for your classes.

Editing Exercise: School Board Meeting

Editing Exercise: Drunk Driving Trial

Editing Exercise: Fire

Editing Exercise: City Council Meeting

Editing Exercise: Crazed Attacker

Write Great Headlines

You can churn out the greatest article ever written, but if it doesn't have an attention-grabbing headline to get people to read it, what's the point? Whether you're at a newspaper or blogging from home, a great headline (or "hed") will always get more eyeballs scanning your copy. Here are some tips.

Associated Press Style & AP Quizzes

One of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is Associated Press style, or AP style for short. AP style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles.

The Basics of Associated Press Style

One of the first things a journalism student learns about is Associated Press style, or AP style for short. AP style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles.