One of the most interesting things from the chapter was the advice about keeping sentences short, simple and easy to follow. The recommendation to stick with subject-verb-object (S-V-O) structure makes the writing more accessible, especially since sports audiences come from different backgrounds and have different levels of knowledge about the game. Including the five W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) ensures clarity and answers the essential questions. I also found the discussion about avoiding “-isms” in language powerful. This advice connected to my sociology class on race, class, and gender, where we talk about how labeling based on gender, age, race, or ability–even if intended positively–can reinforce discrimination. For example, calling out that an athlete achieved something because of their minority identity can unintentionally categorize and stereotype them. Instead, focusing on accomplishments without unnecessary labels leads to fairer, more inclusive reporting. Another part I found interesting was feature writing. I’ve mainly done short sports recaps, but features open a new way of storytelling. Unlike game reports, features bring in style, pace, and almost a poetic feel, blending fact with narrative. They also focus on human interest, pulling readers into the emotional or dramatic side of sports rather than just the score. The chapter compared features to short fiction, which can be really creative, and that is exciting to me. I also liked the section about profiles, since that’s something I saw we’ll be doing in class on the syllabus. Profiles seem to combine the depth of feature writing with a strong focus on an individual’s story, adding drama and mystery to who they are beyond just their stats. I’m curious about how profiles fit into sports reporting. Are they meant to highlight athletes as people, or to connect readers to a bigger theme through the lens of one individual?
One of the main takeaways i got from reading chapter 7 of the textbook was the author’s emphasis on keeping writing clear, simple, and accessible. She talks about using the 5 W’s, who, what, when, where, and why. This ensures the essential information is clear right away. She also recommends using the Subject Verb Object sentence structure to make stories easier to follow for a variety of readers with different reading levels and sports knowledge. Another subject of the chapter that stood out to me was when the author advised to steer clear of stereotypes and unnecessary labels tied to race, gender, and religion. Writers should instead focus on other things, like the accomplishments of an athlete or report on news surrounding an athlete. The author gives good advice for aspiring sports writers in this chapter, giving good insight on how to write, as well as what and what not to write about.
One part of chapter seven that I found interesting was the part about making sure that you write in sports language. Making sure that you are writing the correct way to fit the type of story you are creating. There are some columns and stories that are clearly marked and made to show the writers opinions. But now with the emergence of social media there are many places where reporters can share their opinion instead of columns or other stories. A reporter can just make a tweet or instagram post of one of their opinions. If your writing a story you should make sure that you are only writing facts and that all of your sources are correct and trustworthy. To do this a lot of reporters use the “if all three agree” rule. This means they check with three unrelated sources to see if their news adds up with the news they got from their source, if all three agree then the information is generally good to use.
Question: What are some of the other ways reporters use to check their sources?
Another part of chapter seven that I found interesting was how many different things reporters need to think about before publishing a story. There are many checks reporters have to do on their writing before publishing it as well as checks while they are writing it. From something simple like looking for typos to thinking about how the on average the most readable sentences are 16 words long. As well as having to worry about repetition of words which is something that happens a lot in sports writing. So to avoid the reader reading the same word over and over reporters use euphemisms. For example most sports have the word “run” to describe movement so some reporters try to use words like Plow, Gallop, and Trot to get around repeating the same word. Even with reporters using these euphemisms to get around repeating the same word they still need to be careful to not overuse these euphemisms as that is very easy to see by the reader and could be seen as lazy writing.
Question: What do reporters worry about checking the most when their writing a story?
The elements I took away from this chapter are all the little writing tips that make a good sports journalist. At the very beginning of chapter six, the author explains how precision is important in writing, similar to sports. In sports, if you make too many mistakes you get penalties, fouls, etc, however, in writing, if you make too many mistakes you start to lose credibility. Professionals must take their writing seriously as their audience and editors will expect nothing less than good writing with little to no mistakes. Opinions should be left out when covering sports unless it’s a broadcast. Opinions can be easily confused for facts. The golden rule of journalism is accuracy. There is no story if it is not true. Journalists mustn’t assume anything. Everything should be fact checked and verified before being released. A tip for journalists is short sentences and short paragraphs. It has been proven that readers enjoy something quick and simple. They won’t stay tuned in for too long if things are much too wordy. Writing without descriptive stereotypical labels such as the three “isms” (sexism, racism, ageism) is the most efficient way to then avoid accusations of bias. Another tip to remember is the overuse of cliches. A story can sound great using one. But, using it one too many times will lose its power–it doesn’t feel as special anymore.
A takeaway that I learned from chapter seven were the techniques that shape strong sports writing. The chapter goes on to talk about how important it is to be very accurate in your reporting, as well as your writing. Having stories that aren’t as accurate as others could lead to losing credibility, and the same would happen with having any sort of spelling errors as well. When covering stories, being present is obviously huge, and being able to capture everything that you are seeing as a reporter is very important as well. The audience gives lots of attention on big stories, but if it’s their team or organization, they would want to know all of the ins and outs, and as a reporter, detailing these certain things is huge. Lastly, writing shorter type of stories typically appeals more to the reader, as most would not want to read multi-page articles.
Chapter 7:
The overall message of this chapter is that there are some rules you must follow when actually forming a report. Primarily, it’s suggested to take advantage of the five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) and a process called SVO (subject-verb-object). These processes help readers move quickly through the article, and it is much more accessible than keeping each sentence the same length. The main suggestion here is to form sporadic sentence lengths to make the reading experience that much better.
A large portion of this chapter focuses on the terms you should and shouldn’t use in your reports. Any type of cliché, overused phrase, or words that really serve no purpose should not even be a consideration. Saying something like “throw in the towel”, for example, is an overused cliché and will bore your reader. Reporters should be able to develop their own phrases and wordplay in ways that appeal to the reader. Reporters must learn to be creative, but not so witty that audience members lose sight of the main story being told.
I do wonder why sports columns are so well-liked? When so many rules of reporting regard keeping opinions to yourself, why do readers like seeing a reporter’s opinion?
Chapter Seven talked about how to “write in sports style”. reporters base their stories off facts, information and questions, not by opinions. opinions can be used in certain segments reserved just for them . However, they cant bleed into your base reporting, and it should be easily identifiable when you are going to express an opinion. Another piece that stuck out to me is the idea of using short paragraphs. This is especially needed today as attention spans are shorter, and when people see a long paragraph, they will be deterred from reading it. Making your pieces easily digestible is a huge part of getting people to read your work. As a journalist you have to adapt to trends as necessary to get as much outreach as possible.
Chapter 7 focuses on how to write sports stories with clarity, accuracy, and purpose. One of the main ideas that stood out to me was the importance of keeping reporting separate from opinion. While there are spaces for opinions such as columns or clearly labeled commentary those viewpoints should never bleed into straight news reporting. This separation keeps stories credible and helps readers trust the information being shared. The chapter also emphasized the value of short paragraphs and simple, direct writing. Today’s readers often have shorter attention spans, and large blocks of text can discourage them from finishing an article. Using concise paragraphs and clear sentences makes stories easier to read and more engaging. The author also suggested focusing on the 5 W’s: who, what, when, where, and why, right away and using subject-verb-object sentence structures to make writing straightforward and accessible for readers at all levels of sports knowledge. Chapter 7 also addressed the challenges of word choice and repetition in sports writing. Since many sports use the same terms over and over, good reporters find ways to vary their language with synonyms or euphemisms—without going overboard and distracting readers. I found this especially interesting because it shows how sports writing is more creative than I originally thought. Reporters aren’t just writing down what happened; they’re thinking about how to make the story sound fresh and engaging every time. This is important to me because I want my writing to stand out and keep readers interested, even if I’m covering similar events week after week. It also pushes me to think more carefully about word choice and develop my own voice as a writer.
10 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 5”
One of the most interesting things from the chapter was the advice about keeping sentences short, simple and easy to follow. The recommendation to stick with subject-verb-object (S-V-O) structure makes the writing more accessible, especially since sports audiences come from different backgrounds and have different levels of knowledge about the game. Including the five W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) ensures clarity and answers the essential questions. I also found the discussion about avoiding “-isms” in language powerful. This advice connected to my sociology class on race, class, and gender, where we talk about how labeling based on gender, age, race, or ability–even if intended positively–can reinforce discrimination. For example, calling out that an athlete achieved something because of their minority identity can unintentionally categorize and stereotype them. Instead, focusing on accomplishments without unnecessary labels leads to fairer, more inclusive reporting. Another part I found interesting was feature writing. I’ve mainly done short sports recaps, but features open a new way of storytelling. Unlike game reports, features bring in style, pace, and almost a poetic feel, blending fact with narrative. They also focus on human interest, pulling readers into the emotional or dramatic side of sports rather than just the score. The chapter compared features to short fiction, which can be really creative, and that is exciting to me. I also liked the section about profiles, since that’s something I saw we’ll be doing in class on the syllabus. Profiles seem to combine the depth of feature writing with a strong focus on an individual’s story, adding drama and mystery to who they are beyond just their stats. I’m curious about how profiles fit into sports reporting. Are they meant to highlight athletes as people, or to connect readers to a bigger theme through the lens of one individual?
One of the main takeaways i got from reading chapter 7 of the textbook was the author’s emphasis on keeping writing clear, simple, and accessible. She talks about using the 5 W’s, who, what, when, where, and why. This ensures the essential information is clear right away. She also recommends using the Subject Verb Object sentence structure to make stories easier to follow for a variety of readers with different reading levels and sports knowledge. Another subject of the chapter that stood out to me was when the author advised to steer clear of stereotypes and unnecessary labels tied to race, gender, and religion. Writers should instead focus on other things, like the accomplishments of an athlete or report on news surrounding an athlete. The author gives good advice for aspiring sports writers in this chapter, giving good insight on how to write, as well as what and what not to write about.
One part of chapter seven that I found interesting was the part about making sure that you write in sports language. Making sure that you are writing the correct way to fit the type of story you are creating. There are some columns and stories that are clearly marked and made to show the writers opinions. But now with the emergence of social media there are many places where reporters can share their opinion instead of columns or other stories. A reporter can just make a tweet or instagram post of one of their opinions. If your writing a story you should make sure that you are only writing facts and that all of your sources are correct and trustworthy. To do this a lot of reporters use the “if all three agree” rule. This means they check with three unrelated sources to see if their news adds up with the news they got from their source, if all three agree then the information is generally good to use.
Question: What are some of the other ways reporters use to check their sources?
Another part of chapter seven that I found interesting was how many different things reporters need to think about before publishing a story. There are many checks reporters have to do on their writing before publishing it as well as checks while they are writing it. From something simple like looking for typos to thinking about how the on average the most readable sentences are 16 words long. As well as having to worry about repetition of words which is something that happens a lot in sports writing. So to avoid the reader reading the same word over and over reporters use euphemisms. For example most sports have the word “run” to describe movement so some reporters try to use words like Plow, Gallop, and Trot to get around repeating the same word. Even with reporters using these euphemisms to get around repeating the same word they still need to be careful to not overuse these euphemisms as that is very easy to see by the reader and could be seen as lazy writing.
Question: What do reporters worry about checking the most when their writing a story?
The elements I took away from this chapter are all the little writing tips that make a good sports journalist. At the very beginning of chapter six, the author explains how precision is important in writing, similar to sports. In sports, if you make too many mistakes you get penalties, fouls, etc, however, in writing, if you make too many mistakes you start to lose credibility. Professionals must take their writing seriously as their audience and editors will expect nothing less than good writing with little to no mistakes. Opinions should be left out when covering sports unless it’s a broadcast. Opinions can be easily confused for facts. The golden rule of journalism is accuracy. There is no story if it is not true. Journalists mustn’t assume anything. Everything should be fact checked and verified before being released. A tip for journalists is short sentences and short paragraphs. It has been proven that readers enjoy something quick and simple. They won’t stay tuned in for too long if things are much too wordy. Writing without descriptive stereotypical labels such as the three “isms” (sexism, racism, ageism) is the most efficient way to then avoid accusations of bias. Another tip to remember is the overuse of cliches. A story can sound great using one. But, using it one too many times will lose its power–it doesn’t feel as special anymore.
chapter seven*
A takeaway that I learned from chapter seven were the techniques that shape strong sports writing. The chapter goes on to talk about how important it is to be very accurate in your reporting, as well as your writing. Having stories that aren’t as accurate as others could lead to losing credibility, and the same would happen with having any sort of spelling errors as well. When covering stories, being present is obviously huge, and being able to capture everything that you are seeing as a reporter is very important as well. The audience gives lots of attention on big stories, but if it’s their team or organization, they would want to know all of the ins and outs, and as a reporter, detailing these certain things is huge. Lastly, writing shorter type of stories typically appeals more to the reader, as most would not want to read multi-page articles.
Chapter 7:
The overall message of this chapter is that there are some rules you must follow when actually forming a report. Primarily, it’s suggested to take advantage of the five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) and a process called SVO (subject-verb-object). These processes help readers move quickly through the article, and it is much more accessible than keeping each sentence the same length. The main suggestion here is to form sporadic sentence lengths to make the reading experience that much better.
A large portion of this chapter focuses on the terms you should and shouldn’t use in your reports. Any type of cliché, overused phrase, or words that really serve no purpose should not even be a consideration. Saying something like “throw in the towel”, for example, is an overused cliché and will bore your reader. Reporters should be able to develop their own phrases and wordplay in ways that appeal to the reader. Reporters must learn to be creative, but not so witty that audience members lose sight of the main story being told.
I do wonder why sports columns are so well-liked? When so many rules of reporting regard keeping opinions to yourself, why do readers like seeing a reporter’s opinion?
Chapter Seven talked about how to “write in sports style”. reporters base their stories off facts, information and questions, not by opinions. opinions can be used in certain segments reserved just for them . However, they cant bleed into your base reporting, and it should be easily identifiable when you are going to express an opinion. Another piece that stuck out to me is the idea of using short paragraphs. This is especially needed today as attention spans are shorter, and when people see a long paragraph, they will be deterred from reading it. Making your pieces easily digestible is a huge part of getting people to read your work. As a journalist you have to adapt to trends as necessary to get as much outreach as possible.
Chapter 7 focuses on how to write sports stories with clarity, accuracy, and purpose. One of the main ideas that stood out to me was the importance of keeping reporting separate from opinion. While there are spaces for opinions such as columns or clearly labeled commentary those viewpoints should never bleed into straight news reporting. This separation keeps stories credible and helps readers trust the information being shared. The chapter also emphasized the value of short paragraphs and simple, direct writing. Today’s readers often have shorter attention spans, and large blocks of text can discourage them from finishing an article. Using concise paragraphs and clear sentences makes stories easier to read and more engaging. The author also suggested focusing on the 5 W’s: who, what, when, where, and why, right away and using subject-verb-object sentence structures to make writing straightforward and accessible for readers at all levels of sports knowledge. Chapter 7 also addressed the challenges of word choice and repetition in sports writing. Since many sports use the same terms over and over, good reporters find ways to vary their language with synonyms or euphemisms—without going overboard and distracting readers. I found this especially interesting because it shows how sports writing is more creative than I originally thought. Reporters aren’t just writing down what happened; they’re thinking about how to make the story sound fresh and engaging every time. This is important to me because I want my writing to stand out and keep readers interested, even if I’m covering similar events week after week. It also pushes me to think more carefully about word choice and develop my own voice as a writer.
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