For the most part, newspaper articles should be written in third person. That means writers should avoid using "you" and "you" as well as "we" and "our" etc. Check out these examples:
"Food waste is an increasing problem in the United States. We toss out more than one-third of the food we produce. You can cut down on your food waste by following a few tips." This makes the reader feel uncomfortable because you are addressing them. It is best to avoid this situation by re-writing the sentence using third person: "Food waste is an increasing problem in the United States. Americans toss out more than one-third of their food. Food waste can be curbed by following a few tips." I noticed many of you had some doubt about when (and when not) to use a semicolon. Here is an example sentence from issue 5:
Section Eight is costly, however, it proves to be a solution to the increasing costs of housing. There SHOULD be a semicolon after "costly" and before "however" in this case. There is a pretty simple test to determine if you should use the semicolon or not. Look at what is written on both sides of the place where you are considering putting the semicolon. If these two sides could be sentences on their own (if you could put a period instead of a comma) then you can put the semicolon. If one or both sides cannot be a sentence on their own (AKA an independent clause) then you need a comma. In the case of the above sentence, the two sides are both independent clauses. Section Eight is costly, However, it proves to be a solution to the increasing costs of housing. In the following sentence, however, you would NOT use a semicolon: Although most houses are too expensive, Section Eight can help those in need. "Although most houses are too expensive" could not be a sentence on its own. "Section Eight can help those in need" IS an independent clause, but they BOTH have to be independent clauses to use the semicolon. There are some other ways to use semicolons, but this is the one that shows up a lot in the paper. |
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September 2021
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