1. Ten Quick Steps to
an Award-Winning
Publication
Georgia Dunn
Ohio Director, JEA

2. Number 1
Eliminate all “there are,” “there is,”
“there was,” and “there were”
constructions in every article and
every column.

3. Number 2
Always write in third person (they,
he, she, it). Columnists may write
in first person. NEVER USE
SECOND PERSON (you).

4. Number 3
Improve the leads of the stories.
Never begin a lead with “the.”
Never use a “when” lead. Never
use a question as a lead. NEVER
start with “Imagine........”; that lead
is cliché.

5. Number 4
NEVER use rhetorical questions in
columns or editorials.
Change the rhetorical question into
a statement and the writing
immediately becomes stronger.

6. Number 5
Staffs should eliminate the school
name and mascot name from every
article.

7. Number 6
Because almost all high school
publications have a lag time
between writing and publication,
stories (especially sports stories)
must emphasize the future events
rather than the past ones.

8. Number 7
Always use the verb “said” instead
of remarked, stated, thinks, etc.

9. Number 8
Do not use internet sources unless
you can verify the veracity of the
site.

10. Number 9
NEVER use images from a website
without written permission unless
the website falls under the “fair use”
doctrine.

11. Number 10
To avoid problems with agreement,
write in plurals.

12. Result
Judges will consider the publication
to be one in the upper echelon
rather than the middle or below!

13. Download
 http://idisk.mac.com/welldunnimages1-Public