Journalists should not waste words. Their writing should be concise and tight. Adjectives and adverbs clutter up news stories and should be avoided wherever possible.
This workshop is presented in two formats, both using the same source material from Media Helping Media. The first is a two-hour workshop designed for those who are already familiar with the topic but who would like to deepen their understanding.
The second is a four-hour, half-day workshop for those who are new to the topic. Trainers are invited to select the format that best meets the needs of those they are training.
The source material for this workshop, which focuses on writing style and journalistic discipline, is The use of adjectives and adverbs in journalism. We suggest trainers circulate this material before the workshops begin.
Workshop outline 1: Two-hour session
09:00–10:00 – Session 1: Precision, conciseness, and eliminating clutter
- Aims:
- To reinforce the importance of conciseness (using few words to communicate much) in news writing.
- To identify common examples of unnecessary modifier ‘clutter’ that weaken sentences.
- To practise substituting weak modified verbs (adverb + verb) with single, stronger verbs.
- Presentation: Trainer presents the core journalistic wisdom: adjectives and adverbs often clutter news stories and should be avoided where possible. Discuss the idea of economy in writing – using as few words as possible – and Leslie Sellers’ principle: ‘fewer words, better sense’. Show examples of commonly-used but unnecessary modifiers (e.g., ‘completely untrue’, ‘strictly necessary’, ‘high-speed car chase’).
- Activity: Trainees are given a list of sentences containing unnecessary modifier pairs (e.g., ‘She tiptoed silently into the room,’ ‘He glared aggressively at the traffic warden’). Working in pairs, they rewrite the sentences, eliminating the adverb by choosing a single, stronger verb that carries the meaning alone. For example, replacing ‘glared aggressively’ with a verb like ‘scowled’.
- Discussion: Group critique of the rewrites. Focus on how the stronger verbs create better impact and make the writing tighter. The purpose is to understand how relying on modifiers is often the sign of a ‘lazy writer’.
10:00–11:00 – Session 2: Ethical writing: Avoiding opinion and bias
- Aims:
- To understand how adjectives and adverbs introduce subjectivity (personal feeling or opinion) and contribute to bias.
- To explain the ethical need for impartiality (not taking sides) and factual accuracy (being correct).
- To practise removing value judgements from reporting.
- Presentation: Trainer explains that words like ‘tragic’, ‘sad’, ‘incredible’, or ‘improved’ are dangerous because they include ‘value judgements’ – they tell the reader how to feel or what to think. Discuss the ethical implications of this, particularly in maintaining impartiality. The journalist’s job is to show, not tell, and trust the reader to draw their own conclusions. Discuss how this relates to overall journalistic ethics.
- Activity: Trainees are given five news sentences containing opinionated adjectives (e.g., “The incredibly brave rescue team…”) and are asked to rewrite them objectively, focusing only on factual nouns and verbs. They must check if they maintained accuracy.
- Discussion: The group discusses how removing modifiers that express opinion allows the facts to speak for themselves, which is essential for professional ethics.
- Assignment: Trainees are tasked with reviewing five published news articles. For each article, they must identify three adjectives or adverbs that could be cut or replaced with a stronger noun or verb without changing the factual meaning. They should rewrite the sentences and justify their choices based on the need for conciseness and impartiality.
Materials needed for the workshop:
- Handouts summarising interview types and essentials.
- Example interview transcripts.
- Research resources (internet or printouts).
- Recording devices (optional, for mock interviews).
Assessment:
- Participation in discussions and activities.
- Quality of drafted questions and peer feedback.
- Performance in mock interviews and reflection.
Workshop outline 2: Four-hour session
09:00–10:00 – Session 1: Understanding and identifying modifiers
- Aims:
- To define and distinguish between adjectives (words that modify nouns) and adverbs (words that modify verbs, phrases, clauses, or sentences).
- To understand that modifiers change the meaning of the words they attach to.
- Presentation: Trainer clearly defines an adjective and an adverb, providing simple examples. Explain that many adverbs end in ‘-ly’. Introduce the concept of modification. Explain that while these words are necessary to add detail, they must be kept to a minimum in journalism to maintain tight, concise writing.
- Activity: Trainees are given four short paragraphs of sample news text. They must underline all adjectives once and all adverbs twice, then identify the word each modifier is changing.
- Discussion: Trainer leads a discussion on the results. Purpose is to confirm identification skills and understand the function of modifiers – that they add ‘colour’ and detail, but can also slow down the pace of the writing.
10:00–11:00 – Session 2: The danger of wordiness and clutter
- Aims:
- To understand why journalists should not ‘waste words’ and must strive for conciseness.
- To practise identifying and cutting common modifier ‘clutter’ that doesn’t add useful meaning.
- To understand the concept of a ‘lazy writer’ who uses adverbs to prop up weak verbs.
- Presentation: Trainer introduces quotes emphasising killing adjectives and avoiding adverbs. Discuss the principle of economy and present examples of redundant phrases where the modifier is unnecessary (e.g., ‘completely untrue’, ‘together with’, ‘high-speed car chase’). Discuss how adjectives related to size (e.g., ‘big’, ‘huge’, ‘massive’) are often too broad to add useful meaning.
- Activity: Trainees review a handout with five short sentences containing common clutter. They rewrite the sentences to achieve ‘better sense’ by using ‘fewer words’, ensuring they only keep modifiers if the modification is absolutely necessary for accuracy.
- Discussion: Discuss the activity results. Focus on how removing modifiers often strengthens the sentence by letting the core noun or verb stand alone. Emphasise the need to always test whether the modification is necessary.
11:00-11:15 – Break
11:15–12:45 – Session 3: Ethical use, value judgements, and strong verbs
- Aims:
- To understand how value-judgement adjectives (e.g., ‘tragic’, ‘sad’, ‘incredible’) introduce subjectivity and threaten impartiality.
- To learn the technique of replacing weak verbs (propped up by adverbs) with single, stronger verbs.
- To reinforce that the writer’s authority comes from facts, not telling the reader how to feel.
- Presentation: Trainer explains that adjectives like ‘tragic’ or ‘astonishing’ are dangerous as they are ‘value judgements’ that can show bias. Explain that this undermines journalistic ethics and the commitment to impartiality. The real skill is choosing strong verbs and nouns that carry their own weight, allowing the reader to form their own opinions. Trainer also addresses the issue of intensifiers like ‘really’ and ‘very’ which seldom add meaning.
- Activity:
- Removing opinion: Trainees rewrite three sentences containing value-judgement adjectives into purely factual, objective statements, ensuring accuracy.
- Strengthening verbs: Trainees practise replacing weak verb/adverb combinations (e.g., ‘shouted loudly’, ‘knew perfectly well’) with single, powerful verbs (e.g., ‘yelled’, ‘recognised’). They must trust the verb to stand alone.
- Discussion: Group analysis of the rewritten sentences. Discuss the advice to remove the intensifier ‘very’ to highlight its lack of substantive meaning.
12:45–13:00 – Session 4: Review and application
- Aims:
- To review the key guidelines for effective, ethical writing using modifiers.
- To synthesise the learning points into a personal writing checklist.
- Presentation: What have we learnt. Trainer summarises the recommendations into three guidelines: be sparing in use; ensure necessary meaning is added; let facts speak for themselves. This is about using words with precision and power.
- Discussion: Trainees share one key guideline they will apply immediately to their writing. Discuss practical ways to edit their own work to ensure conciseness and remove bias.
Assignment: Trainees are tasked with writing a 300-word report on a current event. They must consciously limit themselves to using no more than five adjectives and five adverbs in the entire article. The goal is to focus on strong nouns and verbs, ensuring the report adheres to the principles of accuracy and impartiality.
Materials needed for the workshop:
- Handouts summarising interview types and essentials.
- Example interview transcripts.
- Research resources (internet or printouts).
- Recording devices (optional, for mock interviews).
Assessment:
- Participation in discussions and activities.
- Quality of drafted questions and peer feedback.
- Performance in mock interviews and reflection.
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