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Getting Guns Right
Gun facts and terminology can be complicated for those not intimately familiar with the topic. But many readers are knowledgeable, and lapses can hurt our credibility with them. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/getting-guns-right/
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The Stranger in the Story
Most anecdotal ledes are fine in themselves. But the device seems rote and shopworn if a reader encounters one story after another with the same approach. There are many, many ways to start a non-straight-news story; we should look harder for alternatives. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/the-stranger-in-the-lede-2/
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The Slang Patrol
Slang and colloquialisms have their place, for special effect or to deliberately convey an informal, conversational tone. But otherwise, they can seem trite or hackneyed, and can undercut the serious and literate tone we seek. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/the-slang-patrol-2/
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Phrases Gone Astray
Modifying phrases should usually be adjacent to what they are describing. When such a phrase pops up in an unlikely part of the sentence, the effect ranges from clunkiness to confusion to unintended comedy. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/misplaced-phrases/
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Tricky Little Things
Tiny as they are, misplaced commas form an outsize blot on a sentence. In the spectrum of grammatical lapses, they seem particularly amateurish. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/too-many-commas/
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Johnson: Don’t fear the Tweeter
PUBLIC discussions about language often include worried questions about the role of technology on “kids these days”. After observing the rampant rise of texting, e-chatting and whatnot, the questioner will then wonder whether the youths of today are forgetting how to write properly. Johnson has seen a lot of moral panic around this concern, but […]