If reporters made style mistakes in alphabetical order, teaching the AP Stylebook in alphabetical order might be the way to go. A better way might be to teach the content by category.
DOWNLOADS: AP Stylebook category list
AP Stylebook exercise
Rick Kenney's "Style Stars" GIFT
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Grammar is great fun all by itself, but add a little competition and you've got yourself a good old time.
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OK, so no one actually dies because of this test, but it has led to the death of a lot of bad habits.
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Beginning each class with a mini-quiz that's based on real stories - and then engaging students in a conversation about what went wrong and why - can set an inquisitive tone for the rest of the day.
DOWNLOADS: Tom Clanin's mini-editing quizzes
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The survey said ... well, no, there's no survey in this classroom version of the TV feud. But students get much better answers.
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Food is a good motivator, but money - even fake money - is even better. The contributor of this idea wants it known that it may not be original to her, but good ideas are meant to be shared, right?
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Here's a question: Should the writer fix the sentence the easy way or the hard way? The easy way is to use brackets, which put the writer's burden onto the reader. And rewriting is soooooo hard. Here's how YOU can help students make the right choice.
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An exercise to motivate students to be critical readers and sharper editors.
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Students who develop their own style guide learn to appreciate the journalistic judgments that go into creating a stylebook. Two teachers share their approaches.
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The ability to spot a mistake is key for a copy editor. These exercises can help sharpen a student's eye.
DOWNLOADS: Stop the presses!
Typos in the wild
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Break down the stylebook by sections and put it up on the big screen.
DOWNLOADS: A-G examples
Mark Twain had it right: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
DOWNLOADS: Legal terms
Broadcasting terms
Journalistic terms
Words often confused
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