CMU News Writing Guide

Once you decide something is worth writing, a few questions can help you organize your thoughts. It might help to talk these through with someone:

• Do I have all of the information I need? Do I have the correctly spelled names and titles of people, organizations, awards, etc., and accurate dates, times and locations? Do I have students’ hometowns, majors and years of study? Do I understand the material? If not, who can I reach out to, or where can I find answers?
• Who am I writing this for? Is it most relevant to academic peers, future students and their families, or some other important audience? How can I write it in a way that will matter to them? (Note that you’re rarely if ever writing for the person the story is about. News needs to serve readers’ interests.)
• Could I sum this up in one sentence? A news story should have at its heart a single, simple focus, which often will be expressed in the first sentence. Consider: If you were going to tell someone the news in person, what would you say first?
• Can I relate this to CMU’s brand platform or mission, vision and values? Our newswriting should reinforce one or more of these fundamentals.
• Is there a call to emotion or action? What do I want the audience to think, feel or do after reading? Should I include hyperlinks or instructions?
• Is multimedia content available or possible? Guidelines and practices for uploading photos or videos to the website will vary depending on your role and other factors, but we all know the web is a visual medium. Can someone involved in the story provide photos/video, or is this something University Communications might want to shoot? If you’re not sure, you can reach out through the CMU website or news@cmich.edu. 

Let the writing begin

There’s no single “right” way to write. Some people start at the top and write everything in order. Others write more freely and organize or revise their composition later. You’ll find a method that works best for you. Don’t let a blank screen intimidate you. Think about creating and combining specific building blocks:

• Title — A useful headline, label or description that will appear at the top of your news item on the website.
• Lead — This is communications-speak for the one sentence (almost always the first sentence) that sums up what your story is about. It will stand alone as its own paragraph. Note: It’s pronounced “leed” and often spelled “lede.”
• Details — After the lede, focus on the who, what, where, when, why and/or how of your news (whichever of these are relevant) — with all names, dates, titles, places, etc., double-checked for spelling and accuracy.
• Context — Tell why the news is significant to CMU, your college or area, your intended audience, and/or the parties involved. How does it fit with CMU’s brand, promise, vision or mission? Include background information if needed for completeness or clarity.
• Action steps — Include any hyperlinks or information that can help readers act on the news or dive deeper into the topic. 

Important tips and reminders

Writing tips

Here are some pointers on writing effectively, efficiently and engagingly for the website:

Headlines/labels — They should tell enough about the story that a reader can judge whether it will be of interest. Simple and brief beats clever. Research suggests the ideal length for a web headline is six words (but write longer if needed for clarity, which is top priority).

Writing voice — While our attitude is Fired Up, our newswriting voice for the website shows restraint for the sake of professionalism, trustworthiness and readability:

• Write news in a journalistic style instead of in the first person or in a cheerleading way. Example: The team celebrated Johnston’s win as a first for a CMU student is better than We are so excited to announce that Johnston won!
• Write in the active voice to avoid a vague, overformal tone. Example: Students will present their research is better than Research will be presented by the students.
• Write in a conversational style. Avoid long words, long sentences and technical jargon. Explain complex ideas in plain language. Describe research in terms of practical applications where possible. Keep your audience in mind.
• Write with positivity and respect. CMU Chippewa pride is appropriate but should not come off as boastful or disparaging to others.
• Keep opinions within quotations or attributed to a person. Examples: “Johnston is an inspiration to us all,” the dean said or The dean called Johnston an inspiration are better than Johnston is awesome!
• Use quotes sparingly. Direct quotes, within quotation marks, are best reserved for when the speaker says something of note in a unique way or from a personal point of view, or is a VIP whose words on the topic should be included. If a person’s direct quote is long or awkward, consider paraphrasing it without quotation marks. Note, too, that you may compose a quote from someone if you have the person’s permission and approval of the wording.

The importance of accuracy

Inaccuracy anywhere on the website frustrates readers and undermines CMU’s credibility. You must ensure the accuracy of everything you write for the web — dates, titles, names and more. Good habits and good systems will help:

• Names — Always ask people how to spell their names, or check an authoritative source. Ask whether they have a preferred style (Tom or Thomas?) and if they wish to use a middle initial. Confirm the names of organizations or companies by looking them up online. Organizations that go by an acronym or initialism usually have a proper name that should be spelled out on first reference.
• Times, dates and locations — Always confirm them.
• Gender pronouns — Ask the person’s preference rather than assume.
• Avoid assumptions — For example, don’t assume that a student who was a junior last year is a senior this year. If in doubt, find the correct answer or leave it out.
• Review your facts — Double-check those personal and organizational names, awards, book titles, times, dates, locations, etc.
• Proofread — Always re-read your completed writing for accuracy, completeness, spelling, grammar and style before you consider it done. (Pro tip: Because the mind can easily fill in missing words or skip over other errors in normal reading, some find it useful to proofread sentence by sentence from end to beginning instead of beginning to end.)
• Source review — If possible, have the source(s) or subject(s) of your news item read the finished story for accuracy. Ask them to reply with an OK or any suggested fixes. (Pro tip: Specifying “for accuracy” and “suggested fixes” can help focus reviewers on the facts rather than on wording or stylistic differences.)
• Backstop — Nothing should appear on the website without at least two people having read it. Say, that sounds important enough to repeat: Nothing should appear on the website without at least two people having read it. Build review by a trusted colleague or supervisor into your system for writing and posting.