2.5: Art of Clarity - Paragraphs

This section covers the basics of writing paragraphs for mass media publications. Mass media outlets often publish on multiple platforms. They may develop shows for broadcast television, or they may livestream regularly. They likely publish text content on social media and on proprietary web sites. They may create content for print publications available to subscribers who prefer to engage with tangible media. What all of these publishing venues have in common is that they are not the place for much long-form, academic writing.

Paragraphs, media style

Content producers in the mass media do not write paragraphs in the style taught in college English Composition courses. Those courses exist to prepare students for academic reading and writing across disciplines. Organizing complex thoughts according to a fairly rigid structure makes sense when you look out at the vast landscape of academic fields, but media writers are not writing for an audience of college professors or classmates. We typically write at a sixth or seventh grade reading level for people with anywhere from a grade school education to a doctorate. Even those who are quite comfortable reading academic literature usually prefer that their media content be easier to comprehend and to relate to.

What follows are three guidelines for constructing paragraphs for text-based mass media platforms. Broadcast style is covered later on.

1. A paragraph for a mass media publication is almost never five sentences long. Paragraphs are short, usually 2-3 sentences.
2. Most paragraphs in mass media writing focus narrowly on only one concept. If a sentence is limited to one idea, a concept is narrowly defined as two or three ideas that logically hang together.
3. In text-based media, quotes get their own paragraph. The attribution indicating who made the comment and the quote, set off in quotation marks, are all that is needed.

Demonstrations

1. The following paragraph comes from a public domain book called The Treasure of Mushroom Rock. Up to this point in the story, two boys have found a hidden room in a castle near an English village. The room had likely not been seen in decades, or even centuries, and the boys have started a fire in the chimney. Thinking the castle may be on fire, villagers approach.

"But though the villagers had no trouble in deciding that the supernatural smoke was due to the agency of witchcraft, Sir Anthony was by no means so easily satisfied. The old Baronet was the largest landowner and chief magnate of the neighborhood. He had been a great sportsman in his day, having shot buffaloes on the plains of America and tigers in the Indian jungles, and though he was now too old for such enterprises, he was still as keen as ever with his gun, and preserved the game upon his large estates with great strictness. Poachers were the bane of his existence; and his declaration that he would prosecute to the utmost extent of the law anyone found infringing upon his game-rights was well known to us and to everybody else in the village."

What follows is a version of the same paragraph as it might appear in a contemporary news feature story:

Sir Anthony was the largest landowner in the village. An experienced big game hunter, he had stopped traveling but still hunted locally. On his properties, he preserved the local game strictly. He hated poachers, and it was well known that he would prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

Both types of writing have their place. The literary paragraph paints a more rich picture. The paragraph for media audiences is stripped of certain details and descriptions. Some of the outdated phrasing has been changed. Some of the grandeur has been lost, but what remains is a story that is much more to the point. In the interest of holding readers' attention and driving the narrative forward, media writers strive to write short, sharp prose.

2. The concept covered in the two demonstration paragraphs above is the same. Summarized succinctly: Sir Anthony, influential local landowner and hunter, hates poachers.

Students should practice distilling paragraphs of various lengths down to their essential elements to improve their ability to write clearly.

3. The following example was created for classroom demonstration purposes. It is a good illustration of setting a quote aside in a separate paragraph. Assume that the facts and spelling have been double checked:

More than 400 students and staff narrowly escaped a fire at the student union Monday afternoon.

The blaze did not cause any injuries, according to campus police. Officials with Student Affairs said that the blaze broke out in Best Burgers Grille when an oven malfunctioned.

Jeff Rotell, a student worker who was in Best Burgers at the time, said, "It was kind of shocking how fast it took off. My co-worker said that the oven was on fire, and by the time I turned around the fire was spreading up the walls."

A fire suppression system contained the fire to a small corner of the union.

AOC Activity 2

This activity covers identifying the core concept of a paragraph, distilling narratives down to short paragraphs, and putting full sentence quotes in their own paragraph. 

Your instructor may choose to enter these prompts into a homework assignment or have you copy and paste these into a text document to be turned in using your learning management system (e.g. Blackboard, Canvas, etc.).

1. Summarize the following story in your own words in two short paragraphs. The summary paragraphs must be shorter than the originals. Each paragraph should be 2-3 sentences long. No sentence should be longer than 20 words.

The ad for the write-in drawing appeared in the local newspaper. The newspaper came only two days a week, but it was a small town where nothing much ever happened, so twice a week was enough to get the lay of the land. Stan cut out the ad and carefully wrote his name and address in cursive on the form, making sure to include his entire phone number, all seven digits. He sent it in, and two weeks later he checked the same newspaper section.

The drawing winners were set to be announced in more or less the same spot where the ad had appeared. He didn't have to search long before he saw his name, but there never was a semicolon that frustrated him more. The paragraph listing drawing winners said: Martha Davis, $500; Gerald Holmes, $250; Jermaine Johnson, $100; Stan Powers, antique teddy bear. Stan's eyes had rushed to see $100 next to his name. He had stared to celebrate before he looked more closely. His heart sinking, Stan thought he had no idea what an antique teddy bear was, but it sure as heck wasn't a cash prize.

2. Now, take those two paragraphs and distill them again so they are suitable for mass media publication. Leave out all unnecessary details. Step 2 will be complete when you have two paragraphs of only 1-2 sentences each.

3. Now, it is time to add a quote. The quote includes an introduction sentence and a complete sentence quotation. Remember that complete sentence quotes get their own paragraph. Copy and paste the two paragraphs from Step 2 and add the quote where you think it should go. When you are done, you will have a brief but complete story.

Stan went to his mother and father sitting at the dining room table. "I won a prize, but I think I will give it to her," he said as he gestured to his baby sister.