Essential English for Journalists, Writers and Editors

Editor's note: As is evident from the title, the book deals with the British English variant.

When Harold Evan's classic work Newsman's English makes a comeback with a new, more-inclusive title, Essential English for Journalists, Writers and Editors, the emphasis is clearly on the universality of the book's theme: Clear, Concise, and Correct English. Former editor of the Sunday Times and author of many must-read books for journalists, Harold Evans lives up to his legendary reputation of writing easy-to-follow guidelines.

As the book's blurb says, Essential English for Journalists, Writers and Editors, is an indispensable guide to the use of words as tools of communication. This edition has been revised by Crawford Gillan and is recommended by the Society of Editors. The book contains nine chapters that deal with different aspects of producing a good copy. Just a quick glance through the table of contents will remind you about the cardinal principles of writing and editing a copy.

Chapters 2, 3, and, 4 clearly lay down the rules of clear writing. These chapters, "Good English," "Words," and, "Watch this Language," explain the need for keeping sentences simple, clear, and active. They also tell you why you need to use specific words and avoid meaningless modifiers, clichés, and redundancies.

One of the beauties of the English language is its ability to keep clarity, economy, and vigour go hand in hand, says the author. And, he proves it with a simple rewrite of a passive sentence to a crispy, active piece:

Original:

There were riots in several cities last night in which several shops were burnt.

Revised:

Rioters burnt shops in several cities last night.

The revised sentence achieves brevity and directness by focusing on who did what and when instead of what happened when. In the original sentence what and when (riots, burning, last night) are obvious, but the 'who' is left unstated. The crux of the rewrite is to infer the actors (rioters) from 'riots' and from thereon, everything follows.

The empty subject 'there' is dropped. By bringing a concrete subject (rioters), the editor is rendering the sentence in active voice (were burned > burnt), which is brief and direct, and thus effective too.

While advocating the need for simple, active, and positive (in tone) sentences, Harold Evans is aware of the caveat - monotonous writing. And he tells you to use a judicious mix of sentences that vary in length and form to avoid monotony.

Lengthy sentences can be tiring for the reader's eyes and mind. But indiscriminate culling does not substitute for good editing, says the author. Apply your intelligence while editing a copy and ensure that the meaning and facts are not lost in editing. Concise writing can be achieved by sticking to certain principles, says the author. "To call them rules would be a disservice to the flexibility of English and the ingenuity of those who write it. The principles can be bent by those who know how."

In the above example, we see that the word 'rioters' was introduced, which was nowhere in the original; it was inferred. That is an instance where a copy-editor has to go beyond the copy.

The section on prepositions explains three common problems in using prepositions: circumlocutory preposition, the prepositional verb, and pedantry. Many of us might have noticed how an 'in order to' creeps into our copy where a simple 'to' would suffice. That is a classic case of circumlocutory preposition. The book explains interesting cases of prepositional verbs.

For all those who carry the baggage of elegant variation from newspaper desks, this book tells you why you should avoid monologophobia and stick to consistency. With a list of words and phrases to watch out for and possible alternatives, this book can be an easy reference when you are in doubt about using a word or a phrase.

As this book is written primarily for journalists, and most of the examples are taken from newspaper copies, some of the content may not be completely relevant for technical writers. One thing that some people might find lacking in this book is explanations for the rewrites and revisions that are used in examples. An explanation of the dynamics of the editing done in the examples [as was added by this reviewer in the above example] would definitely add to the comprehension of the concepts discussed in the book. One can easily see that the revised version is better, but it would be good to know how it was re-worked.

However, the clarity and conviction with which Harold Evans presents his case make this a good buy for those who work with the English Language. For seasoned writers, this book may not offer many new things except fresh perspectives on age-old dictums.

Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers
Harold Evans
(Revised by Crawford Gillan)
Pimlico, Random House.

Abhilash Prabhakaran

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