6 News Writing and Editing Online Quiz Questions

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Officials gathered Tuesday to discuss several matters, including maintenance, budgets, and future plans.

The council approved a $2 million water-main replacement Tuesday, a project expected to reduce outages for about 600 homes.

Residents have long had opinions about the water system, and some spoke at a meeting Tuesday.

A decision was made regarding infrastructure improvements after a lengthy discussion.

Use it in every story because readers always prefer a narrative opening.

Use it when a human moment or narrative opening benefits the story, while bringing readers to the central point without undue delay.

Use it to avoid stating the story's central development anywhere in the opening.

Use it only when the story has no important facts to report.

A witness describes a distinctive detail they personally observed.

A source repeats background facts already explained clearly in the story.

A specialist explains an unfamiliar process in accessible terms.

A speaker makes a routine remark that adds no information or perspective.

A person affected by a decision gives a revealing reaction.

Revision checks grammar and spelling only, while copy editing changes the story's central meaning.

Revision improves meaning and structure, while copy editing checks details and presentation.

Revision adds every reported fact, while copy editing removes all quotations.

Revision verifies only names and numbers, while copy editing determines which sources to interview.

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Recheck names, dates, places, numbers, calculations, and factual claims against notes or original documents.

Assume that details are accurate if they appear in the first draft.

Compare quotations with notes or recordings and distinguish what is independently established.

Treat every allegation as proven if it appears in a quotation.

Remove context and limitations so the story reads more simply.

Present the allegation as established fact because it is newsworthy.

Give the allegation equal weight with verified facts so the story appears balanced.

Attribute the allegation and explain the available evidence and what is known.

Omit all context and responses so readers can decide without information.

Begin with background, then build toward the central development at the end.

Present the central news first, follow with essential details, and place supporting information later.

Organize every paragraph in chronological order, regardless of the story.

Open with a quotation and omit explanatory details that follow it.

Keep the quote verbatim and add several sentences explaining what it means.

Rearrange fragments of the quote into a more polished statement inside quotation marks.

Paraphrase the statement faithfully and reserve quotation marks for the speaker’s actual words.

Remove the quote and replace it with an unsupported interpretation of the speaker’s intent.

Attribute the allegation and make clear that it is a claim, not an independently established fact.

State the allegation as fact if one person has made it publicly.

Give the allegation and any response equal weight regardless of the available evidence.

Remove all attribution so readers can decide who made the claim.

Keep the term unexplained so the sentence stays short.

Replace the term with a vague phrase such as “the technical issue.”

Add an adjective suggesting the term is important.

Explain the term in familiar language where readers need the context.

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False