eginning. If his
attention is arrested and held by the first group of words, he is likely
to read on. If the beginning does not attract him, he skips down the
column to the next paragraph, glancing merely at enough words in the
paragraph that he skips to "get the drift of it." An emphatic beginning
for a paragraph will insure attention for its contents.

REVISION. It is seldom that the first draft of an article cannot be
improved by a careful revision. In going over his work, word by word and
sentence by sentence, the writer will generally find many opportunities
to increase the effectiveness of the structure and the style. Such
revision, moreover, need not destroy the ease and naturalness of
expression.

To improve the diction of his article, the writer should eliminate (1)
superfluous words, (2) trite phrases, (3) general, colorless words, (4)
terms unfamiliar to the average reader, unless they are explained, (5)
words with a connotation inappropriate to the context, (6) hackneyed and
mixed metaphors. The effectiveness of the expression may often be
strengthened by the addition of specific, picture-making, imitative, and
connotative words, as well as of figures of speech that clarify the
ideas and stimulate the imagination.

Sentences may frequently be improved (1) by making their grammatical
structure more evident, (2) by breaking up long, loose sentences into
shorter ones, (3) by using short sentences for emphasis, (4) by varying
the sentence length, (5) by transferring important ideas to the
beginning of the sentence.

Every paragraph should be tested to determine whether or not it is a
unified, coherent group of thoughts, containing not more than 100 words,
with important ideas effectively massed at the beginning.

Finally, revision should eliminate all errors in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and capitalization. Every minute spent in improving an
article adds greatly to its chances of being accepted.

CHAPTER IX

TITLES AND HEADLINES

IMPORTANCE OF HEAD AND TITLE. Headlines or titles, illustrations, and
names of authors are the three things that first catch the eye of the
reader as he turns over the pages of a newspaper or magazine. When the
writer's name is unknown to him, only the illustrations and the heading
remain to attract his attention.

The "attention-getting" value of the headline is fully appreciated not
only by newspaper and magazine editors but by writers of advertisements.
Just