Week 11 Blog by Steven Bench

Hi everyone. This week's reading and assignments were very interesting. I was shocked to discover how hard it was to come up with great headlines. Writing is difficult to me, but it was more difficult for me to condense the main idea and create a headline. Here is an example of a good headline:

No Excuses, People: Get the New Shingles Vaccine 

I like this headline. It doesn’t have a play on words. It is specific and serious. The article has a call to action for people over 50 to get vaccinated for shingles. Without reading the article, I know what it's about and that it is about an important issue. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/health/shingrix-shingles-vaccine.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth

Here is an example of a poorly written headline:

Mitt Romney may be making moves to run for Senate

I don't like this headline because it is too wordy. It does not flow. It is not specific. It could read: Mitt Romney contemplates run for Senate. Headlines need to capture the reader's attention by what it says. Word choice and grammar play an important role in helping writers capture the attention of an audience. To me, this headline doesn't accomplish it. 

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900003853/Mitt-Romney-may-be-making-moves-to-run-for-Senate.html



The editing mistake I found this week was in one of my text messages. I have become obsessive about checking my messages for errors (thanks, Sheree). On one occasion I didn't catch the misspelling of the word "hear." I wrote "here" instead. 

Have a great week and good luck!

Steve.