THE QH & SMOKE MAG
GUIDANCE FOR CONTRIBUTORS 2017/18
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1. GENERAL POINTERS Here are some basic points that will make everyone’s life easier and make submitting your articles painless; •
You’re writing something that will be published openly, with your name attached. If you’re not comfortable with someone digging up your words years in the future, have a think about whether you should write them.
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If you sign up to review something, you MUST review it. If you do not attend or submit a review without giving us good advance notice, we won’t be able to offer you reviews in future.
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Proof read! Copy that clearly hasn’t been read will be returned to you.
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Stick to the word count. It exists for a reason. We will have to cut out words from articles that don’t stick to the limits.
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Remember your deadline. If we say 5pm on Tuesday, we mean it. If you don’t think you can make a deadline, please let us know in good time so we can prepare.
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Short paragraphs are better.Newspaper and magazine columns mean that long paragraphs are tough to read. Stick to about two sentences per paragraph.
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We will edit your work. This is done to fit work in the space available, to tighten up choice quotes, to ensure readability, etc. Even the best articles need editing.
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Ask us for advice. We’re here to help! Shoot us an email if anything is unclear.
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Send us Word documents (.doc or .docx) Please don’t send us Pages documents, PDFs or anything else. If you are sending us images, send them as image files via Google Drive or attached to an email. Don’t insert them into the Word document. Submit your work via email to the editor who asked for it. Don’t send it over Facebook or anywhere else.
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First come first served on articles editors offer out. Feel free to pitch us your own stuff though!
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Don’t bother to write a headline. We’ll take care of that.
KEY CONTACTS For 2017/18, the senior editors for Smoke Mag and The QH are: Sonakshi Sharma qh.deputy@smoke.media Lama el Khamy mag.editor@smoke.media Katherine Cenaj mag.deputy@smoke.media You can also contact the student media coordinator, a full time SU staff member who manages Smoke Media, at smc@smoke.media.
2. NEWS News articles are very different to the style of writing you may be used to. They are intended to convey factual information as quickly and efficiently as possible. They are NOT opinion columns. Mixing fact and opinion confuses readers and can also get you into hot water legally. •
Stick to the facts. Absolutely no opinions or views of your own should ever make their way into news articles. Save it for the comment pages. Views of people you interview, expressed as quotes, are fine.
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Use the inverted pyramid. Stick the most important information right at the top, and add detail and context in later paragraphs. The normal logic of including an introduction and a conclusion doesn’t apply here.
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Don’t bury the lede. This means that your first paragraph should always
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accurately summarise the whole story. Remember, you’re not writing •
a novel. The reader should know exactly what the story is about from reading only the top paragraph.
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Think about the questions: who, what, where, when, why, how. Your article should answer all of these.
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He said, she said. In news, everyone “said”. No one “exclaims”, “expounds”, “blurts”, “notes” or anything else. Said is a good, neutral word which covers all situations. Don’t worry about overusing it.
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Use simple words. The shorter and simpler your words, the better your article will be. There are no prizes for using complex technical terminology. Even words like “terminology” is pushing it.
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What’s the top line? Before you write a single word, try to understand exactly what the story is about. Try to write it down as a single sentence. If you find you can’t, then you’re trying to write more than one news story at a time.
3. COMMENT Here it is, your chance to get opinionated! Remember that opinion pieces should still be reasoned arguments, not rants. •
Find an unusual viewpoint. Do we really need another comment piece arguing that tuition fees should be less?
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Explain your opinions. This is your chance to lay out not just what you think, but why you think it. Assume that readers aren’t on your side, and you need to win them over.
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Don’t be neutral. This isn’t an academic essay. You don’t have to give “both sides of the story” if you don’t want to.
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Don’t make personal attacks. Hiding behind “opinion” doesn’t stop you from being sued for libel. Don’t accuse anyone of wrongdoing or character flaws without good reason.
4. REVIEWS Reviews of theatre, films, music or games are similar to each other in terms of writing style. A review is always a work of opinion, so there’s no need to say things like “In my opinion...” or “I thought...”. These just eat up your word count and confuse readers. It’s okay to simply state your thoughts as if they were facts. •
A review ideally will cover as many aspects of the work as possible. For example, if you were reviewing a play, you could discuss the source material, the staging, venue, lighting, acting, props, music, the audience’s behaviour, the director’s choices, etc.
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Explain your opinions. If you thought the acting was rubbish, explain why.
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Be blunt. If you hated something, make sure the readers know! Likewise, don’t be afraid to show love to a work that deserves it.
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Published works (names of plays, albums, films and games) are italicised.
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Remember to give a rating out of five. We’ll make one up for you if you
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don’t give one. •
If you’re writing about something obscure, give a quick summary of the work for the uninitiated. Eg. if you’re reviewing Game of Thrones, it’s a safe bet everyone reading knows what you’re talking about. Probably not the case for Goat Simulator 2
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5. HOUSE STYLE •
We are the University of Westminster, not Westminster University or UoW.
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You are part of the University of Westminster Students’ Union (note the position of the apostrophe), also known as UWSU, the Students’ Union or the SU.
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Numbers between zero and ten should be given in words, larger numbers should be given in digits (eg. 24, 1030, 10,000,000).
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Publications like The QH and Smoke Mag are always italicised. So are films, plays, the titles of books, albums, games, etc.
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Components of published works (book chapters, songs, bands) are NOT italicised.
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It’s Smoke Mag, not Smoke Magazine. Branding, innit.
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It’s The QH, never just QH or Quintin Hogg.
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Stick to the third person. Unless an article genuinely is about you as a person (this is rare), your readers will be far more interested in the subject than in you.
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Stay in the past tense. Unless you’re sure what you’re writing about will still be happening when your words are read, it’s safer to stick with the
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past tense.
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Acronyms that cannot be said as a single word belong in all-caps, such as BBC, SU etc. Initialisms which can be said as a single word (Ucas, Unicef, Nato) do not need all-caps.
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Degree names should always be capitalised, even when the subject itself is normally lowercase. It’s B.Sc Biology, even though biology isn’t a proper noun.
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Exclamation marks should be avoided at all costs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let your language speak for itself. Same goes for ALL CAPS in the middle of sentences. You’ll only alienate your readers.
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Use gender-neutral job titles. Eg. firefighter, not fireman. Avoid obvious gendered words like actress, housewife, businessman.
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Apparently 50 per cent of people misuse the % sign. Don’t be one of them. Always write “per cent”, never “%”.
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Swearing is fine, as long as it’s appropriate and not gratuitous. Used sparingly, swears can make a good point, but aren’t funny in and of themselves.
Prepared by Joshua Hackett in consultation with student media volunteers. Last updated July 2017.
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