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Poynter News U Memo

Date: September 26, 2017

To: Dr. Mia L. Anderson

From: Libi Jacobs
Student at University of South Alabama
205.834.7662
lhj1421@jagmail.southalabama.edu

Subject: Course Synopsis of Poynter News U: Cleaning Your Copy

The purpose of this memo is to summarize the key components of the course Cleaning Your Copy:
Grammar, Style and More within Poynter News U. This course taught me to identify grammatical
errors, improve word choice, sharpen my spelling and use the AP stylebook effectively.

The instructor, Vicki Krueger, has worked with the Poynter Institute for more than 20 years in
positions such as editor, director of interactive learning and her current position as a marketing
communications manager. She is the author of Cleaning Your Copy: Grammar, Style and More a
self-directed module that teaches the basics of journalistic writing.

The course consists of exercises, notes and quizzes about grammar techniques. New information
includes determining who or whom, verb agreement, AP style and a final quiz. Additional
information comprises of the meaning of lay and lie, capitalization and sentence structure.
These valuable skills will help writers, reporters, bloggers, visual journalists and anyone who wants
to avoid typos and grammatical mistakes in their writing. This course has prepared me to pay closer
attention to detail. Following the AP style is specific but is able to prevent any confusion for readers.
I also learned to write more concise and with clarity.
I believe I should take additional training in word structure. I am familiar with grammar and
punctuation, however, more training in this area will improve my writing for future employment.
Thank you for reading this message.