Editor's note: Lawrence Connor is a former managing editor of the Indianapolis Star. He has put together this package of tips to assist high school journalists. His tips are broken up into different links found here.

USE WORDS CORRECTLY

There are other common words misused and not always because they sound alike. A few of the common errors include:

Unique is without equal or like; hence there are no degrees (very unique) of uniqueness, and it is not synonymous with unusual.

It's gasoline (not gas) but few bother with the distinction.

A house is not a home but few believe that either.

When something gets a name, it is entitled; thereafter it is titled.

A replica is a copy of an original; a model is a smaller version built to scale.

People are humans not considered as individuals; persons are individual human beings. Thus, "Although the people voted against the amendment, 34 persons showed up at City Hall to protest."

A cake consists of ingredients; a machine is composed of parts.

You lie prone on your stomach; supine on your back.

Infer means to draw a conclusion; imply to hint at it. (You may imply something but I infer it.)

Bimonthly is every two months; biennial every two years, biannual every six months. Semi-monthly is twice a month, and semi-annual twice a year.

Since and because sometimes can be used synonymously but since carries an element of time past. Thus, "He missed the annual party because he was ill" or "He hasn't been to the annual party since he was thrown out three years ago."

Don't confuse fulsome (disgustingly insincere) with effusive (bubbling over).

Abridged is cut or curtailed; expurgated is cleaned up or censored. Many books are unabridged or unexpurgated -- complete and uncensored.

Chapters:

The Interview
Writing the Story
Editing your Copy
A Few Don'ts
Some General Advice
Say What You Mean
Use Words Correctly
Some Common Errors
Helpful Books
About the Author