Word to the Wise

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Jett's journalism instructor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University is hammering home one of the basics. When writing criticism, never use the words "is" or "not." HE commenters, take note.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 6, 2009 at 4:52 PM

comment #1

arturobandini2 says ...

And why IS that NOT cool?

Posted by arturobandini2 at February 6, 2009 5:02 PM

comment #2

scooterzz says ...

this just in:

james whitmore IS NOT going to be making any more movies...rip

Posted by scooterzz at February 6, 2009 5:13 PM

comment #3

hiviper says ...

and God help you if you use spoilers in your work, my friends. God help you. That's flaccid, sloppy writing.

Posted by hiviper at February 6, 2009 5:41 PM

comment #4

The Winchester says ...

The temptation to make a snarky comment IS too good NOT to pass up.

But this comment IS NOT of the aforementioned snarky variety.

And I shall miss James Whitmore.

Posted by The Winchester at February 6, 2009 5:43 PM

comment #5

alynch says ...

What about "isn't?"

Posted by alynch at February 6, 2009 6:30 PM

comment #6

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Shit, so all reviews of "The World is not Enough" and "This Film is not Yet Rated" dropped the fucking ball.

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at February 6, 2009 6:33 PM

comment #7

dangovich says ...

Also, never name a communications school after Sy Newhouse.

Posted by dangovich at February 6, 2009 7:25 PM

comment #8

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Rules for journalism is meant to be not obeyed.

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at February 6, 2009 7:43 PM

comment #9

John Y. says ...

That's the silliest rule I've ever heard. Ebert violates it in every review, and he has a Pulitzer!

Posted by John Y. at February 6, 2009 8:06 PM

comment #10

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

Well, one of the things they taught us in film school is that it's okay to break the rules...once you've shown that you understand them first.

My own way of following this particular rule is to use the word "ain't" a lot.

As in "ain't no print criticism jobs to be had!"

Posted by Luke Y. Thompson at February 6, 2009 8:47 PM

comment #11

Hallick says ...

"When writing criticism, never use the words "is" or "not."

Can I still write the word "tonsil" when it has all of those letters in it?

Posted by Hallick at February 6, 2009 9:47 PM

comment #12

Mr. Muckle says ...

Gawd, college is such a waste.

Posted by Mr. Muckle at February 6, 2009 9:51 PM

comment #13

scooterzz says ...

mr. muckle --- back in the day, it wasn't about waste...it was about wasted....seemed worthwhile then....

Posted by scooterzz at February 6, 2009 10:14 PM

comment #14

bmcintire says ...

Jeff, please tell me that you withdrew your son from this school as soon as he repeated this to you.

Posted by bmcintire at February 6, 2009 11:37 PM

comment #15

Renfield says ...

"Coraline" IS the best film of the year so far. NOT "Fired Up!"

Posted by Renfield at February 6, 2009 11:45 PM

comment #16

Rodrigo says ...

I spent four years at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism, and received as comprehensive an education on the subject as any other J-schooler out there. The reference to Jett's "journalism instructor" is too broad: what course, exactly, is he teaching? Best succinct writing (and ego-checking) advice I've ever received. The instructor deserves a raise.

Posted by Rodrigo at February 7, 2009 12:26 AM

comment #17

Carl LaFong says ...

Did Jett's instructor also stress the importance of avoiding absolutism, conformity and blanket-generalities? Just wonderin'...

Also, in the above responses, I see folks interchange "criticism" with "reviewing". What exactly is the difference? Number of words per column? Snootiness of prose? Nah, the best explanation given to me was, "reviews never give away endings, criticisms may." Sure, it's a shallow assessment, but holds up most of the time; just a question of context.

Oh, and Rosebud was his sled.

Posted by Carl LaFong at February 7, 2009 1:05 AM

comment #18

Renfield says ...

Wells, if you want to give Jett an education on how to NOT write a poorly composed, wretched, beast of "gotta meet my deadline" paragraphs opinion on a film go this sorry excuse:

http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=11557

I loved the film but this attempt at a review made me so full of vigor, I almost forgave the bitch I screamed at who was talking on her cell phone (at full volume) during the opening.

Posted by Renfield at February 7, 2009 3:33 AM

comment #19

Rich S. says ...

Journalism school? Criticism class? Yeah, that's gonna be money well spent.

Besides, half the threads on HE consist of "Is too!" "Is not!"

Posted by Rich S. at February 7, 2009 4:56 AM

comment #20

Josh Massey says ...

"Also, in the above responses, I see folks interchange 'criticism' with 'reviewing'."

I always looked at it fairly simply - you have to earn the right to call yourself a critic. I was the primary film reviewer at the University of Georgia's paper for four years, and always avoided calling myself a "critic." That's reserved for the guys who have been doing it for decades and know more about film than some 20-year-old ever could.

One of the more valuable rules I learned is 90% of the time, "that" is completely unnecessary. You can almost always edit it out and not lose meaning. But the best rule, of course, is there aren't any.

Posted by Josh Massey at February 7, 2009 5:17 AM

comment #21

MindlessObamaton says ...

Hope your kid is taking other classes for a major worth something. No offense, but journalism AIN'T gonna pay the bills for anyone much longer. Maybe you can grandfather this blog to him.

Posted by MindlessObamaton at February 7, 2009 5:32 AM

comment #22

corey3rd says ...

There IS NOT any newspapers and magazine hiring critics as full time employees. Better off studying Dinosaur husbandry

Posted by corey3rd at February 7, 2009 6:46 AM

comment #23

erniesouchak says ...

How's this for criticism advice: do not use the word "compelling."

Posted by erniesouchak at February 7, 2009 7:32 AM

comment #24

BurmaShave says ...

My Journalism courses actually killed my interest in journalism, and almost writing in general for awhile. Shit like this is why. Beating you about the head and neck to remove all personal voice from your writing was the biggest turnoff for me though.

And Wells we all give you shit and maybe you can come off like a horse's ass sometimes but your kid really seems to have his shit together so good job on that.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 7, 2009 8:00 AM

comment #25