Paul,
Thank you for the detailed response. I've learned some interesting things
about NYT's style.
My teachers/advisors (at all stages and levels) taught me that each
paragraph should contain one main thought/point. Then, if you were to
write down those main points, you get a reverse outline, which is a good
tool for checking on the coherence of the written communication (paper,
thesis, ...) And that's what I've been teaching my students in the
communication courses.
I think I see the rational behind shorter paragraphs (in a way similar to
that for shorter sentences): they are usually simpler to read. But I'd
say, not at the expense of splitting the thought. But the same way as a
long sentence doesn't get just cut in parts, a paragraph doesn't get split
up into parts before the thought is completed.
And, I am failing to see the rational behind quotes being separate
paragraphs. Moreover, I am rather confused how that is supposed to work
here: the same direct quote is split into two parts between the last two
paragraphs. It is not that every sentence of the direct quote are in a
separate paragraph: Three sentences of that direct quote are split between
two paragraphs.
Again, sorry, - I don't mean to start a debate here. Rather, I am just
explaining why I am still confused by NYT's style.
Igor
PS. This is not to undermine that the article is very interesting.
Paul Stenquist Fri, 27 Oct 2017 18:57:51 -0700 wrote:
Hi Igor,
The Auto Alliance point regarding how long it would take to equip the
fleet is self refuting in that they said the same thing six years ago.
More importantly, I get only 900 words, so I have to pick my battles.
In regard to the paragraph breaks, the first is debatable but a split
decision in my view and the editors. The Times philosophy says short
graphs are better.
The graphs toward the end of the story are mandated by an immutable Times
style rule: every direct quote is a separate graph. That is written in
stone, and it seems to have worked well for at least 50 years.
Paul via phone
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
PDML@pdml.net
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
