As you start to write for broadcast in English, the number one rule is: use short sentences.
Why? Two main reasons.
Firstly, short sentences are easy to read. (Remember everything you write will be read out loud by somebody — often you.)
Secondly, short sentences are easy to understand. (Remember people will only hear your writing and they will only hear it once — they won’t read it.)
So, keep your sentences short and “single idea” — in other words, avoid clauses. Learn to love the full stop. Try to avoid using commas.
Journalistic writing in English should be simple and clear.
Have a strong subject for each sentence. It’s best if the subject is right at the start.
It’s best if the subject is concrete — a thing or a person.
Read this top line out loud:
“Discussions about Britain’s role in the EU have been taking place at a summit of European politicians in Barcelona.”
Now read this version:
“Politicians are meeting in Barcelona to discuss Britain’s role in the EU.”
Hopefully you will notice a few differences. The first top line is longer than the second. Nineteen words v twelve words. Do we lose much in the second top line? We don’t know that the politicians are “European” — but that’s a fairly safe assumption. Apart from that, everything is there.
Now look at the subject of each top line. The subject in the first top line — “discussions” — is abstract. You can’t see discussions. They are more like an idea.
The subject in the second version — “politicians” is something you can see in your mind. It is a real thing. It is also answering the “Who?” question.
Now look at the verb — the action of the two sentences.
In the first top line it’s
“have been taking place”
Four words and a passive, historical flavour.
In the second top line it’s
“are meeting”
More active and immediate — and just two words.
Hopefully you can see that the second version of the story’s top line is better than the first. It’s shorter. It’s easier to read and easier to understand. It has a strong subject, a stronger verb and the language is active rather than passive — it’s more dynamic and newsy.
Intro to Broadcast News 