While I try to meet with each writer individually and discuss what needs to be changed in each story and why, I don’t always have the time for that. I also have to communicate the good and bad parts of stories to writers not in my class period. On these occasions, I comment on their Google Docs as much as I can, and let them know I am always available to explain AP Style rules. I make sure to tell them some things to improve and how some parts were good so they don’t get discouraged.
When I have more time, I print out stories and edit them by hand so staffers can keep them and refer back when writing new stories to avoid making the same mistakes. Here is one I did for a print story.
I have been working especially on constructive structural edits–not just fixing grammatical errors. It can be hard sometimes to tell my peers that a lot of their story should be written differently, but I have found that focusing on the good parts is most effective.
Elise Trexler 