An electronic newsletter with communication tips and information
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Agricultural Communications, Purdue University An electronic newsletter with communication tips and information |
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November 1997 |
The holidays are coming. You're going to be really busy, and so are we. In deference to the holidays and all of the hubbub they bring, we're taking a short break. Expect the next issue of "On Target" to come your way the second week of January, 1998.Thank you all for reading and responding to "On Target." We hope your holidays are happy ones. See you next year!
The "On Target" Team
The "Seven Cs" checklist for creating newsletter copy is the invention of Don Ranley, journalism professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
The seven Cs are a benchmark to evaluate the potential success of your writing. Try applying them to your articles.
CORRECT: Is the information accurate? Are names and locations spelled correctly? Are days of the week and dates right? Being correct is paramount.
CONSISTENT: Are people's titles treated equally as far as capitalization and punctuation? Is percent spelled out or symbolized throughout? Are some things capitalized and others not? The more meticulous you are, the better.
CLEAR: Can the reader understand it? Have you defined terms that he/she may be unfamiliar with? Have you used any jargon? Have you spelled out acronyms? Does the information flow in a logical manner? Try asking someone else to read it and give you feedback.
CONCISE: Have you omitted all unnecessary words? Do you have any words that are vague or general? Have you been as specific as possible to get your meaning across? Imagine getting paid $1 for every extra word you can delete, yet still maintain the meaning of the work. How much money will you make editing each article? The shorter and more concise it is, the more likely people will read it.
COHERENT: Does the writing hold together and make sense? Have you used transitional phrases between paragraphs to guide the reader? Try reading your writing out loud to yourself or someone else. Sometimes, just the sound of the words will help you pinpoint areas that need more work.
COMPLETE: Have you included everything necessary to understand the topic at hand? Ask yourself, "What's missing?" Have you included more than necessary? Have you covered the 5Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why, and how)?
CREATIVE: Is the writing interesting and lively? Is it written to communicate with the reader? Will it excite and engage? Is it interesting to you? Did you have fun writing it? Are you inspired to share it with your readers?
All writers, including people who write for newsletters, can apply these principles to help them write articles that are more complete, more informative, and more interesting.
You've shot some priceless footage. You shown it at your meeting, and it was a hit. What now? Put the tape in a desk drawer? Tape over it? Pitch it?
Why not keep it? Remember, tape is cheap, and time is money. You never know when you might want to use the footage again, and re-shooting will take valuable time.
But how do you protect that footage until the next viewing?
Follow these tips, and your tape will be around for a long time:
The basic recommendation is keep your tape cool, clean, and dry.
Any communications in a fixed form is automatically copyright protected, right? This applies to an article in "Newsweek"--and it applies to a piece of e-mail, your kid's portrait of your family, or the shopping list you wrote on a post-it. All are protected.
But if you're interested in using a portion of some work, you may use it under the "fair use" condition. Here's a first test to determine if something is fair use.
Consider four factors.
You don't need to satisfy all four standards, but you should have at least two of them on your side before you decide to use something. Three is obviously better.
This information was gleaned from materials and talks offered by IUPUI assistant law professor Kenneth Crews, director of the IUPUI Copyright Management Center. There's a wealth of good copyright information on the Center's Web site at <http://www.iupui.edu/it/copyinfo/highered.html>.
An important note: these are my own paraphrases, and I'm no attorney. As they used to say on "Hill Street Blues"--"Let's be careful out there."
We all know that focus groups are a good way to learn what our audiences think and what they want. That's why they're an important part of any marketing effort and why they play a key role in our current Plan of Work efforts.
Want more information about focus groups? In searching the Web, I've found several sites that might be helpful as you develop your marketing strategies.
And, of course, the Plan of Work Web site is: <http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/agcom/PLAN/toc.htm>
What punctuation do you put inside quotation marks, and what do you put outside? Here are the most common conventions.
With commas, periods, colons, and semicolons, it's simple. Put commas and periods inside the end quotation mark. Put colons and semicolons outside.
Examples: "Paul," she said, "it's over." She told him "It's over"; then she threw him out.
It gets trickier with exclamation marks and question marks. If the exclamation or question mark applies only to the quoted matter, put it inside the end quotation mark. If it applies to the whole sentence, put it outside.
Examples: When Paul asked her to take him back, she yelled "No way!" What did Paul do when she told him "It's over"? He stared at her sadly and asked "But why?"
These conventions apply to titles in quotation marks as well as to quoted speech.
Thanks to Lisa Crowe, Agricultural Research Programs, for suggesting this topic. (And my apologies to Pauls everywhere.) If there's a grammar (or usage) trap you'd like me to discuss or you have a tip that will help the rest of us avoid one, please let me know.
We want to hear from you. Do you have a communication question? Do you have a comment on this issue of "On Target"? If so, please e-mail any of our writers.
It is the policy of the Department of Agricultural Communication Service of Purdue University that all persons shall have equal opportunity and access to its programs and facilities without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age or disability. Purdue University is an Affirmative Action employer. These materials may be available in alternative formats.