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Part 1:
“Just the Facts, Ma’am” Please respond to the following:
Week 5 eActivity
- Go to the PR Newswire Website located here (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/news-releases-list/). Click on “Specialty News” under “News Releases” to choose a recent news release pertaining to the category of “Science & Tech.” Be prepared to discuss.
Part 2:
Pick a students post to make a substantive response to in at least 150 words that furthers the discussion. (Choose one)
A.)
From the e-Activity, assess how well the news release follows the inverted triangle approach. Be sure to provide the date, title, and the company which released the news.
The News Release from Nielsen followed the inverted triangle approach well. The first sentence of the article summarizes the purpose and topic of the article. The article is about the release of a two year study findings about the “Digitally Engaged Shopper”. The first paragraph provides more detail about the topic. For example, the prediction that in five to seven years, most of the grocery shopping will transition to online. Also, the first paragraph provides some specific spending figures.
The paragraphs in the middle of the article provide details about the study’s anticipated vs. the actual online grocery spending. Additionally, it had a list of improvements for retailers and manufacturers to prepare for the changing trends and infrastructure.
At the end, the article lists section headings about the companies responsible for the study.
This organization allows readers to skip to the sections that are of interest. They don’t need to read the entire article if they are not interested in the details.
Reference
Nielsen. (Jan 29, 2018). FMI and Nielsen Report: 70% of Consumers Will Be Grocery Shopping Online by 2024. Retrieved from:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/english-releases/fmi-and-nielsen-report-70-of-consumers-will-be-grocery-shopping-online-by-2024-300589495.html
Create a best practice to determine how many facts are essential when writing a summary for an informative report.
· The textbook suggests, to read the article twice, then cross out the information that does not relate directly to the main idea. This method can be used to eliminate the details that do not need to be listed in the summary.
· Include the article source and information in the first sentence.
· The first sentence should describe the article contents, or the theme of the article.
· Use present tense.
· Paraphrase carefully without copying the words exactly as in the source.
· The contents of the summary need to reflect the proportions of the article. The summary should not summarize a portion, but the entire article.
B.)
From the e-Activity, assess how well the news release follows the inverted triangle approach. Be sure to provide the date, title, and the company which released the news.
An article provided by PRNewswire on 01/29/2018 at 5:05 PM ET states that Ur-Energy Inc has acquisitioned a gold exploration project in west-central Nevada. The opening paragraph and remaining body does follow the inverted triangle approach. The opening paragraph includes the following:
1. Who – Ur-Energy
2. What – Acquisition of a gold exploration project
3. When – Today, 01/29/2018
4. Where – 2100 acres in west-central Nevada
5. Why – There is mining potential
They follow up the main details with the other important details. In this case that they became aware of the mineral deposits due to a geologic database that they acquired with the purchase of Pathfinder Mines Corp in2013. This database shows high grade gold and silver in the project location.
The new release finishes up with other information about the acquisitions, geological database findings, as well as the detailed information about the types of minerals and their quality found in the area.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ur-energy-announces-new-gold-project-and-initial-sample-results-300589804.html
C.)
From the e-Activity, assess how well the news release follows the inverted triangle approach. Be sure to provide the date, title, and the company which released the news.
The news release I found is titled The Internet Crosses 4 Billion-user Mark and was released by We are Social on 01/29/2018. The inverted triangle approach includes answering the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how in that order as the article progresses. This news release answered all of those questions and utilized the triangle approach. The pattern for this release is as follows:
· Who – Hootesuite and We Are Social
· What – Digital in 2018 report
· When – 01/29/2018
· Where – the report is included in this new release
· Why – to reveal the influence of social media on the growth in the Internet user population
· How – by communicating the findings that support the premise that social media has had a huge impact on amount of users worldwide.
Create a best practice to determine how many facts are essential when writing a summary for an informative report.
A best practice to determine how many facts are essential when writing a summary for an informative report would be to choose only facts that pertain to the main topics that are in the report. The summary should be short and to the point.
References:
· Smith-Worthington, Darlene. Technical Writing for Success, 3rd Edition. Cengage Learning, 2011. [Strayer University Bookshelf].
· https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-internet-crosses-4-billion-user-mark-300589817.html
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Chapter 8
Informative Reports
Goals
· Write two types of summaries and an abstract
· Create a mechanism description with a visual
· Write a periodic report, a progress report, and a news release
Terms
· abstracts, p.
189
· dateline, p.
206
· embargo, p.
205
· fiscal year, p.
195
· hook, p.
203
· mechanism description, p.
192
· media, p.
201
· periodic reports, p. 195
· progress reports, p.
198
· PSAs, p. 201
· public relations, p. 201
· reporting period, p. 198
· spatial order, p.
193
· summary, p. 189
WRITE TO LEARN
Think about where you are on the path of your educational goals. Perhaps your career will require a two-year associate or a four-year bachelor’s degree—or a master’s or doctorate degree. Write several paragraphs answering these questions: What have you achieved toward reaching your educational goals? What do you still need to do to reach those goals? When will you reach your goals? What problems are you experiencing? Your audience can be your parents or guardians, a scholarship committee, or other people who have supported your educational career.
Focus on Informative Reports
Read the sample informative report on the next page and answer these questions:
· What is its purpose? Does the writer ask the reader to do anything?
· Can you determine the audience for whom this report was intended?
· What would make this report more useful and easier to read?
· In what fields might a report of this nature be needed?
What If?
· The readers were lacking in a basic science background?
· The subject of the technical description were an object, not a process?
· The process description were more complex and longer?
· The report were written in the future, when people no longer use or have access to incandescent bulbs?
Sample Technical Process Description: How an Incandescent Lightbulb Works
Source: Frank B. Meyers, University of California, Berkley
Writing@Work
Courtesy of Paige Heller
Paige Heller is a physical therapist at an outpatient orthopedic clinic in Sedona, Arizona. She treats patients daily and provides written documentation for each visit, including daily evaluation notes, periodic progress reports, and discharge summaries.
Paige’s writing must be clear and concise, yet thorough and rich in detail. “A good physical therapy document needs to be readable by a varied audience that includes the patient, other physicians, and employers. These reports may also be used for legal purposes, so they must include large amounts of information in a small amount of writing.”
To write a report that is brief and that contains all necessary information, Paige follows the “SOAP” formula for writing bulleted clinical notes. Each letter stands for its own bulleted item in the note:
· S stands for subjective—the first bullet states what the patient reports.
· O stands for objective—the second bullet states what the therapist observes and tests.
· A stands for assessment—the third bullet is an analysis of the S and O points.
· P stands for plan—the last bullet is a future/intended course of treatment.
Just as Paige writes her reports so they are useful for other practicing therapists and physicians, she must read others’ reports in order to provide the most advanced and tested treatment possible. “Physical therapy is an evidence-based practice, which means we dictate our treatments according to the results of research and studies in the field. I frequently access online medical journals to review such reports. I also read physician reports of surgeries or diagnostics to better understand a patient’s condition or injury.” In other words, Paige’s technical writing proficiency depends in part on her technical reading skills. In turn, other physical therapy professionals rely on Paige’s technical writing ability, which is why accurate documentation is so important.
Think Critically
1. Why are the S and O bullets critical in Paige’s physical therapy reports?
2. Why is the A bullet needed? Why is it important to assess the first two bullets?
Printed with permission of Paige Heller
GETTING STARTED ON INFORMATIVE REPORTS
Professionals in business and industry use specialized reports to convey information about their work. This chapter presents the most frequently used informative reports: summaries and abstracts, mechanism descriptions, progress and periodic reports, and news releases. These specialized reports use standard forms. Once you learn how to use them, you can develop reports using information from jobs or personal experience.
Warm Up
Recall the last movie or play you watched. How would you respond if a friend asked, “What was the show about?” Using what you remember about the show, write the answer you would give to your friend.
SUMMARY
AND ABSTRACT
A
summary
is a condensed version of a document. When writing an essay, you generate details to develop or support a thesis and topic sentences. Summaries require writers to do the opposite: keep only general information and the most important details.
Abstracts
are more condensed than summaries, often reducing documents to a thesis. The length depends on the audience’s needs and expectations.
Some summaries and abstracts stand alone; others begin a longer technical document. By condensing the report’s highlights before the audience reads the details, summaries save coworkers time. People at upper levels of an organization may choose to read only the summary sections of longer reports. They do so because their interest is in the big picture or health of the organization rather than the details or technical aspects of day-to-day operations.
Some employees use summaries to stay on top of the latest research and developments in their fields. These employees summarize publications in the career field as they emerge and file them for future reference.
Figure 8.1
on the next page is an article that an employee reads so that the employee can summarize it for his or her supervisor and files and for future reference.
Figure 8.2
on page 191 contains two summaries and an abstract of the article in Figure 8.1.
To write a summary or an abstract:
1. When an oral presentation is given, take notes during the presentation or soon afterward. Thus, you are less likely to forget what the speaker said.
2. With a written document, read the document twice—or as many times as necessary to fully understand the content. As you read the second time, highlight the main ideas or cross out everything (all details) except the main ideas. Paraphrase main ideas. For longer summaries, choose a few important details to include. For abstracts, condense the paraphrased material.
3. In the summary’s first sentence, include the thesis or main point of the document using your own words and sentence structure.
TYPICAL READER
Any person, whether manager, technician, or client/customer, who wants access to an overview of more detailed information, whether a company report, a journal article, a book, or another document.
WRITER’S FOCUS
Clearly presenting major ideas and, when needed, essential supporting information in a readable manner to enable users to understand the central points of a longer document.
Figure 8.1 Article to Be Summarized
Source: Elstein, David. United States. Dept. of Agriculture. “A Faster Way to Clean Roots.” Agricultural Research: 2004 (52.1). Web. 10 Dec. 2009.
Figure 8.2 Examples of Summaries and Abstract
4. Make clear what you are summarizing. With an article, introduce the source in the first sentence by including the title and author’s name. For a speech or meeting, credit the speaker in the opening sentence.
5. Decide whether your audience needs a few details or only main ideas. For long summaries, include only details that are especially important. For short summaries, leave out details. For abstracts, include only the most important general ideas. Be concise. Reduce the original document to the main idea in a few sentences.
6. Keep your summary information proportional to the original. If the author spent four paragraphs on one topic and two paragraphs on another, your summary should give proportional time and emphasis. For example, in your summary or abstract, do not include more information from the two-paragraph topic than from the four-paragraph topic.
7. Write in present tense.
8. Paraphrase; do not copy word for word.
9. Quote sparingly, if at all, and use quotation marks correctly.
10. Provide transitions to keep the summary from sounding choppy.
Do not give your opinion. A summary or an abstract should be objective.
STOP AND THINK
If a summary includes three of an article’s five main points, is it effective? Why or why not?
Warm Up
Examine the pen or pencil you are using to take notes. Briefly describe its parts and their functions.
MECHANISM DESCRIPTION
A
mechanism description
describes the main parts of a device or machine. It explains what the purpose of the mechanism and overall design is, what the parts are, what they look like, and what their function is.
Mechanism descriptions are used in catalogs, instruction manuals, and employee training. Examples of mechanisms in the workplace include car parts, furniture, kitchen tools, doorstops, pencil sharpeners, and more sophisticated machines such as an engine and a DVD player. Mechanism descriptions are often included with instructions in product packaging.
Consumers can find a mechanism description in a manual that comes with new equipment, such as a computer or can opener. This description tells what the parts are, how they fit together, and what their functions are. Technicians and operators use the description to become familiar with the characteristics of the machine and to troubleshoot problems. New employees use a mechanism description to learn job responsibilities and safety procedures. Decision makers use mechanism descriptions to reach informed decisions, perhaps comparing current equipment with equipment proposed for purchase.
Figure 8.3
on the following page is a mechanism description that a community college electronics student produced to demonstrate his understanding of an everyday object that people use. The audience for the report was the instructor, other electronics students, and anyone curious about how things work.
TYPICAL READER
Either a technician or a professional needing technical specifications for a mechanism; any person who needs to understand how a mechanism works.
WRITER’S FOCUS
Writing thorough and clear descriptions and explanations in a readable format with accurate, precise details, including measurements, materials, and appropriate graphics.
To write a mechanism description,
1. Take notes, describing every part in detail. Assume that you are on the telephone. You must describe a mechanism that the listener has not seen.
2. Use
spatial order
. That is, explain the parts from left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, or whatever pattern is logical.
3. Open with an overall physical description of the mechanism, a statement that identifies its general purpose (what it is designed to do), and a preview of its parts.
4. Divide the mechanism into its parts and discuss each part under a separate heading. Use proper names of the parts. Place headings in the same order you used in the preview list.
5. Provide a precise physical description of the parts. Include size, color, location, and material (what the mechanism is made of).
6. Include the purpose or function of each part.
7. Provide a graphic of the mechanism. Include exploded (enlarged) views of parts that are too small to be easily seen. Add callouts to label each part.
8. Use active voice whenever possible.
Do not explain how to operate the mechanism. Instead, describe what it does, what it looks like, what its parts are, and what they look like and do.
Blend Images/JupiterImages
Figure 8.3 Example of a Mechanism Description
Source: Frank B. Myers, University of California, Berkeley
STOP AND THINK
In a mechanism description, should a writer describe a metal disk as (a) about the size of a penny or (b) 1/2″ in diameter? What organizational pattern is used in mechanism descriptions?
Warm Up
Consider the organizations you belong to, participate in, or are concerned about. How do you learn about the status, or “health,” of the organization?
PERIODIC REPORTS
Periodic reports
explain accomplishments for all projects of a work group or of an entire organization over a specified time period. For instance, when you listened to your governor make a State of the State address or the President make a State of the Union address, you heard a periodic report. These speeches explore the many ongoing projects of the state or nation for the year. Periodic reports may cover different periods: a week (weekly), a month (monthly), three months (quarterly), or six months (semiannually).
Businesses and nonprofit organizations use periodic reports to inform shareholders, clients, vendors, donors, and employees of the organization’s accomplishments and challenges.
Figure 8.4
on the following two pages is an example of a periodic report prepared by a student intern.
To write periodic reports,
1. Consider all activities and accomplishments of the organization for the specified time period. Begin by noting the time period. Are you sharing information about the last two weeks, the past month, or the fiscal year? (A
fiscal year
is the operating year, such as the academic year, which often runs from July 1 through June 30.)
2. Meet your audience’s needs. What are the audience’s concerns, history with the writer and the project or organization, and roles?
3. Organize tasks so you can report them logically. Once lists are complete, categories of tasks become subheadings under a major heading. Organize so the reader can find important information easily.
4. Format for the audience. Many longer periodic reports are manuscript-formatted, appearing like an essay or a book with a title. These reports offer formality and distance appropriate for a diverse audience. When written for an internal reader, a short periodic report may be formatted as a memo. For an external reader, the report may be formatted as a letter.
5. For the introduction, develop an overview that briefly presents the highlights of the report. Mention each idea included in a major heading. Also state the reporting period, the time for which the document describes activities or progress.
6. For the body, compose a section for each activity category or type of work undertaken during the reporting period, with section headings and sometimes subheadings organized from most important to least important. For instance, the monthly activity report of a U.S. Navy recruiter might include the following work areas (and headings): Job Fairs, School-Based Meetings, Office Conferences, and Public Speaking Events. Under each heading, the recruiter describes, from most to least important, accomplishments during the reporting period. In the rest of the report, the recruiter may note problems encountered.
7. In the conclusion, highlight any key ideas and refer to the next report.
TYPICAL READER
Any person involved with or interested in the organization, such as employees or shareholders, who would like to know about the activities and accomplishments of the organization.
WRITER’S FOCUS
Presenting a logically organized, detailed description of what an organization has done during the reporting period.
Figure 8.4 Periodic Report
8. Check for accuracy, particularly in statistics and names.
9. Use lists, numbered or set in columns, whenever possible to ensure easier reading.
10. Divide long discussions into paragraphs to reflect groups of ideas.
Periodic report writers should not include their opinions, instead providing facts and allowing readers to draw their own conclusions.
Figure 8.4 Periodic Report, cont.
STOP AND THINK
What three types of information are usually included in the introduction of a periodic report?
Warm Up
Think about the grade reports you receive from school. What is the writer’s purpose in presenting this report? Determine the relationship between the writer and the audience. Now think about how grade reports changed as you progressed through your academic career from elementary to middle school to your current level of schooling.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Like periodic reports,
progress reports
are documents that report progress for a period of time. Unlike periodic reports, which cover all of an organization’s work, a progress report describes what has been done during a specified time on only one project, such as work on the construction of a building. A progress report covers in detail all achievements as well as plans for the upcoming reporting period toward completing one project.
Anyone in an organization may need to report progress made on a project. Readers may use information in a progress report to make decisions, to take actions, or to file for future reference.
Figure 8.5
shows a progress report.
To write a progress report:
1. Organize a progress report to answer the readers’ most important questions first. Use the following outline to plan for progress reports. Under each heading, the writer may add subheadings if several ideas will be covered in that section.
|
HEADING IN REPORT |
WHAT THAT SECTION COVERS |
|
Introduction |
Report topic, purpose, and reporting period |
|
Work Completed |
What has been done |
|
Work Scheduled |
What needs to be done |
|
Problems/Projections |
What has gone wrong and when the work will be finished |
2. In the opening or introductory section of the progress report,
· Name the project.
· Indicate the
reporting period
, which is the time the report covers.
· State the purpose of the report (to tell readers the status of the project).
3. Use I or we—first person—where appropriate. You take responsibility for your actions and opinions by using I. Using I or we is not only acceptable, but also encouraged.
4. In the Work Completed section,
· Note again the time period you cover. (This is optional; if it is included, it usually appears beside the heading or in the opening sentence of the section.)
· Use past tense verbs.
· Use subheadings (to separate tasks) or bulleted lists. When three or more tasks or topics are included in this section, subheadings are necessary. When only one or two tasks are included, subheadings are optional.
TYPICAL READER
Anyone inside or outside the writer’s organization needing information on progress toward completion of a task.
WRITER’S FOCUS
Clearly describing achievements and plans toward completing a task in a standard organizational plan.
Figure 8.5 Internal Progress Report
Communication Dilemma
James Berry, a pediatric occupational therapist, is tempted to give a parent a glowing report even though the 3-year-old patient is not making significant improvement in therapy sessions. Mr. Berry likes the parent and does not want to add to the parent’s stress.
Think Critically
What are possible effects of misinformation in Mr. Berry’s reports?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes a website that contains links to press releases of the past decade. You will find everything from food and drug research to biologics and radiation protection.
Go to the NET Bookmark for Chapter 8. Find a news release that interests you and print it. Write several paragraphs to explain if and how it uses the guidelines for effective news releases.
www.cengage.com/school/bcomm/techwtg
· Provide sufficient details and explanations about each job completed. Because your reader is probably most concerned about what you have done on the project, ensure that this section is clear and accurate. Place your most important ideas first. After all, this is your opportunity to tell what you have achieved.
5. In the Work Scheduled section,
· Tell your audience what work needs to be done in the next reporting period.
· Use future tense verbs.
· Separate and emphasize each major task or job with subheadings, as you did in the Work Completed section. Remember to use subheadings when you have three or more tasks. Otherwise, subheadings are optional.
6. In the Problems section,
· Describe any obstacles to completing the job. Inform the reader of anything that has affected the quality or quantity of work.
· Either list and number or describe these problems in paragraphs.
· Be honest and direct.
· Report just the facts unless you need to assign responsibility for problems. Remember that finger-pointing can be counterproductive.
7. In the Projections section, give readers a new completion date if problems have stalled the project so that the original date cannot be met.
STOP AND THINK
While both periodic and progress reports are issued periodically or in set increments of time, what is the difference between the two reports?
Warm Up
Recall news relating to business or industry you have seen, heard, or read in the last week from television, radio, print, or online media. With that news in mind, answer the following questions: What parts of the story do you remember? What made the story memorable? What elements of the story do you think business or industry provided? What elements were probably the result of a reporter’s investigation?
NEWS RELEASES
News releases, also called press releases, are reports of events or facts prepared for the
media
, which are systems or means of mass communication. The goal of the release is to inform the public of, for example, an employee promotion or a company expansion.
One type of press release is the public service announcement (PSA).
PSAs
differ from other news releases in that they present facts beneficial to the public. PSAs, for example, announce Red Cross blood drives, city council meetings, fund-raisers, and other public events. People and organizations send news releases to the media to share information with the public.
In many large organizations,
public relations
, the communication between a company and the outside world, is handled by departments that write news releases to help the company maintain a positive image. For instance, if a company executive is involved in a scandal, the public relations staff may prepare a news release to present the company’s view and restore public confidence.
In smaller organizations without public relations departments, any employee may write a news release. The maintenance director might write a release describing the company’s recycling efforts, a retail manager might cover the store’s planned expansion, and a volunteer group’s administrative assistant might outline the organization’s upcoming fund-raising project.
Because the writer sends the release to select news agencies, the first readers are editors and news directors. They decide whether the news release will run. If the information is newsworthy and the release is well written so that little editing is required, the chance that it will be published increases. Other influential factors include space and time constraints.
If the release is published, the second audience is the public. The public is anyone who reads a newspaper or magazine, watches television, uses the Internet, or listens to the radio. Specialized media agencies receive news releases targeting a particular audience, so the second audience might also be a select group.
For instance, you are probably familiar with television stations that target specific people: MTV targets music lovers; TNN attracts country music fans; CNN focuses on people interested in world, economic, and political news; and the Disney Channel targets children. Audiences are looking for the same thing—timely and interesting information.
On the next page,
Figure 8.6
shows a news release with a triangle indicating the part of the release an editor chose to publish. The last two paragraphs, which contained the least important information, were cut.
To write a news release,
1. Begin by analyzing the audience. Consider the editor or news director as well as the public.
2. Answer the classic Reporter’s Questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? With answers to those questions, you have the most important information to include in the news release.
TYPICAL READER
Any person who appreciates news.
WRITER’S FOCUS
Planning and writing a news release that is effective enough in content, style, organization, and format to win the news editor’s approval for publication and that is interesting enough to gain the attention of the ultimate audience; organizing so that essential information comes first and is not lost if the editor must cut the story because of space or time constraints.
Figure 8.6 Model News Release Cut by Editor
Figure 8.7
shows an illustration of this idea-packed opening for a news release. Notice where the Reporter’s Questions are addressed.
3. Beyond the Reporter’s Questions, ask yourself these questions: (a) What will interest my audience? (b) What will grab their attention? (c) What would they ask if they could?
4. Plan for accuracy. Check your prewriting notes for accuracy in the following:
· Facts
· Numbers and statistics
Complete the Reorganizing an Ineffective News Release worksheet available at www.cengage.com/school/bcomm/techwtg. Click the link for Chapter 8; then click Data Files.
Figure 8.7 Reporter’s Questions in News Release Opening
· Names
· Locations
· Quotations
· Completeness (“the whole truth”)
With correct text, releases will have a greater chance of being published.
5. Plan for credibility. Exaggerations are overstatements or additions beyond the truth that can ruin a person’s credibility. Instead, use information that can be verified. Avoid superlatives such as the best, the fastest, and the worst unless you can document or prove the statement. If your release opens with “R. J. Birch, the fastest 10K runner in the state,” make sure you have her race times or other proof of your statement.
6. Compose the headline carefully because it will be read first. Include an active verb. Use present tense for current events, past tense for events already concluded, and future tense for scheduled activities. For example, the headline HALIFAX ACADEMY TO HOST STAR TREK CONVENTION uses an active verb that indicates future time (to host) because the event has not yet occurred. Be aware that your news release will compete with others for space or airtime (time to deliver a news story). Thus, the headline is your chance to make a positive first impression on the reader.
7. Open the body of the release with a
hook
—catchy wording or an idea that attracts attention. Dynamic wording or an intriguing idea seizes the audience’s attention. Below are hooks used to open news releases.
· The nets are still hanging in Memorial Coliseum after last night’s City League upset, but only because the Knights expect to return for them during the playoffs.
· When 600 first-year students show up for orientation at Schantz College on Saturday, they will receive something besides their dorm assignments.
· The Easter Bunny Brought What?
Those opening sentences attract attention so readers or listeners will want to know more.
©Zoriah/The Image Works
8. Order ideas from most important to least important and begin with the important answers to the Reporter’s Questions. Organizing from most to least important achieves several purposes:
· You make editors’ work easier and the story’s publication more likely.
· You help readers find the most important information quickly and easily—even if they do not read the entire article.
· Making cuts is easier, and you have more control of how they are made.
If a news director has 20 seconds of airtime and your news release is 30 seconds, the news director must cut 10 seconds or choose not to use it. Likewise, print editors sometimes must cut inches to fit releases into the space available.
9. Format news releases so information the reader needs stands out, editors can make changes easily, and news anchors (who might read the text on the air) can easily follow the document. For illustrative purposes, the release is divided into three units: the top of the page or introductory information, the body or story, and pagination cues. Refer to
Figure 8.8
.
10. Properly format introductory information. Many large companies create letterhead for news releases. It is printed with the company name, postal and web addresses, telephone number, logo, and the words NEWS RELEASE. If your organization does not have special letterhead, use plain 8 1/2″ × 11″ paper. Use the following guidelines for introductory format:
· Begin with the words NEWS RELEASE in all capital letters. Key the source of the document in initial caps if letterhead is not used.
· Key Contact and a colon flush right across from NEWS RELEASE. After the colon, enter the name of the person responsible for the release as well as the person’s job title and phone number.
· Record the date the document was written beneath NEWS RELEASE.
· Use For Immediate Release or place Release Date and a colon at the left margin under the date. After the colon, key the date and the specific time the information should be made public.
· Writers occasionally request a release to be held for a period of time before publication. If you want a story to be held, beneath or beside the release date, key Please hold until [desired release time] or Please embargo story until [desired release time].
Embargo
means “to withhold or delay publication.”
Figure 8.8 News Release Format
Focus on Ethics
Isaac Nonn is a campaign worker for a candidate running for the state legislature. Isaac’s candidate is slipping in the polls, and the opposition is gaining in popularity. Isaac recently received a packet in the mail from an anonymous sender, indicating that the opposition candidate was expelled from college for cheating before she transferred to the university from which she ultimately graduated. Isaac is thinking about forwarding the materials to local media outlets—perhaps anonymously.
Think Critically
How should Isaac handle the situation?
· Give the news agency a suggested headline in all capital letters.
11. To format the body of a release, preface it with a
dateline
, which identifies the location of the story. Key the dateline in all capital letters. In Figure 8.8, NEWTOWN, AZ is where the story takes place. After the location, (a) leave a space, (b) key a dash, and (c) leave another space.
12. Use pagination cues, a special code to help readers follow the text and read from one page to another. To use these cues,
· Key the word -more- centered at the bottom of the page when the release will be continued on the next page.
· End news releases with -30- or ### centered after the last line.
Do not promote a product or a service in your release. If you are tempted to do so, remind yourself that news is who did what, where, when, why, and how, while advertisements are how new, improved, or cost-effective something might be. Editors rarely publish releases that read like sales literature.
STOP AND THINK
Before a news release is published, what reader or readers must approve it?
CHAPTER 8
REVIEW
SUMMARY
1. Summaries and abstracts are condensed versions of longer documents. In a summary, the writer clearly and logically presents only main ideas. The length of the original and the writer’s purpose determine the length. Abstracts are shorter than summaries and cover the main idea of the original.
2. A mechanism description describes the main parts of a device or mechanism and explains the purpose of the mechanism and overall design, the various parts, they way they look, and their functions.
3. Periodic reports describe the progress of all ongoing projects in an organization or organization division during a specified time period.
4. Progress reports describe the status of one project for a specified period. Progress and periodic reports require writers to consider the interests of the audience and the schedule of the project or the organization.
5. News or press releases are reports of events or facts prepared by employees to send to the media. The goal of the release is to have the media outlets publish the story and inform the public.
Checklist
· Have I designed, organized, and written the document with the audience in mind?
· Have I analyzed my audience(s) and determined what readers need?
· Is my format appropriate for the audience and the situation?
· Have I included relevant background information?
· Have I used a logical and appropriate organizational plan?
· Are the ideas under each heading organized appropriately?
· Is the information complete and accurate?
· Have I used lists where appropriate for ease of reading?
· Have I made my document easy to read by using descriptive headings? Do the headings follow parallel structure?
· Do I present accurate, specific details?
· Have I remained objective throughout the document?
· Have I presented problems as facts, not accusations?
You can find these fairy tales at www.cengage.com/school/bcomm/techwtg. Click the link for Chapter 8; then click Web Links.
Build Your Foundation
1. Write a one-sentence summary of one of the following well-known fairy tales: “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” or “The Three Little Pigs.” Compare your summary with those of your classmates. If you read the story rather than working from memory, remember to use your own words.
2. The statements listed in items a-j will go into a progress report. Identify each statement as Work Completed, Work Scheduled, or Problems/Projections.
a. We have purchased a site license from NetBright for our network.
b. The CD-ROM, which was delivered last Friday, was damaged in shipping so that it is inoperable.
c. We installed screen savers on all computers.
d. If all work scheduled is completed as we expect, the network will be ready for the team orientation on September 23.
e. This week the system director will order the serial cable we need.
f. The hardware security system we requested was $300 over budget.
g. Each computer will be named so that users can easily identify it.
h. A system administrator must be trained before we can operate fully.
i. We connected the laser printer to the network and tested it.
j. We forgot to order a surge protector for the computer attached to the LCD projection panel, so we cannot use this equipment until the order arrives next week.
3. Some of the following sentences are vague, and some include the writer’s opinions. Revise each sentence to make it specific and factual. Invent details as needed.
a. The calibrator is several minutes off schedule.
b. The phenomenal response to our new computer safety education program shows that this new program will benefit employees.
c. To get to the warehouse, go down the hall a bit and turn left.
d. The line was down for a while last Friday because of a lecture on safety.
e. We can assemble the original air purifier in 45 minutes, but the fancy case of the new model results in a much longer assembly time than we planned.
4. Evaluate your progress on a hobby or collection. For instance, if you build sound systems, explain the pieces of equipment (for example, speakers and receivers) you have acquired and describe the equipment you will add. If you collect baseball cards or comic books, note the cards or books you own now and the items you want to trade or buy. Make notes about your progress. Then share those notes with your classmates.
Your Turn
5. Write a long summary, a short summary, and an abstract on one of the following: a magazine or journal article, a textbook chapter, a sporting event, a meeting, a TV show, a movie, a classroom lecture, or a speech. The material you use for the summaries and abstract might relate to your chosen career field, a recent news event, or a topic suggested by your instructor.
6. List five mechanisms you know well. These may be mechanisms you use at work, at home, or at school. Consider using simple devices or a single mechanism within a larger, more complex machine. Write a mechanism description for one of the items. In your report, include a diagram of the mechanism.
7. Write a periodic report using the following information.
As the Drafting Club chair, you receive organization funds from the Student Government Association (SGA). You report to the SGA twice a semester to tell them what the club is doing. Your next report is due January 6, 20—. In this report, you will discuss Professional Pursuits, Service, and Membership. The club is more active than ever. Over the holidays, five members attended the American Institute of Building Design meeting in Pensacola and brought back information to share with other members. The club began the school year with 21 members, and two students joined during the second semester. This year’s service project is to plan the city’s first Habitat for Humanity house. Club members have completed the exterior drawings and submitted them for approval. They will finish the interior drawings before the school year ends. All 23 members of the club have participated in this service project.
8. Think of groups to which you belong: a family, a club, a neighborhood, a school. With one group and a particular time period in mind, plan and write a periodic report for a specific audience. Describe the ongoing activities for your group or for your unit of the larger organization.
9. Consider any project you are working on at home, school, or work as a topic for a progress report. Your audience will be a person or group of people who have an interest in or make decisions about the project. Use the appropriate format and organization for the topic and audience.
10. If you are seeking a summer or part-time job, applying for admission to a school, or working on a project, write a progress report to the appropriate person about how you are accomplishing your goals.
11. Contact several businesses or governmental agencies to request a copy of the organization’s annual report, a periodic report outlining the status of the organization that is presented annually to shareholders, employees, vendors, and others. Analyze these reports to determine whether they fit the guidelines for periodic reports in this chapter.
Community Connection
12. Visit a nonprofit organization in your area. Learn about the mission and needs of the organization. Then locate a journal or newspaper article that is relevant to the nonprofit—an article you think might help with the organization’s mission or goals. Write a one- to three-paragraph summary of the article. After submitting the article and your summary to your instructor for review, present the article and your revised and edited summary to the nonprofit’s personnel.
13. Write a news release for your school or another organization with which you are affiliated to announce an upcoming event, an accomplishment, or other newsworthy information. Submit the release to your instructor and class. If appropriate after careful revision and editing, submit it to a local news agency for publication.
