Kimberly Hampton reports:
"Using the attention line correctly when addressing an envelope is more than good [business writing] etiquette. It helps guarantee that your mail is delivered to your intended recipient. Write the 'attention' line first. This is written with the abbreviation ATTN. Note that there is no punctuation mark with the abbreviation. The attention line always precedes the name of the company...Write the name of the company or organization where your recipient is located...Write the street address, including any suite numbers, on the next line...The last line of the address should be the city, state and ZIP code...The U.S. Postal Service requests that addresses are written entirely in uppercase with no punctuation." Cara Batema reports:
"Ballad poems originated with the European folk tradition -- a storytelling practice in which narratives were passed down orally and the lyrics often were accompanied by music. These works were found in print starting during the Renaissance, and eventually the form evolved as a favored form in the 19th century...[B]efore you start writing, think about an event you want to write about. This event can be a personal story or one you find from history...Consider outlining your story, so you can ensure it follows a plotline that states a problem and resolves it...While ballads vary greatly in rhyme schemes and structure, they do have particular tendencies, such as using four-line stanzas called quatrains and rhyming the second and fourth lines of a stanza. One common rhyme scheme for ballads is ABCB...You can choose to begin writing and see where you can place rhymes, or select a common rhyme scheme, like ABCB, and stick to it. Also decide whether you wish to write in quatrains or vary six- and eight-line stanzas...Since ballads originated in an oral tradition often set to music, these poems frequently use repeated lines or entire stanzas, much like a chorus to a song...Repetition conveys an important idea or theme to the reader. One other structural item to consider is the poem’s meter. In the English tradition, the first and third lines have four accented syllables, and the second and fourth lines have three stresses. If you write in iambs, which are made of one unaccented followed by an accented syllable, you would alternate lines of eight and six syllables...Originally meant for audiences to hear once and remember, ballads usually use simple language. You could open your poem with a statement using the word 'you' to draw the reader into the story. Since the ballad is a narrative poem, use dialogue where appropriate. When you finish a first draft, read your poem aloud to sense if it has a lilting, musical quality. Revise it as necessary to make it feel similar to a song." Mysimpleshow reports:
"Storytelling has been around since the dawn of time, and it’s quite possible that you’ve become a skillful storyteller from attending multiple networking events, cocktail parties, or just having a casual conversation with your co-worker over lunch. So, it should be no problem at all when faced with the task of writing a corporate storytelling script for a business explainer video, right? After all, writing a script is just telling a story. Your pen is poised, and you’re ready to tackle this seemingly simple task. There you are, unleashing all your corporate knowledge into your script, and suddenly you’re overcome with the realization that spewing statistical factors and listing analytical data is not quite as engaging as that hilarious anecdote you told your friend over lunch that had her fighting for breath. Luckily, we have some tips for you on how to write a great script for corporate storytelling...Put yourself in your viewer’s shoes and know your target group. Why is this video important for them? Make the video content relevant by thinking about the questions they may have when watching it or if they were placed in the situation presented in the video. Keep the information simple so it is easily understandable...Have an introduction that is [intriguing and engaging] and that caters to our limited 8[-]second attention spans. Consider starting your video with a question, a character, a shocking fact, interesting research findings, or captivating images...Introduce a character that helps employees and teams relate to the message you want to get across. Showing the illustrated characters 'Sheila' who represents someone in the marketing department or 'Michael' from the business development team, will ultimately help your viewers personally connect to your topic...It’s easy to lose the audience’s attention when explaining something that may not be easily memorable, like new statistics or research results. Creating a story around facts aids in connecting the viewer to the content through emotional storytelling. Using your character, create a storyline that helps explain your message instead of just listing information...If you’ve created a character and a storyline, you’re already on the way to completing the dramatic arc, which is a guideline on how to write stories that people will understand and remember. In the dramatic arc, the ‘why’ comes before the ‘how’ – and introducing the topic, character, and main problem are all parts of the ‘why.’ The ‘how’ includes a few points: the plot point or climax, which introduces the solution to the problem, then the main argument, with additional arguments and the overall results finishing up your story. Using these tips for corporate storytelling will help you create stellar videos for your business. Video creators and viewers can learn to become expert explainers through making and watching videos, which can only enhance your organization overall!" Paul Ruderman reports:
"Communication is key in any business, and one of any good employee’s duties is to keep everyone informed of what is going on — especially the people they work for. These status updates are critical to keeping projects on track so they may be delivered on time, and to make sure that the team has visibility into what’s going on. A great project status update leaves people informed without wasting their time. As efficiency is important when writing an effective project status update, here are a few tips to help you write better project status updates...Long reports are cumbersome and often laden with unimportant information (or worse, corporate jargon). Report only on what needs to be said and keep your updates concise (we like to think that 250 characters is the sweet spot). Every word should count towards your goal of relaying information. Try to avoid business speak if at all possible...You do not have to use fancy fonts or crazy borders to spice up the page. A report is meant to directly relay information that the receiver needs to hear, so nothing should distract them from obtaining that. Bright colors and fancy flourishes just bring the eyes away from the words on the screen, detracting from your main goal...Status updates should never be sporadic. It is better to report that nothing was accomplished versus not reporting at all. As mentioned earlier, people like to be in the loop, so being consistent with your reports makes them feel more comfortable. This is especially important in long, time-consuming projects. It is good practice to illuminate things keeping the project from progressing ('blockers') or updates in timelines. Many managers like to have updates once a week, on Mondays or Fridays. Some want them more frequently. It’s personal preference at that point...Sometimes things go wrong in a project. Any major setbacks or issues should be immediately brought to the attention of the right people rather than using the update as a way to notify them. By the time the update gets sent to them formally, it may be too late to fix those issues. Avoid this by communication with the higher ups, and keep this to what it is: a simple status update...Give your status reports value by bringing them up in meetings and reviews. It allows you to share information about your project in a way anyone can appreciate. You also improve efficiency when your manager is already up to date, so you can spend more time planning how to move projects forward. It can be a great reference in your regular one-on-one or team meetings." Owen E. Richason IV reports:
"If you like your creditor but your small business has a line of credit or company credit card with a high interest rate and you know lower rates are available, you will probably consider asking for an interest rate reduction. But before you do, there are some important factors to consider. Mortgage lender Mike Clover of CreditScoreQuick.com cautions that such a request may actually have the opposite effect, triggering a rate increase and reduction of credit limit. So make sure the request is done right and with other options in mind...Perform a due diligence search for other rate offers. BCSAlliance.com, a credit and debt reduction service, recommends visiting the websites of other credit card providers or line of credit providers and recording their interest rates and introductory offers. You want to ascertain what rates are available and what the offers entail. You will use this information as a bargaining tool when requesting your interest rate reduction...Write a request for an interest rate reduction. Credit card expert Leslie McFadden of Bankrate.com states that you must have a reason for wanting a lower interest rate, such as being unable to make the minimum payment or having to choose which credit account gets paid and which does not. Write the request with this in mind...Format the letter to include your name, address and account number. State in the letter you are requesting an interest rate reduction for the following reasons and be specific. Include competitor offers with lower rates, your creditor's own new introductory rates, and state your timely payment history and length of time you've had the account. Close the letter by asking your creditor to lower your rate and to answer in writing...Phone the credit company to follow up. Allow 10 business days to elapse before doing so. By this time, you may receive a written response to your interest rate reduction request. If you have not received a reply in writing, phone the credit company and ask to speak with a supervisor or manager. Explain you have sent a written request and inquire what response is likely. If the credit company's representative states your request is likely to be denied, make a formal request to her over the phone...Exercise your options. If your request is denied, you may elect to close your account and switch to another credit company with a lower interest rate. Be prepared to state this to your current credit company and see if it causes the company to lower your rate...Closing your credit account can have a negative impact on your credit score, particularly if you've held the account for a long period of time, as this effectively shortens your credit history and negates timely payment reporting." MelanieT reports:
"A writer uses a bridge statement, or bridge sentence, to link one idea to another and create a smooth transition between ideas...Instead of starting each paragraph with a topic sentence, you can use a bridge sentence to show how the previous idea relates to the idea your article is about to introduce...One of the most important bridge statements in an essay, within the introductory paragraph, sets the scene for the reader. The opening statement usually functions as a 'hook' or attention grabber to draw in the reader. After this comes your bridge statement, which explains how the opening is relevant to the thesis. The last sentence of the introductory paragraph contains the thesis statement, which demonstrates or sets the stage for what the reader can expect from the rest of your paper...Instead of starting with a topic sentence for each paragraph, the writer uses a bridge to make a smooth transition into a new paragraph. Also called a transition idea or transition sentence, it usually discusses the previous point and how it ties in to the new point...According to Elizabeth Abrams from Harvard University's Writing Center, bridge sentences resemble topic sentences in the essay structure. They clue in the reader to what the article just mentioned and what will come up next, and how the two topics relate to each other. Expository essays -- the most common essay assigned to students -- inform the reader or give an explanation of a topic based on fact. Persuasive or argumentative essays aim to convince the reader to agree with your point of view by addressing both sides of an argument and refuting the opposition. Both essay types make use of bridge statements...The words you use in your bridge sentences help define the relationship between the paragraphs or ideas you seek to connect. Janet McIntosh from Harvard's Expository Writing Program explains that words such as 'consequentially,' 'therefore' or 'accordingly' demonstrate a cause-effect relationship. Words like 'whereas,' 'although' or 'nevertheless' establish a contrast between concepts, while 'furthermore,' 'in addition' or 'similarly' help you further expand an idea." Lori Kaufman reports:
"With InDesign, you can add stylish text effects in order to attract readers' attention to important parts of the documents. InDesign allows you to write words along the edge of an open or closed shape...with just a few mouse clicks. You can only write a single line of text on a path, so you can't insert a carriage return. If the text exceeds the path, the exceeding characters will be hidden...Launch Adobe InDesign, open the project you're working on, and then find the spot where you want to insert the circle...Click and hold the 'Rectangle' tool in the toolbox, and then choose 'Ellipse Frame Tool' from the menu...Hold 'Shift,' click on the document and drag over it with the mouse. Release the mouse button to create the circle. If you don't hold the 'Shift' key, you will create an ellipse...Click and hold the 'Type' tool to display a menu, and then choose 'Type On A Path Tool.'...Click anywhere on the edge of the circle to place the insertion cursor...Type or paste the text you want to write on the circle, and then press 'Ctrl-S' to save the document...The path will not be printed and will not appear in the document if you export it. You can format the text like you would normally, such as changing its font, size and color...Information in this article applies to Adobe InDesign CS6. It may vary slightly or significantly with other versions or products." David A. Cathcart reports:
"One of the most common problems with the fantasy and science fiction manuscripts I read is that they are plot-driven rather than character-driven. What I mean is, the author appears to have come up with an interesting high concept, plotted out a series of events and then inserted a cast of characters to play them out. While this might seem like a logical way to write a science fiction or fantasy story, I would argue that this approach is exactly the opposite of how things should happen. The problem with the plot-driven model is that everything is external and, therefore, shallow. Instead of feeling like real people who are allowed to learn and change and grow, characters are reduced to mere 'plot points' brought on stage to serve the needs of the author rather than the story itself. As a result, the characters feel flat, and the story is cold and unconvincing. The first step toward avoiding this error is to realize that plot should always be subservient to character transformation. In other words, in a good story, the events that unfold will always be a byproduct of character choices made under pressure. Characters are never a byproduct of story events...The second step toward avoiding the error of the plot-driven story is to realize that character transformation always unfolds through a predictable series of stages. Once you have a better understanding of how this change process works—and how our natural resistance to change automatically builds tension and suspense—you’ll never write a plot-driven story again." Kate Beck reports:
"A sense-of-place essay...requires you to describe a particular location...and you will write your essay so that the reader believes she has been there. Knowing what you need for this type of essay will give you the tools you need to share with your reader...Selecting the right topic can make all the difference when you begin writing your essay. To make writing easier, make a list of places that make you feel a strong connection. Close your eyes and picture the location. Your essay will require details, so make sure you have a clear image of the places you write down. Once you have a list of places, choose the place that has the most meaning to you. When you have a clear image and a strong connection to the place, you may find you have more to say and there is less likelihood of suffering from writer’s block...Details make up the main part of a sense-of-place essay, so you will need to consider all of your senses: sight, sound, taste, smell and touch...Use specific details when you describe the place. Do not simply state 'the dishes.' Perhaps the dishes were mismatched plates, each with a chip along the edge. These details create a sense of place and build a connection with the reader...Along with concrete details about a location, a sense-of-place essay requires you to reflect on the place and your own connection to it...If you struggle to find a connection to the place you choose to write about, make a list of feelings you associate with the location. This may help as you reflect on the importance of the place...The length of a sense-of-place essay may vary, but if your essay stems from a class assignment, your instructor may have provided a specific word count. Begin by introducing the place. Tell the reader the location and then state how this particular place impacts you. Throughout the rest of your essay, provide specific details using your senses and description, as well as particular memories that explain the effects this place has on you. In the closing paragraph of your essay, restate the importance of the place. In the end, your reader should believe she has been to this location and has a similar, strong connection." |
Writing and editing can be pretty rigorous processes if you want to do them well, but that's what this page is here for. Check out the latest tips here. Archives
April 2024
CategoriesJ.D. Parsons
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