The Public Relations Writer provides quick tips for communications professionals.
Current Issue
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The Public Relations Writer
The Guide for Writing Communications
brought to you every other Thursday by Kelle Campbell
http://www.kcwriter.com
kelle@kcwriter.com
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Editor’s Note: My apologies for this issue being a week
later. I’ve been under the weather and focusing my energy
on completing some copy deadlines.
I hope you all have been warm and safe this month. We were
supposed to have snow showers today, but it has only been
cold and windy in my neighborhood. After the three feet of
snow we received earlier in the month, I’m actually happy
not to have snowfall.
Enjoy the issue.
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In This Issue
1. The Well-Written Paragraph, Part I
2. Extra Writing Tip: Middle Names and Initials
3. Links of Interest
************************* The Well-Written Paragraph, Part I
In addition to well-written sentences, communications
professionals need to ensure that the paragraphs within their
piece are unified and coherent. That is, all the sentences of a
particular paragraph should relate to one main idea, contain
details that support the main idea, and should be arranged in
a clear, logical order.
Write Unified Paragraphs
Part of the review and editing process should involve
checking that no more than one idea appears in a single
paragraph. If there are no more than two, develop each idea
in separate paragraphs or refocus the main idea and rewrite
the paragraph accordingly.
Here’s an example:
The Wilma Widget symbol changed many times, but
decades of use have resulted in its having almost universal
awareness across the country. Several organizations use
universal symbols to quickly and effectively communicate
a particular message to the public. But even though 95
percent of individuals can identify Wilma Widget, surveys
indicate that they still don’t know what to do with a
widget.
The copy about Wilma Widget and the text about
organizations using universal symbols are actually two ideas.
Wilma Widget gained “almost universal awareness” while
the second sentence states that several organizations use
“universal” symbols.
Anyone reading the paragraph would become confused: did
the organizations’ own symbols also gain universal
awareness or are they using already universal symbols such
as the sign for recyclable material?
Every sentence in a unified paragraph should help to develop
the central thought of that paragraph. In the above example,
the second sentence contains information that is irrelevant to
the rest of the paragraph, which deals with the specific
Wilma Widget symbol. Therefore, the main idea does not
“flow” smoothly from sentence to sentence.
The sentence in question would work better as part of a
subsequent paragraph discussing the widespread use of
symbols and whether many fail to convey a message despite
a high level of awareness among members of the public.
Consider Using Topic Sentences
A topic sentence embodies the central thought of a
paragraph and can also indicate the general approach of the
paragraph. Not all paragraphs need this device, but it is a
useful option for nailing down the central idea.
The topic sentence is usually presented upfront and
sometimes restated in the final sentence of the paragraph to
emphasize its importance such as in the example below:
In the business world, men and women should be treated
equally when shaking hands. It does not matter which
gender initially offers a hand to the other. The handshake
should be offered as firmly to a woman as to a man.”
Occasionally, the topic sentence is not stated until the end of
the paragraph, especially when the writer moves from
specific examples to a generalization.
Example:
Communications professionals should be able to adopt the
“voice” of others such as senior management for
ghostwriting assignments. They should also be able to
match the style and tone of myriad print or online
publications. For the successful professional, adaptability
in communicating is the name of the game.
Next issue, we’ll look at effectively arrange ideas within the
paragraph.
Until then, happy writing!
************************* Extra Writing Tip: Middle Names and Initials
According to AP style, an individual’s middle initial should
generally be included unless the individual does not use one
or is publicly known without it.
Middle names, however, should only be used when the
person in question publicly uses it or if the writer needs to
avoid confusion when writing about people with the same
general name.
************************* Links of Interest