NEWSLETTERS

Corporate

newsletters

are written to publicize news about a company or department for reading by employees or customers. Newsletters can be dis- tributed on paper, sent via email, or posted on a Web site (Figure 3.42).

Regardless of whether they are paper or electronic, corporate newsletters usually involve a front page, inside articles, and announcements on the back page.

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Front page news focuses on achievements, success stories, or changes

that affect the audience.

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Newsletter Articles

Consider the following guidelines when writing a newsletter article (Figure 3.43):

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Develop a title for the article that will accurately convey the topic or theme.

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Use a title that arouses curiosity.

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Use photographs that illustrate the story.

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Optionally, write an opening story summary that can be set apart in bold and included at the beginning of the article or in a sidebar.

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The lead sentence should introduce the topic, engage the reader, and focus on the reader’s point of view.

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The body of the article should include relevant background and history, explain the implications of the topic, provide specific examples, and make suggestions.

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Use transitions to connect the main points of the article.

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The article’s conclusion should repeat the most important point and emphasize why it is important to the readers.

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Use appropriate language for the audience.

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Avoid using jargon and clichés.

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Avoid complicated sentence constructions and wordiness.

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Keep paragraphs short and focused.

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Use quotes and testimonials when appropriate.

Figure 3.43 Newsletter Article

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?

Have you noticed something missing from the 11th floor? Like 91 pounds?

That’s how much the participants of the “What Do You Have to Lose” challenge lost all together. We had three teams of five people, and the team that had the highest percentage of weight loss at the end of the challenge won. The challenge kicked off on July 10 and wrapped up on September 7. In addition to losing 91 pounds, some participants brought their blood pressure down to a healthier level, others started an exercise program, and some replaced their daily cokes and coffees with 64 ounces of water.

Congratulations to the winners, The Fabulous Five (Donna Gilbert, Ken Willingham, Sterling Mabry, Cathy Price, and Darlene Warren). Together they had a 21% weight loss. The winners each received a $110 Visa Gift Card.

516 The AMA Handbook of Business Writing

Figure 3.42 Newsletter

(Courtesy of the U.S. General Services Administration)

518 The AMA Handbook of Business Writing

Figure 3.44 Note

COBRA Overage

A COBRA overage process was put in place to keep the benefits plan in compliance with IRS guidelines. When COBRA overage processing runs on Sunday and Wednesday night, it evaluates all employees’ benefits and their covered dependents.

When a dependent reaches his or her 23rd birthday (without the disabled indicator checked), the systemautomaticallydrops the dependent from any medical and/or dental coverage.

Note:Home Office changes the disabled indicator in the database once an dependent is approved per plan guidelines.

Tips

should be formatted like notes with the word

Tip

in bold and followed by a colon.

Figure 3.45 Tip

With the exceptions of the employee’s retirement or eligibility for long-term disability (LTD), domestic partners are not eligible for COBRA independently of the employee. Events where COBRA should not be offered to a domestic partner include termination of the domestic partner relationship and death of the employee. The domestic partner coverage is terminated due to the employee’s retirement or eligibility for the LTD health care plan, at which time the domestic partner will be given the option to elect COBRA continuation for a period of 18 months.

Tip:If an employee terminates and has domestic partner coverage under domestic partner medical, dental, or vision, the COBRA forms generated do not include COBRA rates for the domestic partner. To ensure that the employee is offered COBRA for the domestic partner, write the domestic partner’s name, Social Security Number and date of birth on the COBRA form in the “Eligible Participants” section.

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Warning

notices should be formatted with the word

Warning

written in ital- ics with approximately a half-inch of tab space separating the word from the message.

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The text of the message should use the regular body font with no italics or bold.

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Skip one line before and after the warning.

Figure 3.46 Warning Notice

The battery is one of the most important components on a vehicle today.

It supplies not only the cranking amperage to start the engine, but also the initial voltage needed to run the onboard computer, ignition system, fuel injectors, lights, and all the vehicle accessories. Most of these systems require a minimum level of power to operate correctly. Having a good battery is absolutely essential for reliable vehicle starting and operation.

Warning: Be careful when handling batteries due to corrosive battery acid that may leak from the battery and damage your skin or eyes. Always wear gloves and eye protection.

Caution

notices are formatted with the word

Caution

in bold and followed by a colon.

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Caution should appear on a line by itself.

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Skip one line before and after the caution notice.

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The text for the message is single-spaced and is aligned with the word

Caution.

Figure 3.47 Caution Notice

Multimediais commonly defined as combining multiple forms of media such as audio, graphics, text, and video. Together, we will explore the multimedia control panel on your computer and find out how you can customize the features to enhance classroom presentations.

Caution:

Although we feel that it is important to show you how to control your settings, we recommend that you not make any changes to the system at this time. This is a multimedia course. It could be affected by any changes you make.

521 Section 3 Sample Business Documents