Writer leaves Extension for the newspaper world

The promise and peril of using "justified" text type in a publication

Novak joins local newspaper

Extension's loss is the Corvallis Gazette-Times' gain. Theresa Novak, a communications specialist in Extension and Experiment Station Communications, has taken a position as the Gazette-Times' editorial page editor.

Theresa regularly shared practical tips with Extension faculty on how to write effectively. The last example of that is in this issue of "Communicate!" The insightful, intriguing editorials she's producing in her new job show just how gracefully she can "walk the talk."

--Andy Duncan, department head

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NetMeeting software aids Extension collaborations

Have you ever been on the phone with a technical support specialist, trying to explain what's happening on your screen? Have you ever wished you could work simultaneously with a colleague from another county on the same document? These are two uses for an emerging technology: desktop collaboration tools. These tools allow people to temporarily share each other's applications, chat in real-time, simultaneously work on the same document, and send files to one other. And if you have a microphone, speakers, or video camera, you also can conduct a private teleconference.

The tool of choice for Extension is Microsoft NetMeeting, which is installed automatically with Windows 98 and above. With NetMeeting, you won't pay phone charges even if you connect with someone across the country! NetMeeting takes advantage of the Internet by connecting via IP addresses. Instead of calling a phone number, you are calling another computer.

Several of us in EESC commonly use NetMeeting for technical support and training. For example, it's difficult to explain how HTML works during a phone conversation. A NetMeeting session shows the concepts directly on the trainee's computer, so the instructor can watch and comment on the actions, prevent mistakes, and ensure an effective training session.

NetMeeting has several safeguards to ensure your computer is available to others only when you want it to be. First, the tool must be running; second, your computer must be "in-a-meeting" (connected) with another computer; and third, you must specify that you want to share your desktop. If any of these three criteria is not met, your computer is not accessible.

Available to anyone running a Windows (version 98 and above) computer, here's how to access NetMeeting: Double-click on "My Computer," double-click on "C:drive," double-click on "Program Files," double-click on "NetMeeting," then double-click on "Conf" (the icon is a world with arrows flying around it). When you use NetMeeting for the first time, follow the personalization wizard. You will be asked for your name, e-mail address, and other general information.

For sharing a document with a colleague and adding another dimension to technical support calls, NetMeeting is a flexible and powerful tool. You can share your desktop, share your applications, and give someone else control over your computer. NetMeeting can save time and money, bringing colleagues from around the state and country right to your screen.

--Scott Gilpin, multimedia educational designer

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How to write more clearly and concisely

Journalism professors like to extol the virtues of a punchy, lean, and clear writing style because it keeps readers interested.

"The easiest thing for a reader to do is to stop reading. Make it relevant. Keep it short. Keep it tight." That's good advice, but it's hard to follow. As Mark Twain apologetically wrote at the end of a long letter: "If I'd had more time, I'd have written a shorter letter."

Yet you can pare the repetition and irrelevant tangents from your work by asking key questions and using specific techniques.

* What is the point and the pay-off? Before you begin, know the answers to these questions: Why am I writing this story? What is its central point? Why should my readers care?

* Is it organized along an easy-to-follow progression of facts and events? Dash off a rough outline of what you think should be in the story, in order of importance. It doesn't need to be polished or clever. You just want to identify the facts you think are important to understanding what you want to say. Organize this list in a logical order. Through this process, redundancies, repetition, and factual lapses leap from the screen. Transitions present themselves.

* Are sentences easy to understand, and does their tone vary? The tone and rhythm of a story can either bore or enchant a reader. Vary sentence length and structure to avoid a singsong cadence or droning monotone. In general, sentences longer than 26 words are like overloaded carts, losing both meaning and readers as they lurch toward a point.

* Is it written in the active voice? Every writing coach offers this advice because active sentences are leaner and stronger. It takes more words to write in the passive voice. Compare: "The course was run by the pack" to "The pack ran the course." In general, write less than 10 percent of your article using passive voice.

* Is the article credible? It will be if you research and check facts thoroughly and you write with authority. Use definite, clear phrases. Limit your use of "probably," "usually," "may," "possibly," or "appropriate."

* Are adjectives and adverbs overused? Use adjectives and adverbs as if they were hot sauce--they should flavor, not overwhelm, the sentence.

Two additional pieces of advice also will help you produce lean, clear prose:

* Let your computer help. If you have Microsoft Word, activate the "readability statistics" feature. Click on "Tools" in the toolbar, and then select "Spelling and Grammar" from the drop-down menu. Then click on "Options" when the window appears. Under the "Grammar" listing, check the box labeled "Show readability statistics." When you've finished spell-checking, the readability statistics box will pop up to list the average word count in your sentences, and what percentage of them are in the passive voice.

* Grow your own verb garden. Verbs are the beating heart of a sentence. Collect them, and sprinkle them with variety through your prose to give writing strength. One notable exception is “Said.” Using synonyms for said, such as "exclaimed," "interjected" or "interrupted," denote amateurish writing. Said is better left as "said," since whatever was said also should convey how it was said.

'Nuff said.

--Theresa Novak, former news writer

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Ready for Web-o-vision?

A straw survey of county chairs and program leaders earlier this year suggested a growing interest in streaming video--or video on the Web. The regularly scheduled Extension director's teleconferences are one example, but we have other programs throughout the Extension Web site.

Available programs range from full-length videos such as "Rethinking the American Dream" and "Life on the Edge" to a public service announcement for "Oregon's Agricultural Progress" (OAP) magazine to companion clips to magazine articles. And following what many of you suggested, we are adding more video material every month to the Web. We see it as a growing resource for our Extension and Experiment Station audiences and Extension educators.

Using the URLs below, take a look at these videos. Let us know what you think and what ideas you have for video on the Web.

* Rethinking the American Dream

* Life on the Edge

* Oregon's Agricultural Progress PSA

* OAP companion video clips

--Lynn Ketchum, multi-media coordinator

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Cautions about using justified type in your publications

True or false? Justified type (in which every line of type fits precisely to the edges of the column) looks more "professional" than the other ways of setting text type, and it adds to a publication's credibility.

The answer is, both true and false.

True, justified type does look professional--given certain requirements are met. The first requirement is high-quality typesetting tools. They are set up to automatically make the many fine adjustments needed in each line to arrange letters, words, and the spaces between and among them so that reading is easy.

If you don't have that kind of equipment--and most of us using desktop publishing software don't have it--using justified text typically produces a publication that looks less professional, not more.

That's because the word and letter spacing in justified text often are out of proportion to what we're used to seeing, in left-aligned text. Also, if you allow automatic hyphenation, words can break awkwardly at the end of the line. In short, the page usually looks messy rather than professional.

Even worse, the reader's eyes and brain have to work harder to make sense of poorly justified text. The likely result is poorer comprehension, a big no-no in communications.

If you believe you must use justified text for some reason, you can get better results by:

* Fine tuning line breaks, via manually hyphenating and adjusting word spacing to avoid gappy or squished lines and any “rivers” of white space that flow down the column

* Using a longer line length--for example, two or three columns rather than four or five to a page--which gives more room within the line to make adjustments

The best solution, in most cases, is to stick with left-aligned text. It's wholly consistent with our ingrained eye-brain reading habits and with our typesetting tools. All in all, it's likely to do the best job of carrying your message to the reader.

--Andrea Dailey, electronic publications editor