The rich and colorful descriptors flowing from your deft digits on a seasoned keyboard will tantalize and transform your rapt audience. What?! That line may be too flowery but does show how important it is to write advertising copy that demands to be noticed.
There are two considerations in creating compelling copy. You don't have much time to get noticed and the words have to be exactly right. You get one chance. Be clear and creative. And get to the point.
List your benefit early in the copy. Don't make your prospect guess. If you're selling fuel sipping automobiles, say so--in the beginning.
Tell prospects what they need to know--The who, what, where,why and when of your offering.
Economize your words. Go through copy and eliminate that not needed. You can say a lot with few words. Think Nike and 'just do it". Too many descriptors cloud your theme and confuse the message.
Write like you talk. Phrases are OK. Forget what an English teacher would say. Ad copy has a singular goal--to compel people to act.
Get creative with words. If you sell chairs, maybe customers tell you the chair is comfortable. You tell prospects the silken, smooth fabric created on old world looms will embrace them and create a safe harbor from the ravages of a stressful world. As you ponder your copy, consult a thesaurus for words that are more rich, descriptive and compelling.
After you've crafted copy that meets your approval, show it around. Ask those you trust to read and react to it. Listen to their suggestions. Rewrite. Rewrite some more. Put it aside and look at it in the morning. The words have to be right.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Hooks, Lines & Sinkers
Hands up if the title to this article made you think that you’d strayed into a fishing feature?
Perhaps you didn’t quite go that far, but hopefully you were puzzled or curious enough to wonder what on earth those three angling associated words have to do with writing. The answer of course is nothing at all if you are thinking of metal barbs, yards of tangled nylon and blobs of lead weights.
Think, however, of the good opening lines used to begin most successful short stories, novels and articles then the “hook” in our title takes on a whole new range of meanings and equates very well with the world of creative writing.
What most beginners fail to understand when they first begin writing, and this applies as much to articles as it does to short stories and novels, is that when they submit their work to an editor, competition judge or publisher there is only a brief moment to impress which is why a lot of attention needs to be paid to that first opening sentence.
Hooking your reader with a good beginning isn’t a guarantee to success, but it will serve to focus attention and make the judge, publisher or editor take more notice of the rest of the article, story etc. If nothing else, it presses an subconscious alert button in the reader’s mind that marks up the writer as a professional who knows his or her craft.
This in turn builds expectation and again focuses attention. As long as the rest of the piece lives up to its early promise, you can be sure that your effort will at the very least receive close inspection and hopefully much more!
So, just how do you come up with a good hook? It would be nice if I could say that there was some magic formula available but unfortunately I haven’t found it even if it does exist! Still there are several things that you can do to get things moving.
First of all don’t sit staring at your screen trying to think of a good opening line when you have a mind boiling with ideas struggling to spread themselves over the page! All this will do is make you tense up with frustration and dam your creativity.
Instead, start hitting the keys and slap those ideas across the screen! Once you have the basic outline down then you can start the editing process, including the opening sentence. If at this stage you are still stuck, try leaving the work for a few days, there’s a good chance you’ll come up with something when you’re mind is focused on something else and the first flush of enthusiasm has cleared from your brain.
Analogy, such as I’ve used to the fishing world, often provides a good hook. In the case of this article I used it in the title but hooks are used just as often or more so in the opening sentence. My actual opening “hook” made use of a question, which again is a very good way to start, as questions by their very nature demand a response from the reader, even if it is only to read to the end of the sentence!
I took this a step further by demanding physical action, “hands up”, which of course is a ridiculous thing to expect a reader to do when there is no way of knowing whether they have complied or not! It is this stupidity that hopefully grabs attention and carries on from where the title left off. PR writers are well aware of this process and often mis-spell words to create a similar effect .
Quotations and deliberate mis-quotations also make good hooks either from songs, proverbs or other literary works, but also try putting together unusual combinations of words.
For instance, you wouldn’t think that brussel sprouts could possibly have any effect on good or evil and I’m sure they haven’t! One of my son’s however has different ideas and his annual grumble during our recent Christmas meal gave me a marvellous opening line, or hook, for what will be a festive article taking a close look at this, in my opinion, much maligned vegetable!
What was it? Oh yes, when faced with a heap of those shiny green gems he muttered murderously, “If it wasn’t for brussel sprouts there’d be no evil in the world …” now is that a hook or what?
Which brings me on to another point. Hooks, I’ve found seem to have a power in their own right and often serve as a catalyst to the story or article itself which is why you should be on the alert for when they occur.
The brussel sprout incident is a prime example. Writing in any shape or form was the furthest thing from my mind, but the startled looks and laughter from the rest of the family were enough to confirm what I’d immediately thought, here was a hook begging for exploitation and with a enough power of its own to begin generating several lines of thought.
Being aware of hooks and the power they have on the reader is something every writer has to get to grips with if they want to achieve success so it is a good idea to train yourself to both generate hooks and be on the alert for them by listening to what other people say.
Having a small notebook handy makes a lot of sense, but reading what other people have done before you will also pay dividends. Try this quiz of opening lines to famous novels. It’s not easy, but don’t worry about your score, the real benefit of the quiz is seeing what worked for the author.
1. The scent of slaughter, some believe, can linger in a place for years.
2. When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday …
3. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth …
4. Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.
5. The stranger came early in February one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow …
6. “The marvellous thing is that it’s painless,” he said. “That’s how you know when it starts.”
7. Last night I dreamed of Mandalay …
8. A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide rushing to meet it …
9. Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes.
10. “Tom!”
Well, what did you think? Some were definitely intriguing but others in my opinion left a lot to be desired which just goes to show that the proof of the pudding is in the eat… er reading so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the beginning is the be all and end all!
Oh and before you ask, I haven’t forgotten the lines and sinkers either, call those plots and twist endings and to find out more sign up for the WriteLink Short Story Writing Workshop, it’s free! www.writebytes.co.uk
ANSWERS:
1. The Loop by Nicholas Evans
2. The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein
3. The Bible
4. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. The Invisible Man by H G Wells
6. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
7. Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier
8. The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
9. Animal Farm by George Orwell
10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Perhaps you didn’t quite go that far, but hopefully you were puzzled or curious enough to wonder what on earth those three angling associated words have to do with writing. The answer of course is nothing at all if you are thinking of metal barbs, yards of tangled nylon and blobs of lead weights.
Think, however, of the good opening lines used to begin most successful short stories, novels and articles then the “hook” in our title takes on a whole new range of meanings and equates very well with the world of creative writing.
What most beginners fail to understand when they first begin writing, and this applies as much to articles as it does to short stories and novels, is that when they submit their work to an editor, competition judge or publisher there is only a brief moment to impress which is why a lot of attention needs to be paid to that first opening sentence.
Hooking your reader with a good beginning isn’t a guarantee to success, but it will serve to focus attention and make the judge, publisher or editor take more notice of the rest of the article, story etc. If nothing else, it presses an subconscious alert button in the reader’s mind that marks up the writer as a professional who knows his or her craft.
This in turn builds expectation and again focuses attention. As long as the rest of the piece lives up to its early promise, you can be sure that your effort will at the very least receive close inspection and hopefully much more!
So, just how do you come up with a good hook? It would be nice if I could say that there was some magic formula available but unfortunately I haven’t found it even if it does exist! Still there are several things that you can do to get things moving.
First of all don’t sit staring at your screen trying to think of a good opening line when you have a mind boiling with ideas struggling to spread themselves over the page! All this will do is make you tense up with frustration and dam your creativity.
Instead, start hitting the keys and slap those ideas across the screen! Once you have the basic outline down then you can start the editing process, including the opening sentence. If at this stage you are still stuck, try leaving the work for a few days, there’s a good chance you’ll come up with something when you’re mind is focused on something else and the first flush of enthusiasm has cleared from your brain.
Analogy, such as I’ve used to the fishing world, often provides a good hook. In the case of this article I used it in the title but hooks are used just as often or more so in the opening sentence. My actual opening “hook” made use of a question, which again is a very good way to start, as questions by their very nature demand a response from the reader, even if it is only to read to the end of the sentence!
I took this a step further by demanding physical action, “hands up”, which of course is a ridiculous thing to expect a reader to do when there is no way of knowing whether they have complied or not! It is this stupidity that hopefully grabs attention and carries on from where the title left off. PR writers are well aware of this process and often mis-spell words to create a similar effect .
Quotations and deliberate mis-quotations also make good hooks either from songs, proverbs or other literary works, but also try putting together unusual combinations of words.
For instance, you wouldn’t think that brussel sprouts could possibly have any effect on good or evil and I’m sure they haven’t! One of my son’s however has different ideas and his annual grumble during our recent Christmas meal gave me a marvellous opening line, or hook, for what will be a festive article taking a close look at this, in my opinion, much maligned vegetable!
What was it? Oh yes, when faced with a heap of those shiny green gems he muttered murderously, “If it wasn’t for brussel sprouts there’d be no evil in the world …” now is that a hook or what?
Which brings me on to another point. Hooks, I’ve found seem to have a power in their own right and often serve as a catalyst to the story or article itself which is why you should be on the alert for when they occur.
The brussel sprout incident is a prime example. Writing in any shape or form was the furthest thing from my mind, but the startled looks and laughter from the rest of the family were enough to confirm what I’d immediately thought, here was a hook begging for exploitation and with a enough power of its own to begin generating several lines of thought.
Being aware of hooks and the power they have on the reader is something every writer has to get to grips with if they want to achieve success so it is a good idea to train yourself to both generate hooks and be on the alert for them by listening to what other people say.
Having a small notebook handy makes a lot of sense, but reading what other people have done before you will also pay dividends. Try this quiz of opening lines to famous novels. It’s not easy, but don’t worry about your score, the real benefit of the quiz is seeing what worked for the author.
1. The scent of slaughter, some believe, can linger in a place for years.
2. When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday …
3. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth …
4. Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.
5. The stranger came early in February one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow …
6. “The marvellous thing is that it’s painless,” he said. “That’s how you know when it starts.”
7. Last night I dreamed of Mandalay …
8. A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide rushing to meet it …
9. Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes.
10. “Tom!”
Well, what did you think? Some were definitely intriguing but others in my opinion left a lot to be desired which just goes to show that the proof of the pudding is in the eat… er reading so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the beginning is the be all and end all!
Oh and before you ask, I haven’t forgotten the lines and sinkers either, call those plots and twist endings and to find out more sign up for the WriteLink Short Story Writing Workshop, it’s free! www.writebytes.co.uk
ANSWERS:
1. The Loop by Nicholas Evans
2. The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein
3. The Bible
4. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. The Invisible Man by H G Wells
6. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
7. Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier
8. The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
9. Animal Farm by George Orwell
10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Thursday, May 25, 2006
How to Perform Dynamite Research
The quality of the papers you custom-write often depends upon the research techniques that were used to compile information. Very few assigned research paper projects are on subjects that the student is an expert about, and even in those rare cases where the academic writer is an expert it is necessary he perform research to stay up to date on his knowledge. Unfortunately, many students have developed poor researching habits and they do not get the most out of their research time. The following steps will help you maximize your research time and thus help you to prepare the best possible and custom written research papers.
Choose Your Topic Wisely
If your professor assigns your topic, you have little choice in the matter. However, if you are given leeway in the choice of your topic, make sure to choose a topic that you know you can manage within the given parameters of the research paper. For example, it would be very difficult to tackle the subject of the United States health care system in a ten-page term paper. However, a report on a particular United States health insurance provider could easily be covered within those ten pages.
Frame Your Research to Answer a Question
Before you ever begin looking through any of your chosen materials, take the time to create questions regarding your research topic. Using words such as who, what, why, how, when, and which will allow you to focus on your topic's most important issues. Then, when researching, gather information that answers those questions and informs your reader about those issues. By forming relevant questions about your chosen topic, you ensure that the information you collect is essential to the final essay or research paper.
Choose Sources From Several Different Formats
When you begin to gather your sources, do not limit yourself to just one type of resource, such as books or the Internet. There are a wide variety of informational formats available to you, such as nonfiction books and magazines, online databases, academic websites, almanacs, scholarly journals, and biographical indexes. By varying the type of sources as much as possible, you increase your chances of compiling as complete a collection of information as possible.
Be Selective with Your Sources
When it comes to custom research, all sources are not created equal. There is a difference between what are known as primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources usually consist of raw data, such as original reports, interviews, or first-hand accounts of events. Secondary sources are materials that analyze primary source information to develop ideas about that subject. Generally speaking, primary sources are considered to be superior to secondary sources, and most academic institutions require that the majority of research material be comprised of primary sources.
Cite as You Go Along
Take the time to write out a complete citation each time you come across research material that you are going to use to develop your paper. If you are going to paraphrase or quote from any of these sources directly, be sure to record the page numbers where the information can be found. This will save you a great deal of time later by eliminating the need to search through your sources after the paper has been completed. Different custom academic writing styles have different standards for citation, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules of your chosen style. Failing to properly cite information can be construed as plagiarism, and can have disastrous effects upon your future academic career.
Doing Custom Research - Form Your Thesis
While some academic writers may create their thesis statements early on, it is generally a good idea to hold off on forming one until you have performed a significant amount of research on your chosen topic. This helps to prevent any subconscious bias during the analysis of the collected information. Once your thesis statement has been crafted, every other words within your essay should be used to support it.
Choose Your Topic Wisely
If your professor assigns your topic, you have little choice in the matter. However, if you are given leeway in the choice of your topic, make sure to choose a topic that you know you can manage within the given parameters of the research paper. For example, it would be very difficult to tackle the subject of the United States health care system in a ten-page term paper. However, a report on a particular United States health insurance provider could easily be covered within those ten pages.
Frame Your Research to Answer a Question
Before you ever begin looking through any of your chosen materials, take the time to create questions regarding your research topic. Using words such as who, what, why, how, when, and which will allow you to focus on your topic's most important issues. Then, when researching, gather information that answers those questions and informs your reader about those issues. By forming relevant questions about your chosen topic, you ensure that the information you collect is essential to the final essay or research paper.
Choose Sources From Several Different Formats
When you begin to gather your sources, do not limit yourself to just one type of resource, such as books or the Internet. There are a wide variety of informational formats available to you, such as nonfiction books and magazines, online databases, academic websites, almanacs, scholarly journals, and biographical indexes. By varying the type of sources as much as possible, you increase your chances of compiling as complete a collection of information as possible.
Be Selective with Your Sources
When it comes to custom research, all sources are not created equal. There is a difference between what are known as primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources usually consist of raw data, such as original reports, interviews, or first-hand accounts of events. Secondary sources are materials that analyze primary source information to develop ideas about that subject. Generally speaking, primary sources are considered to be superior to secondary sources, and most academic institutions require that the majority of research material be comprised of primary sources.
Cite as You Go Along
Take the time to write out a complete citation each time you come across research material that you are going to use to develop your paper. If you are going to paraphrase or quote from any of these sources directly, be sure to record the page numbers where the information can be found. This will save you a great deal of time later by eliminating the need to search through your sources after the paper has been completed. Different custom academic writing styles have different standards for citation, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules of your chosen style. Failing to properly cite information can be construed as plagiarism, and can have disastrous effects upon your future academic career.
Doing Custom Research - Form Your Thesis
While some academic writers may create their thesis statements early on, it is generally a good idea to hold off on forming one until you have performed a significant amount of research on your chosen topic. This helps to prevent any subconscious bias during the analysis of the collected information. Once your thesis statement has been crafted, every other words within your essay should be used to support it.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Research Paper in 60 Minutes: Fast and Neat
by Anastasia Kurdina
Assignments are prepared best when they are given much time and attention, but sometimes time deficit and busy student life require a skill of writing papers very fast. If you know what I mean, this brief guide on writing research papers in emergency regime is for you.
One of the most useful ways of writing research papers of any type is to develop a draft outline of what you have to cover. Let’s assume your research paper deals with advertising, but this topic is too broad, you should narrow it to more specific subject. In this, I advise you to follow the rule of “inverted pyramid”, starting with broad overview of subject and narrowing your focus down to the pyramid’s head, where your specific topic is formulated. For instance, the topic of advertising can be narrowed down to “Advertising techniques of Absolut Company”. In your outline, make a list of general points you want to make and notes or references that can support those points. Your strongest point should be the last in your list.
It is important to gain idea about what your thesis will be. If you don’t have any vision yet, spend some time brainstorming and noting your thoughts. Still, it’s normal to start your research without thesis or to change the thesis in the course of your research: as you learn more, your ideas on the subject change.
When you have a thesis, make sure it is not a mere statement of fact, like “advertising is used to raise brand awareness and sell products to customers”. A good thesis should make a strong claim about something, in the way: “advertising is the most important element in Absolut differentiation and positioning strategy. In its turn, the company changed the meaning of advertising in entire liquor market”. Also, your thesis should not be too broad. For instance, such thesis as “The paper will discuss the effectiveness of radio, TV, and printed advertising and their role in the economy” is too broad for most papers and takes too much time to elaborate.
After you have done developing your draft outline and decided on your thesis, you have to “fill in the blanks”. On this stage, many students stumble since they are used to linear approach to research writing instead of shotgun one. If you are absolutely unfamiliar with your topic, a good method of starting your research is to read good encyclopedia article. This will give you overview of the subject and provide you with good ideas for further studying. Also, pay attention to structure of encyclopedia article. This may provide you with your own ideas as to organizing your presentation. After you gain insight into the topic, the process is easier. To act fast, use search engine to find related info or apply to source that provides you with comprehensive journal and magazine articles, such as Questia (www.questia.com), HighBeam of Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com). Teachers value peer-reviewed articles and scholarly books, and therefore you should pay close attention to them to leave teachers satisfied. Encyclopedias and journal articles should be the first resources you apply to, but you are not advised to use encyclopedia article as the source of your work unless you are required. If you need current figures or specific facts that are extremely difficult to find, use a reliable website. After you collected all the information, you can find some interesting alternative opinions on the subject. Try to find opinions pro and contra discussed point, but don’t forget to site the resources you use. Every time you use a resource, you should refer to it and include it into your bibliography list. What is even more important, you should produce your own opinion on the subject and your own analysis of discussed topic. This is the moment where your paper acquires real academic value. Do not fear of being wrong, the most important thing required from you while you learn is ability to think and analyze, therefore any original analysis is valuable.
Writing is the final stage of your creative process. In writing a paper, constantly refer to your notes, your thesis, and outline.
Written paper should be structured according to standard pattern. Usually, it’s divided in three major blocks: introduction (where you will tell you audience what you are going to tell them), main body (here you will tell them – elaborate your thesis), and conclusion (tell the audience what you told them). That’s the simplest scheme you probably ever met!
In introduction you should start with broad overview of the topic of your research unless indicated otherwise in your assignment. This part should end with clear thesis statement unless required otherwise. This is very important for success of your paper. It is good to divide the main body – the review and discussion block, into several sections. Applying advertising at Absolut, these may include: theoretical overview of advertising in context of marketing communications, background and overview of Absolut Company, advertising mix of Absolut, and analysis of advertising trends in liquor industry. In conclusion, you sum up the main findings of your research and principal points.
After you have completed writing, put your paper aside for some time, refresh your mind, and come back to it a bit later to polish and revise your work. A good thing is to ask someone else to read your paper. He or she would produce fresh ideas and point to some mistakes you didn’t notice. Also, use spelling and grammar checking software, but make your own checking as well. Before you finish, ask yourself is there are flaws in the paper, check it on the following features: if it has transitions between different ideas, if it is choppy or disjointed, if it builds up ideas to the strongest point. Also, make sure that all parts of your paper support your thesis or refer to it. Ask yourself if you gave proper consideration to alternative viewpoints: comprehensive presentation is very important element of good research paper.
Approaching your research in this way, you will let the research process guide the direction of your future paper instead of trying to find relevant things that would match what you need. This approach is much faster and produces far better results for both beginners and those lacking time for writing assignments. As you master this algorithm, you can apply it to more complicated and serious projects.
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