writing a blog 3

From the Blog Instructions document posted under Syllabus and Instructions:

Submit a maximum one-page outline containing the following:

A draft headline – what is the point of this blog post

At least 3 and a maximum of 5 sub-headers – your story in ‘chapters’ written as a headline

One to three sentences that briefly explains what is in each sub-header

The purpose of this draft is to think about what you are writing about and how you are going to organize your story.

Everyone will

write a section on:

What is public relations?

Then, you will transition to a specific topic from the list below or one of your choice with instructor approval.

High quality sources for your Blog assignments

If you find information in another publication and are not sure of the quality, send me an e-mail with the link to the article and I can let you know.

• Sloan Management Review
• Harvard Business Review
• Fortune
• Forbes
• The Economist
• Bloomberg Business Week
• PRSA’s trade magazine Strategies and Tactics
• Fast Company
• Wall Street Journal (newspaper)
• New York Times (newspaper)

You may also quote from these top global PR firms if they have blogs. They may also publish high quality research reports.

• Edelman
• Weber Shandwick
• FleishmanHillard
• Ketchum
• Hill+Knowlton

As well, you may have quotes from the trade magazines mentioned in your Chapter 1 text including::

• PR Week
• O’Dwyers
• PR News
• And more!

Blog instructions MUST HAVE:

Use Microsoft Word. PDFs are not acceptable.

These are the minimum expectations for your blog post. If one is not met, then the starting grade will be B+ or lower.

Suggested writing tone:Keep your writing clear, but not too informal. This is not a facebook post. Avoid excessive humor. Think of it as a blog post for a public relations agency that you work for.

Assignment #1

After you have your approved topic from the instructor, submit a maximum one-page outline containing the following:

A draft headline – what is the point of this blog post

At least 3 and a maximum of 5 sub-headers – your story in ‘chapters’ written as a headline

One to three sentences that briefly explains what is in each sub-header

The purpose of this draft is to think about what you are writing about and how you are going to organize your story.

Assignment #2

This is a draft of the writing portion only of your blog post. You should write at least 50% of the post, or approximately 1,000 words.

This document should contain the revised headline, sub-heads, and complete paragraphs. Do not include any illustrations or social media buttons. Don’t worry about formatting too much. Links should be clearly indicated with hyperlinks. No ‘references’ at the end.

Assignment #3

• Word count – 1,750 to 2,000 words
• Revised headline
• Margins: 1” to 1.5” left and right. 1” top and bottom
• ByLine – your full name
• At least three maximum five sub-headers
• Varying short paragraphs with white space in between. That is, don’t write all one-sentence paragraphs – break it up visually.
• Bolded text to highlight one or two important phrases.
• Do not use any italic.
• Business fonts that vary in size based on their importance (that is, the headline is larger than sub-heads). Headlines about 14 point, Text size font 10 or 11 pt.
• San-serif fonts for all headings and copy such as Ariel or Calibri.
• At least two and a maximum of four ‘sets’ of bulleted lists or numbered lists.
• A table if applicable
• Four to five links (highlighted and active) to high quality web sites using appropriate anchor text.
• No links to Google Analytics Help System. Links to a high-quality media or research sites. Other random bloggers are not usually acceptable.
• At least two and maximum of four relevant illustrations/tables/graphs. Avoid business clichés like shaking hands and arrows/target. All images (except maximum ONE image that is there purely for artistic purposes) will need reference in the text. Tell the reader why the image is there.
• Indicate the source of your illustrations below your illustration. Link is required.

****** I want 3 copies 1 is an out line due in Wednesday 2p.m 2 is a draft due in next wednesday at the same time 3 is the final due the wednesday after the draft ********