Guidelines: Writing for Communications
Overview:
- Vote Smart prefers writing with a "punchy" style using provocative language when we talk about who we are and what we do. It is not appropriate to use this style however when talking directly about our data or politics, as this may demonstrate bias.
- Pay particular attention to your title (where applicable), subject line (for emails), advertisement copy (including envelope teasers), covers of publications, and leads: they should grab the readers attention much like a headline from a news article. You may consider posing a question in certain communications - that can help keep things non-partisan!
- Keep it engaging and incorporate multimedia when possible. Consider including a photo and the name/title/brief bio of the author for longer articles
Writing for a 7th Grade Reading Level:
- The writing style should be informative while also being friendly, casual, and even humorous. "Use your unique voice" and try to be as personal as possible "like you are writing a letter to your mother"
- 7th grade reading level. The standard American reads at a 7th or 8th grade reading level so your writing should be on that level as well. While we understand that most of you are either in university or recently graduated and tend to write more academic, our goal is to educate the public. If your piece is far too complex, the majority of readers will be disengaged or unable to understand it.
- Ex of Academic writing: “Mr. Surowiecki’s well supported thesis certainly offers a profound endorsement of the essential principle of democracy, that the masses should and can determine the characteristics of their own government, in an age where beltway commentators on both the left and right doubt the intelligence of the American people.”
- Ex. of Blog-friendly writing: “Mr Surowiecki believes that democracy should allow people to have a say in their government, despite others who doubt the intelligence of American citizens.”
- Tips:
- Limit your use of “big words” and too many transition words like “therefore”, “subsequently”, etc. try using “because of” or “as a result” instead
- Try and use bullet points and charts to break up the text
- Try to write conversationally, as though you are talking to a friend
- Pose questions for your readers!
- Write as though the person reading the blog has no previous background or understanding of the issue
- Helpful Resources:
Non-Partisanship/Non-bias:
- Your role is not to come to any conclusions. Your role is simply to give the facts. Don’t tell people what to think. Give people the information so that they can come to their own conclusions.
- Avoid subtle bias/partisanship.
1.) We are not just nonpartisan, but we are also non-biased. Don't just focus on being neutral on candidates/parties, but also be neutral on topics. Just as you wouldn’t voice your opinion on the blog on the current presidential race, don’t voice or hint at your opinion on topics such as gun control.
2.) Every single pro needs a con and every con needs a pro. The article must be balanced.
- Use 3 pros and 3 cons per blog post
- Directly underneath each pro, include the con - don't make the reader search.
- Present as many opposing viewpoints as possible!
- The non Vote Smart links you use must be to nonpartisan, reputable sources.
- Try and use government sites if possible
- Avoid using op-eds to prove a point. You can use them for quoting officials, but avoid using them as “read the New York Times op-ed to see why people are against this bill”
- Read the title of the article you’re linking to. If the title is biased, don’t use it.
- For candidates/officials: Link to their bio page
- Try to link to votesmart.org before you look for links elsewhere.
- All quotes need to be linked - preferably to a Vote Smart source.
- All stances, facts, statistics, House rulings, bills, etc. need to be linked to a reliable source.
- If we do not have the link to the speech, SIG rating, key vote, etc. on our website, please choose a reputable website.
- Official pages of candidates/ candidate social media are reputable, primary sources.
- Try to use .gov or .org before going to .com
- If you have to cite a news outlet, please try for:
- Washington Post, New York Times, or local newspapers.
- Try to avoid outlets such as Fox News, MSNBC - these outlets are correlated with a particular bias towards one side.
- DO NOT cite articles with headlines such as “GOP States Have Found A New Way To Shame Women For Getting An Abortion” - Even if they quote an official, us citing articles like this makes us look biased.
