Water!

I received another writing assignment today, writing a promotional letter. A big issue for NESC is reaching out and preaching beyond the choir. How do we hook different and new audiences more effectively than in the past? The best way is to know your audience, offer them reasons why the should keep reading, and furthermore, why they should take action- how they would benefit. I am wondering how to set up this letter- should I immediately jump into benefits or should I start with interesting facts? Also I need to encourage the use of current articles and online resources. It is important people start taking water sources seriously, we take for granted having incoming and outgoing water supplies in our houses- imagine if we didn't have operators and sewage treatment facilities. The way we dispose of pharmaceuticals, waste, and other potentially harmful products needs to be more efficient and careful, we do not know the effect it will have on our current water supply or our future. I need to research techniques for drawing people into what message you are trying to convey. I a excited about this new task, and still need to finish and polish the article I have been working on about pool water. It would be a good idea to maybe utilize the option of meeting with my fellow classmates on some of the writing I am doing and get some opinions and feedback. There would probably be a wealth of suggestions and ideas there that would be really helpful.

A day in the life!

I have been working at the NESC for 3 or 4 weeks now and I really like it. I like the people I work with, I like observing their work routines (Fridays are casual and lunch is earlier) and working around all this snow has been challenging. I had my first meeting with my advisors (Mark and Sandra) and my editor for the Pool Water article (Natalie) to make sure I am on track. We decided to focus on the one article at a time, I am to complete the pool water safety article by the end of the month so that it makes the Spring newsletter- just in time for prime pool season. Both of the articles were coming along nicely, but I am glad I can focus on one at a time now, I kept interrupting myself to get the other caught up. I arrived a little earlier than usual today because I want to make sure i get in my hours in case this snow gets heavier, which is likely. I am seriously considering including a piece in the article that suggests a warning to children that is really effective for maintaining clean, safe pool water. When I was young my uncle told my cousins and I that if we peed in the pool water it would turn bright kool-aid colors! My editor told me she has used this technique during her son's birthday parties in their home pool.I definitely believed my uncle and formed a healthy habit of evacuating the pool for such needs, and believe this method is useful, so somewhere in the article I will mention it.

Day 1

I have my own desk, computer, and cubicle at the National Environmental Services Center now! We have decided that I will come in twice a week, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10-3, and very flexible with Mondays and which hours. I have received my first assignment- two actually. Two articles which is very exciting for me! The first will inform readers about fun ways to educate children, grades k-12, about water, it will list sources on how to do so and reasons why it would be great to teach children about our water. The second article is about pool water safety- what is in that water, what are the dangers, what to look for, how to avoid or solve issues that may arise. Especially with the spring season approaching, this one will be very important. My writing needs to be oriented toward an audience ranging from Ph. D.'s to partial high school educations, and so one of my advisors recommended I aim for a 12 grade-capable reader. The language I use should be easy to read, to the point, and interesting. Today I researched some topics and people to contact, and Friday I plan on creating a very generalized outline of what, ideally, I will have. It is difficult working on two at once, but I will chose one to work on first, or break my days up equally dedicated to both. After more research I will know more about each and then decide which path to take.