LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
July 2000, No. 55
CONTENTS,
WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
PROCLAIMING A COPYRIGHT
FAREWELL
ENCLOSURES A MARKETING TOOL
WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
"Blessed are they who have nothing to say and who cannot be
persuaded to say it."-- James Russell Lowell
***
In formal and "scholarly" writing it is often appropriate to
introduce a series of important items with a phrase ending with a
colon and to then separate the items with semicolons rather than
commas. Something like, "The major principles of tertiary
rotorooting are: Identification of the area to be rooted;
selection of the appropriate rooter; and operating at a speed to
allow precision rooting." But those who are forced to do this
kind of writing sometimes carry it too far. Like in, "I went to
Safeway and purchased: Bread; milk; and broccoli." Know when to
turn it off and loosen up. Write to EXpress, not to IMpress.
***
A fellow word merchant suffering a rare moment of indecision
called recently for my opinion on whether "ethics" is singular or
plural. In the context, something like "Ethics is an important
topic," we quickly agreed it is singular and takes a singular
verb (ethics IS). But in other uses it can be plural, as in "His
ethics are questionable." The same is true of other "ics" words,
like economics, statistics and politics. All of these can refer
to a body of knowledge or an area of study (economics IS my
favorite course) or to qualities (the economics ARE very sound).
PROCLAIMING A COPYRIGHT
What do I have to do to copyright something? An easy answer is:
"Nothing." Under current law, all original works are protected by
copyright. There are other steps to take that might be
appropriate in some cases, however. The next easiest is to put a
copyright notice on the work. This can be very brief. A good
example would be, "Copyright 2000 NDSU Extension Service. All
rights reserved." Notice two things: The year must be included,
and in the case of extension publications the owner is the
institution, not the author. The next step would be to formally
register the copyright. This is necessary to qualify for some
types of damages if a suit is brought for copyright violation. In
the case of extension-type materials for educational purposes,
suing for damages is probably not a concern. Who uses the
material and how may be a concern. Published (in any form)
material is protected by copyright law; attaching a copyright
notice can emphasize this fact and make potential users more
likely to ask for permission.
FAREWELL
The end of July marks the departure of two Ag Communication
staffers. Steve Stenejhem of computer services is leaving us for
a teaching position at the Fargo campus of the University of Mary
(but says he will continue to "bleed green" where Bison athletics
are concerned). Dean Hulse of the editorial staff is moving on to
be a teaching assistant at Minnesota State University Moorhead
while pursuing a master of fine arts degree.
ENCLOSURES A MARKETING TOOL
Penalty mail helps Extension faculty and staff distribute
educational materials. It's not free; USDA reimburses the U.S.
Postal Service for the cost of Extension's penalty mail to a set
figure.
To use penalty mail, letterhead or enclosures must have the
Extension logo dominant and must include the name, title and
signature of the authorized sender. NDSU standards must be
followed.
Some offices have out of date, hard to read or unattractive
enclosures that may not meet federal requirements. Even if you
want to photocopy enclosures yourself, Ag Com suggests you
contact Ardis Carvell at dctr@ndsuext.nodak.edu or Agnes Vernon
at avernon@ndsuext.nodak.edu to have masters designed for legal,
consistent, attractive enclosures. There is no charge for this
service.
Enclosures are one of the many marketing tools that shows a
unified image and positive reflection on NDSU.
LET'S COMMUNICATE
If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or
make a suggestion, contact:
Agriculture Communication
Attn: Becky Koch
7 Morrill Hall
Phone: 231-7875
FAX: 231-7044
e-mail: bkoch@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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