Effective Writing for Superfund - PowerPoint Presentation

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Effective Writing for

Superfund Staff: Community Involvement Plans and Beyond

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Meet our Instructors

Cara Lalley

Yolanda Sanchez

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Participation Guidelines

Mute your phoneParticipateAsk questionsListen to other viewpointsBe present; do not multi-taskDo not put the phone on hold

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Introduction to Adobe Connect

Virtual classroom allows us to:Navigate the lessonInteract via:PollQ&ARaise your hand

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Agenda

Topic

Introduction

Community Involvement

Plan Purpose and Audience

Organize an Effective Community Involvement PlanFormatting TechniquesWriting Techniques

Summary

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Webinar Learning Outcomes

Review the main purpose and audiences of the Community Involvement Plan (CIP)Organize an effective CIPIncorporate formatting techniques in the CIP to enhance document “scanability”Incorporate good writing techniques in the CIP to enhance document clarity and effectiveness

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Community Involvement Plan Purpose

and Audience7

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CIP Purpose

To enable community members affected by a Superfund site to understand the ways in which they can participate in decision making throughout the cleanup process.8

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CIP Purpose

CIP should allow community members to understand:The Superfund cleanup process.How, when and where EPA will provide site-related information.How the public can be actively involved in the cleanup process.

How their issues and concerns were or are being incorporated during the cleanup.

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CIP Audiences

Primary audience: the communityIf it is clear to community members, it will be clear to other, more technical audiences:Community Involvement CoordinatorRemedial Project ManagerOn-Site Coordinator

Enforcement Case

T

eam

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Organize an

Effective Community Involvement Plan11

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How to Organize an Effective CIP

Focus on content that serves your purposeFocus on the audience’s needsPut first things firstMap your messages

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Focus on Audience Needs

What does the audience need to know and do?

Perhaps categorize:

Residents

Workers

Local officials

Elected officials

Media/Press

Community-based and/or

faith-based

Healthcare providers

National/regional environmental organizations

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Put First Things First

Site DescriptionCommunity ProfileCommunity Needs and ConcernsAction Plan

Contact Lists

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Map

Your Key MessagesKey messages and supporting details should be easy to understand and rememberLimit the number of messages

What does the audience need to

know

and

do?Tell the audience what they will gain from using your CIP and other materials15

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Formatting Techniques

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Use Attractive CIP Cover Page

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Use Simple Table of Contents Up Front

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Appendices

Use appendices to move necessary background information to the back of the document

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Use Effective Headings and Subheadings

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Include White Space

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Complete Message Presentation

Present a complete message on one page or two facing pages

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Wall of Words

If preschool children live at a property where the average arsenic level is 70 ppm, their estimated dose is 0.005 mg/kg/ day, which is ATSDR’s health guideline for acute exposure. Children with soil pica behavior who live at properties where the average arsenic level exceeds 600 ppm have an estimated dose of 0.05 mg/kg/day. Additionally, they might experience harmful effects from arsenic should they eat soil from the yard. Children with soil pica behavior who live at properties with average arsenic levels between 70 and 600 ppm are also at risk of harmful effects from arsenic, and this risk increases as the average arsenic level approaches 600 ppm.

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Same Information in a Table

If children with

soil pica behavior live at a property where the average arsenic…

Then their estimated dose…

…is 70 ppm

…is 0.005 mg/kg/day, which is ATSDR’s health guideline for acute exposure.…is between 70 and 600 ppm…ranges from 0.005 mg/kg/day, and they may be at risk of harmful effects from arsenic. The risk increases as the average arsenic level approaches 600 ppm.…exceeds 600 ppm…is 0.05 mg/kg/day, and they are most likely to experience harmful effects from arsenic should they eat soil from the yard.24

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But Don’t Use a Table Just to Use a Table

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

(Dan Egan is the environmental reporter)

County Supervisor

ntewsletters

Southside PostWord-of-mouthSouthsiderWeb sitesSouthside Organizing Committee

WITI, Fox News, Channel 6 Newsletters

TMJ4, NBC Channel 4 (on TV and the Internet)

WQBW 97.3 FM

WTMJ 620 AM

WISN, ABC Channel 12

WUWM 89.7 FM

RiverWest Community Papers

WISN, 88.9 FM

Milwaukee Magazine

WYMS 89.9 FM

Bay View Compass

WHAD 90.7 FM

Milwaukee Business Journal

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This Isn’t Helpful Either

FIGURE 12-1

Community Involvement Issues and tools

Community Involvement Issues

Community Involvement Tools

 Concerns about the Process

 

 

The community wants a clear explanation of its role and responsibilities in the EPA’s decision making process.

Project Roadmap

Technical Assistance Provision

The community wants a process that is transparent

Fact Sheets

Newsletters

Project Roadmap

Public Availability

Sessions

Public Forum

Reports/Concept

Documents/Work Plans

Technical Assistance Provision

The community wants a process that is meaningful.

Fact Sheets

Project Roadmap

Public Availability Sessions

Public Forums

Public Comment or Input on Documents

Technical Assistance Provision

Community involvement must be adequately supported, especially with key information.

EPA’s Web Site Fact Sheets

Infield Notification

Information Repositories

Listserv

Maps, Visual Aids, Displays and Events

Outreach Materials

Media Distribution/Media Events

Newsletters

Project Roadmap

Project Site Visits/Tours

Public Availability Sessions

Public Forums

Public Meetings

Public Notices

Public Television Shows

Public Service Announcements

Reports/Concept Documents/Work Plans

School/Education Outreach Activities

Toll-Free Number

Video Productions

Workshops/Seminars

Community involvement must be adequately supported, especially with key information.

EPA’s Web Site Fact Sheets

Infield Notification

Information Repositories

Listserv

Maps, Visual Aids, Displays and Events

Outreach Materials

Media Distribution/Media Events

Newsletters

Project Roadmap

Project Site Visits/Tours

Public Availability Sessions

Public Forums

Public Meetings

Public Notices

Public Television Shows

Public Service Announcements

Reports/Concept Documents/Work Plans

School/Education Outreach Activities

Toll-Free Number

Video Productions

Workshops/Seminars

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An Effective Table

If children with

soil pica behavior live at a property where the average arsenic…

Then their estimated dose…

…is 70 ppm

…is 0.005 mg/kg/day, which is ATSDR’s health guideline for acute exposure.…is between 70 and 600 ppm…ranges from 0.005 mg/kg/day, and they may be at risk of harmful effects from arsenic. The risk increases as the average arsenic level approaches 600 ppm.…exceeds 600 ppm…is 0.05 mg/kg/day, and they are most likely to experience harmful effects from arsenic should they eat soil from the yard.27

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Lists

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Parallel Structure in Lists

Parallel:Southside TribuneNBC Channel 4Word of mouth

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Not parallel:

Southside Tribune

NBC Channel 4

Go door to door

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Parallel Structure in Lists

Parallel:Prepare community involvement action planConduct community outreach

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Not parallel:

Prepared

community involvement action plan

Conduct community outreach

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Highlight with Text Boxes and Graphics…

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…But Don’t Use a Graphic Just to Use a Graphic

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Images

Select images that are familiar and to which the audience can relate

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Text Appearance Matters

Body: 12-14 pointHeadings: +2 points Serif

vs.

sans serif

No

fancy scriptsUse bold for emphasisLimit underlining, italics, ALL CAPSDark letters, light background34

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Use Columns to Break up Text

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Writing Techniques

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Put First Things First

Give the most important information firstWhose story is it?37

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Poll

Which is better?Office of Water volunteers cleaned up the Anacostia River.The Anacostia River was cleaned up.

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Active Voice

The subject of the sentence does the actionMore interesting to readEasier to understandLess awkward sentence constructionActor less likely to be left out

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Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

A group of public meetings were facilitated by EPA for the community in regards to the remedial action for the Site from 1989 through 1990.From 1989 through 1990,

EPA

facilitated

a group of public meetings for the community regarding the remedial action for the Site.40

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Rewrite in Active Voice 1

Community involvement has been established by EPA since the discovery of the Site. Identify the doer

of the

action

Identify the

actionIdentify the receiver of the action41

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Rewritten Sentence

Original (passive): Community involvement has been established

by EPA

since the discovery of the Site.

Active:

EPA has established community involvement since the discovery of the Site. 42

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Rewrite in Active Voice 2

Several public meetings were held to discuss the status of the Site’s remedial action plan over the period of the Site’s existence.EPA held several public meetings to discuss the status of the Site’s remedial action plan over the period of the Site’s existence.

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Subject and Verb

Navajo Nation EPA representatives respectfully requested that USEPA not conduct interviews with Navajo residents because

many of the Navajo residents had been

interviewed recently

by Navajo Nation EPA and USEPA

for site history information.44

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Subject and Verb

Navajo Nation EPA representatives, due to the fact that many of the Navajo residents had previously been interviewed by Navajo Nation EPA and USEPA for site history information, respectfully requested that USEPA not conduct interviews with Navajo residents.

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Brevity

Keep it short

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Highlight the Positive

Use an encouraging toneDo not talk down to or preach to your audience47

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Highlight the Positive

Tell your audience what they should do, rather than what they shouldn’t do“

Leave the valve open.

” vs. “Do not close the valve.”

“

Turn the water off when you brush your teeth.” vs. “Don’t leave the water running when brushing your teeth.”48

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Watch

Your LanguageLimit the use of jargon, technical or scientific language and percentagesAvoid unnecessary abbreviations and acronyms“EPA” does not require “the” in front of

it

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Watch

Your LanguageBe consistent with word use“Plan” vs. “strategy”Community involvement planCommunity involvement action planCommunity involvement issues

Community involvement tools

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Summary

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Questions?

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Webinar Learning Outcomes

Identify the main purpose and audience of the Community Involvement Plan (CIP)Organize an effective CIPIncorporate formatting techniques in the CIP to enhance document “scanability”Incorporate good writing techniques in the CIP to enhance document clarity and effectiveness

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To view a complete list of resources for this seminar, please visit the

Additional

Resources

link in the Related URLs pod

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