Travel Writing group posting on GLOBOsapiens

Guidelines: Report Writing

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marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2006-03-19 13:44:00    REPORT WRITING GUIDELINES Here is a little help before you start writing a report. Your report is a combination of practical information and personal experience. It is a mini-guide to the city you are writing about. I would advise you to write first in MS Word and copy and paste your report to the GLOBO template. That way you never loose any of your text. Also prepare your photos and downsize them. Try to include photos that are relevant to the accompanying text. If you are writing in the accommodation section about a hotel don’t put a photo of a local carnival next to it, except as a last resort if you are short of space. Your picture quality depends on how many GLOBO points you have accumulated. (for information: click on 'My Profile', then 'Activities' and finally 'Picture Quality'). If you have problems with your photos contact Mortimer, our photo expert: http://www.globosapiens.net/mortimer You will have to follow the template given for reports. The headings are: 1. Title 2. Introduction 3. Favourite Spots 4. What's really Great 5. Sights 6. Accommodation 7. Nightlife 8. Hangouts 9. Restaurants 10. Other Recommendations You are required to fill in sections 1 - 5, and you can chose two from sections 6 - 10. But, if you fill out all sections, your report is more likely to get the highest rating 5* (if accompanied by photos). However, don't treat the headings as completely binding. If you need a whole section for museums and you can't think of anything on nightlife, put museums under the nightspots heading. The headings are there to help, not to constrict. Now you can start. First of all decide about which city or town you will write your report. Click to upload a report and follow instructions until you have the report format in front of you. TITLE: (10 to 50 characters, including spaces) Think of something special and original that will attract attention. Now you are ready to write your report. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Your report is a combination of practical information and personal experience. The purpose is to give information about places you have visited, have lived or where you live now. Most difficult of all is to describe the place where you live, but a report about it is very valuable as you know all the ins and outs. You can describe personal experience, give detailed descriptions and suggest places to visit but, most importantly, your report should contain information that is useful to other travellers. It must also be written by yourself, there is no need to copy and paste from other websites as we can go there and read the original. The most important reason is that it infringes copyright. The same applies to photos. INTRODUCTION: (150 to 255 characters, including spaces) Begin the introduction by naming the town or city. (This way search engines can find your report). Tell why you went there or why other travellers should visit. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: (150 - 2000 characters, including spaces). This is an extension of the above introduction and can include: - How to get there - Best way to move around the city - by bus, tram, on foot - Cultural differences - Weather and best time to visit - Some history, but be brief as most guidebooks have a section on this, therefore there is no need to repeat what is in them. The above list is by no means exclusive. FAVOURITE SPOTS: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Avoid just making a list. Describe a specific place, spot, view, or shop and give your personal view or comment. Don't say: My favourite spot is the market place. Tell us why. What can we see, what can we buy there what is so attractive about it. WHAT'S REALLY GREAT: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us what you liked and why you liked it. You can include personal mood, atmosphere, contact, assistance, amenities and any other observations. If appropriate, tell us also what you didn't like and why. SIGHTS: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us where you went: museums, parks, seaside, weird or imposing buildings, shopping malls. These sights are different from the ones you told us about in the previous section. ACCOMMODATION: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us where you stayed and give some detail about the place. You may have stayed with friends, no need to tell this, but you may have some recommendations about hotels, guesthouses, hostels or camp sites. NIGHTLIFE: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us about clubs, shows, parties, moonlit beaches, night-cruises, night-views from towers or hills and tell us what the locals do in the evening. HANGOUTS: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us where to relax, meet people, learn about different cultures, see people at work. Tell us about beer gardens, pubs, cafés. RESTAURANTS: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us about food and drink, what the locals eat, food courts, take-aways, bistros and that supermarket which has all the local products. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: (50 - 1000 characters, including spaces) Tell us about day trips or weekend trips close by or what you didn't see but would certainly include in your next trip. This is also the place to include links to related website. Use this sparingly as your report should generally be informative enough without these links, but they can be a good source of photos that you have not been allowed to take yourself. Sit back and read through the report to check for obvious errors and make sure you are happy with it before publishing. Remember that once you publish it, members will start to rate it. Therefore, it is advisable to keep it invisible until you have uploaded all the photos you mean to include. You can edit later but you cannot get a revised rating from somebody who has already rated. All this may seem a daunting task. Don't worry. Here are some links to well-written reports: http://www.globosapiens.net/travel-information/Agra-2073.html http://www.globosapiens.net/travel-information/Plazuelas-1694.html http://www.globosapiens.net/travel-information/Prague-1445.html You can also visit the Hall of Fame: http://www.globosapiens.net/hall-of-fame.html We are an international community and don't expect your report to be in perfect English, but try to avoid spelling mistakes (use a spell check, American, British Australian, there is no preferred spelling). If you prefer to write in German, check out our German-language sister site: www.globosapiens.de Should you need any help, contact one of the Senior Globies: Gloria: http://www.globosapiens.net/gloriajames Downundergal: http://www.globosapiens.net/downundergal David: http://www.globosapiens.net/davidx or any other senior member. If all this makes you head spin, don't give up simply start writing. Once you have started you realise that writing reports is not difficult at all. It can even become an addiction. We all like to see the number of contributors growing and we all felt nervous with our first report. Do join in - and you will very soon be giving advice yourself. [ This Message was edited by: marianne on 2006-04-29 10:30 ] --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne   isaacmolina Joined: Aug 05 Points: 1717 Posts: 53 Posted: 2006-03-19 17:14:00    Good headlines to write a report for the first time. Davidx helped me very much with advise and enthusiasm to write my first one. Then I also learnt from mistybleu and wojciech dabrowski, whom you do not mention, and their reports are of the best in Globo. You too Marianne, your India reports are a good example (I gave them 5 points each) because you introduced improvements with empty lines to read them better, otherwise they can become boring. I hope that soon I will write my third report observing all your experience. --- isaac molina Reply    Reply with quote    Contact isaacmolina   marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2006-03-19 18:01:00    Isaac, Thanks for your feedback. There are so many good reports that it is difficult to choose. You are certainly right about mistybleu and wojciech. I can't use wojciech's because when he wrote his journals the format was slightly different and I want these reports to be examples. In the end I will probably only choose two, because it is a bit off putting when a newbie first has to read all these guidelines and then many reports. Marianne --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne   rangutan Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 34752 Posts: 1044 Posted: 2006-03-19 23:49:00    Well done Marianne in getting these tips together. Here are some points or words you might add above if you think applicable: 1) [being once confused between "Favourite Spots" and "What’s really great"] The favourite spots are the best PLACES, the HIGHLIGHTS, and the best of all "sites" below. 2) What is really great? Here is meant the certain special atmosphere, culture, people, incidences, conditions, events and experiences 3) NIGHTLIFE: This was called "clubs" before, so that word and night-clubs must be included here first, not to make past reports erroneous. This section can also include night-cruises or night-views from towers or hills, shows, cinema (if nothing else) and certainly, what do the local folk do in the evenings? 4) HANGOUTS: This was previously called "pubs" so this word must be included here, not above otherwise old reports are wrong! Likewise, beergardens are an afternoon/evening thing so should be mentioned here. What do the locals do? Snooker halls, coffee terraces, outdoor chess, darts, cards, tea parties.... 5)RESTAURANTS: (should be "FOOD & DRINK"?) here again, not only fancy western cuisine but where do the locals eat? Food halls, take-aways, bistros, cafes. What is the favourite local food and did one try it? Describe local dishes and drinks.... 6) Spelling: use basic English or German ( www.globosapiens.de A few local words and phrases make the report more interesting. We hope that other languages will be supported in the near future. 7) Help: Contact ANY pioneer or senior member or one in the list...... [hope more members volunteer to help here too.] 8) near the top: complete two OR MORE paragraphs from 6-10 (not only two)... BETTER chance for 5*, not essential? 9) SITES: [should be "OTHER SITES"] Other than all those listed above. No need for repition here, some members repeate the favorite place here! 10) Headings are a guide and GLOBOformat. One may write across the headings if one feels brave :-) but this only for very experienced members and special destinations? R'Rudi [ This Message was edited by: rangutan on 2006-03-20 19:22 ] --- Rudolf "Rangutan" Graspointner Reply    Reply with quote    Contact rangutan   marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2006-03-20 09:52:00    Rudi, Thanks a lot for your improvements. I wait a little longer and see what other members can add, then I'll write a final version. Marianne --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne   mortimer Premium account Joined: Jun 04 Points: 15075 Posts: 528 Posted: 2006-03-20 11:29:00    Hi Marianne I'm flattered by the expression: photo expert... don't you think you've overdone it a bit? Anyway what you didn't inlcude in your guideline is the part of editing the report . Most of the time when I wrote a report I had to go back and edit and format the report (paragraphs, comma mistakes, spelling) a lot. And lately you introduced bold text too! btw how did you do this? just some thoughts Martin --- Today is the first day of the rest of your life, enjoy it! Reply    Reply with quote    Contact mortimer   marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2006-03-20 12:50:00    Martin, Oh yes, you are our photo expert. You have got a point about editing, but I intend to write a second set of guidelines: How to Edit and Existing Report. Here I will explain how to do bold text, but first I must ask Andy if he approves of us using (simple) HTML. Thanks for your feedback. Marianne --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne   davidx Premium account Joined: Dec 04 Points: 34719 Posts: 440 Posted: 2006-03-20 14:27:00    I thought it would be helpful if I did a detailed crit, of the type you and I are both ued to, in a word document - so look in your personal e-mail More generally, I think it's very good and important to have something of the sort on the site. I wonder if you could pep up the last bit - something like 'We all like to see the number of contributors growing and we all felt nervous with our first. Do join in - and you will very soon be giving advice yourself.' David --- Grieve not for that which you cannot do but rejoice in that which you can. Reply    Reply with quote    Contact davidx   marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2006-03-20 16:50:00    Thanks for the feedback, David. I like your pep talk and will include it. --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne   st.vincent Joined: Mar 06 Points: 2322 Posts: 23 Posted: 2006-03-22 00:07:00    Marianne, I am happy to provide a viewpoint from a new GLOBO member who has been giving a lot of thought to his second report. Firstly I think it is a great idea to have some report writing guidelines, I think they will be useful to both new and seasoned members. At the start where you mention photos it might be helpful to offer the advice that photos that are relevant to the accompanying text will make the report more reader friendly, i.e. if you are writing in the accommodation section about a hotel don’t put a photo of a local carnival next to it. A good piece of advice before starting might be to decide what things you want to include (most people will have a good idea) and which section you are going to put them in. Some sections like favourite spots/sights and nightlife/hangouts seem interchangeable. A quick grammatical suggestion (you did ask for these), I think that “But, most importantly, your report contains information that is useful to other travellers. It is also written by yourself. No need to copy and paste from other websites as we can go there and read the original.“ might read better if it were to say, “But, most importantly, your report should contain information that is useful to other travellers. It should also be written by yourself, there is no need to copy and paste from other websites as we can go there and read the original.“ The idea to state the maximum characters for each section is a good one - you have left off the one about “SIGHTS” I assume it is 50 - 1000. Perhaps the GENERAL DESCRIPTION guidelines could include not just how to get there but advice on the best ways to move around the city - by bus, tram, walking etc. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS could also be used for information that there was not enough room for in the previous sections. I would also offer a piece of general advice that was given to me by David. He suggested I use the section headings as prompts rather than feel I had to be restricted by them. I think that is good advice, that way you should get a nice flowing report that is easier to read. I guess the final piece of advice would be to read through the report to check for obvious errors and make sure you are happy with it before publishing. Hope this has been useful, I look forward to reading the final version and also learning more about HTML formatting. Regards Clive Reply    Reply with quote    Contact st.vincent   Page: 1 2 3