CONTENTS FEATURE: Meeting reports: don't make readers do your job SPOTLIGHT: EditPros clients and friends in the news GRAMMAR COACH: Ready to field your questions NET NOTES: Captivating web sites FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Writing about meetings: Don't force readers to do your job      Articles that describe the proceedings of meetings are fixtures of many newsletters published by nonprofit as well as commercial organizations. Such meeting accounts are often uninspired and uninteresting because they're written like meeting minutes, in chronological sequence with equal weight given to all of the actions they list. That forces readers to do what should be the writer's job—to sift through relevant as well as irrelevant information in order to determine what occurred and what will result.      That approach puts the reader in the position of parents awakened by the thud of a car door and the roar of an engine as their teenage son Josh skulks into the house at 2 a.m. Startled upon seeing Mom and Dad waiting with arms crossed at the end of the hallway, Josh stammers, "Um, sorry I woke you. The party went a little longer than I thought."      "You seem nervous, Josh," says Mom. "What's wrong?"      "Um, er, nothing," Josh mumbles.      "Josh, you drove our car to the party," Dad observes. "So why did I hear a car drive off just before you came in?"      Silence. After drawing in a deep breath, Josh replied in a quavering voice, "Oh. That was Miguel. He dropped me off because—well, I had a little problem with our car."      "Oh? What kind of problem?" asks Dad.      "Well, you know the skate park by the Little League field?      "The one way across town? But what does that have to do with the party tonight. Wasn't that at the Chens' house just a few blocks from here?" asks Mom.      "Yeah," Josh grudgingly acknowledged. "Um, after the party some of the guys thought we could have, ya know, some fun, so I drove over to the ball field and met them over there—just to hang out."      And...?" asked Dad, his eyebrows raised.      "Well, you know the skateboard rail that we use to do jumps and tricks? This one guy, Sledge—that's not his real name, but that's what everyone calls him...." Josh notices that his Dad's eyes are narrowing. "Well, um, Sledge thought it would be kinda fun to see if he could get the left wheels of his truck up on the skate rails. So he revved it real good, and took a run at it, and it went right up. And he was driving at like a 45-degree angle and then he drove off the other end and back onto the ground. It was really cool!"      And...?" Dad persists.      "Well, so I thought I'd give it a try. Only I guess I didn't line up the left tires quite right, and the car's chassis landed on the rail instead."      "Where is the car now?" asks Mom incredulously.      "Oh, it's safe," Josh says in the most assuring tone he can muster. "It's at the park. It's still hung up on the skate rail, but I made sure to lock it up before Miguel drove me here."      Although Josh's parents initially sensed a problem, his halting recount of the incident only increased their anxiety. When his parents asked what happened, Josh related his explanation in chronological order, delaying the most important details.      Likewise, writing an article about a meeting in the chronological style of "minutes" increases the readers' difficulty of extracting the most salient information. Minutes of meetings do have their place as official records of meeting transactions. However, newsletter readers typically are uninterested in who called a meeting to order or whether or not the minutes of the previous meeting were approved.      Suppose the secretary's report, the treasurer's report, and reports by the president, the scholarship committee and the governmental affairs committee preceded the conference committee report during an association's business meeting. And suppose approval of the conference committee's recommendations near the conclusion of the meeting held far greater importance for most readers than any other aspect of the meeting. Then don't bore readers with a blow-by-blow account of the sequence of events in the meeting. Alleviate the drudgery by writing accounts of meetings in journalistic style.      A newsletter article summarizing a meeting should distinguish consequential from inconsequential actions. The structure used for news reporting is known as the "inverted pyramid" approach because the most significant information—including evidence—is packed into the lead paragraph. That's followed by details and background information in descending order of importance. The foundation of the story appears at the very top—hence, the "inverted pyramid" name. That form is used for two reasons: - To convey the most important information first; and - To enable easy editing of the story under deadline pressure.      To shorten a news story, merely chop sentences or paragraphs off the end. If the story is constructed properly, the deleted material is incidental, not essential.      In the example case, the newsletter article about the meeting would begin by announcing results of the board's approval of recommendations by the conference committee:      "For the first time in 12 years, the association's annual Summer Leadership Conference will be conducted at an off-site location. This year's conference will take place July 22 and 23 at the Clover Lakes Resort in Pine County. The Management Board approved the change of locale during last week's business meeting, acting upon the recommendation of the conference committee. Kitty Litter, author of A Leader Is a Dealer With Rearranged Letters and other self-help books, will be the keynote speaker. The association will charter a bus to take participating members to and from the conference. Members wishing to attend may request an application from any conference committee member.      "In addition to approving the conference program, the Management Board authorized a legislative advocacy program outlined by the governmental affairs committee. . . ."      The article would continue with details about the legislative program, followed by information on reports by the president, the secretary, the treasurer and the scholarship committee.      Information of little importance or with the least relevance to the newsletter readers should be withheld until the end of the article. Conversely, place items of greatest importance at the beginning of a news article, to get right to the main point.      Josh's parents would agree with that. Yes! EditPros can write and edit text to create appropriate emphasis in your documents. SPOTLIGHT: EditPros clients and friends in the news Our readers write as we shift to a 'list server'      To manage distribution of the EditPros e-mail newsletter more efficiently, we have begun using a "list server" through Yahoo! The shift of the mailing list offered us a good opportunity to verify readers' interest in the newsletter. We invited all of our readers to tell us whether they would like to continue or discontinue receiving our monthly messages, hoping they find them useful—or at least entertaining.      The newsletter's readers include journalists, broadcasters, advertising and marketing specialists, Web site designers, faculty members at several universities and colleges, public-school teachers, scientists, military personnel, administrators of government agencies, lobbyists, industrial analysts, students and retirees. 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"How in the world would I get through without your newsletters? I'd just be an uniformed senior." (Jackie S.) "I have been receiving your EXCELLENT newsletter every month for over a year. Keep up the good work! I write for three publications, and I am editor of one of them." (Al W.) "I really enjoy the EditPros newsletter." (Sharen B.) "Please continue our subscription. Thank you for producing this informative and well-written newsletter. We learn so much from you!" (Scott A.) "I look forward to receiving the newsletter." (Calvin C.) "Please keep me on your list." (Cathy C.) "I frequently send on to my colleagues in the dept." (Elinor G.) "Subscribe—definitely." (J.C.) "Subscribe, gosh darn it....I love it!" (Diane F.) "Subscribe—please!!" (Tenneley M.) "How could I possibly do otherwise!?!?" (Max M.) "You publish a GREAT email newsletter!" (Scott B.) "I'm looking forward to more newsletter editions." (Barbara G.) "Have enjoyed your articles for years and am glad that you're continuing." (Christine L.) "Great newsletter!" (Kathy G.) "I really enjoy your newsletter. I can see why you have so many subscribing." (Chris L.) "I LOVE this newsletter!!!!" (Nikki S.) "Subscribe. Thank you!" (Melissa T.) "Would enjoy continuing with the newsletter." (Rob M.) "Love the newsletter. Thank you for asking." (Dann S.) "I would love to continue getting the newsletter." (Lynlee S.) "Please continue—great newsletter!" (Cindy S.)      We acknowledge that the advice we offer in the newsletter tilts toward tradition. We adhere to grammar and usage standards specified by dictionaries and the style guides used by publishers of periodicals and books. We concede that the English language is fluid and evolutionary, but trust in those publications as the arbiters of proper use in a business context. GRAMMAR COACH: Ready to field your questions A burning issue      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it.      Dave Williams sent this month's question: "Is 'burnt' a word? It's in the dictionary, of course. But so is 'ain't.' That doesn't make it a proper word."      The grammar coach replies: "Burned" is the preferred past tense and past participle of the verb "burn." Although the British form "burnt" is also legitimate, it's regarded as a secondary choice in the United States. Furthermore, in the interest of consistency, writers who prefer "burnt" also should use "learnt" instead of "learned", "smelt" instead of "smelled," "spoilt" instead of "spoiled," "spelt" instead of "spelled" and "dreamt" instead of "dreamed". NET NOTES: Captivating Internet resources How Stuff Works http://www.howstuffworks.com      How do hybrid cars work? How do microprocessors work? How do turbochargers work? How do plasma video displays work? How does a counterfeit detector pen work? We didn't know either, until reading the answers on this site, maintained by the publisher of educational books for children and young adults. Questions are answered concisely and clearly. Whether you need help answering the questions of your inquisitive offspring, or you seek answers for your own edification, this site can help. Material is organized by topic categories, including science, electronics, computing, health, financial, automotive and travel. RateNet http://www.rate.net/      If you're searching for the lowest mortgage, home equity or automobile loan rates, or the banks that are paying the highest interest-earning rates on certificates of deposit, try consulting RateNet. It presents comparative rate rankings of 11,000 financial institutions across the nation. The site is maintained by DataTrac, publisher of a newsletter for the banking industry. LSSU Banished Words List http://www.lssu.edu/banished/      Since 1976, Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., has published a list of words and phrases that its selection committee members regard as deserving of banishment from the English language for "mis-use, over-use and general uselessness." The site invites nominations from Web site visitors. Recent additions to the list include: Place stamp here. ("Can we legitimately claim to be a superpower if we need to be reminded to put a stamp on an envelope?" asked the nominating contributor.) Solutions. (When the contributor observed that "problems demand solutions; needs demand fulfillment," the "banishment committee" added that it "pines for the days when our economy offered merely goods and services.) Sanitary landfill. (Noting that they're not particularly sanitary, the contributor asked, "whatever happened to city or county dumps?") Swipe. (Increasingly used with reference to credit-card readers in stores, this word means 'to strike with a long or wide sweeping blow,' or 'to steal or pilfer,' noted the contributor, who added, "From whom do the merchants want me to steal the card? And I can't see where beating the card will do any good.") FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500      Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros services? If you do, you may earn a "finder's fee" of up to $500 from EditPros.      EditPros performs writing and editing services for newsletters, sales literature, brochures and other informational and marketing materials.      If you recommend our services to a friend or business colleague, and that introduction leads to an assignment for EditPros, we will award you a "finder's fee" equaling 10 percent of the amount we earn on the first assignment for the new client, up to a maximum finder's fee of $500. Naturally, the finder's fee is applicable only to clients for which we have not worked previously.      This offer will remain in effect until further notice. YOUR TURN: Ask the "grammar coach" or subscribe      We invite you to submit your questions to the "grammar coach," and we welcome you to subscribe to this monthly newsletter—which we'll send to your e-mail address at no charge. We respond to all "grammar coach" questions personally, but delays may occur because we must place top priority on assignments from our clients. We appreciate your patience and your interest.      You also can change your e-mail subscription address. For an address change, please indicate your existing AND your new e-mail address. Thank you. OUR PRIVACY POLICY for e-mail newsletter subscribers:      We do not use any commercial e-mail lists or automated mass-mailing programs, and we do not allow access to the list by anyone else for any reason. Our subscriber list is maintained by hand, and it is not for sale. We are protective of confidentiality because many of our readers are also clients of ours. Any accompanying advertising is placed by Yahoo.com in exchange for our use of the e-mail server to distribute this newsletter.