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{ Category Archives } Writing for the Web

Essays written for master’s program class on writing for the web

From pitch to presentation

Dallas walking tours View more presentations from Pamela Livingston.

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2011 03 09 Pamela Livingston From Pitch to Proposal
module 5 Comments (1)

Cited argument: Sound bite method

I cannot afford to hire actor Mike McGlone to record a voiceover for my cited argument. So please turn on your television and watch for an ubiquitous ad featuring McGlone impersonating Robert Stack. Remember his penetrating look and sonorous voice. Now imagine him saying: “Can information architecture really save you money? What, you live under […]

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2011 03 07 Pamela Livingston module 3
Sound Bite Method Comments (2)

Pitch: Conduct paid walking tours to benefit the homeless

Dallas is home to some of the best architecture in the world. Buildings designed by award-winning architects fill the downtown skyline. It is also home to the National Historic Landmark, Fair Park, which contains the nation’s largest collection of 1930s art deco exposition-style architecture. It has a historic district and an arts district, and it […]

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2011 03 01 Pamela Livingston pitch Comments (6)

Proposal for funding bytesandbricks.com

Bytesandbricks.com, a blog that explores the relationship between information architecture and real-world architecture and explains their relevance to website and urban design, is a student enterprise that requires external funding to realize its potential. Pamela Livingston, an Interactive Communications student in Quinnipiac University’s online master of science program, is sole proprietor. She seeks $X in […]

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2011 02 28 Pamela Livingston module 4
proposal Comments (4)

Thoughts on “The Sound of Your Voice”

Zinsser makes a strong case for finding your voice as a writer. I believe him when he says, “My commodity as a writer, whatever I’m writing about, is me.” That is true for writing that has a byline, but not for content that does not. That includes content for popular consumption, including news and special-interest […]

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2011 02 21 Pamela Livingston Comments (4)

Pamela’s LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn

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2011 02 09 Pamela Livingston Comments (6)

Thoughts on “Business Writing”

Zinsser makes his point comparing George Orwell’s version of Ecclesiastes with the Bible’s version, but having worked as a technical writer a number of years, I am certain that  Orwell’s version would get the OK from higher-ups, and the Bible’s version would not. If a business writer turned in something like the Biblical version, he […]

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2011 02 08 Pamela Livingston The Value of Imprecision in Business Writing Comments (2)

Thoughts on “Writing About Places”

Zinsser says that writing about places — “beautiful, historically significant places that tourists spend time and money to visit” — is “very hard.” He says that written descriptions of such places are often “just plain terrible” because they rely on syrupy, subjective language and “groaning platitudes.” The descriptions are terrible because they are trite. If […]

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2011 02 08 Pamela Livingston The Value of Imprecision in Business Writing Comments (1)

A byte is not a brick

Fatuous arguments and one-liners like the pro-choice statement, “An acorn is not a tree,” and the pro-feminist statement, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” pollute public discourse with nonsense. That such drivel finds an audience is testament to low educational standards established in the spirit of inclusion. Now every dullard […]

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2011 02 07 Pamela Livingston Devil's Advocate Comments (3)

Thoughts on “Words” reading

Zinsser’s chapter on words was a refresher for me. The “bizspeak” I adopted as a technical writer are just as tired as the “journalese” lingo Zinsser described. Owing to a layoff, I was out of the workforce for a while, but I recall terms and phrases I accepted on protest and others that I really […]

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2011 02 01 Pamela Livingston Bizspeak and Journalese Comments (2)