version 1.0 january 26, 2018 · total possible opens (l ess hard & soft opens) removing the number...

VERSION 1.0

JANUARY 26, 2018

1/26/2018 Writing Samples 1

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

The following examples are excerpts taken from existing documents. Names of companies and

product names have been removed.

NOTE: The writing samples are provided as excerpts and not the full documents.

CATEGORIESCATEGORIESCATEGORIESCATEGORIES

Statistical and Data Analysis Writing - a portion of an email marketing analysisinvolving evaluation of data and the writing and creation of charts

Instructional Writing - a reference guide authored to coincide with a complete training

course curriculum used to train persons on the use of software

Presentation Writing and Design - a few introduction slides of a presentation format

designed and authored with speaker notes

Book Review Writing - a portion of a book review

Published Editorial Writing - a published article

AAAADDITIONAL WRITINGDDITIONAL WRITINGDDITIONAL WRITINGDDITIONAL WRITING ---- NOT INCLUDEDNOT INCLUDEDNOT INCLUDEDNOT INCLUDED

Writing project experience in the following areas has been performed, but is not included in this

sample set:

Marketing Copy - for web sites, brochures, specifications, analysis

Public Relations - published content in InfoWEEK magazine

Product Packaging - consumer product software

Style Guides - design style guides for product/service

Tutorials and Demos - storyboarding and content editing

Product User Manuals

Help Systems

STATISTICAL WRITING SAMPLE

EMAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS

VERSION 1.0

VERSION 1.0

Email Marketing Analysis

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BACKGROUND

The following marketing analysis report contains information focusing on existing email

marketing campaigns for the current TITLE REMOVED email newsletter. The term e-blasts will

be commonly used throughout this document.

The research takes into consideration existing data and provides suggestions for how to

achieve greater open rates and additional considerations and options for the future to

increase effectiveness.

OVERVIEW

A key goal of this marketing analysis and review is to seek to improve the open rates of emails.

The two broad aspects of attaining the goal is to consider both the marketing methods being

used along with the technical implementation methods. This document will touch on both of

these methods in the hope of determining best strategies for moving forward.

MARKETING METHOD

The email marketing method being used involves the sending of a single email to a large

audience of email addresses. The email consists of a newsletter style format containing several

stacked listings each containing a photo, headline, and text describing the product or service.

Some of the listings are sponsored advertisements paid for by advertisers. Advertiser articles

appear designated as "sponsored."

The content of the email newsletters appears extremely relevant and well targeted in terms of

content subject matter. The target market for the PUBLICATION TITLE REMOVED email blast is

those who are engineering oriented. More specifically, the target market is for those involved

in machinery and equipment manufacturing. The stated focus is "Strategies for Large

Metalworking Plants."

The frequency of the email mailings is bi-monthly. Currently, there is a re-blast (or repeated)

email to those who previously opened an email and usually follows within a few days of the

previous email sending process. According to the Associate Publisher/Managing Editor, "The

purpose of the 2nd blast is simply to generate more clicks. With our COMPANY NAME

REMOVED plan, we are charged for the number of emails sent beyond a certain amount. So,

by just sending to the sub-group, we lower our monthly overage charges. We also improve


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our open rates which theoretically improve our standing with many email administrators. By

sending the original blast to the large group, we are still able to maintain the subscriber

numbers that we guarantee to our advertisers."

STATISTICS

Over the last 10 months spanning from January 2017 to end of November 2017, PUBLICATION

TITLE REMOVED has seen the following results from the existing bi-monthly e-blasts. The

statistical analysis of year-to-date original e-blasts which is the entire PUBLICATION TITLE

REMOVED main mailing list shows the following number of possible emails sent.

SUBSCRIBER DATABASE YTD

As the "Original" database dipped below the 80,000 mark, a purchased list was obtained in the

month of August raising the subscriber base. The subscriber base appears to be dropping

steadily each month and has done so once again since the purchase of subscribers in August.

The "Re-blast" database remains virtually unchanged throughout the year. The fact that

readership remains strong in the Re-blast group shows readership is being maintained for core

viewers.

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The following chart displays the amount of "hard bounces" that occur throughout the year.

Hard bounces are typically users who have moved and a no longer available at that particular

address. Hard bounces are inevitable and a part of maintaining list integrity.

HARD BOUNCES YTD

For "Original" blasts, the trend for hard bounces is increasing. The trend for "Re-blasts" (line

not shown as it would obscure the data) is remaining steady with perhaps a small decrease.

Turnover within an industry may be a cause for an increase in hard bounces.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there has been an increase of hires, job openings,

and quits.1 Since 2016, the number of job openings now exceed the amount of hires. Job quits

have also been on the increase.

With a growing increase in the number of job openings overall and less people to fill them,

longstanding employees who have been at jobs weathering through the recession of 2007 may

be changing jobs given the opportunity to do so. They may be finding new positions and

companies eager to hire them.

1 Source: https://www.bls.gov/web/jolts/jlt_labstatgraphs.pdf Accessed: December 29, 2017

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SOFT BOUNCES YTD

The number of soft bounces occurring for both the "Original" and "Re-blasts" is decreasing

and this is positive news in terms of overall list credibility.

TOTAL POSSIBLE OPENS (LESS HARD & SOFT OPENS)

Removing the number of hard and soft bounces from the list of opens shows a steady list of

potential subscribers for the "Original" e-blast and a slight increase for the "Re-blast" list.

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NUMBER OF OPENED EMAILS (OPEN RATE)

The number of unique opened emails does not take into account the number of times a

person may click within an email. Only unique views are counted. This is determined to be

readers who have opened the email long enough to consider it "read." The trend for the

"Original" database is dropping and the "Re-blast" is increasing.

The ability to remove robot counts is not possible.

SAMPLE EXCERPT ENDS HERE

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IMPORTANT: It is important to note that

regardless of the purchased list of

subscribers which increased the number

of users to the database in August, there

was no significant increase in unique

opens for that month or afterward.

INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING SAMPLE

Argonaut Training – Joomla Training – Beginner Level 1

(C) Copyright 2009 Argonaut Training and Argonaut Productions. All rights reserved. All logos and company names are trademarks orservice marks of their respective companies. JTBL- AUG 2009

1

Joomla Training - Beginner Level 1

Beginner Level 1 Joomla

Argonaut Training

http://www.argonauttraining.com/



2

Table of Contents

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Forward and Legal Information ................................................................................................................................... 6

Who Can Use This Document? ........................................................................................................................................ 6 How to Use This Document ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Site Types ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Content Management System Elements ..................................................................................................................... 7

When NOT To Use a Content Management System ............................................................................................... 7

When Using a CMS is a Good Choice: .......................................................................................................................... 8

Why Use Joomla? ................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Planning: What Is Your Site Purpose ....................................................................................................................... 9

Creating a Plan...................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Creating an Outline ............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Creating a Flowchart ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Joomla’s Content Levels .................................................................................................................................................. 10

BEEZ Site Sections and Categories ............................................................................................................................. 11

Joomla Hosting .................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Where Will You Host Your Joomla Site? .................................................................................................................... 12

Joomla Installation ............................................................................................................................................................ 12

Joomla Installation Methods .......................................................................................................................................... 12

YOU CAN STOP FILLING IN BLANKS FOR A WHILE AND JUST WATCH THE PRESENTATION. BASIC STEP

NOTES ARE PROVIDED LATER IN THE DOCUMENT FOR YOUR LATER REVIEW. ............................................ 13

Joomla Extension Types ................................................................................................................................................. 13

Joomla Extension Types .................................................................................................................................................. 13

Joomla Components .......................................................................................................................................................... 14

Joomla Components .......................................................................................................................................................... 14

Joomla Modules ................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Joomla Modules .................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Joomla Plug-ins ................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Joomla Plug-ins ................................................................................................................................................................... 14



3

END OF CLASS PARTICIPATION NOTES. ADDITIONAL NOTES ARE PROVIDED BELOW FOR YOUR

REFERENCE AND REVIEW. .................................................................................................................................................. 15

Joomla Installation Screens ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Joomla Installation Screens ........................................................................................................................................... 16 1. Choose Language Screen....................................................................................................................................... 16 2. Pre-installation Check Screen ................................................................................................................................ 16 3. License Screen ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 4. Database Configuration Screen ............................................................................................................................. 17 5. FTP Configuration Screen ..................................................................................................................................... 17 6. Main Configuration Screen ................................................................................................................................... 17 7. Finish Screen ......................................................................................................................................................... 18

Switching a Template....................................................................................................................................................... 18

Switching a Template ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 1. From the Admin Screen, go to the Extensions menu and select, Template Manager ............................................ 18 2. Click the name of the template from the list by selecting the radio button to the left of the name. ....................... 18 3. Click the Default button in the upper right. ........................................................................................................... 18

Installing a Template ....................................................................................................................................................... 19

Installing a Template ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 1. From the Admin Screen, go to the Extensions menu and select, Install/Uninstall ................................................ 19 2. Click the name browse button and locate the file on your computer. It should a .zip file. Once you’ve located the

file, click the Open button. You will return back to the Extension Manager screen and the name of the file path to the

template should now be in the Upload Package File entry field. .................................................................................... 19 3. Click the Upload File & Install button. ................................................................................................................. 19

Switching a Template....................................................................................................................................................... 19

Switching a Template ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 1. From the Admin Screen, go to the Extensions menu and select, Template Manager ............................................ 19 2. Click the name of the template from the list by selecting the radio button to the left of the name. ....................... 19 3. Click the Default button in the upper right. ........................................................................................................... 19

Creating a Module .............................................................................................................................................................. 20

Creating a Module on Your Page .................................................................................................................................. 20 1. To create a module, go to the Extensions menu and select the Module Manager. ................................................ 20 2. Click the New button in the upper right. ............................................................................................................... 20 3. Select the module type. There are many different types to choose from, such as banner, breadcrumbs, poll,

custom HTML, random image, feed display, footer, related articles, sections, statistics, latest news, syndicate, login,

who’s online, menu, wrapper, most read content and more. ........................................................................................... 20

Adding a Section ................................................................................................................................................................. 21

Adding a Section ................................................................................................................................................................ 21 1. To add a Section, go to the Content menu and select the Section Manager. ......................................................... 21 2. Click the New button. ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Adding a Category .............................................................................................................................................................. 21

Adding a Category ............................................................................................................................................................. 21 1. To add a Category, go to the Content menu and select the Category Manager. .................................................... 21 2. Click the New button. ............................................................................................................................................ 21



4

Creating an Article ............................................................................................................................................................. 22

Creating an Article ............................................................................................................................................................. 22 1. To create an article, go to the Content menu and select the Article Manager. ...................................................... 22 2. Click the New button in the upper right. ............................................................................................................... 22

Creating a New Menu ....................................................................................................................................................... 23

Creating Menu ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 1. To create an menu, go to the Menus menu and select the Menu Manager. ........................................................... 23 2. Click the New button in the upper right. ............................................................................................................... 23

Creating a Menu Item ...................................................................................................................................................... 23

Creating a Menu Item ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 1. To create a menu item, go to the Menus menu and select the name of the menu. ................................................. 23 2. Click the New button in the upper right. ............................................................................................................... 23

Adding an Image to An Article ................................................................................................................................... 24

Adding an Image to An Article ...................................................................................................................................... 24 1. To add an image to an article, go to the Content menu and select the Article Manager. ....................................... 24 2. Click the name of the article in the list. ................................................................................................................. 24

Adding an Read More Button to An Article .......................................................................................................... 25

Adding an Read More Button to An Article ............................................................................................................... 25 1. To add a Read More button to an article, go to the Content menu and select the Article Manager. ..................... 25 2. Click the name of the article in the list. ................................................................................................................. 25

Adding an Page Break Option to a Long Article ............................................................................................... 26

Adding an Read More Button to An Article ............................................................................................................... 26 1. To add a Read More button to an article, go to the Content menu and select the Article Manager. ..................... 26 2. Click the name of the article in the list. ................................................................................................................. 26

Installing an Extension ................................................................................................................................................... 26

Installing an Extension .................................................................................................................................................... 26 1. From the Admin Screen, go to the Extensions menu and select, Install/Uninstall ................................................ 26 2. Click the name browse button and locate the file on your computer. It should a .zip file. Once you’ve located the

file, click the Open button. You will return back to the Extension Manager screen and the name of the file path to the

template should now be in the Upload Package File entry field. .................................................................................... 26 3. Click the Upload File & Install button. ................................................................................................................. 26

Uninstalling an Extension .............................................................................................................................................. 27

Uninstalling an Extension ................................................................................................................................................ 27 1. From the Admin Screen, go to the Extensions menu and select, Install/Uninstall ................................................ 27 2. Click the name of the extension type that you have installed. For example, for a component, click Components.

Some extensions are made up of several types, so you may need to repeat for several different areas. ......................... 27 3. Click the option to the left of the name of the item in the list. .............................................................................. 27

Adding a User........................................................................................................................................................................ 27

Adding a User ...................................................................................................................................................................... 27 1. From the Admin Screen, go to the Site menu and select, User Manager. ............................................................. 27 2. Click the New button. ............................................................................................................................................ 27



5

3. Enter the name of the user, username, email, and password. ................................................................................ 27



6

Forward and Legal Information

The purpose of this document is that it be used during and after the Argonaut Training Beginner Level 1 for Joomla. During the training, you are encouraged to fill

in the blanks so that you can refer back to the training at a later time and also to help you to retain the information better.

Who Can Use This Document?

You may use this document only if you have purchased a registration for the

attendance at an Argonaut Training event which pertains to the specific subject matter of this document.

How to Use This Document

To make best use of this document, you may want to print it out and have itwith you during the training and you can fill it out as the training goes along.

You only need to print the documentation to the point where the classparticipation is required and print only those pages. See the table of content if

you desire to save paper.



7

Introduction

Site Types

Generally speaking, there are two different site types:

The two different site types are:

1. __________________ type

2. __________________ type

Content Management System Elements

Generally speaking, there are three major elements of a content management system:

The three major elements of a content management system are:

1. __________________ Elements

2. __________________ Engine3. __________________ Interface

When NOT To Use a Content Management System

You may want to consider using a static site if the following are true:

You have a _________ total page count.

Only ___________ person is involved.

The information on the site ____________ _____________ very often.

When changes do occur, they do not ___________ ___________ other areas

of the site.



8

There is __________ need for anything ______________ in the foreseeable

future.

When Using a CMS is a Good Choice:

___________ total page count

___________ users and contributors

The information changes _____________ and updates involving time-

sensitive news and information is needed

When ___________ effort is ____________ to control large sizes ofinformation

There is a foreseeable plan to have ____________ information on the site

Why Use Joomla?

Over ____________ extensions created

___________ community of users and active forums

_____________ are using it

_____________ like you are using it

It can grow with your _____________ needs

It is ______________ source

_________________ developers are involved too!



9

Planning: What Is Your Site Purpose

Creating a Plan

Creating a ________ __________ is helpful to determine how information

should be presented.

Determine the ___________ _______________ – Who will be the type of

people you anticipate visiting the site?

Creating an _____________ or ______________ for menus and majorsections and categories of information.

Creating an Outline

Fill in the blanks to complete the site outline:

• ____________

– ____________

• ____________• ____________

• ____________

– ___________

– ___________

– ___________

– ___________



10

Creating a Flowchart

Write the name on top of each box:

Joomla’s Content Levels

There are three content levels within Joomla:

1. ____________________

2. ____________________3. ____________________



11

BEEZ Site Sections and Categories

Sections are Top and Categories are Sub-level:

– Products

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

– General Information

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

– News

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

– Blog

• _______________________________



12

Joomla Hosting

Where Will You Host Your Joomla Site?

• Popular hosting services for Joomla are:

– ____________________

– ____________________

– ____________________

– ____________________

– ____________________

Watch for ____________ ________________ and _____________ _________________ limits.

Joomla Installation

Joomla Installation Methods

Three Joomla Installation Methods are:

_______ ________ ______ server

___________ method ____________ __________ method

END OF INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING SAMPLE EXCERPT

PRESENTATION WRITING SAMPLE

1

PRESENTATION WRITING SAMPLEINCLUDES WRITING, SPEAKER NOTES,

CONTENT CREATION AND DESIGN

COVER PAGE IMAGE CONTAINS MODIFIEDLICENSED IMAGES.

Generally speaking, there are two types of sites:

There are generally two major classifications

Static Sites which are simply a single file being accessed and it does not change or have the need to change. In other words, it is self‐contained

ThenThen thertheree araree DynamicDynamic SitSiteses whichwhich ininvvoolvlvee pagpageess beingbeing crcreaeatteedd onon‐thethe‐flyfly andand thethe presentation of them is capable of changing easily. Often content is drawn from a collection resource called a database.

4

What is a Static Site?

A static site is when a browser goes and asks for a page and reaches the host server and the host server gets the file and it is retrieved and sent back to the browser. Each individual page is unchanging and self‐contained.

5

Different from a static site, a Dynamic Site is where a browser sends a request and it reaches the host server and (in this case) reaches a content management system on the server which then requests information from the database and then it builds the page dynamically using a combination of HTML and a way to view the information using a scripting language like php and gathers the database content and fills out the page and the assembled view is then returned back to the browser.

6

What is a content management system?A content management system, commonly known as a “CMS” primarily consists of three elements:

1. Content elements – These can be articles, documents, news, bits and pieces ofinformation, a blog, pictures, animations, sound, video, and text.

2. Presentation Engine – this is a method or way in which the content is presented to theuseruser andand thethe wawayy inin whichwhich thethe cocontentenntt willwill bebe delivdeliverereded toto themthem.

3. Administration Interface – an interface that is designed to help make the managementof the content and the presentation of it easier than working with traditionalprogramming languages and provides powerful methods for handling large amounts ofinformation

7

END PRESENTATION WRITING SAMPLE EXCERPT

BOOK REVIEW WRITING SAMPLE

BOOK TITLE REMOVED Interaction Report

Page 1

A Book Review of

“BOOK TITLE REMOVED” by Author Name Removed


Page 2


Core Message

The core message of AUTHOR NAME REMOVED book, entitled BOOK

NAME REMOVED, is the need and importance for our world to come to a realization

and recognition of our own emotions and the factor(s) involved in how we handle our

emotions. There is also a stressed importance upon recognition of BOOK NAME

REMOVED as having higher value than intellectual intelligence. AUTHOR NAME

REMOVED doesn’t just apply these issues within the context of individuals, but how we

as individuals who have developed BOOK NAME REMOVED can have a greater impact

on our familial, social, and cultural relationships thereby creating a better world in which

to live.

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED begins by explaining the anatomy and relationship

of the amygdala and its importance in regards to emotional matters and emotional

memory (pg. 14). Dismissal of earlier beliefs regarding the hippocampus as being mostly

involved with emotions provides the means by which AUTHOR NAME REMOVED

argues the importance of the amygdala as having greater importance regarding emotions

(pg 20).

Setting out to define the idea that BOOK NAME REMOVED should be viewed

separate from emotional or interpersonal intelligence, AUTHOR NAME REMOVED

explains how it relates to real life when we find highly educated persons who are unable

to be assimilate or be effective within society. AUTHOR NAME REMOVED’s key

presentation of Salovey’s five domains are core factors in determining BOOK NAME

REMOVED. Being able to recognize emotions, manage them, channeling them towards


Page 3

good use, seeing and recognizing emotions in others, and being able to manage emotions

within the context of a relationship are seen as crucial elements regarding BOOK NAME

REMOVED.

Critical to the foundation of BOOK NAME REMOVED is knowing yourself.

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED points out recognizing the main emotions, but also other

key terms such as flooding, empathy, optimism, and social (interpersonal) intelligence

relating to groups as other factors which are important BOOK NAME REMOVED

criteria. Included within the framework of how we view the major factors, AUTHOR

NAME REMOVED directly and indirectly relates BOOK NAME REMOVED to

positivism and optimism and their role in BOOK NAME REMOVED--especially in

regards to depression and the costs involved (pg 175).

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED stresses early childhood as the time of developing

BOOK NAME REMOVED and later years build on these ingredients from childhood (pg

193). AUTHOR NAME REMOVED believes that emotional traumas can be overcome,

such as PTSD, to show that emotional responses to situations and events can be changed

by examining our emotional responses to situations and events. AUTHOR NAME

REMOVED stresses hat emotional learning is not just something we do in a short

learning period, but emotional learning is a lifelong journey.

Adolescent schooling has mainly been focused upon language literacy and getting

an education, but has been lacking in emotional literacy. AUTHOR NAME REMOVED

presents several examples regarding emotional outbursts of aggression, depression in

youths, drugs and other teen related problems to support his claims that we need to be

addressing the issue of emotional literacy and taking the subject seriously. All of these


Page 4

are put into a new framework and mission for schools to embark upon which would be to

go beyond training teachers in emotional literacy, but also striving towards making

schools “society’s agent” for assisting our children in learning the essentials of life and

seek to return to the classic role of education from which we have departed.

Emotional Illiteracy

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED presents several real world incidents and data

which point to a moral decline. The evidence of this decline has prompted AUTHOR

NAME REMOVED’s urgency for a call to emotional literacy to counteract the effects of

emotional illiteracy. The disorders mentioned by AUTHOR NAME REMOVED have

many common aspects shared among the individual disorders such as: withdrawl or

social problems, anxiety and depression, attention, thinking, delinquency and aggression

problems.

Specifically examining any one of these problems would not point to a cause for

concern, but the combination of all of these problems increasing together points to the

urgency. AUTHOR NAME REMOVED presents an array of examples which assists in

validating the existing need for emotional literacy. Not limited to just America,

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED expresses the need for emotional literacy as a global

concern.

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED proposes the idea that drug abuse may have a

large number of addicts which are seeking self-medication to overcome existing pain

from anxiety, depression, or anger. Emotional distress is a common cause which

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED focuses upon and presents alcohol as a highly abused


Page 5

substance which provides reduced anxiety. In one study stated by AUTHOR NAME

REMOVED, the individual’s anxiety fell when alcohol consumption increased. The

studies showed sons of alcoholics drank to ease anxiety and the pre-frontal lobes were

under-performing. Usage of alcohol was used as a sedative to ease the anxiety they felt.

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED also recognizes the concept of genetic influence

regarding susceptibility to alcoholism. While depression and anger may be a cause to

drink alcohol, anxiety was the most predominant reason.

Presented in a later chapter (16), AUTHOR NAME REMOVED states that

emotional literacy programs have been implemented as early as the 1960s and have

focused on drug usage, teen pregnancy, and other subjects which had shown some

positive results, but have mainly been experimental in their implementation. AUTHOR

NAME REMOVED’s position to rethink schools, their organization, and teachings

should include emotional literacy as a central theme.

Mind and Medicine

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED strives to draw attention to the correlation

between emotions and physical health. The evidence regarding the connection between

immune cells and nervous systems was noted by AUTHOR NAME REMOVED as

“revolutionary” and the connection between these two provides support to his theory of

the connection between the emotional and physical health. High stress and intense

emotions were repeatedly presented by AUTHOR NAME REMOVED and he discusses

how they may contribute to the increased risk of disease and the possibility that it may be


Page 6

intensified. The big three emotions (anxiety, depression, and anger) were most common

in the discussion.

In the presentation of chronic physical illnesses, AUTHOR NAME REMOVED

discusses the major illnesses and presents persuasive information regarding the likelihood

of increased risk caused by emotional distress. AUTHOR NAME REMOVED discussed

relaxation techniques and efforts to diminish stress as methods for reducing and coping

with emotional distress. Though AUTHOR NAME REMOVED disclaims the concept of

optimism and positive views being the complete answer to treating disease, he states the

idea that it can have an impact on the disease in a positive way which is a strong vote for

optimism in place of pessimism.

Strong emotional support of friends and family appear to also have a positive

affect upon the ability for a person to recover from a medical condition. AUTHOR

NAME REMOVED presents further evidence from studies supporting the idea that

persons who had close relationships with family and friends that provided a support

network had a better chance of physical longevity and improved recovery after treatment

than those who were more isolated.

AUTHOR NAME REMOVED makes a plea for the medical community to look

beyond a merely positive physical report and look towards emotional issues which may

increase susceptibility towards disease in the future. He makes the request that BOOK

NAME REMOVED assessment be performed as well as physical evaluation while in the

cares of a medical doctor.

END OF WRITING SAMPLE EXCERPT

EDITORIAL WRITING SAMPLE

Article Published by Baptist Press

Beyond the Olympics: Seeing the Unseen Race

LONDON (BP) -- Each Olympics entails abounding fanfare and meticulous preparation in "going for the

gold" and "winning the prize."

Pause to think of the energy expended by athletes as they strive with tremendous effort to obtain the

highest level of recognition within their field. Consider their devotion to their respective sport as they fix

their gaze on winning the gold medal. Many have trainers and staff to help them. They take tremendous

care to prepare their bodies through years of effort and endurance.

They practice, practice, practice and practice some more. They endeavor with great discipline and effort

to reach their goals.

The Apostle Paul used the symbolism of running a race to capture the idea of how to live out the

Christian life:

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that

you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to

obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty.

Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when

I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:24–27, NKJV).

He expressed running the race with the "prize" in mind, but the prize for the Christian is not one that will

pass away. It is one that is imperishable.

For the Christian, the crown is not visible in this life but is invisible and more valuable than the gold

medals of the Olympics. Christians are running a more important race for a much more important and

everlasting reward.

It's not to be confused with working for salvation -- the gift of salvation is a free gift. But out of gratitude

for the gift, Christians serve Jesus Christ. Paul likens the daily walk of the Christian as striving to pursue

the rewards of service because it is a crown that never withers, fades or rusts. It won't be forgotten; it will

be an eternal prize.

What if more Christians made a genuine shift in thought? What if they lived as though their daily

Christian walk was an eternal race with massive rewards and tremendous eternal potential for blessing?

Some evangelists like Mark Cahill and Ray Comfort have challenged others with the idea of thinking

about how many more times Christians would witness to unbelievers if they knew they would receive one

thousand euros/dollars/pounds/etc. for each witnessing encounter they engaged in.

Would you do more witnessing? Would you read the Bible more? Pray more? I imagine many people

would probably have incredible outreach ministries and vibrant walks with Christ. If you were given an

immediate reward here and now, would that stir you to begin to think clearly about the practice of

disciplining yourself spiritually?

Replace the concept of monetary reward with the love of Christ for you and a desire to love Him because

He has loved you and you've got the eternal fuel that will keep the fire burning.

In his book "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life," Don Whitney explains that the reason for

engaging in the spiritual disciplines is based on 1 Timothy 4:7: "Discipline yourself for the purpose of

godliness" (NASB).

In addition, he wrote that while we may tend to think negatively toward the idea of "discipline," nothing

we do well is usually ever done instantly or without some form of training.

Anything worthy of doing takes effort to master. We don't put on a pair of military boots and go out to

compete against other Olympic athlete runners. We must have the proper equipment and training.

How much more important is the Christian race which Paul talks about? How much more vital is the

practice of "disciplining" ourselves to engage in the Christian walk? It is for a much more important

crown — yes, even more important than the wildly popular Olympic Games. While many eyes are

focused on the Olympics, think about fixing your eyes on the prize of heaven. Think about being

transformed by Jesus Christ. Run the race, and consider the practice of the "spiritual disciplines" as a

guide toward gaining rewards that far exceed anything you could ever imagine.

Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

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