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Sample
Review
Online
Review Form
So,
you need to write a review for our newsletter, do you?
Take a look at the guidelines
below. Follow these suggestions and
you won't have any trouble writing a good review.
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| Facts
to always include in reviews |
| 1. |
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What
category is your product in? (graphics, utility, etc.)
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| 2. |
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Product
name and version
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| 3. |
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Product
cost, rebates, special offers, etc.
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| 4. |
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Company/manufacturer's
name
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| 5. |
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Company
URL, phone, or contact information
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| 6. |
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Special
system and hardware requirements
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| 7. |
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Use
simple terms to tell about what you liked.
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| 8. |
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Use
simple terms to tell about what you didn't like.
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| 9. |
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What
is your overall recommendation? Should others buy and use
the product or not?
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| How
to submit reviews and articles |
| 1. |
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Reviews
and articles should not exceed 600 words.
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| 2. |
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Submit
reviews or articles as WordPerfect documents, or in ASCII
text (such as Notepad) either as an e-mail attachment or on
a floppy disk. (Please do not send Word documents due to the
high risk of macro viruses!)
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| 3. |
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Reviews/articles
should be submitted by the monthly meeting date. (If the review
is going to be delayed for some reason, please inform the
editor and discuss your proposed schedule.)
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| 4. |
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Please
do not format the text by adding underlines, boldface, indents,
justifying type, or use more than one typeface. Also, please
do not double-space after periods, or use all caps. In addition,
be sure the vendor's name and product name are spelled correctly,
as well as the text in the article.
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| 5. |
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Send
one copy of your review to Linda Gonse at editor(AT)orcopug.org,
and to Terry Schiele at reviews(AT)orcopug.org, if
e-mail is used. If snail mail is used, send to Linda Gonse,
22655 Valley Vista Circle, Wildomar, CA 93595-8334, and to
Terry Schiele, 2355 Camino Del Sol, Fullerton, CA 92833. You
can also bring your review to a meeting and give it to Linda
and Terry. Only one copy of a non-review article is needed.
Direct it to Linda Gonse. It's best to provide printed copy
and a floppy disk of the document.
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| Suggestions
for interesting reviews and articles |
| 1. |
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Program
installations are not interesting, unless they are unique—for
instance, it took eight hours to install, you needed a doctorate
degree, or a rabbit’s foot and special incantations. Write,
instead, about what happened after the installation.
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| 2. |
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Write
for other users. Ask yourself, "What would my friends be interested
in knowing about the product and my experience?"
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| 3. |
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Use
personal pronouns, such as you and I, not "one" or "a person."
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| 4. |
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If
you have a scanner, send a JPEG or GIF of the product (from
the box, manual cover, etc.) with your review or article.
Or, you might find a product image you could send on the manufacturer's
web site.
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| 5. |
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After
the review or article, please include a couple of sentences
about yourself: the type of work you do, how long you’ve been
in the club, why you joined a computer group, and anything
you think is interesting about yourself. It could be that
you just bought a new computer, or you built your first computer,
or you just started using a computer, or you just moved to
Orange County, etc. (If you have a photo of yourself, it would
be great if you would include it. We can use it alongside
your review. Members like to see who is doing the review!)
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Still
have questions? Write editor(AT)orcopug.org
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