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Overview
Create a brochure about place/organization
that informs, educates, or persuades.
The brochure is not an in-depth
study of a topic but it should give enough information to grab and keep
the reader's interest from start to finish.
A brochure may cover a broad
topic but it shouldn't contain so much information that it overwhelms the
reader.
Choose 2 to 3 key points about
place/organization to describe.
If there are other important
elements, consider listing them in a simple bullet list or chart somewhere
in your brochure.
In addition to what your brochure
says, you must decide the best format to present your information.
Different formats work best
for brochures with lots of text, lots of pictures, small blocks of text,
lists, charts, or maps.
You'll need to find the format
that works best for your information.
Checking
over your Brochure
Resources
common to all the Brochure Projects.
Steps
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First, write down what you currently
know "off the top of your head" about your topic.
-
If it is a place, describe
the location. Write down any key landmarks, interesting tourist spots,
or historically significant locations that you now know about.
-
If it is an organization,
write down what you know about that group, its mission or purpose, its
membership.
-
Look at sample brochures you
or your class have collected.
-
Identify those that have a style
or format you might like to imitate or borrow. See how much detail each
type of brochure includes.
-
Research your topic. Use the
materials provided in the classroom or from other sources to gather more
details about your topic.
-
From these materials and what
you already know about the topic start picking out 5 to 6 significant or
interesting facts that you think you will want to highlight in your brochure.
-
Use the Place
Checklist or the Organization Checklist for questions and ideas on
what to include in your brochure.
-
Using the Brochure Checklist,
list the major components of your brochure.
-
Mark out any components you wish
to omit from your brochure.
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Write headlines and subheads.
-
Write the descriptive text.
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Make lists.
-
Sketch out some rough ideas of
how you want your brochure to look -- including any graphics you think
you want to include.
-
(Your software may come with
a collection of clip art; if you have access to a scanner you may be able
to scan artwork from clip art
books; if you have access
to graphics software you may be able
to draw your own graphics.)
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Try out different formats to
fit your text.
-
Edit your text to fit your layout.
Experiment.
-
Using the page layout software
available to you, transfer your rough sketches to the computer. Your software
may have templates or wizards that will provide you with even more ideas.
-
Print your final design and fold
as necessary.
Evaluation
Your teacher and your classmates
will use the criteria listed in the
checklists accompanying this
lesson (Brochure
Checklist and Place
or
Organization
Checklist) to see how well you have presented your topic.
You will be using the same
criteria to judge the work of your classmates
and providing input to your
teacher. Not everyone will agree on the
effectiveness of a single
brochure but if you have done your job well,
most readers will agree that
your brochure gives them the information
they want and need, is easy
to follow, and makes them want to know
more.
Conclusion
The brochure as an informative,
educational, or persuasive device must
present information in a
clear, organized manner. It should give enough
information that the reader
won't be left wondering "what is this really
about" but should also be
a "quick read" so that the reader doesn't become
bored before reaching the
end. Because it doesn't tell the whole story, it
should contain the most important
parts of the story. Give the reader the
most significant, most interesting
facts -- the information that will make
them want to find out more. |