Since data points are the brains of our HelpGrams, an effective structure complements the message of the data points and motivates the user to read them. Read the sections below to learn how to structure and format your data points. Adding lead-insAll data points should contain a lead-in. A lead-in is a fragment, complete sentence, or phrase followed by colon. The lead-in introduces the data points. Here are some examples of lead-in phrases
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Lead-in,
Headings & Bullets' Format
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Subject
Content of Data Points
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Examples
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Action plans | E-terning with HelpGram.com |
How-to's | Women's Issues: How to Avoid Being the Victim of a Violent Crime |
General tips | Interview Preparation Tips: Conducting Company Research |
Overviews | Finding a Therapist: Types of Psychotherapy |
Symptoms, causes or treatments of a condition | Managing Sciatica: Symptoms, Causes & Treatments |
Lead-in,
Questions & Headings' Format
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Subject
Content of Data Points
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Example
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Factors to consider | Selecting a Gym: Factors to Consider |
Lead-in/Question
List Format
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Subject
Content of Data Points
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Example
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Assessing someone's credentials | Selecting a Therapist: Questions to Ask Before You Decide |
Determining if you have a problem | The Warning Signs of Job Stress |
Factors to consider before making a decision | Finding a Suitable Fitness Trainer |
Questions to consider before taking an action | E-terning with HelpGram.com: Factors to Consider |
Lead-in
List
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Subject
Content of Data Points
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Examples
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Pros & cons | E-terning with HelpGram.com: Pros & Cons |
The benefits of something | Music Therapy: The Healing Power of Music |
Do's and don'ts | The Do's & Don'ts of Internet Dating |
Symptoms of a condition | Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder |
To indicate order for data points (particularly action plans and how-to HelpGrams), don't place numbers before your headings. Instead use phrases such as "Step One: Exercise," "Step Two: Eat Healthy Meals." Use an appropriate structure (chronological vs. inverted pyramid) to organize your data points.
You will use HTML tags to format your data point lead-ins and subheadings. Most HTML tags consist of an opening tag and a closing tag. Here's an example of an opening tag to make your font bold: <B>. Here's an example of closing tag to make your font bold: </B> (Notice the "/" tag in the closing tag. This is the only element that differentiates closing tags from opening tags. The "/" tells the browser where to end specific formatting.) Look at the table below to understand how this works.
How
HTML Opening and Closing Tags Work
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Text
& Code
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Result
of HTML Code
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<b>Heading</b> | Heading |
The text in between the opening and the closing tags is the text you wish to format. So, for example, if your lead-in said "Follow these steps," and you wanted to make your lead-in bold, you would use the following format:
<B>Follow these steps</B>
Since HTML tags are not case sensitive, both "<b>Heading</b>" and "<B>Heading</B>" will make the word "Heading" bold. To make your formatting function correctly, you must follow the EXACT syntax for the opening and closing tags. Never forget the "/" in your closing tags. Doing so, will cause formatting errors. If your text appears distorted after applying HTML to it, always check to see if you're missing a "/" in your closing HTML tag.
Make all headings and lead-ins bold by placing a <B> tag before your data point heading and a </B> tag after your heading. If you use subheadings under your lead-ins, make the lead-in one size larger by placing a <BIG>tag after the <B> tag and a </BIG>tag before your </B> tag.
So to make your headings bold, follow the format below:
<B>Heading</B>.
To make your lead-in bold and to make your font one size larger, use the following syntax:
<B><BIG>Lead-in</BIG></B>
After you paste your data points into the template, place a space between them by pressing the "Enter" key on your keyboard. But, don't place a space after your headings.
Here's an example of how your data points should appear in your HelpGrams.
Adding Space to Your Data
Points
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Incorrect
Format
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Correct
Format
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Remember to place a colon after each lead-in phrase, sentence, or fragment. Don't place a colon after subheadings beneath the lead-in.
Use a word processing program to type all your HelpGrams, and paste your HelpGrams directly from your word processing program into the template. Obtain bullets from your word processing program. If you use Microsoft Word, use the default circle setting only. Other settings, such as square bullets, don't function correctly in the template.
Circle
Setting for Bullet Points
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Sometimes new HelpGram writers mistakenly put multiple data points under one heading. The tables below demonstrates this mistake and illustrates how to correct it.
Avoiding
Common Data Point Mistakes: Putting Multiple Data Points Under
Headings
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Incorrect
Format
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Revision
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Brainstorm · Identify the careers and industries you wish to learn more about. · Narrow your choices down to three to five fields that interest you most. Select Your Interviewees: Request & Schedule the Interview: |
Brainstorm: · Identify the careers and industries you wish to learn more about. Then, narrow your choices down to three to five fields that interest you most. Select Your Interviewees: Request & Schedule the Interview:
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