Web text project
Submission details
Student’s name Student no.
Assessor’s name
Assessment site
Assessment date/s
This assessment is due on the date the trainer has advised you of. Any changes to that date must be approved in writing by your assessor.
Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See specifications below for details.
Performance objective
You must demonstrate ability to research/study, draft (outline/write up) and write text for the web.
Assessment description
You must research, plan and write two documents for the Writers Real Estate website, using the information provided.
The two documents are for online publication on the Writers Real Estate website. One document is to be used as the ‘about us’ text and the other is a media release. The information provided is a director’s brief and a written record of an interview.
Procedure
1. Read the director’s brief and transcript/record of an interview.
2. Search the web for examples of ‘about us’ texts and media (i.e newspapers, radio, TV) releases.
3. Draft and submit an ‘about us’ company profile/outline and a media release (advertise)
4. Edit the draft text using the Writers Real Estate style guide .
5. Write a self-reflection report informing your clients including:
a. explain the role of style guides in general in document production, and the role of the Writers Real Estate style guide
b. explain the range of formatting styles and their impact/effect on document readability (how easy it is to read)
c. explain the rules and conventions (a standard technique) of written English, such as the use of active voice , positive language , repetition (say again) and synonyms
d. explain your text in the context/connection of these conventions ( a standard way of doing things)
e. receive feedback and advice on the production of your final copy.
6. Write and submit a final copy.
Specifications
You must:
? submit documents:
? a self-reflection report
? final copies of ‘about us’ profile/outline and media release texts.
Your assessor will be looking for:
? final texts of a self-reflection report
? ‘about us’ company profile text that:
? is structured/set up to include company focus, background and current status, plus a link to the media release
? reflects/shows the family focus
? uses persuasive/to convince language such as positive language, repetition or synonyms
? uses active voice and presents one idea per paragraph.
? a media release that:
? is structured to include headline, hook (catchy colour or saying), lead (who, what, when, why, where?), body and contact details
? uses persuasive/convincing language such as positive quotes or testimonials (a favourable report) facts
? is written in active voice
? includes a place on the final draft to record approval by management for release to media.

Director’s brief
Write a 200-word (approx) ‘about us’ company profile for the home page our of website, www.keysrealestate.com.au, with a hyperlink to a media release about our new William Island holiday rental website.
Write a 300-word (approx) media release about our new William Island holiday website and our new holiday rental online booking system, ‘bookitnow’, for our website.
Use the transcript of our interview.
Follow house web text style sheet.
- Luisa Keys, Director
Writers Real Estate
Transcript
Transcript of interview with Luisa Keys a director from Writers Real Estate.
How did the company begin?
Dad, Gerald, started the company back in 1950 with one office in Fitzroy. He opened another office after the ’56 Olympics in Richmond. Mum did the books in-between taking care of us two kids. My brother, James, and I grew up inspecting properties, learning how to fix things, filing, etc. I guess you could say real estate is in our blood. He took two weeks off every Christmas when the family went to William Island, which was almost deserted, like an undiscovered paradise, in those days.
What are yours and your brother’s roles?
James began working in the company full-time as soon as he left school. He’s now in charge of property sales. I joined full-time in 1980 after I finished uni, and I run property management. We are both directors and work well together. Dad officially retired in 2005 but still comes into the head office. He spends a lot of time playing golf at William Island and manages to annoy them in the office there.
How has your company changed since it began?
We started with one office in Fitzroy in 1950 and now we have fifteen offices – ten in the metro (large city) area and five rural/country offices. Our metro offices are mostly located in the inner city, western and south-eastern suburbs, plus four on the peninsula (neck of land near water) and surrounds. In 1998, we opened a small office on William Island.
In 2000 the Island won the right to stage the Grand Prix Vintage/classic car race for five years. Our ‘small’ office became twice the size overnight! Then the contract was renewed in 2005 for another five years. Business is booming.
Is that the only reason William Island is booming?
No. People who aren’t into vintage cars go there as well and it’s really popular with families. Lots of sun, surf beaches as well as bay beaches, hiking trails and bike tracks. It’s always had a steady stream of international visitors to see the Aussie wildlife. There’s no doubt that the vintage car race gave it publicity/advertising but I think that more people discover that there’s heaps for all ages to do there. It’s only 100km from the CBD, so the number of rentals will just keep increasing. As it is, we are looking for more properties to rent.
Do you have plans to expand out of Victoria?
Not at this stage. We don’t want to spread ourselves too thinly. We know properties in Victoria and our clients need to know that. We are Victorian specialists and we really know our market and clients very well.
How much real estate did you sell last year?
James said that the figure was $40 million. Some areas sold a lot while others sold a little.
In what ways do you think that you are different from other real estate companies?
Family. We are a family business that people can trust. We have a loyal staff who are experts in the industry. We provide them with a good training program. We have an induction/training program for everyone. The sales team receive professional development every six months and the property managers have a training session every month.
What new ventures or opportunities have you introduced?
James has introduced a new training program for sales staff. I’ve been focusing on expanding and updating the William Island holiday rentals. The company is just about to launch a new website totally devoted to holiday rentals at William Island. It’s a new phase/time for us. We’ve paid a fortune and made sure that the site is well positioned in web searches. It’ll feature our new online booking system, ‘bookitnow’. Prospective/future holiday guests will be able to make their own bookings online. They’ll be able to look at availability ‘live’ 24/7. It’s very exciting, and we believe that it will increase landlords’ holiday rentals by up to 30%.
What target audience are you aiming for?
We are interested in anyone who is interested in renting or buying property. We have seventy properties available for holiday rental on William Island. Currently, we have over 100 metro and rural properties for sale listed on our books.
One area that we would like to improve on our roll is the metro rentals area. We are looking for more properties to rent as the demand is increasing.
Why should prospective landlords and home buyers use your company?
Because we provide a quality service. Our property managers are trained, mentored and have expertise in all aspects of property management. We vet prospective tenants carefully, carry out regular property inspections, and action all requests, problems, etc., immediately. Our sales team really know their stuff. We get a lot of repeat customers.
Writers Real Estate style sheet (for web text)
Employees of Writers Real Estate and writers, editors or proofreaders must use the following house style (a style of writing that is being used in the company). Our online documents must be consistent/the same in their look and feel in order to show our quality service.
All documents must have approval from Luisa Keys before being given outside the company.
Abbreviations
Limit use of abbreviations to standard real estate abbreviations for advertisements.
Bolded text
Bolded text may be used for key words and headings.
Capitalisation
Titles and proper nouns must use capitals.
Design elements
Use templates if provided. Use size 12 Arial font for body text. Our logo and branding must be visible on all documents.
Gender-specific language
Avoid using gender-specific language such as ‘chairman’, ‘male’, ‘authoress’. Use ‘chairperson’. Replace ‘his’ or ‘hers’ with ‘they’.
Graphics
Must be simple, relevant to the text, and approved by one of the company directors.
Headings
All headings are to be bolded but not underlined. Avoid too many headings.
Hyperlinks
Key words are to be underlined.
Language
Use plain English. Language should be informative and friendly but not informal/casual No contractions (shrinking or reducing).
Numbers
Use digits in most cases but do not begin sentences with digits.
Structure
? attention-grabbing opening (gets peoples’ attention)
? family history and current status
? why client should use company
? innovations/new ideas and future directions.
Text
Sentences should be short. One idea per paragraph.