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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Style Guidelines

General Natural Awakenings writer's styling guidelines

  • Establish a strong lead paragraph and compelling close.
  • Remember the five Ws: who, what, where, when and why.
  • Write in third-person news style for briefs & most articles (them/they/those/people/attendees).
  • Alternatively, for articles, use we/our/us. Avoid the less formal second-person ‘you’.
  • Use a clear, logical order for content. (Samples at NaturalAwakeningsMag.com.)
  • Use action verbs (E.g., ABC offers; not ABC is offering).
  • Use plain language and briefly define technical terms.
  • Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
  • Include short anecdotes or case studies to illustrate key points–then expand the focus to a wider context.
  • Use strong, genuine quotes to aid in reader identification.
  • Add credibility with scientific studies, statistics and updates on trends.
  • Single space after periods.
  • Punctuation "inside" quotes.

What our readers expect:

  • We focus on hope, healing, practical tips and benefits. Every reader wants to know how they can personally use and benefit from this information in their life journey.
  • Attribute all medical or health claims and scientific study results; cite credible, authoritative sources. List additional resources in an italicized endnote.

What our readers won't see:

  • A depressing lists of symptoms and technical details of treatment.
  • Extended, first-person (I/me/my) accounts of life journeys.
  • Marketing or sales copy heavy on blatant self-promotion disguised as an article (we have advertising and our Spotlights for that, which our readers enjoy as well).
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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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