{"id":703,"date":"2015-08-20T10:24:05","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T15:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/communications\/?page_id=703"},"modified":"2025-09-15T08:46:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T13:46:59","slug":"composing-an-entry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/communications\/calendar-guide\/composing-an-entry\/","title":{"rendered":"Composing an Entry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Because the links for calendar entries are shared with the media, it is extremely important<\/em> that the entries are accurate and include a fulsome, well-written description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Composing a calendar entry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. All event activities must be open to all campus community members. <\/strong>St. Olaf College prohibits all forms of unlawful discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Director of Equal Opportunity. The notice of nondiscrimination is located at\u00a0stolaf.edu\/nondiscrimination<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Keep the title of your events brief and to the point for user-readability.<\/strong> The title should ideally be four words or less.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. All event descriptions should be written using complete sentences.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The “Description” for each event should begin with a one-sentence “excerpt\/summary”<\/strong> that provides a brief overview of the event (this is what users will see when they hover over an event on the master calendar).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The remaining description of your event should include information about who is presenting the event and what the purpose of it is.<\/strong> A good rule of thumb is that if a visitor to campus who is not familiar with St. Olaf opened up the entry, would they understand what the event is and who is hosting it? This is why it is important to include titles of faculty and staff and the full name of the hosting office or department (e.g., the Piper Center for Vocation and Career and NOT just the Piper Center).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Do not use \u201cinside baseball\u201d terms or language.<\/strong> Remember that many prospective students and visitors to campus use this calendar to see what\u2019s going on \u2014 not to mention members of the media \u2014 and they often know relatively little about St. Olaf.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Do not use\u00a0\u201cwe\u201d or other first-person references in calendar entries.<\/strong> Instead, it is better to use the name of the organization hosting the event.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Selecting the “category” for your event is required, and we strongly encourage you to add at least one “tag” if applicable<\/strong> \u2014 these will play an important role in ensuring that your events show up on specific calendars (such as the Music or Fine Arts calendars) and in e-newsletters. And, of course, the more specific\/precise you can get with your event using categories\/tags, the better chance potential guests will have finding your event.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Use proper formatting for links.<\/strong> If linking to another St. Olaf page or website is useful (and it often is), please include the URL in the \u201cEvent Website\u201d field OR link to it within the calendar description by using the “insert\/edit link” button (which looks like a chain).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Submit your event at least two weeks in advance.<\/strong> Submitting an entry just a few days prior to the event does very little good \u2014 we aren\u2019t able to include it on the weekly media release, and fewer people are likely to see it on the calendar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Do not add incomplete events to the calendar.<\/strong> If you do not have complete information for basic event details \u2014 who, what, where, when \u2014 then it is not ready to be added to the calendar. Adding incomplete events to the calendar with the idea that you will “come back later” to update it creates a messy, confusing calendar for our users. Incomplete events will be deleted.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Before submitting a calendar entry, you should:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n