There is this information that you want to communicate with a certain group of people, yet you are unsure on what method you are going to use to ensure that the information will be effectively communicated to them. What would you do? Among the effective ways to make an announcement is through a notice.
A notice is commonly used by individuals, groups, or organizations which can be posted online or in public areas or send exclusively to concerned individuals in order to disseminate certain information. Because a notice can encompass a wide variety of categories or topics, it is very convenient, hence preferred by a lot of people.
Elements of a Good Notice
For a notice to effectively communicate to the readers, it must cover important points—the elements that must comprise a notice. In order for your notice to be complete, here are the key elements that must be present:
1. What: The “what” of a notice is the primary subject or the crux of the subject, which might be an event that is going to happen or had already happened. Because it is the main topic, it must be written clearly in a brief and direct manner, avoiding any ambiguity and clarifying what is the notice all about.
2. Where: A notice that provides details about the happening of a certain event must specify its location or venue for it is the primary concern of your audience. Note that you must be specific with the details, for example, the room number or floor number in order to guide attendees to the exact location. You may as well include maps and directions for an increased understandability by your audience.
3. When: The date and time of your notice must be specific, providing details about the day of the week and even the possible duration of the event or activity in order to set the audience’s expectation on the length of time it would take to finish the event.
4. Who: Those who need to be informed must also be specified in the notice in order to avoid confusion. The target audience, participants, and other concerned parties whom the notice is addressed to must be clearly mentioned.
5. Whom: This pertains to the contact people or person of the notice. There must be someone who will answer and entertain the concerns and queries of the audience, and his or her or their names must be indicated in the notice.
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How to Create a Notice
Knowing the elements of a notice will help you identify the points and key information for a detailed and complete notice. But, with these details on hand, how will you put these information into paper, organizing them to create a well-written and comprehensible notice? Take note of these simple steps:
- Determine the kind of notice you want to create by knowing the purpose or your main goal. Do you want to announce an upcoming meeting for the members of a certain organization? Do you need to remind an individual for a payment due? Do you want to inform specific groups of people regarding a certain litigation or legal action? Assess what information you want to share to your recipient, and from there, you can identify the purpose of your notice.
- The date of the notice is one of its important features so the reader would be aware when the notice is created and other important dates relevant to the notice.
- Clearly present the reason why the notice is created through a brief introduction. When you specify the goal that you want to achieve, you might as well include the necessary steps you are planning to take in order to realize the goal. In this way, readers will understand from your point of view where the discussion of the notice will be heading.
- Depending on the subject matter of your notice, develop the main body and include thorough but concise details of the notice. Avoid the use of jargon to make sure that your target audience will fully understand your notice.
- End your notice with a conclusion or closing statement, and see to it that the contact information of the person in charge is clearly indicated.
Tips for a Well-Written Notice
Did you find yourself stuck in the first sentence in your notice creation? Are you having a hard time in constructing sentences and paragraphs? Here are some useful tips that will help you create your notice smoothly and accurately.
- Be precise and direct to the point. Avoid flowery introductions and lengthy paragraphs. People will immediately get bored reading those long texts so there is a huge possibility that they won’t bother to finish reading the notice. Just use short sentences.
- Note that a notice is a formal form of communication. Hence, the language you must use must also be formal. The information must be organized in a box or in bullets to keep them organized.
- Do not exceed the specified word limit for your notice. This will also help you to create your notice concisely.
- Your heading must have the word Notice written at the top for the document to be easily recognized.
- Clearly specify the target group for your notice or for whom the notice is created for.
- State that they can ask further questions and clarify some information by communicating with the person in charge whose name and contact details are included in the notice.
- Do not forget to include the name, signature, and designation of the person issuing the notice.
As stated above, a notice is a formal notice hence must be treated formally. It must follow a certain structure or format. Although notices can be presented in different styles and can have a lot of variations, they are typically in similar formats. Here is the commonly used format of a notice.
- Name of the organization: At the very top of the page, the name of the organization or the person or company issuing the notice must be indicated in order to help the reader identify the source of the notice. From there, the reader can assess whether the notice is important or unimportant to him.
- Title: Among the tips provided above is to write the word Notice at the top of the page. This is important in order to draw people’s attention to the document especially when the notice is posted in place a where there is a possibility that it might get drowned by a pool of other posters. The title must be rendered in bold or in large fonts so the notice would be immediately noticed.
- Date: On the left-hand side of the page, the date on which the notice has been published is typically printed. Note that the date of the notice is vital so the documents stay on record.
- Heading: The heading of the notice presents the subject matter of the notice. Even without reading the content, the reader must have a little idea on what the notice is all about through the heading. It must also clearly state the purpose of the notice.
- Body: The explanation and further details of the notice must be featured in the body. It must be brief and concise, avoiding ambiguous words to avoid misunderstanding.
- Issuer: The name of the writer or issuer of the notice must be written at the bottom of the page. He or she must sign the page, acknowledging that he or she is in charge of the notice and to be responsible for answering the concerns of the readers. The signature is important because this lends credibility as well as validity of your document.
Notice FAQs
Here are some further information that answers the people’s commonly asked questions.
What is the importance of a notice?
Notice is a formal document communicating an announcement or any important information to a specific individual or group. It can encompass any subject matter so it is convenient for any organization when they disseminate information to the intended parties.
What are the characteristics of a notice?
- A notice must be brief, only limited to a certain number of words. The sentences and paragraphs must be short and direct to the point. Avoid lengthy introduction and any repetition, and as much as possible, it must leave no scope for further inquiries.
- It must be complete. The complete information comprising a notice is presented in the section “Elements of a Good Notice” of this article. Make sure that the key elements—what, where, when, who, and whom—are present and there are no missing information in your notice. You may be more specific by including detailed information. For example, if you are writing a notice regarding a sports event, you can include the age limit, date of the event, venue, fees, guests, prizes, duration, among others.
- It must have a person in charge. This can be the person writing the notice or issuing the notice or some key person such as the teacher, manager, president, or team leader.
- It must be clear. Aside from being concise and direct, it must also be clear, avoiding possible ambiguities in the information. It must also be crisp and straightforward.
- It must be formal. A notice is a formal document hence its language needs to be formal. This does not necessarily mean to use technical words, but instead, the use of simple and easy-to-understand words is encouraged.
What are the three main parts of a notice?
- Head: This is the part that catches the reader’s attention. It must present the main topic or the subject of the notice. The notice head must be brief and clear that even at a glance, the reader can immediately get a grip on the whole content of the notice.
- Body: Contained in this section are the complete details regarding the notice. Always double-check all the information you incorporate in the body before finalizing, so you would not miss to include any important information that might be vital for your notice.
- Closing: Included in the end section of a notice is the closing statement and the contact person or person in charge to answer the concerns of the readers. You must also include in your closing the requirements that are possibly needed when complying with the notice.