IN her essay, 'Public Writing for Social Change,' Ashley J. Holmes reminds us that successfully meeting the needs of your audience may lead to changes in the style, structure and tone of your writing. While addressing the needs of college students, her advice also resonates with those of us who are writing beyond the university's requirements.

Compared to long research essays, most public writing needs to be clear, concise and direct, free of jargon not familiar to the audience. Do not include parenthetical citations from Modern Language Association (MLA) or a Works Cited list.