This chapter outlines the foundations of writing digital: i.e., writing for screen-based media. While the writing strategies here borrow some ideas from those we employ when writing on paper, the overall emphasis is toward moving away from paper and and adopting habits that allow for the best communication in the age of mobile devices.
Let’s begin with the Golden Rule: All writing online should stand on its own.
In other words, make each post or page understandable to anyone who might happen to stumble upon it. You might have various reasons for posting online, like an assignment for a class, a reaction to an event, or your thoughts about a the latest episode of Doctor Who, but unless you contextualize each of these, they will make little sense to a general audience. Even if you’re writing to fulfill a class assignment, don’t write it like you might have when submitting it on paper to your professor — where each of you understand the context and are the only readers. Writing online is accessible to a much broader audience, so be sure you include them in your discussion.
note: While the following is presented like commandments,[1] they are just suggestions and will not be true for every platform. In other words, many platforms, like Wikipedia, will have their own set of guidelines that might contradict those listed below. These are meant to be guidelines for digital writing and not rules to always be followed. Always be aware of the specific requirements for the medium on which you’re writing.
Be Focused
Focus your writing’s content: always have a point and state a specific claim. In writing classes, we call this a thesis statement. However, we needn’t be so formal; let’s call this our primary argument or the main point. All solid writing states a claim then supports it with evidence. Whatever you’re writing remains incomplete unless you can point to your assertion.
When writing for the screen, write a headline that briefly abstracts your post, like the "nutshell" above. This way, users know exactly what your post is about and your position on it.
In the Yahoo! Style Guide, Chris Barr suggests front-loading your most important content and keeping it short and simple.[2] You only have a couple of seconds to get and keep your readers’ attention, so front-loading your point will have the greatest chance of encouraging readers to continue .
Furthermore, Jakob Nielson shows that users do not even read on the screen—they scan.[3] He suggests using keywords, meaningful headers and subheads, and keeping to one idea per paragraph.
Citations & Notes
- ↑ If you’re into commandments, see Carroll (2017, pp. 22–23) for a very useful list.
- ↑ Barr 2010, pp. 5–7.
- ↑ Nielson 1997.
Bibliography
Purchases made through the links below go to support this work. I appreciate your support.
- Applen, J. D. (2013). Writing for the Web: Composing, Coding, and Constructing Web Sites. New York: Routledge. p. 188.
- Barr, Chris (2010). The Yahoo! Style Guide. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.
- Carroll, Brian (2017). Writing and Editing for Digital Media. New York: Routledge.
- McLuhan, Marshall (2003) [1964]. "The Medium Is the Message". In Wardrip-Fruin, Noah; Montfort, Nick. The New Media Reader. Cambridge: The MIT Press. pp. 203–209.
- Nielson, Jakob (October 1, 1997). "How Users Read on the Web". Nielson Norman Group. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
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