|
The standard argument is that web readers
are in a hurry, so they probably aren't going to read the entire article
as they would in a print publication.
My background is journalism. I have been a writer with The Wall
Street Journal and editor of a local daily newspaper. During my first course
in journalism 40 years ago, the professor said something rather shocking:
"Newspaper readers are in a hurry, so they probably aren't going to read
your entire article."
This was very demoralizing, because we all believed that the objective of
journalism was to write articles that people would read all the way through.
Our egos were bruised. The professor, who knew what we were thinking,
continued. "Our purpose is not for people to read everything we write,
but to dispense useful information. As a writer, you are not the best judge
of what is useful. Only the reader is."
If you think about it, this assertion should come as no surprise. When you
start reading an article in a newspaper, how often do you actually finish
it? Chances are not very often. News articles are specifically designed to
help you decide how much you really need to read, so you can quickly go on
to something else. If this weren't the case, people wouldn't read newspapers
at all, because it would take them all day to do so.
The fact is, all these articles about writing for the web generally tell you
what journalists have known for centuries. There may be some technical
things about writing for the web that should be taken into account, just as
there are about writing for print. However, good writing is good writing,
so the differences pale into insignificance compared to the similarities.
To prove the point, here
is a list of tips and recommendations proffered by these articles.
|
|
|
1. When you write for
the web, you keep in mind that your
readers probably aren't going to read your entire content as they would a
print publication.
This statement, discussed above, is worth repeating because it is usually
the "most important" thing these articles tell you. As we have just seen, it
is nonsense. We could perhaps make a distinction between a daily newspaper
and a weekly or monthly magazine. Magazine readers generally do have more
time to read. Nevertheless, it still is not the objective of professional
writers that people read their articles from beginning to end, because for
the vast majority of readers doing so simply wouldn't be worth their while. |
2. Limit Your Text To 600 - 700 Words
Again, this statement is nonsense. There is no arbitrary limit to how many
words people will read; that depends on the article and their interest in
it.
Personally, I have stopped reading almost anything I find on the web that is
less than 600 - 700 words, because such articles are generally shallow and
prescriptive. So many of them offer a list of three, five or ten things you
must do to achieve a particular objective. But they seldom give you
sufficient (if any) explanation of why you should do them, other than
because the writer says so.
Another argument asserts that you should limit yourself to only 600 - 700
words "because people don't like to read long texts on the screen". This is
also fallacious. If people find an article sufficiently interesting but
difficult to read on the screen, they will simply print it out and read it
on paper.
3. Use Headings and
Subheadings The reason for this, we
are told, is because web surfers like to read in "nuggets", i.e. small bits
of text rather than long, flowing verbiage. This is a valid point. And is
what newspapers and magazines have been doing for ever.
There is, however, a much more important reason for using headings and
subheadings. They allow readers to pick and choose the information they want
to read, which is also something newspapers and magazines have been doing
for ever.
Most good articles start off with an overview (the "lead" in journalese).
The overall theme is then broken down into five or six sub-themes. As a
reader, you may not be interested in exploring all of them, but only one or
two in particular. The subheadings show you exactly where they are. In other
words, you don't have to read everything in the article to find the
particular information you are looking for. The subheadings lead you right
to it.
4. Write Shorter Paragraphs Again,
look at newspapers and magazines. Long paragraphs are generally conspicuous
by their absence. Occasionally, you will even find paragraphs as short as a
single sentence. Why?
The technical reason is to help the reader's eye to move comfortably down
the page. A more important reason is that shorter paragraphs make it easier
for readers to rapidly absorb what is written. Grammarians sometimes
criticize newspapers and magazines for their illogical paragraphs. However,
they make no pretence of being logical, but rather psychological.
It is true that search engines will more easily pick up your text if you
consistently use shorter paragraphs. This is indeed specific to writing for
the web and not to be neglected. However, since you should be writing this
way anyhow, search engine optimization (SEO) becomes a bonus, not a raison
d'ętre.
5. Write Tightly In other words,
eliminate unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, jargon, etc., that add nothing to
meaning, but simply clutter the page. Duh! This is what professional
newspaper and magazine writers do as a matter of course; otherwise, they
wouldn't have a job.
Writing tightly also means eliminating anything that is not germane to the
text. That odd fact you picked up or that cute anecdote may be very
interesting. However, if they do not advance the purpose of your article,
they become distractions. Get rid of them and save them for another article
where they might really add something.
6. Put Key Information Up Front
"Because web users scan articles, you need to get out the basic tenants of
your article in the beginning of the text." Duh!
Newspaper and magazine readers also scan articles. In fact, there is a
journalistic technique called the "inverted pyramid" that specifically
addresses this phenomenon. The inverted pyramid is like a triangle standing
on its point. All the key information is put at the top (the "lead"), with
detailed information filling in the rest of the pyramid (the "body) in
descending order of importance.
By reading the first couple of paragraphs or so, you get a good overview of
what the article is all about. You can then decide to continue reading or go
on to something else. Moreover, because the information in the body is
arranged in descending order of importance, you can stop reading at
virtually any point you want in full confidence that you will not be missing
something seriously important further down.
Arranging information in descending order of importance makes the inverted
pyramid extremely useful to readers and a major challenge to writers.
Mastering the art of putting information into descending order of importance
is a key attribute that distinguishes a professional writer (one who gets
paid for writing) from an amateur.
In conclusion, note that this article runs to 1382 words. If you
have read this far, it is because you felt you were getting something of
value. It is as short as it possibly could be while still saying everything
that needed to be said. If it had been artificially restricted to 600 - 700
words, it would have been too short -- and most likely a terrible waste of
your time.
|
