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Writing for the web III

(These are notes for the first in a set of four lectures on Writing for the web that are geared to JEM 200 at the University of Tennessee. The other lecture notes can be found at Writing for the web I, Writing for the web II, and Writing for the web IV.)

Forms of writing

Last week we discussed some of the journalistic conventions of writing for the web, and we will continue that this week by talking about some of the forms that writing for the web takes.

Inverted pyramid

As we mentioned the last week, the inverted pyramid structure works well in presenting information on the web. The inverted pyramid emphasizes the most important information, which is what web readers want. The inverted pyramid remains the main narrative form for web journalism.

Visual variety

People who study the web and how others use it say that visitors to web sites scan first and then read. They look over the screen for information that they are interested in, rather than starting at the top left corner of the screen as they might with a page out of a book.

Writers for the web should look for ways to make their text more scannable. A screen full of text, especially what we call body copy, is likely to send readers surfing off to another web site.

But what do we mean by scannable text?

As a writer, you should learn some of the presentation techniques that make text scannable. Here are a few:

  • spacing between paragraphs. Example

  • bulleted lists -- lists that have a black dot in front of the items on the list; see more about list below. Example

  • numbered lists -- lists that have numbers in front of the items; in a numbered list, the number of items and their order are important

  • indentions -- the copy in the previous section on this page is indented. Example

  • pull quotes -- a sentence or two, often a direct quotation, extracted from the story and inserted into the copy in a way that creates white space around it and breaks up the grayness of the text. Example

  • colored text -- the previous illustration also uses color to set off some text. One of the standard color uses on the web is to have links in blue and underlined, as they are on this site. This helps viewers see them and interpret them as links.

  • graphic integration -- using graphics together with text to catch the eye of the reader and to send a message. Example

These techniques are part of the arsenal of the writer for the web. The writer needs to understand when these visual techniques are appropriate for use. Sometimes, content must be reformulated so that these techniques can be used.

All of these techniques for introducing visual variety into text have the purpose of helping viewers to see what they want to read.

They also demand that information be broken into smaller bits and pieces than we have been used to with some of our other writing formulas.

Finally, many of these techniques use the same visual principle -- creating space around something, or making it different from its surroundings, allows us to see it more clearly.

Lists

The list is one of the most important aspects of writing for the web that the writer must master. A well-formed list not only adds visual variety to the writing but aids in comprehension. The list invited the reader to scan the text, but it can offer the visual cues to arrest the eye.

Lists do not form themselves. The writer must make them happen. Here are some considerations and guidelines:

  • Appropriateness and significance. Lists are fairly easy to form, but they must be appropriate to the subject matter and significant to the subject. They must help introduce new information and concepts to the reader that are due some consideration on the part of the reader.

  • Number of items. A list must contain at least two items. In web journalism, the best lists are three to five items, but there is no hard rule about the number of items in a list.

  • Use of boldface. A list is best used when one or two of the most important words can be boldfaced. Doing this aids the reader in finding the words with the most informational value in the list. But boldfacing should be used sparingly. If you boldface an entire item in a list, you dilute the effect of the bold type.

  • Numbered and unnumbered lists. Two of the most common types of lists in HTML are the numbered and the unnumbered list. The numbered list uses numbers to introduce each item in the list. Use the numbered list when the numbers are important either for sequence or importance. When numbers are not important to the list, use the bulleted, or unnumbered, list. Numbers can be distracting if they do not carry any informational weight.

  • Parallelism. Ideally, lists should be constructed so that they are parallel. That has two meanings. One, grammar constructions of all items of the list should be the same. If one is a complete sentence, all of them should be. If one is a fragment beginning with a participle, all should be.

    The second meaning of parallelism is that the items in a list should be of the same type or alike in a discernible way. Another way of saying this that no one item in a list should seem out of place with the other items.

    Take a look at this list. All of the words that introduce the items of this list are nouns.

    (Parallelism is an important tool of the writer -- one that should be understood thoroughly so it can be put to good use. The concept goes beyond the explanation presented here. To learn more about parallelism, start here at the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.)

Summary

The summary (or introduction) is a one- or two-sentence paragraph that, working in conjunction with the headline, gives the reader a general idea of what the story is about. The summary is the second layer of information (the headline being the first) that the reader receives about a story and is written to help readers decide if they want to click on the link to the story page.

Summaries are not lead paragraphs. They have a broader function than that. They are meant to present an overall description of the story.

Summaries often appear on the home page or section front of a web site.

There are three types of summaries:

  • Informative
  • Analytical
  • Provocative

You can red more about writing summaries in this article on JPROF.

Micro-content

But then there is what we call micro-content. It's the little stuff that counts.

  • Headlines. We talked about this last week. Again: headlines are the most important words that you will write for the web. Learn the rules, follow the guidelines. Get your mind around this one. It will never go away.

  • Subheads. Subheads are a few words, usually not more than three or four, inserted into the body of a story to introduce the next few paragraphs. They are usually in larger and bolder type than the body copy; that and the white space around them help their visibility.
    -- Subheads are not used as extensively as they should be.
    -- They help the reader through a long piece of copy. They tell the reader what is coming next -- never a bad thing in web writing.
    -- Informative subheads take thought, talent and practice to write. Logical thinking helps.
    -- Long-form journalism could use strategically-place subheads.
    -- Dangers: Badly done, they can be inaccurate and/or uninformative -- and thus, confusing to the reader. They can interrupt the flow of the story.

  • Cutlines or captions. These are the words that accompany pictures in journalism. No photograph -- even though, in the words of the Chinese proverb, it is worth 10,000 words -- stands alone. Photos always require text to help readers understand their subject, action and context.
    -- Cutlines are usually one sentence; sometimes two short sentences. They can be longer when necessary.
    -- Cutlines describe the action and identify the people visible in a photo.
    -- Cutlines are usually written in the present tense.

  • Labels. Labels are the one or two words that are attached to an article that associate it with other articles on a web site. Most commonly, you find a web site divided into "sections," each with its own label, such as "news," "sports," "arts," "science," and so on.

  • Tags and key words. The terms "tags" and "key words" are often used synonymously. These words allow you to associate an article with other articles on the web site and around the web. Most blogging software has a special place for tags. Listing all the appropriate tags for an article helps search engines to find the article and will extend the read of the page and the web site.


Links

Linking is the central action of the web. It is one of the most powerful tools that a web journalist has. Read The art of linking here on JPROF.

-- Good links provide a service to the reader and make reading an article a richer experience.
-- Two types of links: in-line and related links or link lists
-- In-line links are words in the text of an article that are made into links. The art in doing this is to explain or infer in the text what the reader will get when he or she clicks on the link.
-- Link lists occur outside the narrative of the article and should be accompanied by a brief description of the web site or web page that the reader will see from that link.
-- Learn the HTML tags for creating links manually: MOST IMPORTANT
-- Concept of link journalism -- part of the job of the journalist is to find the best links available on whatever topic is being reported and to present those to the reader along with the original information that the reporter finds.

Possible news quiz questions

Answer to many of the news quiz questions can be found at the TennesseeJournalist.com (tnjn.com)

1. What comedian and actress spoke at UT last week about eating disorders? (tnjn.com)
2. Who is the properties manager for the Clarence Brown Theatre? (tnjn.com-article)
3. The UT Police Department has recently held classes to teach what? (tnjn.com-article)
4. What nationally known talk radio host has been saying he hopes President Obama's economic stimulus plan fails?
5. In what area of the world is Secretary of State Clinton currently traveling?
6. What do current public opinion polls show about President Obama's popularity?
7. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a ruling on Wednesday, rejected the idea of limiting lawsuits against what businesses?
8. Who is the prime minister of Great Britain?
9. What U.S. senator has received an honorary knighthood from Great Britain?


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