Scan-ability: Difference between revisions

← Older edit

Scan-ability (view source)

Revision as of 08:29, 3 May 2013

3,596 bytes added , 11 years ago

→‎Brief summary paragraphs

KAHristin

twitter

230

edits

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Banner-blindness-examples.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Scanability demonstrated in an eyetrack study, found in Jakob Nielsen's article about Banner Blindness]]
+[[Blog_Writing_for_College_Students|Home]]
-Scan-ability refers to the capacity text has to be scanned by readers. Writers of digital media must pay special attention to scan-ability because readers of digital writing are known to be easily distracted, impatient, and unwilling to read huge blocks of text.
+[[File:Banner-blindness-examples.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Scan-ability demonstrated in an eyetrack study, found in Jakob Nielsen's article about Banner Blindness]]
-Scan-ability is crucial for digital writing because, without maintaining a good level of it, readers will not pay attention to your work.
+Scan-ability refers to the ability of readers to scan a text. Scan-ability and readability are concepts that work together to encourage users to read your blog.
-===Three-second rule===
+There are a number of different reasons why online readers scan first instead of read.<ref>Nielsen, "Why Web Users Scan Instead of Reading"</ref> Writers of digital media must pay special attention to scan-ability because readers of digital writing are known to be easily distracted, impatient, and unwilling to read huge blocks of text.
-In Writing for Digital Media, Brian Carroll explains Dale Dougherty's Three-second Rule. The Three-second Rule "holds that a site has approimately three seconds to download properly, present itself and engage the viewer . . . or else." This rule exists because of the tendency online readers have to scan digital text.
-===Layering content===
+Scan-ability is crucial for digital writing because, without maintaining a good level of it, readers will not pay attention to your work.
-To make your blog scannable, layering content is a necessity. Brian Carroll says "layering is a response to the reality, the documented fact that Web users do not read." Layering content involves working with text, the visual qualities of text, multimedia, and linking.
-==How to layer the elements of your blog==
+==Layering content==
+[[File:Scanability.jpg|thumb|upright=2.5|A visual representation of layering content on a [Http://www.wordpress.com Wordpress.com] blog]]
+To make your blog scannable, layering content is a necessity. Brian Carroll says "layering is a response to the reality, the documented fact that Web users do not read."<ref>Carroll, 32</ref> Layering content involves working with text, the visual qualities of text, multimedia, and linking.
 ===Text===
 ====Headlines, subheads, and sub-subheads====
+[[Headers and Sub-headers|Headlines, subheads, and sub-subheads]] draw the attention of readers to a body of text. Large headlines allow readers to scan the text, and smaller lines like subheads and sub-subheads are actually read by readers.
 ====One-sentence teasers and lead-ins====
+Teasers exist to encourage readers to read more of your posts. According to David Doolin, "Teasers should be designed to compress the information on a webpage, without crowding it nor without annoying the reader."<ref>Doolin</ref> Teasers should be concise in order to work smoothly with the user's tendency to scan. Keep your teaser limited to one sentence.
 ====Brief summary paragraphs====
-Digital writing needs to be concise to ensure that readers will read the entirety of the text. In addition to making sure you write with the inverted pyramid in mind, you should also stick to one idea per paragraph. Typically, users will move on from a paragraph if they are not impressed by the first few words. Using one idea per paragraph keeps your writing focused and maintains brevity.
+Digital writing needs to be concise to ensure that readers will read the entirety of the text. In addition to making sure you write with the [[Inverted Pyramid|Inverted Pyramid]] in mind, you should also stick to one idea per paragraph. Typically, users will move on from a paragraph if they are not impressed by the first few words. Using one idea per paragraph keeps your writing focused and maintains brevity.
+----
 ===Text Visuals===
-====Highlighted key words====
+====Highlighted keywords====
-====Use of color====
+Highlighted keywords encourage users to view similar posts via tags and other forms of [[Categorizing Posts|post categorization]]. Keywords can be tagged in a few different ways. Jakob Nielsen explains that "hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others."<ref>Nielsen, "How Users Read on the Web"</ref>
 ====Bulleted lists====
+Posts organized with bulleted [[lists | lists]] work at capturing the attention of readers while simultaneously converting large blocks of text into smaller and more manageable bits. Susan Gunelius suggests that writers of digital media, "Use lists whenever you can to break up long blocks of text."<ref>Gunelius, "7 Tips to Writing a Blog Post That's Scannable"</ref> Breaking down these larger posts encourages scanning.
+----
 ===Multimedia===
 ====Graphics====
+According to Susan Gunelius, images "can help to draw attention to a specific post, add color to your blog, and help with search engine optimization."<ref>Gunelius "7 Tips to Writing a Blog Post That's Scannable"</ref> Make sure to use high quality images. Original content is preferable, but credit outside sources if you use their graphics.
 ====Audio and video clips====
+When including video and audio clips in layering of a blog post, they should not be very long. Brian Carroll writes, "Short clips usually are preferred . . . to minimize download times, to mitigate streaming interruptions, and because of interactors' punishingly short attention spans."<ref>Carroll, 42</ref> Photo slideshows also allow writers of digital media to include multimedia elements that aid in promoting scan-ability.
+----
 ===Links===
 ====Related stories and links====
+Writers of digital media are given much more freedom in promoting [[Interactivity|Interactivity]] through their writing. [[Links|Linking]] allows writers to connect their posts with others and encourages scan-ability by adding multiple layers to digital text. According to Brian Carroll, "Links . . . provide jumping-off points within [the text], and they can provide access to information throughout the web."<ref>Carroll, 36</ref> It is important to refrain from using too many links in posts or it will look unprofessional.
+==Notes==
+<references/>
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+#Carroll, Brian. (2010). ''[http://www.scribd.com/doc/64429015/Writing-for-Digital-Media Writing for Digital Media]''. New York: Routledge. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
-#Carrol, Brian. (2010). ''"[http://www.scribd.com/doc/64429015/Writing-for-Digital-Media Writing for Digital Media]"''. New York: Routledge. Retrieved  14 March 2013.
+#Doolin, David. (2009). [http://website-in-a-weekend.net/creating-content/writing-effective-teasers-inspiring-people-to-read-more/ Writing Effective Teasers]''. Retrieved  2 April 2013.
+#Gunelius, Susan. [http://weblogs.about.com/od/writingablog/tp/ScannableBlogPostTips.htm 7 Tips to Writing a Blog Post That's Scannable ]. Retrieved  2 April 2013.
+#Nielsen, Jakob. (1997). [http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/ How Users Read on the Web]. Retrieved  1 April 2013.
+#Nielsen, Jakob. (1997). [http://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-web-users-scan-instead-reading/ Why Web Users Scan Instead of Reading]. Retrieved  1 April 2013.
+==See Also==
+*[[Foundational Writing Skills|Foundational Writing Skills]]
+*[[Brevity|Brevity]]
+*[[Inverted Pyramid|Inverted Pyramid]]
+*[[Proofreading|Proofreading]]
+[[Category:New Media]]