72
edits
Good Writing: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
When writing for any type of media, whether it be traditional print or online, there is generally a basic standard the writer must adhere to;that is if the writer wants people to read | When writing for any type of media, whether it be traditional print or online, there is generally a basic standard the writer must adhere to;that is if the writer wants people to read. In web based digital media, “good writing” has a typically higher standard than traditional print. That standard varies depending on what is being written about; however, no matter the standard, the most important thing to keep in mind for all good writing is to keep the readers interested. That starts from the moment a potential reader clicks on the page to the end of the article. | ||
==General Advice== | ==General Advice== | ||
====Be Brief==== | ====Be Brief==== | ||
Readers of the web read 25% slower than when reading a newspaper, so they will not be attracted by a long works on the web. They want information quickly and if they don’t get it quick enough, it’s only a click of the back button and pressing the next search result in Google to find exactly what they want quickly. | Readers of the web read 25% slower than when reading a newspaper, so they will not be attracted by a long works on the web. They want information quickly and if they don’t get it quick enough, it’s only a click of the back button and pressing the next search result in Google to find exactly what they want quickly. <ref>http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-tips-for-writing-for-online-readers/</ref> | ||
====Be concise==== | ====Be concise==== | ||
Writers shouldn't try to show how intelligent they are by using inventive sentence structure or waste words on long introduction. If they a writer doesn't get to the point, they risk losing a potential reader. | Writers shouldn't try to show how intelligent they are by using inventive sentence structure or waste words on long introduction. If they a writer doesn't get to the point, they risk losing a potential reader. | ||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
==Stylistic Advice== | ==Stylistic Advice== | ||
====Voice==== | ====Voice==== | ||
Just like when a person answers the phone and they recognize the sound of someone’s voice, the same applies to writing. Writing has to have voice and much of that depends on word choice, sentence structure etc. The voice in writing can mean the difference between sounding like a twelve-year-old girl and a strict fifty-year-old English Teacher. It can also convey someone who knows what they’re talking about and someone who doesn’t. | Just like when a person answers the phone and they recognize the sound of someone’s voice, the same applies to writing. Writing has to have voice and much of that depends on word choice, sentence structure etc. The voice in writing can mean the difference between sounding like a twelve-year-old girl and a strict fifty-year-old English Teacher. It can also convey someone who knows what they’re talking about and someone who doesn’t.<ref>http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/understanding-voice-and-tone-in-writing.aspx</ref> | ||
====Imagination==== | ====Imagination==== | ||
Being imaginative does not mean to try to be like Chaucer who didn’t like spelling the same word the same way twice. It also doesn’t mean to open the thesaurus and find big fancy words for simple words. What it does mean is to approach the topic from a different angle. For instance a blogger wants to talk about their favorite movies. Well, there are plenty of movies that do that but a different approach would be to take favorite movies and compare it to something the reader wouldn’t expect; For example, Lion King and “Rappuccini’s Daughter.” | Being imaginative does not mean to try to be like Chaucer who didn’t like spelling the same word the same way twice. It also doesn’t mean to open the thesaurus and find big fancy words for simple words. What it does mean is to approach the topic from a different angle. For instance a blogger wants to talk about their favorite movies. Well, there are plenty of movies that do that but a different approach would be to take favorite movies and compare it to something the reader wouldn’t expect; For example, Lion King and “Rappuccini’s Daughter.” | ||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
*Plagiarism | *Plagiarism | ||
*Identification | *Identification | ||
*Revise! Revise! Revise! | *Revise! Revise! Revise! <ref>http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/revising-drafts/</ref> | ||
==Helpful Sites== | |||
*Absolute Write Forums [http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | |||