Good Writing: Difference between revisions

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 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. No matter the standard, the most important thing to keep in mind for all good writing is to keep readers interested. That starts from the moment a potential reader clicks on the page to the end of the article.

Writing for digital media isn’t poetry. No one wants to interpret writing on the web. The same goes for ambiguity, allow the reader to form their own opinions. Otherwise, just write what is meant and don’t try to be suspenseful about it.

Consistency applies to mechanics and style. Sentence structure and grammatical choices, like whether or not to use the oxford comma, should be consistent. This gives the writer credibility and helps the reader to distinguish the style of the writer.

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. Voice also conveys authority and [[expertise]].

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, ''The Lion King'' and “Rappuccini’s Daughter.”

====Audience<ref>Hale, Steven. "Choosing and Writing for an Audience." GPC.edu. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.[http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/audience.html]</ref>====  

Who is the writer talking to? Just like people have different ways to talk to their parents, friends, or professors, writing has that same distinction depending on the audience. Writing about Jane Eyre for thirteen-year-olds who just read the book and a group of English majors in college who probably read the book at least twice is going to give two completely different articles.