From living life according to Oprah to writing for the web, this class had it all! Well, except for the grammar review game…but no worries, ya’ll will have a chance to show off them grammar skills next class!
Class started off with the last radio newscast, which was timed perfectly at two minutes! Great job! But you know, if there were some chips and guacamole it would have been even more perfect…hint hint professor.
Any who, the main topic of today’s class was an introduction to our next writing style which was web writing. The goal of people who go to the web is to find information and if they cannot find it, they click away to a different website. To be a good web writer, you should keep the following in mind:
• Write visually
• Write for immediacy
• Use lists
• Aim for stickiness or for a story that will make the person stay and read
• Space out material to decrease the density of your writing
• Keep eye tracking studies in mind when placing information on the page; people usually read in an “F” pattern
• Use subheadings
• Writing must be clear and understandable
• It is OK to use words like “OK” as well as making up words…fantabulous!
Writing for web has a few key differences form traditional mediums. One difference is that it has unlimited capacity. Another difference is that web stories contain hyperlinks that lead to more information. Also, a lot of web writing does not always have a gatekeeper. Fascinating stuff, I know!
The homework for next class is to find three bad examples of headlines and summaries as well as to read chapter 8. Just check The Washington Post and you’ll finish in no time. Judging from the anti- truancy program headline we saw today, looks like it wouldn’t hurt The Washington Post to take wcm as well.
From Jasmine
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Jasmine:
ReplyDeleteVery nice summary of how to write for the web. Good use of bullets, which is an excellent web reading device. I will keep in mind the hint about chips and guacamole. I like your blog writing, informative but also very conversational in tone. Thanks for a good write-up of the class.