| Good Article Writing – Keep It Short and Sweet | | | | reader from getting bored. |
| Writing for the internet is way different than writing | | | | The ideas about effective web writing go back at |
| for a huge printed publication. There are so many | | | | least 10 years and maybe even more. A former |
| choices for internet consumers these days that you | | | | engineer for Sun Microsystems who is now a user |
| really need to make your writing pop; you need to | | | | advocate and has 79 US patents has actually written |
| make it punchy and most of all you need to make it | | | | a number of articles about the subject. He frequently |
| brief. Web surfers tend to just skim through articles | | | | talks about exactly how users tend to use the |
| or even article topics to glean the information | | | | internet on his web site and this has a direct bearing |
| they’re seeking. No one wants to spend excess | | | | on the way you should write. Some of the ideas |
| time reading through loads and loads of information | | | | explained here are actually drawn from his work. |
| that might not apply. If you want to get your point | | | | There are numerous others on the internet who |
| across, you can’t change this behavior, you have | | | | share similar ideas. |
| to adapt to it. | | | | One such idea is the pyramid and inverted pyramid |
| If you want some proof, surveys show that people | | | | writing styles, ever heard of it? Well, in the pyramid |
| find it more difficult to read when online. Even the | | | | writing style you would slowly build your way from |
| best readers read 25% from their computer screens | | | | the basics to the more advanced ideas; this is largely |
| than from the paper that is in their hand. Couple this | | | | academic and is how most textbooks are written. |
| fact with the short attention spans of most internet | | | | The reverse pyramid is just as it sounds a reversing |
| users and your college essay writing skills are tossed | | | | of the concept by starting with bold ideas and |
| completely out the window. The basics still do apply; | | | | statements and then explaining your way down to |
| you need to write with correct grammar and | | | | the basics. |
| punctuation as well as writing in complete sentences. | | | | The pyramid style is great for students and |
| But everything else will need some rehabbing. | | | | scientists, but the style of writing that would appeal |
| As an example, the paragraph you just read is almost | | | | to most internet surfers is the reverse pyramid. This |
| too long to be viable for online use. The paragraphs | | | | is the style of writing that journalists use; they put all |
| you write need to be short and punchy; they need | | | | who’s, what’s, when’s, where’s, |
| to grab the reader’s attention for the 30 | | | | how’s and why’s right at the beginning in a |
| seconds that you have it. You need to unlearn the | | | | short summary and then fill in the information in the |
| six sentence rule about paragraphs. As few as three | | | | rest of the article. |
| and no more than five is what you need to keep the | | | | |