Writing for the web
Reading has changed and so has writing.
With technological advances, people are changing too. Are you sure you can write for the web effectively? Read these quick tips and step up your writing game.
Every person has developed their specific writing style over time. And that is ok, as we are encouraged to do so. However, with technological advances, our reading styles have changed a lot more than our writing styles. When writing, we are focused and are (un)intentionally making the message more complex than needed. This might be ok when we are considering academic texts, however, it is less than appropriate for online writing. Moreover, some languages — like my mother tongue Slovenian — are actually prone to complex sentences. It is not uncommon to see a sentence with 5 or 6 coordinate and subordinate clauses.
Short-term memory is shrinking
One of the downsides of technological advances is its effect on our focus. We are bombarded by information on an everyday basis. It may come from TV, radio, billboards, traffic signs, complex websites … Distractions are intentionally done by those who want our attention, making it even harder for our brains to separate the wheat from the chaff. For this reason, neuroplasticity in our brains has shrunk our attention span and made it more distributed (Pinel, 2010). We evaluate more items at the same time, all the time, looking for dangers and rewards. And along with attention, short-term memory span is also shrinking, freeing space more often to allow more information to come in be assessed.
How to write for short attention spans
With shorter short-memory span and lower attention span, readers require simplicity. A rule of thumb suggests:
- building sentences of 14–20 words,
- using active forms (instead of passive),
- including 1 main information to each sentence,
- using maximum 1 coordinate or subordinate clause. (Kronenberger, 2017)
Rules can, of course, vary between languages, however, every writer should be able to stay close to these rules.
Another point in writing is keeping your text close to the reader. Almost no one likes legal texts with a lot of nouns, almost without verbs and mostly — with repetitive wording. Use synonyms and metaphors to make text easier to read and to persuade the reader to continue reading. (Kronenberger, 2017) Using the same word over and over again is boring. Unless you wish to imprint a specific word into reader’s mind — that repetition is welcoming.
Resources
Kronenberger, U. (2017, October). Erfolgreich im Internet schreiben. So werden Sie gelesen! [Powerpoint slides]. FH Joanneum, Graz.
Pinel, J. P. J. (2010). Biopsychology (0008 ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.
