Writing an Effective Blog Post in Tech and Innovation in Government (DPI-663)
At the start of every semester, Harvard Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy Nick Sinai asserts that his field class Tech and Innovation in Government (DPI-663) is really an experiment. Government clients ask student teams to help solve real problems in a short time frame, and unlike most classes, there is no right answer. The types of projects and final solutions vary every year, but one thing has remained consistent: students struggle to write compelling, succinct blogs.
(Why is writing transparently an important feature of the class? Read more about why Harvard students should blog from Nick.)
As a former student of DPI-663 and current course assistant, I’m getting used to hearing Nick say to the students:
“This needs to stand alone.”;
“Would your mother understand that?”;
“This needs a narrative.”
Students struggle with these assignments not because they don’t put in the effort — writing for public consumption is hard! In DPI-663, student blogs are designed to tell the story of the class for the general public. Of course, their government clients, prospective students, other Harvard faculty, and future employers may read these blogs — and their impressions matter. But anyone should be able to read and understand these!
I’m often the first copy-editor of student blogs, and thus wanted to pass along a few tips to successfully write a DPI-663 blog:
1. Provide Context Every Time
In every post, it’s important to explain the class, introduce team members, and rephrase the problem. Each post covers a different element of DPI-663, but they have their own URL and need to stand-alone, the way a newspaper article does. This means, without any knowledge of the class or subject matter, readers need to be able to quickly understand the context of the class.
2. Avoid Jargon
Anyone should be able to read the blog posts and understand the material. As Nick often says, “Would your mother understand this?” It’s important to avoid jargon, or explain it simply because it’s impossible to know the knowledge-base of the audience. (Yes, the term “user”, as shorthand for the end-user, beneficiary, or even internal employee, is jargon.) Since the blog posts are designed for a general audience, please don’t assume they know anything about design, product management, or government.
3. Tell a Story not a Summary
Beyond the teaching team, no one has to read these. It is every writer’s job to capture the audience’s attention and keep them motivated to continue reading. Too often, students make the mistake of giving a progress update instead of a compelling blog post. These end up reading like boring lists and don’t even keep the teaching team interested. Narratives, on the other hand, tie together information in a cohesive and interesting way to draw readers in.
4. Other Tips
- Use photos, screenshots, and visuals wherever possible — but remember to label and explain them!
- Be ruthlessly concise — longer blogs are often worse.
- Avoid generalities and be specific.
- Don’t use idioms. An accessible and upbeat tone is great, but idioms are sloppy writing.
- Employ an outside editor (someone unaffiliated with the class) to read and edit the blog before you turn it in!
Most of these tips seem simple but are hard to do in practice. Take advantage of DPI-663 to refine your writing skills. In the end, your work will be online permanently, as a representation of the hard work you put in the class. Let’s put your best foot forward!
