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Web Writing Tutorial

Your assignment: Part of understanding how to write well is understanding how readers read. Take the 1000-1500 word raw text of one of the topics below and transform it into 400-600 word web-friendly layout and wording.

On the web we read text differently than writing in print. We scroll interactively. Our eyes scan text for keywords rather than linger over each subtle turn of phrase. In your professional career, you'll likely write for the internet, so here's your chance to learn about writing effectively online.
Topics to choose from
• Writing effective emails
• Using bulleted lists online: how much is just right?
• How to write titles and subtitles people will understand
• How to write best for a teenage audience on the web

Sample Student work
Simple but good response
Another response

Some Basic Web Design Fundamentals
Mark's 10 web writing tips

Prompt
Read some of the web writing research posted at useit.com. Then choose one of the links posted earlier on this assignment page, which are around 1,200 words in length.

Next comes the fun. Tailor the original draft into a web-friendly document, adjusting margin size, paragraph length and employing bullet lists & boldfaced keywords. Most importantly, trim your document to 400-600 words--and here's the catch--without losing any of the important details. This is the key to good writing in the internet era--conciseness.

Why are we studying web design? This is an English class.
True, and that's why I think studying how writing changes when it's read online is so relevant. Understanding how we read and write in one medium will likely make us more sensitive to how we read and write in others.

And in any case, the majority of the writing you'll be doing in coming years will indeed be read on a computer screen.

Tips

  • The grade for this paper comes not so much from what you say, but from how you say it. In other words, I'll be grading how you've organized the text on the page and how you've reshaped your sentences to say more with less words.

Here's the rubric I'll be using:

Text
Concise language but complex, detailed ideas
Short sentences (plus some variety)
Examples to quickly illustrate point
Words common to web
Keywords
Objective/neutral language
Page Layout
F-shaped reading pattern
Appropriate margin width
White-space used effectively
Lack of clutter
Short paragraphs
Formatting
Bullet lists
Clear headings & subheadings
Boldfacing
Hyperlinks
Appropriate Graphics
Presentation
Almost no spelling/grammar errors
Color scheme (sufficient contrast)
Sans-serif fonts
Professional look

Some sample websites to compare:
Brill Publications | Medieval Women | havenworks.com | Stand to Reason|5safepoints.com | Newcastle Spiritualist Church | On Your Own.com | useit.com | tampax.com | microsoft.com | realclearpolitics.com | nickusborne.com
jerz.setonhill.edu | graphicartsexchange.com