Mary's NET11 Blog

After reading through the recommended articles (see reference list below) I came up with a list of -

The 5 most important 'rules' when writing online:

1. Write less, and divide the writing into meaningful sections.
If your readers see a huge un-formatted mass of content, they aren't even going to begin reading it. Make sure you include descriptive headers, appropriate formatting and remember that people don't like reading online.

2. Summarize your main points at the start.
Because people are going to be scanning across your page quickly, make sure they don't miss the important information. So start with your main points.

3. Emphasize important headers or content by applying different styles to them.
Just like I've done in this list, I've made the headers in bold and number large, to show people that this information is divided into different sections.

4.Make your links descriptive.
Just like writing a good email subject line, a good link description lets people make an informed choice about whether they will click on your link.

5. Use bulleted or numbered lists to display content.
I use this rule a lot. If you use lists it is so much easier to organise and read the content.


More Thoughts

After reading Nielsen's (2006) article F shaped pattern for reading where he notes the results of a study into eye patterns while reading online (they tend to follow an 'F' shape) I realised I read in this manner! - especially since I've started studying full time and researching a lot makes me read almost constantly for hours on end.

References

Neilsen, J. (2006). F-Shaped pattern for reading web content. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

Neilsen, J. (1997). How users read on the Web. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Dartmouth College. (2003). Writing for the web. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/text.html

Jerz, D. G. (2003). Top 5 web conventions (writing and design). Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/conventions.htm

Labels: Module 3