We are all Tech Writers Now: Three Steps to Clear Writing for the Web
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Take some tips from technical writing that may make your ideas clear and persuasive in the brand new reading environment of the web.
Print media puts the reader in the passenger's seat. What if you don't want a character to die? What if you don't like the direction the story has taken? Traditional reading is linear--you start at chapter one and you also visit the end, with no detours in between.
Instruction manuals have always been different. Who reads instruction manuals from starting to end? Instead you dip into it, try something, and if that doesn't seem to work, flip several pages backward or forward and try again.
Now the internet has turned into a huge manual where in fact the reader can maneuver around at will--technology has stolen authorial control. You have to expect your readers to jump around. To be successful, whatever you write for the net has to follow exactly the same three rules that technical writers use:
Write in Chunks
Readers pick and choose. Recognize that your audience isn't expecting a story--they have specific goals. Points have to be self-contained and clearly marked to greatly help them find what they're looking for and move ahead. Respect your reader's time--don't make sure they are eat the sundae when all they need is the cherry.
Follow a Structure
You can structure your content by category, rank, location--but there must be a structure. By organizing your information you're giving your reader a tool that lets them find what they're looking for and skip what they don't need. If you can't find a structure that works, you have to define your points more clearly.
Connect it Together
You can't force your reader to follow the road you've set for them, nevertheless, you can give them access to information that supports your message. Avoid being afraid to link, both to resources outside your document also to pages in it. Your role would be to help them achieve their goals; point them towards resources that help them do that.
Like write for us technology , the web is about helping people find information. Adopt a number of the principals of technical writing in your own work to create it get results.
Print media puts the reader in the passenger's seat. What if you don't want a character to die? What if you don't like the direction the story has taken? Traditional reading is linear--you start at chapter one and you also visit the end, with no detours in between.
Instruction manuals have always been different. Who reads instruction manuals from starting to end? Instead you dip into it, try something, and if that doesn't seem to work, flip several pages backward or forward and try again.
Now the internet has turned into a huge manual where in fact the reader can maneuver around at will--technology has stolen authorial control. You have to expect your readers to jump around. To be successful, whatever you write for the net has to follow exactly the same three rules that technical writers use:
Write in Chunks
Readers pick and choose. Recognize that your audience isn't expecting a story--they have specific goals. Points have to be self-contained and clearly marked to greatly help them find what they're looking for and move ahead. Respect your reader's time--don't make sure they are eat the sundae when all they need is the cherry.
Follow a Structure
You can structure your content by category, rank, location--but there must be a structure. By organizing your information you're giving your reader a tool that lets them find what they're looking for and skip what they don't need. If you can't find a structure that works, you have to define your points more clearly.
Connect it Together
You can't force your reader to follow the road you've set for them, nevertheless, you can give them access to information that supports your message. Avoid being afraid to link, both to resources outside your document also to pages in it. Your role would be to help them achieve their goals; point them towards resources that help them do that.
Like write for us technology , the web is about helping people find information. Adopt a number of the principals of technical writing in your own work to create it get results.
