Good writing skills are essential for both online and offline writing. Online writing requires concise copy, well-organized paragraphs, and anticipating audience questions. Short paragraphs are important for easy reading, and titles should accurately reflect content.
Writing for the web is very similar to writing from the web. Good grammar, spelling and writing skills in both mediums are required. Writing online isn’t necessarily easier or harder than writing offline, but the medium of the computer must be tackled. Most people looking for information online want to be able to quickly access what they are looking for. Essential online writing skills include creating concise copy, building well-organized short paragraphs, and anticipating what your audience is looking for.
The title of your online piece matters. For example, if the title of this article was What are some important writing skills? the reader would naturally expect information on writing skills in general. Since this royal topic only focuses on online writing skills, what are some important online writing skills? it is more indicative of the content. That way, readers with the same questions can find the answers they’re looking for without wasting time reading more general content to see if what they want is there.
Most online readers don’t want to spend their time reading a 1000 word article when the same information could be contained in 400 words. Good online writing skills include being concise. Effective online writers understand how to analyze their topic and present complex material clearly. They group sentences into logical, easy-to-read paragraphs.
Creating short paragraphs is one of the most important online writing skills. Reading printed copies is often much easier on the eyes than reading material online. Each small paragraph should focus on a single idea or concept. This helps turn paragraphs into short, digestible chunks of information that the reader can view with minimal effort.
Anticipating questions from your audience is important in both offline and online writing. The online writer should answer who?, what?, where?, when?, why? and how? questions journalists are typically taught to consider. Sure, it’s impossible to anticipate every question from your audience, but as you develop your online writing skills you should get better at it. Having an area for readers to ask questions like on this WiseGEEK site helps a lot!
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