Web V Prose
In a dimly lit museum in Paris I once fretted
over the text of an exhibit. Though
beautiful even in translation, the language did not convey much about the
science that was on display. I wanted
hard, crisp answers to my questions, but they were not forthcoming. Long, lyrical and philosophical text felt out
of place in such a setting. I moved on,
unenlightened.
There is a parallel here between writing for
a museum exhibit and writing for the Internet.
The Internet and the museum share many commonalities that dictate a
different approach to writing than that of traditional historic prose, such as the graduate student research paper or an academic journal.
But first the similarities.
Writing is Writing
The “Yahoo Style Guide” borrows significantly
from the tried and tested Strunk and White’s “Elements of Style” in its
recommendations for strong, clear, concise and direct writing. Writing is writing after all and there are
many common threads that relate to good writing, no matter what the application. Here’s a selection from “Elementary Principles of Composition”
Strunk and White
|
Yahoo
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Make the paragraph the unit of
composition: one paragraph to each topic
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Build every paragraph on one
idea or topic
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Begin each paragraph with a
topic sentence
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Front-load the essential
point. Put the most important
information – a topic sentence or a conclusion – first.
|
Use the active voice.
|
The active voice makes stronger
statements than the passive voice..
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Put statements in positive form
|
Stay positive. Positively constructed sentences tend to be
more effective than the same information stated negatively.
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Omit needless words
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Replace superfluous phrases
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Express co-ordinate ideas in
similar form
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Parallel structure. One example of parallel structure is
starting each item in a list or series with the same part of speech
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Keep related words together
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Keep subject and verb close
together
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In summaries, keep to one tense
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Pay attention to common grammar
traps
|
In summary, both the traditional keepers of
style and their web-based cousins agree that good writing should be clear, direct
and efficient. Readers should be in no
doubt about intended meaning of the author and there should be no embarrassing
errors in grammar, spelling, or structure.
Similar elements should be consistent and punctuation should be perfect.
Of course, not everyone agrees with Strunk and
White about good writing, and no doubt Yahoo is likely to have its harsh
critics too. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/happy-birthday-strunk-and-white/
But that would be another story.
Platform Matters
If I am right that museums share much in
common with the Internet when it comes to writing, then the greatest
differences between writing for the Internet and writing traditional prose is the
platform. The Internet comes with a
great deal of its own unique technical and design issues creating new
challenges and responsibilities to authors.
It also has benefits and drawbacks as a medium for reading, which
necessitates certain style choices that are non-traditional. Consider the following points of variance.
- The hypertextual nature of the Internet requires additional maintenance to ensure that links are live and that search and navigational aids are sound. Directions should be clear and there should be consistency in naming site elements.
- Since a variety of elements in a web site are brought together digitally, there is great potential for errors and coding mistakes, necessitating detailed technical proof reading in addition to regular textual proof reading.
- Web sites often use graphics, photographs, and illustrations, adding an extra layer of complexity and requiring the monitoring of upload times and resolutions.
- The aesthetics of a web site also creates an extra responsibility for the author who must pay attention to page lay out, titles and headings, templates, relative text size, contrasts and other considerations.
- The Internet audience typically has a short attention span and prefers simplicity and scan-ability in a text. This tends to exclude complex prose and encourages the use of organizational features such as headings, charts, and of course bullets!
Foucault’s Pendulum
Back in the museum I would have been a
satisfied, enlightened and rewarded customer if the curator had approached the
display with the same methods and considerations with which a web creator approaches a web site.
Writing Test
So, how does my writing measure up?
Ah, in need of toning, how surprising!
And yet, this fitness test, which excuses
itself as a less than subtle tool for stylistic assessment also has no way of
checking all those extra details that, after all, lie at the heart of the
successful web page. So, on with the verb pulls and the noun ups, but not until I've had a cup of tea.
