Writing Rules transposed into the Web

Generally, web writing takes up the basic rules of written press. We find there the same main writing items as in the writing techniques of traditional media. Namely :

Lede and title elements

The article is written around core elements which are:

• The title which is divided in two categories:
  • informative : without any stylistic effect and meant to be simple and clear
  • incentive : which sets out to tempt to see the information. For example : "This infinitely small that arouses great debate " (Article on nano-technologies).

• The lede : which sets out to force the reader to read the article until the end ( "to strike the reader ").
  • its form tempts to be lively and eccentric (content and form) to hold attention, to sharpen curiosity and interest.
  • vocabuloray is made of keywords (for the web indexing) and meaningful verbs.

• Subheads which help to organize content, to make the text clearer and to improve visibility by search engines.

The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H rule

The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H rule is a mnemonics approach to remember essential information which have to appear in the article. It consists in answering the following questions :

• Who : the subject of the action;
• What : the action, the facts strictly speaking;
• When : the period during which the action, the facts have or will occur;
• Where: the place where they may occur;
• Why : their reasons for being ;
• How : their way of being.

The principle of the inverted pyramid

Recurring in written press, the principle of the inverted pyramid is based on the development of facts in decreasing order. It goes from general information to specific ones. Vital information are at the beginning following the postulate that the reader tunes out progressively. This technique leads naturally to rank and structure information. Widely used in the world of web writing, it is not inescapable, as often claimed. Web allows indeed to use hypertext links to go to the most specific and have several levels of reading.

• Source : Own work

Or the "Champagne " approach

Today the technique of the inverted pyramid is questioned by some web writers for the benefit of the "Champagne " approach. Proposed by Mario Garcia, a famous graphic designer, this approach consists in organizing information to boost the reader's attention approximately every twenty one lines. The sought after goal is to keep the netsurfer interested and concentrated.

Designing readable and attractive texts : work on style

As with paper, it is compulsory to design readable and attractive texts to bind the netsurfer's reading and to develop loyalty by :
Writing pleasant texts. In order to do that it is recommanded to :

• Humanize the subject, making it alive : always favor descriptions, atmospheres.
• Stage information.
• Vary approach angles.

Acquiring and developing a style. For this purpose, it is recommanded to :

• Read a lot. Learn to read as a specialist : what is efficient, what is pleasant.
• Create a universe by dipping, taking inspiration, writing.
• Train with short exercises : short portraits, atmosphere, situation, rumors, bulletins...
• Fight your self-esteem : have your text read (even outlines), accepting criticisms, advices...
• Unleash your sensitivity. A good writer never betrays the demand of objectivity but lets show his feelings, his enthusiasm, his indignation... He makes his article alive.

To have at your disposal more elements on the basic rules of journalistic writing : "Improve your writings by incorporating method and principles of journalistic writing ".