Librarians who Blog
Why Writing Like a College Student Will Kill You Online
I read this great post on CopyBlogger today, so I thought I'd post it.
http://www.copyblogger.com/college-writing/
Why Writing Like a College Student Will Kill You Online
This is a guest post by Brian Lash.
When was the last time you curled up with a good book of college essays? Ever perused a great sales letter written in the style of an academic paper?
The college (read: deliberately formal) style has its place in the ivy-coated corners of the world. But it doesn’t belong in our new media blogs, podcasts, and videos. Because it isn’t conversational. It doesn’t match the medium. And it just doesn’t jive with expectations.
Still, most of us find it hard to break the habits of formal writing for two reasons:
* It’s taught: Students spend years writing the way schooling teaches
* It’s rewarded: Educators expect and reward the formal style, and “what gets rewarded gets repeated”
And that’s okay… until you discover yourself succumbing to “formal creep,” or the tendency to write in that familiar, formal style, when an informal tone is more suitable.
The following 5 techniques will help you break that habit and set you on the course to better new media writing:
Read for 5 minutes before you write
I like Seth Godin’s simple, unassuming and effective style, so I read his blog just before I write for my own. Try it with Copyblogger: A quick pass will help you recalibrate your mind toward clear, conversational prose, and away from the formality of those books, magazines, and online newspapers we read throughout the day.
It’s a powerful method that’s guaranteed to work for you two out of three times. For the one time it doesn’t, try these:
Start with a single line
Take a chance with a line by swapping it for one that’s less formal. Then let its style cascade through the rest of your work. And don’t worry about overdoing it – that’s why we revise and edit.
Speak it
You did it in grade school to “hear” your mistakes. Read your work aloud today to hear your conversation.
Your new media writing should sound like your everyday speech, albeit a more precise, polished version.
Apply the “impress test”
When you find yourself impressed by your use of a sesquipedalian (ahem, a big word), change it. The same can be said for complete sentences – you should seize any opportunity to simplify your message without compromising its meaning. You’ll find the resulting structure more palatable for the everyday reader, which is critical when you’re writing to be read.
Find someone who will keep you honest
Each one of us slips up. Finding someone who will tell you when you do is the quickest way to keep yourself in the habit of writing conversationally. And it’s as simple as encouraging a friend or colleague to include your feed in his or her reader.
Put these five techniques to the test the next time you want to write for greater impact, relevance, and reach. And when it comes to new media, check the college style at the door.
Brian Lash is Creative Director at First Blog Media and editor of The New Media Monthly.
http://www.copyblogger.com/college-writing/
Why Writing Like a College Student Will Kill You Online
This is a guest post by Brian Lash.
When was the last time you curled up with a good book of college essays? Ever perused a great sales letter written in the style of an academic paper?
The college (read: deliberately formal) style has its place in the ivy-coated corners of the world. But it doesn’t belong in our new media blogs, podcasts, and videos. Because it isn’t conversational. It doesn’t match the medium. And it just doesn’t jive with expectations.
Still, most of us find it hard to break the habits of formal writing for two reasons:
* It’s taught: Students spend years writing the way schooling teaches
* It’s rewarded: Educators expect and reward the formal style, and “what gets rewarded gets repeated”
And that’s okay… until you discover yourself succumbing to “formal creep,” or the tendency to write in that familiar, formal style, when an informal tone is more suitable.
The following 5 techniques will help you break that habit and set you on the course to better new media writing:
Read for 5 minutes before you write
I like Seth Godin’s simple, unassuming and effective style, so I read his blog just before I write for my own. Try it with Copyblogger: A quick pass will help you recalibrate your mind toward clear, conversational prose, and away from the formality of those books, magazines, and online newspapers we read throughout the day.
It’s a powerful method that’s guaranteed to work for you two out of three times. For the one time it doesn’t, try these:
Start with a single line
Take a chance with a line by swapping it for one that’s less formal. Then let its style cascade through the rest of your work. And don’t worry about overdoing it – that’s why we revise and edit.
Speak it
You did it in grade school to “hear” your mistakes. Read your work aloud today to hear your conversation.
Your new media writing should sound like your everyday speech, albeit a more precise, polished version.
Apply the “impress test”
When you find yourself impressed by your use of a sesquipedalian (ahem, a big word), change it. The same can be said for complete sentences – you should seize any opportunity to simplify your message without compromising its meaning. You’ll find the resulting structure more palatable for the everyday reader, which is critical when you’re writing to be read.
Find someone who will keep you honest
Each one of us slips up. Finding someone who will tell you when you do is the quickest way to keep yourself in the habit of writing conversationally. And it’s as simple as encouraging a friend or colleague to include your feed in his or her reader.
Put these five techniques to the test the next time you want to write for greater impact, relevance, and reach. And when it comes to new media, check the college style at the door.
Brian Lash is Creative Director at First Blog Media and editor of The New Media Monthly.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Roger Hiles on
-
An interesting way to test this is to use the Blog Readability Test.
-
Permalink Reply by Jack Smith on -
1. Select the topic of your essay.
2. Choose the central idea, or thesis, of your essay. For example: Information technology has revolutionized the way we work.
3. Outline your essay into introductory, body and summary paragraphs.
4. The introductory paragraph begins with an interesting sentence. For example: Home workers have grown from 150,000 to over 12 million in the past 5 years thanks to the wonders of the computer.
5. After this first sentence, add your thesis statement from above.
6. Use one sentence to introduce every body paragraph to follow. For example: The Internet has made this possible by extending the office into the home.
7. Finish the introductory paragraph with a short summary or goal statement. For example: Technological innovation has thus made the traditional workplace obsolete.
8. In each of the body paragraphs (usually two or three) the ideas first presented in the introductory paragraph are developed.
9. Develop your body paragraphs by giving detailed information and examples. For example: When the Internet was first introduced it was used primarily by scientists, now it is common in every classroom.
10. Body paragraphs should develop the central idea and finish with a summary of that idea. There should be at least two examples or facts in each body paragraph to support the central idea.
11. The summary paragraph summarizes your essay and is often a reverse of the introductory paragrah.
12. Begin the summary paragrah by quickly restating the principal ideas of your body paragraphs. For example: The Internet in the home, benefits and ease of use of modern computer systems...
13. The penultimate sentence should restate your basic thesis of the essay. For example: We have now passed from the industrial revolution to the information revolution.
14. Your final statement can be a future prediction based on what you have shown in the essay. For example: The next step: The complete disappearance of the workplace.
For more cheap essay
About
Badge
© 2009 Created by Laurie Bridges on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
