How to Make Writing Easier by Making Reading Easier
There are two universal truths about online content: writers find it hard to write and readers find it hard to read. Writers find it hard to write because…well, it’s a hard job! Readers find it difficult to read because the computer monitor does not lend itself well to reading but mostly because we have become programmed to skim content online. Luckily, these two problems stem from the same thing – the way articles are written online.
By upping the amount of headlines, lists, and formatting tools you use, you help yourself break up the article and make it easier to write. This also helps the reader skim over the content and either get the information he needs that way or decide if your article is worth fully reading.
Formatting Articles for the Web
There are a number of formatting options you can use to break up your text and make the important bits stand out. Here are just a few:
- subheadings
- bolded phrases
- links
- numbered lists
- bulleted lists
- different fonts, colors, etc. for important parts or words
- images
By using these you make the important aspects truly stand out, you break up the text so that the reader is not looking at a big block of words on the screen, and you give yourself and the reader a roadmap to reading your article.
How it Helps Writers
It is hard to just sit down and write a big article with a lot of text. It is especially hard to make your main ideas stick out so that readers notice. It is also hard to know how to structure some articles, for novice writers and seasoned veterans.
By creating additional headings, lists, or phrases to focus on you are giving yourself a roadmap for how you are going to structure and write the article. Suddenly, a few headings make it feel like you have to write a few short paragraphs rather than one long article. A list allows you to get creative and go exactly where you want it to. Bolded phrases help main themes stick out in the readers mind and help you get your point across.
How it Helps Readers
Web readers love to skim. It is not “laziness” it is both the way that we have been programmed to get through content online as well as the way we get as much information as possible throughout the day. Our eyes jump to the parts of content that stick out: large headings, images, colors, bullet points, etc.
This allows the reader to gain as much important information out of the text and decide if he is content or wants to read the whole article.
Bottom Line
Writers should not be frustrated with the state of content online. Writers should embrace the web-friendly format the way most readers have – use the formatting to guide your writing and make it easier for yourself to get your points across without burdening the reader with a long winded essay.
This article has been contributed by Nitin Aggarwal. His company Offshore Ally is a premier source of qualified and intelligent virtual assistants and link builders online. Nitin is passionate about technology and enjoys gaming. Connect with him via twitter.