Writing for the Web

Know your audience

Before you start any piece of digital work, identify your audience: What are their interests? How will they access your work? What do you want them to take away from this piece?

 

For this class, I am your main audience. So, make sure you address the prompt, demonstrate your understanding of the topic, and follow all guidelines.

 

However, your work will also live on the open web. Think about how you want to represent yourself online. What would you want to say to someone who stumbled upon your post? What about if the dean read your work?

What's the Headline?

We've all been subject to clickbait, so we all know that the headline is the first (and sometimes only) chance you'll have to grab the attention of your reader.

 

When writing a blog post, it's important to come up with a title that reflects your piece. Try to do more than "Assignment 2" or "Social Media Analysis."

 

Work to write a title that reflects your main argument or topic and hooks your reader in.

Structure

Just because a blog post is short doesn't mean it's not a rigorous piece. In fact, sometimes fitting your ideas into a small space is more challenging than a five-page paper.

  • First, come up with an argument. In 1-2 sentences, what are you trying to say or do with this post and why should your reader care?
  • Don't bury the lede! You want to include your argument first, in a brief introduction that primes your reader for what's ahead.
  • Then, structure your post around your argument. A good rule of thumb: include at least two paragraphs that support your main point and that incorporate sources as evidence.
  • These paragraphs can be short, but you should use topic sentences to introduce each new idea.
  • Don't forget a conclusion! Remind the reader what they should take away, or leave them with a bigger question to consider.

 

Tone

There are many tones you can take with a blog post: friendly, professional, casual, funny, informative, etc.
 

No matter what tone you decide on, make sure to use good spelling, grammar, and organization. The tone hooks your reader in, but good grammar makes sure the reader can understand your ideas.

 

If there is a good reason to use internet lingo (lol, TL;DR, trends or slang) you can, but you should be able to defend this choice.

 

There are ways that you can format or design your post to support whatever tone you are taking. Would a certain font, color, structure, or other design element enhance your argument?

Use media!!

Remember: one important element of DH work is that you can create transmedia arguments. So, do that in your posts!


Include hyperlinks! You should always include hyperlinks to direct your reader to projects, websites, or ideas you are discussing.

However, you should NEVER just paste a hyperlink in. Instead:

  • Include hyperlinks in the text: “The crowdsourced project Preserve the Baltimore Uprising Archive Project is a great example of how Omeka can be used to respond to current events.”
  • If you’re including a screenshot or other media, you can include a link in the caption that directs the reader directly to the page where you found it.

Use media!!, pt. 2

Blogs allow you to incorporate images, video, and audio that can enhance your argument and make your writing more engaging.

However, you should never just include media for media’s sake. Some rules of thumb:

  1. Always make sure the media is referenced in your post so that users know what they are looking at and why.

  2. Always insert media in the part of the post where you are discussing it.

  3. If the media is interactive in any way, try to embed it rather than including a screenshot.

  4. Always include a hyperlink and/or citation so that the reader knows where the piece is coming from and can visit the original source.

Intention

The bottom line is to plan out your posts with intention.

 

The choices you make when you compose your blog--from argument to structure to tone to media--should all be intentional choices that you can defend.

 

And remember that by posting your are joining an ever-growing number of voices on the open web! Make it count!