Most scholarships require that applicants or candidates to write an essay, so it is very important that his essay impressed the judges of scholarships. You must comply with specific criteria and shouldn't be any spelling and grammatical errors, well.
You must also ensure that the quality of your essay is on par according to their needs, which can seem very intimidating. Many students struggle with the writing process to start, and write a good quality, well-developed essay in another subject may seem too much hassle.
However, if you are sincere about getting scholarship money for college, you must accept the fact and prepare yourself that you would have to write an essay or two for most of the grants may apply. Many trials written requests that the applicant is required to answer in his essay, the chief object and purpose of the scholarship judges is to increase understanding of you as a person, their beliefs and ideas should be reflected in his essay.
Start Trial
The basis of a test is most often, the most difficult. How to start the test? Here are some guidelines to consider when starting your test.
1. Understand the purpose
First, you need to get an understanding of why you are writing this essay. What motive or reason could the judges have after establishing this issue as a basis for testing? Analyze the writing of the system. Find out why you are writing what you're writing. You can also write the question the test and resolve any parts or aspects make this question is and in what order should structure your essay according to the system.
You should also consider the need for any investigation that is run to write it, or if the question can be answered by their unique life experiences. As a test target scholarship is essential for judges to learn about you, so you should consider how judges can learn about me through this trial.
2. Objectives
Before the test, you must identify your goals for the test. The objectives depend and vary from According to the essay question, and with whom you are writing? For example, one of its objectives may be to show the judges through his writing that you have a balance healthy between your personal life and academic life. Another goal may be to prove that you were able to succeed despite many obstacles faced difficult to throughout his life. However, another may be to show what lessons have been able to deduct from their life experiences.
The above objectives are only examples, and their goals may be similar or different test depending on the subject, obviously. The end result is that a set of goals for your writing and let your personal to reflect through. They also want to develop a general theme of his essay that relates to the subject you are writing, whatever the topic could be in the process of identifying the objectives of the trial.
3. Write review
Some people just set out write the essay without a central plan in place. For any other trial of this method is fine, but it is useful to design a plan to write an essay scholarships. Sure it adds quality to it. It also ensures that includes all the items you want success in the test, do not miss any of them. And also provides a guide to structure your essay in a logical manner.
Once you have determined above all three elements, ie writing the objectives, choose a topic of your essay and creating a general outline, is the time of writing the first draft. Yes, please note that I said the first draft. Because a test is rarely, if ever, arranged in a first attempt. After writing the first draft has to go about it to see what areas could do with more improvements.
Revise
The key to developing a well-written scholarship essay is to show the judges instead of telling. If there are examples in his essay in which are nothing more to say, edit it to show the judges how important, and why it is relevant to your life and test his hand. On the other hand, remember to maintain the present time trial as much as possible. This might not work everywhere, but you must use it, where you can.
Another thing to keep into account when the review is to eliminate as many unnecessary words as possible. You should try to be as concise and short as possible. What does that say anything you are saying in a few words as possible. You will know that isn't always possible, but if you see that part of your work can be reviewed using words lower than should go for it.
Then double check and make sure the introduction is fascinating enough to attract attention judges. This is important because if the first line of your essay or is interesting isn't it, always, countlessly used in general and slow, which probably wont read the rest test. In a way, its introduction is the most important part of the paper - gives readers an idea of what comes next.
Finally, give a firm conclusion and the sound test. Not only so, summing up buying all the points and finish what is a hopscotch instead to summarize only main points and keep it short and sweet. Since then, keep aside after revising it to a flash, so you can return to it with new eyes. This way you probably find that your test needs more work and it will also detect errors that you werent able to see before.
Once you think you have a well-written, acceptable and appropriate test, can rejoice. You've made it through part of the scholarship application demand! These points are important consider when writing an essay, regardless of subject or for which it is written. The crux of the matter is that you should let your views reflect only through its testing of the system. And in doing so, one end would be yourself, not try to impress them by inserting the experiences and misconceptions you really do not think, since it will not be able to justify it, and show.
Writing an essay for the scholarship may seem a demanding task, but with hard work hard and with consideration of the above, you can create a well written essay, to inflict their judges that you are a unique individual.
A critical essay is not an essay to argue about a particular literary work. It is rather a depiction of the author’s attitude. It is more of an analysis which deals with the point to point approach of an article or a book. The analysis done in a critical essay of an article or book must have the following points:
1. A summarized version of the author’s point of view. This will include -
• A statement depicting the authors’ main idea
• A synopsis of the important facts and figures, which is used to support the idea of the critical essay.
• The author’s explicit or implied values
• The author’s concluding points an suggestive actions
2. The evaluation of the work. This will include -
• Assessment of the facts, an whether any important aspects were missed out
• An evaluation of the author’s argument
• Appraisal of the author's values
A critical essay needs to be informative. It is not about a personal opinion or belief. A critical essay is the study of a work of literature and is backed by facts. It is all about fact finding and then critically study the work based on such ascertained facts. Whatever you write about the work must be provable. It is not based on any assumptions. At times a critical essay can be based on the criticism provided by other essayists or critics.
The critical essay may be based on new findings of the literary work. This can be done by exploring the woks of the author and discussing the same in your critical essay. You must be specific about the points of discussion of the work, but it must also be substantiated by the evidence and facts unearthed from the literary work. But a mere quotation will not do. What is required is going deep into the work and finding the various nuances of it and using the facts to write the essay. The facts can also be taken from the background of the author, the period the work was written or what other critics have to say of the work.
Another important aspect that needs to be considered when writing a critical essay is that you need to focus on one aspect of the literary work. There is no point in looking at all aspects of the work. Moreover the critical essay must be well organized and each paragraph or section must support the core idea of the essay. When quoting, ensure appropriate format, like MLA with proper citation at the end of the essay.
In a critical essay there is no predetermined conclusion. The deduction may vary from person to person. Each individual has different outlook. How the person perceives the work and what facts he unearths from the book or article, will determine the ultimate result of the critical essay.
Before writing a critical essay, take into consideration all aspects it must contain and make sure you have a firm point of view about the work.
About the Author
Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at Essays writing. Get some useful tips for essay writing and critical essay.
How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay. Step 3 Writing You Paper.
There are many ways that can help us improve our writing and Wordpad Business Writing Correction Software is one of them. English writing is a skill that only improves through practice and it seems like these fresh technological solutions are able to assist us on improving our writing skills. In the following article you will quickly learn how you can easily write better English and achieve your writing goals.
Quick introduction
Wordpad Business Writing Correction Software analyzes our (digital) writing, searching for possible mistakes such as common grammatical or spelling errors, and suggests proper corrections. Scanning your writing for proper grammar and then correcting it, isn't that simple; it requires two main elements: 1) A massive Database 2) Advanced language analysis algorithms. In most cases these solutions enables us to do the following: grammar check, misspelling and typos correction, and suggesting proper punctuation.
Quick advantages
When we examine the advantages provided by this advanced technology we find the following:
* Improving the image we want to project through our writing. * Enriching our English vocabulary. * Assisting ESL learners assimilating English grammar rules. * Helping people who use writing as their main working tool whether at home or in the office. * Enabling us to better express our thoughts and ideas.
There are probably many other benefits that are not covered here, as this exciting technology constantly changes, bringing us new ideas and additional solutions that help us on improving our English writing.
Conclusion
Wordpad Business Writing Correction Software is undoubtedly essential for an effective written communication. This technology is a great way to improve our business communication, especially when we deliver Emails and other business related documents. We can only expect this technology to further develop itself, simply because writing is one of the most important tools that help us fulfill our daily assignments.
About the Author
Watch how an advanced Wordpad Business Writing Correction Software analyzes text and learn more about innovative technologies that can help you transform your English writing correct, professional and creative.
When you endeavor to write a book, especially for the first time, it is very important to set aside specific time to write it. Writing on a regular basis is a new habit that you need to learn. Just like every other thing in life that you do all the time, you had to discipline yourself to do it regularly.
In my own experience and when helping clients with time management it is important to set aside your high energy time when you need to write. The other important things to consider are your schedule, the deadline you have for finishing your writing project and how much time you need to spend writing to meet your deadline.
The way we're going to figure this out is to work backwards to find where you have available time and how much you need. We will use an example project to do the figuring and then you can insert your dates, deadlines and numbers. Then you can do the math to figure the details for your writing project.
First, let's look at your project deadline. Let's say you have 6 months to write your book.
Second, let's look at how much time you need to write the book. Let's say you will write 12 chapters. (That means you will write approximately 2 chapters each month). You can't count on that 100% because some will probably take more or less time than others, but at least it gives you a guideline. You also have to take into account the time you will need to go back and read what you've written. Of course, we all tend to make changes when we reread our stuff.
Third, in order to write 2 chapters a month how much time do you need? Now this is the most individualized part of this equation. Some people can sit down and write and everything just flows from their fingertips onto the paper. Others sit and dwell and stare at the computer hoping the words will flow from their fingertips. You know which person you are and should plan accordingly.
For the sake of argument let's say a chapter will take you 6 hours to write. That means about 12 hours each month. That can break down several ways. It is 40 minutes a day, 2 hours every 3 days, 3 hours a week and so on.
Decide on what is a realistic time limit for you to set. Forty minutes a day versus 3 hours every Saturday require different disciplines. Which fits who you are?
Now comes the time to look at your schedule. Do you work all week and have to write on the weekends? Do you work all week long but would like to get up early or stay up late to do the writing daily? What feels right to you? Which do you really think you can commit to doing regularly?
Lastly, let's look at your energy level. When are you at your absolute best? Is it in the morning with your coffee? Do you get that sudden burst of energy right after lunch? Do you work best at night when perhaps it's quieter and you can really work without disruption from phones or emails? Maybe you have certain days or nights when your spouse or kids are out and that is the time to take advantage of for your new endeavor.
Whatever you choose for your schedule, make a real commitment to it. It can always be tweaked if you need it to be. Sometimes the most difficult part is the planning, but think how wonderful and proud you will feel once you've completed your book.
The idea is to have your writing become a habit. The habit only has to work for YOU! Writing, just like everything in life, is not one size fits all. Find what works for you in your life. Once you've become accustomed to doing it regularly and see the progress you're making it will be magical! Enjoy it!
About the Author
Beth Flarida, CPO®, owner of Get It Together, is a Professional Organizer, Productivity Coach & Efficiency Expert for businesses since 1991. Visit Beth at http://www.getbeth.com & sign up for her free weekly newsletter, Answers From The Organizer®. Claim your free report "Get Your Office Organized Right Now!" & your complimentary Problem Solving Strategy Session. Don't wait, be productive today!
Dispelling Myths About Writing Childrens Books | Writing fo
New Book Describes How to Get Free Grants to Start a Small Business or Pursue Other Dreams
Government grants provide free money to start and expand small businesses. According to the federal government’s Small Business Administration (SBA), most small businesses fail within the first five years. One of the most common reasons is a lack of adequate funding.
Despite this fact, federal and state governments award billions of dollars in grant money each year to individuals from all walks of life to start their own business.
The Grant Authority is written to help entrepreneurs and business owners locate and apply for grants from the government and other, non-government sources.
Its author, Ron Wainrib, Esq., is an attorney and writer with decades of experience as a consultant to small businesses. He has taught entrepreneurs who want to start their own business the pros and cons of running and financing a new business, and keys to obtaining small business funding.
His book offers resources, a comprehensive glossary, and an extensive collection of forms and other important documents in its Appendix on a free CD that comes with it.
Unlike many books that just offer lists of the million of dollars of grants available to start or expand your business, The Grant Authority teaches you where to find these grants, how to apply for them with a well-written grant proposal, and what to do after you submit your proposal.
It features real-life success stories of people who launched their businesses with the help of government grants. “You’d be amazed at the businesses that began in someone’s garage or home and grew to important contributors to our national defense, war against terror, and war for energy independence” Wainrib says.
He shows how major companies, including Cobasys, FuelCell, ArmorWorks and Siga, have used government grants to fund their research and development work for energy conservation, military armor and smallpox vaccines, to protect the nation’s safety and security.
The book includes checklists, tips and web site photos to simplify the complex grants process, teach you how to do effective research, and write well-written grant proposals to gain a winning edge in the competitive world of grants.
It's not easy to write a white paper. And reading them can also be quite a challenge!
Unfortunately, many white papers are difficult to digest and come across as though slightly 'nerdy-types', locked in research labs, prepared them with very little consideration for their readers.
So, if you're about to write your first white paper, here are a few golden rules to follow...
1. Get the Best Writer on board
Individuals with little writing experience are often delegated to write the white paper. In the IT industry, there is an assumption that the developer is best suited to write about the solution. Let's be honest: writers write and programmers program. There are some individuals who have both skills, but these are hard to find.
In general, developers are not ideal for writing white papers - and neither is the Sales Manager. Developers will focus on the technical innards, while sales types will gust about its 'unique' qualities. In doing so, both miss the mark. You can save yourself a lot of stress by hiring an experienced writer who can look at your product or service - and present it in an easy-to-understand manner. These writers know how to 'sell' a concept to both a technical and business audience-not everyone has this skill.
2. Sharp Presentation Attractive graphics reinforce your message. Use diagrams and charts to stop 'glazed eyes syndrome' setting in. Text-heavy documents drain the reader very quickly! By combining charts, diagrams and tables you weave together the main selling points and sustain the reader's interest.
3. Avoid Terminology Geekspeak and Three Letter Acronyms-e.g. B2B, B2G-are endemic in the IT industry. Experienced writers avoid TLAs as they know that readers won't understand the terminology, become frustrated and move on. If you have to use these terms, put a reference section at the start.
No-one likes to be patronized.
Technical terms without a clear definition will lose the reader's confidence in both you and your products. They will stop reading and go somewhere else. Why not? After all, your beloved White Paper is not the only show in town!
4. Subject Matter Organization
Before you get to the heart of the paper, outline the relevant background materials, such as industry research figures, that support your arguments. In the opening section, highlight why your solution exists; in other words, what specific problem does it solve?
Don't meander from topic to topic or you will lose the reader. Each paragraph should only discuss one idea. Don't mix ideas in the same sentence or paragraph.
For example, before you begin, assume that the reader is completely new to the subject matter. Then outline the most significant issues and progressively walk through the solution; begin with the larger issues first and sequentially move though the other points.
5. Abstract v. Reality
Many white papers discuss the theoretical application on the solution, e.g. Product X will do Y in situation Z. That's fine up to a point as it helps paint a picture for the reader. However, you need to underline your 'theory' with real world examples.
Case studies and customers quotes are a very effective way of demonstrating how your solution performs in a working environment. Case studies reinforce the theoretical concepts. They help the reader see how the solution could work for them.
If the reader can't relate to your solution in a practical sense, they will search elsewhere for another product.
Summary Oddly enough, many of us read the summary first. Because of this, it should capture the essence of the white paper and identify the most interesting points.
If this section lacks interest, you may lose the reader - before they've even read the first page!
Make your points. Make them clear. Make them stick.
White Papers are a low-cost way to promote your products and potentially gain an advantage over your competitors. They also have a long shelf-life.
They live on the web, intranets, and hard-drives long after your product has been rebranded, you've changed business strategy, or moved onto the golf course.
For this reason, ensure that your publication reflects positively on your company's high standards. Poor quality material will have the opposite effect of what you intended. Persistence is the key. Once you get it right, a well-written white paper pays for itself many times over in the long-term.
Writing a book is a lot like getting married. It is intensely personal, it calls for a big commitment, and it requires a sustained effort. And like marriage, it carries no guarantee of success. Books and marriages often fail for the same reasons. The most common reason is that the writer doesn’t know enough about the four essential components of a successful book. It may surprise you to know that the first and most important of these components is the self.
1) self -- Many writers get an idea and jump into writing about it, never giving any thought to the motive behind writing it. Yet why you want to write helps determine what you write. The second component is:
2) the subject --Do you know enough about your topic to convey how your (or your character’s) experiences felt? Do you know enough to teach your readers what they want to know about the subject? The third essential component is
3) the readers -- Are you clear about who you are writing this book for? Do you know the profile of the ideal reader of this book? The fourth component is, of course, the actual writing of the book. This includes the format, mechanics, style, tone, etc. 4) the writing-- Do you know the writing techniques that will create and sustain reader interest in your book? If you have sufficient knowledge about your motives, your subject and your readers, you’ve already solved many of the most aggravating problems of writing. Successful writing requires a harmonious blend of writer, subject and reader. When this is achieved, an alchemy takes place. This alchemy informs the writing process, cutting through the common problems writers face. Once the alchemy is there, a writer can usually work swiftly and efficiently, avoiding many writing pitfalls and completing the book in less time than (s)he expected it to take. Achieving this alchemy depends on knowing a number of things about yourself, the writer, and your motives; about the subject to be written about, and knowing some essentials about the people you hope will read your book. Let’s take a look at each of them:
WHY YOU WANT TO WRITE: Maybe you’ve always dreamed of achieving fame and fortune as an author. You’ve pictured yourself chatting with David Letterman or Jay Leno, or being interviewed on Good Morning, America. You see yourself autographing books for a long line of admiring readers or standing before large audiences, telling them about your book. Perhaps you see your book being made into a movie. Do you know what kind of book to write to turn this dream into a reality? Maybe you want to write as a means of self-actualization. You know you have things to say that others will find interesting but you’ve never taken the time to organize them into a meaningful text. Writing a book can create just the opportunity you need to organize your vast body of knowledge on a subject, or to explore your own psychological depths. Do you know who would be interested in reading this book? Or maybe you hope to gain immortality, to perpetuate yourself through your autobiography. Other reasons for writing an autobiography include creating a legacy for your family, to give children and grandchildren a sense of belonging and continuity. Your motive for writing a book might be to help others. You may have pioneered an experience (anything from a self-cure for cancer to roller blading across the U.S.) or discovered a new or better way to do something. What you’ve done or learned could help others, and you want to write a book to share. Do you know who would welcome this information? Recording knowledge, experience or history is a valuable contribution. It can bring fame and fortune, help you self-actualize, advance your career or be a way to spend your spare time constructively. Your book could provide an important teaching tool. It is important for you to know which of the above motives are your reasons for wanting to write, because your reasons are tightly connected to whether or not the kind of book you write will be a success.
WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE
First, what types of books are there? Books can be broken down into fiction or non-fiction. Fiction includes general, romance, Gothic and historical novels; westerns; mysteries; suspense and adventure stories; children’s books. Nonfiction includes all factual books: how-to’s; cookbooks; books on history; art; travel, plus academic books on any area of knowledge. There are also hundreds of professional and trade journals which print articles in specific areas of interest. These can be written in any of the following nonfiction forms: news, feature, analysis, how-to, opinion, speculation, interview, inspirational, evaluative, study, narrative, history, journal, observations, creative nonfiction, summary, list or satire. Now, how can your motive influence the success of the kind of book you want to write? Well, consider these facts. According to the Writer’s Market, only 5% of writers earn over $80,000 a year. Your chances of attaining fame and fortune will be better, therefore, if you write the type of book that the greatest number of people want to read. It helps if it’s the kind of book that will translate well into film or video format. The most popular kinds of fiction books are love stories and legal thrillers. The most popular non-fiction books are how-to’s, followed by books on health care; men/women relationships; business and management advice; spiritual and psychological works, and dieting If your motive is self actualization or to help others, the popularity of your book will be a minimal factor for you. You may already know that your book will appeal to only a limited market. Who over 40, for instance, will be interested in roller blading across the United States? How many people will be interested in reading the history of your home town, or your opinions, evaluations, or your life story? Perhaps your main motive is career advancement. Will this purpose be best served by targeting beginners in your field as your audience? Your peers? Those who have been in the field longer than you? Do you know what differences in approach are needed to write successfully for these three different markets? The same questions apply to those who want to write a book to help others. Who are these people? How much do you know about them? Is your reason for helping them to impress them, to encourage them or to inform them? These are all factors in determining the contents and style of your book. Now you need to know if you have what it takes to write that book.
IF YOU CAN WRITE
Do you have the time to write? Do you like to write? Are you an idea person? Do you have patience? Do you have the training to be a polished writer? Can you make the emotional commitment to the type of solitude and perseverance required to write your book? Don’t get discouraged if you’ve answered no to some of these questions. By following the step-by-step approach outlined in my book, you’ll find that a time commitment of as little as one hour a day can get the job done. The essential part is your emotional commitment. You’ve got to believe in your project and believe in yourself. You have to be convinced of the importance of writing this book. You have to commit to it, and the best way to do that is to make a contract with yourself. Your contract is your vow. Decide on a time of day when you can consistently devote time to writing. Then assess how much time you can spend at it daily. Don’t overestimate. It’s important for you to write consistently each day, at the same time and if possible in the same location. If all you can realistically expect to devote to writing on a daily basis is fifteen minutes, then contract with yourself for fifteen minutes. Then, if it turns out that you can spend two hours at it on some days, consider that bonus time. Once you’re clear with yourself about when, where, and what time you can give to your writing, write a simple contract with yourself: Here’s an example:
I am a writer, now engaged in the writing of a book about __________________. I pledge to devote __________(minutes/hours) to this project every day, from __________ (hour) to__________ (hour). Signed: Date:
Don’t over look this step. It seals your commitment to yourself to follow through on this project and solemnizes the importance of this task. It also formalizes exactly what part of your life you will carve out to make way for this accomplishment, and it commits you to getting into the habit of writing. Now inform your family, friends and associates that you will be unavailable at those times. It’s important that your writing time be uninterrupted. Other people will have to take it as seriously as you do, allowing you quality time for your work.
About the Author
I am the world's foremost Author's Advocate. I help writer's write better and get published. I am listed in The International Authors and Writer's Who's Who, Outstanding People of the 21st Century, and has been awarded the Order of Excellence in Who's Who in the 21st Century
Mercy -A Niley Vampire Story- |Part1; Dont Give Up|
Magazine Article Writing - Things You Need To Know Before You Start A Career As A Freelance Writer For Magazines
1. Writing magazines for articles is a tough job. Well, at least, if you're just starting out. Writing these types of articles require hard work, patience, and determination. There's simply no getting around it. You need to develop certain skills (writing, research, interviewing skills, etc.), make time to develop an idea that will really sell, and exert conscious effort to get it written. Don't get me wrong -- I am not saying that it's impossible to succeed in this field. What I am saying is that the road can be bumpy but with perseverance and hard work, you'll get there eventually.
2. Be ready for stiff competition. You're not the only one who wants to make money by writing articles for magazines. In fact, there are millions of people out there who'll be happy to work from home and get fat paychecks each time their articles are published. You can get ahead of the competition by simply being the best one in this field. Making this happen will take a lot of time. Start by improving your skills, learning from the experts, understanding your audience, being passionate on what you do, etc.
3. Get idea on how much you'll make in the long run. You might ask me, is it all worth it? Well, let me tell you that writing articles for these publications is one of the most lucrative ways to make money from your writing skills. There are people out there who are getting paid as much as $1,500 per article.
4. Pick the magazines that you'll write your articles for. For your own advantage, choose those magazines which themes are aligned to your interests and areas of expertise. Through this, you can make the whole thing not only fruitful but enjoyable as well. List down all the topics that you would like to write about and rank them base on your preferences. Then, list down the magazines that might be interested in these topics. Pick those ones that are popular and those who'll most likely to pay you more.
5. Know what your chosen magazines are looking for. It's imperative that you carefully study your chosen magazines. This will surely increase your chances of getting them to buy your articles. Start by reading the masthead and take note of the various kinds of editors. Also, determine if they're accepting submission from freelance writers. Then, study their table of contents and the usual types of articles that they publish. It will also help if you read the letters that are addressed to the editors. This will give you a feel for the audience.
6. Increase the chances of your articles being published. Capture the attention of editors by making sure that your articles are the best that they've ever seen. Talk about topics that are relatively new or those that were not yet explored by their other writers. Offer useful, refreshing information particularly those that will interest your target audience. Also, ensure that your articles are well-written, entertaining, and engaging. Lastly, ensure that you write them base on the requirements and preferences of the editors.
About the Author
Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it at a high price.
Web-wise writing: style tips for three types of on-line publication
Many professional writers think of on-line publication as second class and are unaware of the specific requirements. But, in the same way that good writing demands we consider our audience, we also need to consider the medium.
Firstly, the web is not homogeneous; there are three main areas to consider:
Emails: These are relatively informal communications between friends and professional colleagues. Obviously you can write whatever you want in a personal email, and use whatever style you want. However, we're so used to chatty emails that it's easy to forget that communicating with an editor or colleague is actually business correspondence: even email needs to convey a professional impression. There will be time enough for informality when you have established a rapport. Typos and emoticons may not matter in an email to a friend. Used in the wrong place in a business email, they may lose you a sale.
Mailing lists & special-interest groups: Unless copied and redistributed, articles published on limited-circulation lists will only be read by registered users. The information is often only of temporary relevance and therefore inappropriate for a print publication with a long lead time. In general, you can assume that most subscribers to the list share your interests, so relative informality is fine. The main thing to aim for is to be brief and informative or entertaining. Not everyone will share your exact viewpoint, though, so you should be wary of offending people unintentionally.
Websites, web pages, blogs & on-line forums: Most of these texts are available to the general public and will be archived semi-permanently. Although you have a lot of control over what you publish (and "unpublish") on your blog, and you can cancel your own messages on the Google groups, for example, once information has appeared anywhere on-line, however briefly, it is likely to have been copied and saved away somewhere. If something written in the heat of the moment isn't to come back and haunt you in the future, there are two golden rules:- One: never be malicious. Two: post only what is true and accurate.
As well as all the standard off-line considerations of readers' interests, logical construction, coherence, proof-reading etc., when it comes to web-writing style, there are certain guidelines to bear in mind.
In general, readers don't usually spend as long reading on-line as they do reading printed publications. You might leave a magazine open half-way through an article and pick it up again at your next coffee break. But once an on-line reader moves on, he probably won't come back. So the writer needs to get the message across as quickly as possible. If you summarise the most important information at the beginning, the reader can see immediately if he's in the right place; if he is, he'll read on to where you expand your ideas.
Reading from the screen tends to be slower. Combining this with the limited time spent reading, a good rule of thumb is to keep your word count to about half what you would for print.
It is much easier for the reader if on-screen sentences are short and written in simple language and if each (short) paragraph deals with a single idea.
People scan web pages rather than reading sequentially. Sub-headings, lists and bold texts are useful as they help readers find the information they are looking for. Do be careful, though, not to make your texts too "busy". In the same way that long texts are off-putting, pages with lots of different type-faces and links look difficult and most readers just won't bother.
Web writing tends to use a more informal style than print. But remember that the readership is international: if you use puns and "clever" humour, they may misunderstand. Or they may be offended. This explains the popularity of emoticons: they are an attempt to clarify subtleties of tone which may not be understood by the reader in a hurry. Of course, emoticons aren't always appropriate, so you need to craft your writing to avoid potential ambiguity.
It's worth taking that extra time to make sure your on-line writing is as clear, accessible and easy to read as possible. After all, there's a world-wide readership out there who could be reading what you write.
About the Author
Gwyneth Box is a widely published writer and award-winning poet with extensive teaching experience. Visit => tantamount.com/words/ to find out about the on-line and presential courses she teaches. (Free trial available for The Poet's Toolbox, her innovative on-line poetry techniques course.)
New Red Shoes - Lynzie Kent and Rich G - Original Acoustic Song