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9781770402492 Add to Cart Academic Inspection Copy

Writing for the Web 5ed

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Hundreds of books have appeared on how to design new web pages and jazz up existing websites with graphics, animation, and sounds. But creating an effective website has much more to do with engaging text that people will want to read. This is what draws people to websites and ultimately keeps them coming back. This fourth edition of Writing for the Web includes chapters on blogs and other personal sites, portfolio sites, and corporate webwriting. It also includes links to special download material including reference sites for webwriters and writing/editing exercises. This new edition is the complete solution for anyone wanting to write persuasive and interesting web content that will draw readers to a website and engage them enough that they will add the site to their bookmarks file.

Write informative, persuasive content for blogs and personal and corporate web pages.

Hook web surfers' attention

Write informative, persuasive content

Develop content for corporate Websites

Edit your material for an international audience

Adapt content from print media to the web

Edit material for an international audience

Break print-based writing habits


This book will help you write prose that's as good as your code. It includes a convenient, easy-to-use Webwriter's style guide to step you through the rules governing abbreviations, biased terms, capitalization, compound words, and clichés. Exercises will help you practice your new Webwriting techniques, and critiques of real Websites will give you practical advice. Whether you are creating a personal Website, developing your company's Website, or publishing an e-zine, Writing for the Web offers sound advice on writing within the framework of three principles: 1. orient readers to your site 2. inform readers effectively 3. prompt readers to take action so that you get the results you want
PREFACE xviiINTRODUCTION xix1 HISTORY, HYPERTEXT, ANDINTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION 11. Plain Text versus Hypertext 22. The Interactive Communication Model 43. Computers Make Us Impatient 54. Computers Give Us Jolts 55. Computer-Screen Text Is Hard to Read 65.1 Computer-screen text is hard to proofread 76. Websites Attract Different Kinds of Visitors 77. Webtext Is Hypertext 82 STRUCTURING YOUR WEBSITE 91. Chunking: Hit and Run Information Retrieval 102. Scrolling: Information Retrieval by Downloading 11vi Writing for the Web3. The Three Principles of Webtext 133.1 Orientation: Where am I and how do I getaround this site? 143.2 Information: The reason for the site's existence 153.3 Action: What people should do oncethey're informed 163 ORGANIZING WEBSITE CONTENT 191. Orientation: Navigation Cues Provide a Site Overview 191.1 Understand how visitors scan web pages 201.2 Treat every page like a home page 221.3 Signal transitions with navigation buttons 222. Orientation: Headlines 242.1 Use subheads 242.2 Grab readers' interest: Hooks, links, and blurbs 253. Information: Analyze Your Audience — and Yourself! 283.1 What's your exformation? 293.2 Create a ""client brief "" 323.3 Organize consciously 343.4 Writing webtext from scratch 353.5 Style and display 363.6 Format for printing 373.7 Use bulleted lists 384. Action: Communication Runs Both Ways 404.1 Response cues 414 WRITING GOOD WEBTEXT 451. Activate the Passive 461.1 Don't confuse passive voice with past tense 472. Choose Concrete Anglo-Saxon Words 473. Use Simple Sentences 484. Avoid Clichés 495. Choose Strong Verbs over Weak Ones 516. Be Aware of Dialect Variations 527. Be Precise 537.1 Diction: Choose your words carefully 53Contents vii8. Don't Use Extended Metaphors 599. Use Clear Antecedents 6010. Grammar and Usage: Common Errors 6010.1 Sentence fragments 6010.2 Subject-verb disagreements 6010.3 Incorrect pronouns 6110.4 Misuse of adjective for adverb 625 EDITING WEBTEXT 651. Don't Trust Your Spell Checker 652. Check Your Reading Level 663. Cut Verbiage 674. Critique Your Own Text 685. Print Out to Proofread 696. Don't Respect the Text! 697. Edit for International Readers 718. A Webwriter's Style Guide 738.1 Abbreviations 758.2 Business abbreviations 768.3 Business symbols 798.4 Email abbreviations 798.5 Greek and Latin 818.6 Scholarly/general abbreviations 828.7 Web abbreviations 838.8 Punctuating abbreviations 858.9 Pluralizing abbreviations 858.10 Abbreviating dates 858.11 Biased terms 868.12 Capitalization 909. Online Advice about Online Writing Style 966 CORPORATE WEBWRITING 971. Challenges for Corporate Webwriters 972. Define Your Audience 1003. Corporate Webwriting Needs the ""You"" Attitude 100viii Writing for the Web4. Too Many Webwriters Can Spoil the Site 1025. Components of Corporate Websites 1045.1 Mission statements 1045.2 Policies 1055.3 Products 1055.4 Services 1065.5 Departments 1065.6 News 1065.7 Archives 1075.8 ""Good news surprises"" 1075.9 Action items 1077 WRITING FOR BLOGS 1091. Personal Blogs 1102. Job Blogs 1113. Specialist Blogs 1124. News Blogs 1135. Advocacy Blogs 1146. Developing the Right Style for Your Blog 1156.1 Orientation: What your blog is about 1166.2 Information: What you want to tell your readers 1176.3 Action: What you want your readers to do 1188 ADVOCACY AND MARKETING ON THE WEB 1211. Semantics and Register 1212. Three Elements of Persuasion 1232.1 Logical argument 1242.2 Appeal to authority 1242.3 Emotional appeal 1242.4 Credibility 1253. Constructing Persuasive Webtext 1253.1 Orientation 1263.2 Information 1263.3 Action 1274. What's a Legitimate Appeal? What's Not? 127Contents ix5. Notes on Propaganda 1286. Major Types of Propaganda 1287. Propaganda myths 1298. Basic Propaganda Devices 1309. Analyzing Advocacy Websites 1329 Writing for Social Media 1331. Social Media and Crowdfunding 1342. Advocacy Writing on Twitter 1353. Writing for LinkedIn 1374. The Ethics of Social Media 13810 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1411. Can I Make Money as a Freelance Writer on the Web? 1412. Can I Teach Webwriting? 1423. Can I Create My Own E-zine? 1444. Can I Write Hypertext Fiction for the Web? 1455. Can I Copyright My Webwriting? 1456. How Do I Cite Web Sources in Scholarly Writing? 1467. Can a Website Enhance a Book on Paper? 1478. How Can I Attract Visitors to My Site? 147Appendix 149Afterword 151EXERCISES1 Assessing Website Structure 282 Identifying Exformation 323 Reviewing a Website 434 Converting Prose to Bullets 445 Identifying Clichés 506 Activating the Passive 637 Using Anglo-Saxon Vocabulary 638 Critiquing Corporate Websites 1089 Reviewing Blogs 119
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