21–30 of 135 posts
Am I the only one who thinks that sinlge-sentence paragraphs should be the exception, not the rule?
I found this very hard to read. There are so many short sentences and bullet points that it looks like a PowerPoint presentation masquerading as prose. What he seems to have lost with this approach is a rhythm. It's a staccato battering with ideas. I'd much rather be seduced and cradled by writing that made me feel I'm learning by osmosis and not trepanning. EDIT: The author illustrates how his writing goes wrong by…
I suspect people have completely different styles when reading e.g. a fiction book on a Kindle vs. a tutorial about deploying a Docker container. I wouldn't be surprised if generation/age played a factor too.
Am I the only one who thinks that sinlge-sentence paragraphs should be the exception, not the rule?
I found this very hard to read. There are so many short sentences and bullet points that it looks like a PowerPoint presentation masquerading as prose. What he seems to have lost with this approach is a rhythm. It's a staccato battering with ideas. I'd much rather be seduced and cradled by writing that made me feel I'm learning by osmosis and not trepanning. EDIT: The author illustrates how his writing goes wrong by…
I work with SEO, CRO, UX and I can confirm that this style of writing - short sentences, tiny paragraphs - results in better outcomes: time on page is higher and bounce rate is lower.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I worked for a Japanese company, this became the norm. It made translations a lot easier. I still believe in short paragraphs; though not necessarily single-sentence ones. Paragraphs are meant to collect ideas, and it’s often a good practice to have a fairly “granular” approach, with “atomic,” self-contained “modules.” The idea is to allow reading to proceed in a “piecemeal” fashion. This is due to the way peopl…
> In any case, a “wall of text” approach is disastrous in digital media. I hear this a lot, but it seems to me true only in a limited context. "Walls of text" are disastrous in marketing and some technical content, but these should not be the standard to which all writers aspire, even if they publish exclusively online. For example, the London Review of Books[0] is famed for its long paragraphs, but they suit the top…
Note that the paragraphs are not indented, space-separated, and the text is left-justified.
The use of a serif font is somewhat unusual for a digital medium, but it’s a very crisp, “light” font, presented with maximum contrast, on a pure white background.
That is a concession to digital media.
Also, the writing is excellent, which helps a lot.
The resource that has spurred me into thinking differently about effective writing was shared on HN, from UChicago Social Sciences' Leadership Lab - The Craft of Writing Effectively. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIzMaLkCaM
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> In any case, a “wall of text” approach is disastrous in digital media. I hear this a lot, but it seems to me true only in a limited context. "Walls of text" are disastrous in marketing and some technical content, but these should not be the standard to which all writers aspire, even if they publish exclusively online. For example, the London Review of Books[0] is famed for its long paragraphs, but they suit the top…
That’s not a “wall of text.” The typography, layout and paragraphs are done in a fashion that makes them quite readable in digital format. Note that the paragraphs are not indented, space-separated, and the text is left-justified. The use of a serif font is somewhat unusual for a digital medium, but it’s a very crisp, “light” font, presented with maximum contrast, on a pure white background. That is a concession to d…
Am I the only one who thinks that sinlge-sentence paragraphs should be the exception, not the rule?
It's super trendy right now. Especially on LinkedIn. These single sentence paragraphs. Provocative. At least that's what they think they are. I find them annoying. Trite. Overdone. In all seriousness: this article reads more like an outline than an actual piece of writing. Good writing is all about pacing. Some of your sentences should be long and winding. While others are short. That variance in rhythm keeps your re…
I found this very hard to read. There are so many short sentences and bullet points that it looks like a PowerPoint presentation masquerading as prose. What he seems to have lost with this approach is a rhythm. It's a staccato battering with ideas. I'd much rather be seduced and cradled by writing that made me feel I'm learning by osmosis and not trepanning. EDIT: The author illustrates how his writing goes wrong by…
If you make an effort to omit unnecessary words, your sentences will be easy for readers to understand without slowing down. It also reduces the chance that readers will get bored and quit.
I used to uncritically accept the idea that concision was the single important thing about writing. The problem is, if you only ever write in short sentences, you'll neglect the skill of writing longer sentences that flow. And if you're writing anything longer than a tweet, you really need that skill! Having a natural mix of long and short sentences leads to a less "stuttery" feeling, and has a kind of hypnotic effect pulling the reader into your text and making them feel at home.
Am I the only one who thinks that sinlge-sentence paragraphs should be the exception, not the rule?
People don't read on the internet, they only skim. Short sentences are better for that.
:)