Avoid transitional clichés
Transitions can be hard to write. Maybe that’s why we keep turning back to these hackneyed transitions, listed in a Poynter Institute forum:
Let’s pause and ponder that for a minute too.… Read the full article
Writing and editing
How do you write a good transition?
Internal transitions make your message flow smoothly
Internal, or small, transitions move your copy from paragraph to paragraph, from sentence to sentence, from idea to idea.… Read the full article
Why it’s important to write good transitions
‘Signal words’ help readers follow along
“Signal words” — aka transitions — are the narrative glue that helps readers see what’s coming next, understand your whole message and see how the parts fit together (Herber, 1978).… Read the full article
Hybrid organizational structures in writing
Hourglasses, spirals, oranges and more
“When you have news, report it,” advises Roy Peter Clark, Poynter Institute senior scholar. “When you have a story, tell it.”… Read the full article
Background tops the types of feature story leads to avoid
Don’t start with the blah blah blah
The background might be an important component of your story. After all, the readers might need some of the following elements to fully understand your story:
- A definition
- A short description of a key concept
- A one-paragraph history of the subject
- Additional facts or details that give context to the story or “prove” your point
Background comes third
But readers don’t need this material first.… Read the full article
Don’t do a data dump when writing statistics
Don’t make your readers’ eyes glaze over
“Great clots of numbers dropped into a story with a steam shovel create a wall of abstraction.”
— William Blundell, author, The Art and Craft of Feature Writing
Don’t create a wall of abstraction.… Read the full article
How to use statistics in persuasive writing
Turn numbers into people and otherwise reframe the data
Which is more dangerous? A disease that kills 1,286 out of every 10,000 people it strikes? Or one that kills 12.86% of its victims?… Read the full article
What are numeracy rates by country?
Fewer than 12% of adults are competent at math
Nope, this isn’t a joke about writers’ math skills: Just 12% of adults around the world are numerically literate, according to an enormous global literacy study.… Read the full article
Find data for writing descriptive statistics
How to hunt down numerical comparisons
When I wrote an annual report about charitable giving in Kansas City, I wanted to compare the $770 million Kansas Citians gave to charitable organizations in one year to make that number more meaningful to the audience.… Read the full article
Benchmark readability against the BBC
How does your news measure up?
The BBC covers the most serious news known to man — West Bank stabbings, friendly fire air strikes, Justin Bieber’s bad behavior — and does so in an average of 4.7-character words.… Read the full article