How To Write Scan-Friendly Text
Is your writing scan-friendly? We don’t mean writing that can be read by document scanner. Instead, we’re talking about ones that people can glance at quickly, all while still being able to understand your primary ideas.
Traditional writing is difficult to read on a visually-focused medium such as the web, even if it has received all sorts of improvement from a qualified writing software. According to statistics, people tend to read electronic text 25% slower than printed ones, making onscreen reading a much more involved undertaking. While this probably don’t matter to short, 300-word articles, this can take serious significance when you’re reading long materials, such as books and multi-page reports.
For that reason, most people on the web tend to favor “browsing” pieces of content, instead of actually reading them. Rarely will people sit down and pour through ten pages of discussion on HTML, choosing to skim the material for the important points. As such, making your writing friendly for this type of reading has evolved into an art form – one that allows you to reach farther and wider into your potential audience.
How do you make your writing scan-friendly?
1. Use descriptive headlines that inform the reader about what’s in the content.
2. Use descriptive subheadings.
3. Put your conclusion upfront, both as a way to make sure it’s quickly understood and to pique the reader’s interest.
4. Use short sentences and paragraphs.
5. Use itemized lists.
6. Highlight or underline important words and phrases.