After the internet and digital technology, writing shifted
from being mainly print writing to also being online. There are main
differences between the two writing styles
The Writing Style:
Print Writing uses a more narrative approach towards
writing – they in a storytelling style. By doing so they take the reader
through the events in a descriptive way. Readers are aware of each of their
senses while reading print writing.
Online writing uses a brief writing style. When
writing they leave the reader with the most important batch of information.
Leaving out anything extra.
Paragraph Length:
Print writing uses long paragraphs. This goes with
their narrative writing style. The long paragraphs add a lot of extra
description for the readers.
Online writing makes use of short paragraphs. These
paragraphs are to the point, and don’t follow the typical “three sentence
paragraph rule”.
Readers:
Print writing attracts readers that are more likely
to read everything thoroughly. These readers are interested in the narrative,
in the details, in everything that has to do with the story.
Online writing attracts readers who are scanners.
These readers are “ADD” readers. They do not have the patience to sit through
and read every word written in an article and are probably going to skip a few
words.
If I were an online reader reading this article, I would
read the headlines and the first sentence after each underlined word and
continue. Is that what you did?
Writing Tone:
Print Writing uses a formal tone throughout the
articles. It is more rigid. There are so many rules, formalities, and tactics
that print writers have to follow. It’s pretty standard.
Online Writing uses a more informal writing tone. As
an online writer I can throw in my personality in my writing no problem.
If you think about it, you can’t really get a feel for the
writer behind print articles; however, you could probably take a stab at the
writer behind most online articles.
Word Choice:
Print Writing uses technical jargon. The word choice
can be ridiculous sometimes. If you’re planning on reading a print article, in
the newspaper for example, then prepare yourself for a set of technical
vocabulary to express things.
Online Writing uses a more simple vocabulary. If you
keep in mind that online writers attract scanners. The articles are brief, made
up of short paragraphs, and are written in a generally informal way. Throwing
in a word like “perpetual” as opposed to “long lasting” would be a little
ridiculous.
Use of Links:
Print Writing does not use links. The paper is
printed, there is no way that they could “link you” to more information on
other newspapers. Not instantly anyway. The most they could to is reference
you. Anyway, print articles don’t use links.
Online Writing makes use of links effectively. They
can link readers to other websites for more information. Readers can also be
linked to previous articles. The links could be typed out, or a hyperlink to a
word. Even the links have options! You could even link people to an article composed
of more links! (Link-seption :O)
Search Engine
Optimization (SEO):
Print Writing in no way uses SEO. SEO is pretty much
using tags or labels to the best of your ability. There is no way for news
papers to use “tags’ or “labels” and have these things magically show up when
people search for it.
The closest thing to SEO is organizing books in the library
by section – and that’s just based on the type of book it is.
Online Writing uses SEO as a benefit. If you are an
online writer then you should master the skill and the art of writing the
perfect tags and labels for your article. That way people will be able to
search for topics and your writing will come up as an option!
Let us say that I use “unicorns” as a tag for this article.
If someone searches “unicorns”, my article might come up as a possible option.
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So, those are the main differences between print and online
writing. Online writers have the ability to show their personality. With that
said, the general format is more flexible. I could have written this article in
a million different ways, but this is the way that I chose. Print writers tend to
be more limited because of that overall formal structure.
But with everything aside, I don’t think that there is a way
to combine the two and say which is better than the other. The only benefits I would
say is that online writing can use SEO and links to enrich their articles. I think
that print articles are it’s own art form.
So there you have it! Media students, you should know the difference
and the characteristics of each writing style!
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