Include “Lists” in Writing

Web content can become long and hard to retain for a reader when there is too much information. “Lists” will help organize your content.

 “Think of “lists” whenever you have several options or items.” Letting go of the Words by Redish.

Or change it up and draw attention to the information.

“Numbered lists and bulleted lists draw the eyes of your readers. Text is easier to read and easier to scan in list format.”

http://www.write.com/writing-guides/writing-for-the-web/using-numbered-lists-and-bulleted-lists-in-online-content/

Style Tips for Designing Lists

How do I format my lists?

When writing lists, you have several types to consider.

You can use

• bulleted lists

• lettered lists

• numbered lists 

Within these list options, you have a variety of style options to chose from. When you write bulleted or lettered lists, there isn't a specific order you need to follow. You have some freedom when deciding how to arrange the listed items. As suggested by Quick and Dirty Tips, alphabetizing lists that don't require a specific order can be a useful tip for creating content that is easy to follow. It's a good idea to keep your formatting organized and consistent in all areas of your writing.


Another factor to consider when designing your lists is the style option you want to use for capitalizing. Regardless of writing a complete sentence or a fragment, you have the choice to capitalize the first letter after the bullet. The important thing to remember is to remain consistent with your capitalization. If you choose to capitalize the first letter, do so with all listed items.


While I was researching this topic, I came across a blog called Quick and Dirty Tips, which had an article about several formatting suggestions on lists. The writer explained that most of what she covered were a matter of style preference. I relayed her suggestions to you, but it's important to realize that you don't have to follow it exactly. It's a tool to get you started. When you do your research on the subject, you will find that many style guides have different recommendations. One thing many style guides have in common is being consistent throughout the web page. That concept is one of the only things you need to follow precisely for a website that will bring in site visitors.

Font Types

There are three basic types of fonts:

Serif Fonts

A serif is a little line at the top or bottom of a font that helps to keep your eye moving along the page.

Sans Serif Fonts

Sans serifs are fonts without a serif, the most popular sans serif font is Arial.

Decorative Fonts.

Decorative fonts are fancy and designed to make a visual impact rather than to be easily read.

You should only use three fonts per page, one for text, one for headings, and one for titles. Using more than three fonts per page will confuse your readers. Serif fonts are better for the main text. Sans serif fonts are good for headings because they stand out. Decorative fonts should only be used for decoration. Many people think sans serif fonts are easier to read on a computer screen. There are fonts designed specifically for display on a computer screen, two of those fonts are Georgia (serif) and Verdana (sans serif), there are more web-safe fonts being designed all the time.


http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/webwriting/711

Parallel sounds?

If it sounds right, it may be right. In our class, I would suggest we use the parallel structure with items contained in lists or a series sentence and then check for the sounds of similarity. These links discuss, give examples, and are resources for not causing “faulty parallelism.”

• Purdue OWL , a recognized online writing lab, reminds us to “… keep all the elements in a list in the same form.” Owl has us read the words out loud and “Listen to the sound of the items in a list or the items being compared. Do you hear the same kinds of sounds? For example, is there a series of "-ing" words beginning each item? Or do you hear a rhythm being repeated? If something is breaking that rhythm or repetition of sound, check to see if it needs to be made parallel.” 
• Towson University  , an online writing support, advises against the error of "faulty parallelism." Towson has us listen for the parallel sounds. “…a series whose components are not in parallel format sounds awkward and may cause misunderstanding.”

As we write on the web, we need to keep our site visitors in mind. The ease of skimming through our message via parallel styled lists and series sentences will reduce the reader’s time spent searching to find what they may need.

Feel Good Fonts

Does the font you use make you feel good? Many things have changed in writing content with the right font size and style. The new size font is 16 point in contrast with the old size font of 12 point. Size, font and layout also impacts how you read online. What you read should call you to action, create good feelings, and inspire you. Fonts, style and format allows you to make a connection with what you read. In using the right font size and style is should create these outcomes:

• higher cognitive focus

• efficient mental process

• stronger sense of clarity

The authority sited is from crew. com. The article is "The Psychology of fonts and how they make you feel,"  written by Mikael Cho , March 2014. https://crew.co/blog/the-psychology-of-fonts/

https://plus.google.com/115818730331522196644/posts/Wu625rYyRkC

FONTS

DEFINITION:

·      FONT – Particular size, weight, and style of typeface

·      SERIF – Small lines tailing from the edges of letters

·      SANS SERIF – Typeface that does not have the small lines

American Writers & Artists Inc. suggest for online use sans serif. The site states that the Software Usability and Research Laboratory concluded that:

·      The most legible fonts were Arial, Courier, and Verdana

·      At 10-point size, participants preferred Verdana

·      At 12-point size, Arial was the preferred font

·      Preferred font overall was Verdana

Verdana is the font I propose to use.