CONTENT WRITING AND PRODUCTION

LESSON 2: CLEAR AND EFFECTIVE WRITING

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iNTRODUCTION

Welcome to the second lesson for the Content Writing and Production module!

In the previous module, you have learned the basics of news and feature writing. We have discussed the components of newsworthiness developed by Gatlung and Ruge in 1973 and Shoemaker et al. in 1987. We also tackled the three types of news stories, which are straight news, features, and editorial. How about the inverted pyramid style? Do you still remember it?

Now that you have learned news and feature writing, let us now improve your writing skills by looking at the principles of clear and effective writing. We will discuss writing in plain style and drafting effective captions for social media.

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the participants should be able to:

Identify at least three (3) best practices in writing in plain style;
Apply the UPLB Style Guide in formatting dates, names, and titles; and
Draft engaging captions for social media.

Study Hour/s: 1.5 hours

Lesson Assessment: Quiz via Google forms

We hope that you are now settled and prepared to take on this new lesson. Let the learning begin!

WHAT IS PLAIN STYLE?

According to Purdue University (n.d.), plain style is clear, concise, and precise. It uses short, action-driven sentences, veers away from jargon, and uses accessible language for easier understanding among readers. It also makes documents more cost-effective and easier to update.

To guide you in writing in plain style, here are the best practices adapted from Purdue University (n.d.). Make sure to click the drop down button for more information.

Keep it brief

Short sentences are less likely to confuse readers because they tend to be less complicated and ambiguous. For task-oriented information, try to limit your sentences to about 20 words; for conceptual information, about 25 words.

✕ The CFNR internship program is increasing the morale of the students even though there are learning challenges.

✔ The CFNR internship program boosts students morale amid learning challenges.

Use active voice

Active voice emphasizes the action in the sentence and the agent of that action. It is shorter and easier to understand than passive voice. But remember, passive voice may be appropriate when the action agent is unknown or irrelevant.

✕ To access the reports that are returned by the Office of the Chancellor, click the link below.

✔ To access the reports the Office of the Chancellor returns, click the link below.

Be logical, literal, and precise

Focus on the literal meaning of the sentence.

✕ This report compares the salaries of different departments for employees who have the same education level.

✔ This report compares the salaries of employees who have the same education level, grouped by department.

Use verbs, not nouns

Verbs emphasize action and generally require fewer words. Turning nouns into verbs is one way to make sentences shorter and clearer.

✕ The committee came to an agreement to the effect that a study should be carried out by the consultants into the feasibility of the provision of national funding.

✔ The committee agreed that the consultants should study the feasibility of providing national funding.

Build towards new information

Put easier information and/or information readers are more familiar with at the beginning of the sentence, and build towards newer and/or more complex information at the end.

✕ Its decision on allocation of SLAS will be taken subsequent to receipt of all applications at the Committee’s meeting.

✔ When all applicants have submitted their applications, the committee will meet to decide how much SLAS aid it will grant to each one.

Avoid jargon

Jargon is one of the reader's most common frustrations. Writers often don’t realize that their audience may not be as familiar with specialized terms as they are. It also tends to be dense and wordy, so avoiding it makes sentences shorter and clearer.

✕ The patient is being given positive-pressure ventilatory support.

✔ The patient is on a respirator.

Use clear and consistent terminology

Using different terms for the same idea can confuse readers. They may not understand that the different terms refer to the same thing, or they may wonder if there’s a meaningful distinction being made that they don’t understand. If you plan to use multiple terms for the same idea to avoid being repetitive, be sure to clarify that to your readers.

✕ “Article,” “blog,” “blog post,” “post,” “piece,” “entry”

✔ “Blog”

TIP

Use the UPLB Styleguide to follow the basic formatting of UPLB-affiliated websites and official press releases. It provides useful formatting guidelines for details such as dates, names, and titles.

UPLB Website Style Guide - 2021-10-26 ver..pdf

ACTIVE VOICE VERSUS PASSIVE VOICE

In using active voice, it is important to remember that the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. Here are the examples of active verb tenses lifted from Purdue University (n.d.)

Using an active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers. Sentences in active voice use fewer words, making them more concise than those written in passive voice. Check out the examples below.

SOCIAL MEDIA WRITING

Clear and effective writing is also necessary in drafting social media content. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2012), good social media content must be:

- Relevant, useful, and interesting
- Easy to understand and share
- Friendly, conversational, and engaging
- Action-oriented

Let’s talk about these principles in detail.

According to CDC (2012), effective social media content must be relatable to people. Thus, it should be relevant, useful, and interesting.

Relevant

People should think that the content matters to them.
Information can be based on time, geography, audience, and interests.

Useful

To make the content useful, try writing about things that they did not know before, such as practical steps, statistics, or research findings.

Interesting

Create content that piques curiosity.

Making your content easy to understand will increase its competitiveness in the online world (CDC, 2012). It also encourages more engagement from the public.

Here are some ways to ensure your messages are easy to understand and share (CDC, 2012).

Put relevant, intriguing information at the beginning of your post. Can you ask a question?
Use fewer characters to make sharing easy.
Keep messages short but relevant.
Test your message on a cold reader.
Provide enough context so your message can stand alone.

Use a friendly, conversational, and engaging tone in your messages.

Here’s how you write in a conversational tone (CDC, 2012):

Use contractions (can’t, don’t, haven’t).
Write in first or second person (I, we, you).
Avoid colloquial language (y’all, ain’t, you guys).
Avoid trendy abbreviations (UR for “you are”).

Your messages should have a call to action. CDC (2012) provided tips to make your messages action-oriented.

Use action verbs such as “learn,” “watch,” or “join.”
Include links to Web content that offer more detail or supply a phone number or e-mail address, but not e-mail addresses for individuals.
Use ALL CAPS sparingly, for emphasis only.

Aside from articles, posters can also be another way of sending our messages across. It is also popular, effective, and easiest to produce among all the visual aids (University of Hawai’i Honolulu Community College, 2014).

Click here for some ways to make your poster effective and impactful (University of Hawai’i Honolulu Community College, 2014):

Think of a theme.
Keep fonts and color in mind.

Do not use more than 2 different font styles.
Colors should complement each other.
For a pop of color, keep it to one color change.
Consult the color wheel to find the best contrasting color to use.
Font and color should not overshadow your content.
Sizing of the font.

Use clean and crisp photos.
Not too wordy. (Important: Title, Date, Time, Venue)
Be creative!

Tip

It might be tempting to cram as many details and information in your poster, but wordy posters might make you lose your audience's attention. Instead, use captions or the description box to give more information. You can also give them a link to your website where you can post the full details of your event or announcement.

Posters are usually accompanied with a caption. Before we proceed with the techniques, let’s first review the basics of caption writing.

Spelling and grammar
- - Remember to always double-check posts before posting them.
Remember your character limits.
- - The number of characters you have is different on each platform:
    - - Instagram: 2,200
      - Facebook: 63,206
      - Twitter: 280
      - Tiktok: 140 characters
Keep your social media captions simple.
- - Make your language clear and to the point.

Source: Beyond Marketing

Tips for Creating Social Media Captions

Create captions with intention.
Write the important stuff first.
Include a call to action.
Put yourself in your Audience’s Shoes.
Encourage conversations.

Exercise

As writers, we need to use proper grammar and punctation to express our ideas clearly and effectively. Check out Purdue's Online Writing Lab for resources on correct grammar and try out their exercises.

Congratulations on finishing the Lesson 2 of Content Writing and Production!

Now, let's put your knowledge to the test. For this lesson's Assessment Activity, you will be answering a short quiz. Click the button below to start your quiz. Good luck!