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Web
Journalism should be written according to the "inverse
pyramid" principle.
Start with a short conclusion so that users
can get the gist of the page even if they don't read
all of it.
Journalists have long adhered to the inverse approach:
1. Start the article by telling the reader the conclusion
("After long debate, the Assembly voted to increase
state taxes by 10 percent"),
2. Follow by the most important supporting information,
3. End by giving the background.
This style is known as the inverted pyramid
for the simple reason that it turns the traditional
pyramid style around. Inverted-pyramid writing is
useful for newspapers because readers can stop at
any time and will still get the most important parts
of the article. On the Web, the inverted pyramid becomes
even more important since we know from several user
studies that users don't scroll, so they will very
frequently be left to read only the top part of an
article. Very interested readers will scroll, and
these few motivated souls will reach the foundation
of the pyramid and get the full story in all its gory
detail.
1.
Most important conclusion
2. Most important supporting information
3. End by giving background
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