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Instructions for Web Writing

General outlines for web writing
Stages of the writing process
Useful links
References

Our challenge is to search for different pedagogical models to support the growth to non-violence. Nevertheless we think that the following pedagogical principles should be taken into account while preparing the study material: (1) the relationship between the material and the fictional student should be equal and respecting, (2) the experiences (practice) are an important part of learning and compared to the concepts they represent a different aspect on life, but also the concepts are important in the learning process, (3) emotions are inextricably attached to life and taking them into consideration in all their complexity is very important also when producing the learning material and making the pedagogical solutions concerning the gendered and sexualised violence, and (4) it is in place to consider the ethical questions in relation both to oneself, the produced material and its possible characters and to the students and their studying.

General outlines for web writing

We recommend the following starting points for web writing:

Remember, that the material is in the first place meant for the future teachers and other educational professionals, who may not have a lot of knowledge on the topic.
  1. Define and outline the topic precisely.
  2. Define the educational objectives for your material.
  3. Construct your material so that it is based on non-violent pedagogy.
  4. If possible and meaningful, include in your text real life cases / problems to solve / visions to the future.
  5. Create material that supports cooperative and communal learning. Design exercises that encourage asking, discussing and working together. The web material is at its best when it inspires to think and brings different opinions, feelings and thoughts into light.
  6. Create as open and flexible material as possible.
  7. Find additional sources, databases etc. Material containing images can also be very useful.
  8. Include in the material also questions that guide the student to think about his/her goals and interests and the things s/he has learned. Guide the student also to consider the material and the topics s/he would like to know more about.
  9. Web material should include a statement of what is expected from a student. Besides the whole course the challenges connected to expectations are related to the single modules and their parts. Pay attention to it and express your expectations.
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Stages of the writing process

Definition and planning processes
The actual writing and the finishing of the text

Web writing is a process as are many other forms of writing. In this process planning has a central role. As a help in the planning of the text, the writer can use the basic definition, the image map and the modelling of the structure. Writing and re-writing the basic message can also be helpful in planning and processing the text. Defining the concepts etc. is recommended in the planning stage. Furthermore, the writing process can be divided into three stages: definition and planning, actual writing and finishing.

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Definition and planning processes

Define the following things for your text:

  1. What do you want to say to your reader? – On which subject are you writing about?
  2. To whom, to what kind of reader are you writing?
  3. Why are you writing? - What do you want to evoke in the reader?
  4. How do you know if your text has influenced the reader?

In each web document that is composed of several pages must have a separate starting page. Starting page is composed most often of the basic message and the main menu. Complicated structures are not recommended. Other recommendation is that the breadth of the text would be seven links maximum and the depth five levels. In this context, the breadth means the number of links that are situated on one page and the depth means the number of the hierarchical levels in the document.

You can draw the structure of the text as follows:

1. Describe one page of the web text with a rectangle, the size of which shows your estimation about the volume of the text.

2. Describe the links with lines. With them you merge the pages into one document.

3. Make an image map with the main features, after which you start to sketch first the starting page and then other pages more precisely.

4. Mark the headings, the pictorial motifs and the key words and pictures that work as links to each page.

5. Unite your document with links to other documents with related topics.


Figure 1. An example of the structure of the web text. (Source: Alasilta 1998)

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The actual writing and the finishing of the text

  1. Chart the existing documents, which are available in the web or as paper text. Check if you can use the links and the texts as such or pick parts of them or revise them suitable. Make sure that you don't break the copyrights when quoting the texts.
  2. Write one page at the time and carelessly and swiftly also including the missing parts. Make the writing easier by defining a communication task for each page. Pay special attention to the beginning of the pages. Make sure that the pages, the subheadings of the chapters and by choice also all the paragraphs are independent by their contents and by their intrigue. Write about each subject only once and check the image map if you start repeating the same issue. Correct and test the text.
  3. Compare the drafts and image map, examine if the texts you have written correspond with the tasks that you have given to each page. If necessary, correct either the image map or the texts or both.
  4. Ask comments about: Do the image map and the drafts correspond the initial task definition and how.
  5. Estimate the scannability. Consider if the starting page is interesting and informative. Consider also whether the menus fit on one page and how interesting and informative the headings are, whether the density of the division of paragraphs is sufficient, whether the subheadings fit on the display at once, whether the text is structured so that the reader can see natural units without scrolling, and how user-friendly the tables, lists and the images are.
  6. Measure the readibility by hearing the actual readers. Find out exactly where the problems in reading are related, correct and test again. Make sure that the text doesn't have too much italicization, unnecessary caps or too much boldfacing and that it has a proper character size and the breadth of column, and that underlining is used only in the links.
  7. Ascertain the usability by estimating yourself or by asking some other people to estimate the components of usability: the scannability, the readibility, the motivation of the reader, the intrigue, the reading instruction, the outline and the structure. Correct the weak points of the text. Check also that each link corresponds to some need or wish of the reader and that it is relatively reliable and fluent for the user to find the information s/he needs. Consider if the reader needs user-tips or advice.
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Useful links

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References

Alasilta, A. 1998. Näin kirjoitat tietoverkkoon. Viestintäopas paperin maailmasta verkkojen aikaan. Helsinki: Infoviestintä.

Verkko opetuksessa - opettaja verkossa. 2001. Tella, S., Vahtivuori, S., Vuorento, A., Wagner, P. & Oksanen, U. (eds.). Helsinki: Edita.

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Updated 6.9.2004 AK