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RESEARCH & WEB WRITING

VIRTUAL COMM - WEEK 3

Getting Started

Review: Before we communicate we must consider...

Which three things?

And what do we mean by these three things?

If you can't answer this question, go back into Bb, take a look at last week's presentation and jot these three things down. They are very important as we continue to move forward this term!

History show us that we miscommunicate...

When there is a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding, or a lack of clarity.

Therefore, in order to be a successful communicator, you must be an informed communicator.

So, how do we become informed communicators?

We use our information literacy skills!

Research

&

Information Literacy

Information Literacy Skills

Information Literacy is having the tools and knowledge necessary to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (ACRI, 2009, p.7).

Identify

What am I looking for?

What do I need to know?

What areas of my writing need strength and support?

Find

Locate pertinent and relevant information.

Evaluate

Is this information pertinent to my purposes?

Or, does this information help me reach my ultimate goal?

Is the source reliable/trustworthy?

Apply

Integrate the information effectively into your work (paraphrasing, quotations, images, etc.).

How is this information best presented?

Combining the ideas of many into one main idea (yours!).

Always remember to think back to PAC....who will be reading this, what is their/my ultimate goal, and where (which medium) will they be accessing this information?

Acknowledge

Giving credit where credit is due.

APA - Citations and References.

In virtual comm, we can link information and help references to come alive.

Before we begin...

One of the most important reminders is that writing for print and writing for a screen are very different tasks.

Consider the following:

Why is this?

How are these types of writing different?

Please take a minute to read the following article, called "Writing for Digital vs. Writing for Print"

https://digitalcommunications.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2015/11/30/writing-for-digital-vs-writing-for-print/

(Please note: this article is also included within this week's resources).

Usability

Guidelines for web writing

Our text suggests, web writing (even more so than print writing) must be:

  • Elegant
  • Professional
  • Understandable
  • Expressive
  • Readable

All of these contribute towards a site being ***USABLE***

Usability

"A set of multiple concepts, such as execution time, performance, user satisfaction and ease of learning (learnability) taken together" (Gurak, Lannon, Seijts, 2013, p. 38).

How do WE define Usability?

Consider what criteria you find most important when accessing information online.

What do you look for on a site? Or in a piece of Virtual Communication?

What things drive you crazy? Or make you feel annoyed or frustrated?

Consider the following:

There are a number of ways to test usability as it is both objective and subjective by nature.

Start by considering the following:

1 – Time (how long does it take you to access the information you need)

2 – Accuracy and Errors (are you distracted by errors?)

3 – Recall (what features of the site help you to recall or remember the information later?)

4 – Emotional status (how do you feel when you're accessing this information?)

So, to summarize:

When communicating online, we must ALWAYS consider:

  • Purpose
  • Audience
  • Context
  • Usability

Web Writing

A few more tips for webwriting:

Write Succinctly - write freely, then cut it in half

Titles and subtitles (similar to chunking).

Organize for Your Audience (according to their needs, not yours).

Set the right tone (feel/brand/intangible quality).

Our text suggests

using the Inverted Pyramid approach.

Any Questions.....? Please email me!

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