his is a concise course focusing on core web writing skills and principles, and taking students straight to the heart of this subject. The course is 4 modules long and includes 2 tutor-marked assignments; involving approximately 25 hours of study time.
It leads to the award of a Certificate of Course Completion. This course is designed to help you develop the key skills and knowledge necessary to write effectively for the web. It is ideal for copywriters, journalists, marketing and communications professionals, PR staff, web designers and others who find themselves writing for this unique media. Subjects covered include: distinctive features of web audiences, usability and accessibility, structuring information, web content, web page structure, web text, the art of blogging and maintenance issues. The course fee includes all course material, full tutorial support from an expert tutor, and course book: Writing for the Web, Crawford Kilian. Research has shown that people do not read text on-screen in the same way as they read from a printed page, instead they scan the page and pick out key words. It has also shown that readers do not like long-scrolling pages, preferring text to be short and to the point. While web authors still need to follow the rules of effective English, It is important that they do not simply transfer their offline writing to the online world but adapt their approach to meet the unique needs of online readers. Course Outline Module One: Understanding Online Readers. Reading from a screen. Creating concise, scannable text. Inverted pyramid structure. Understanding hyperlinks. Scannability. The web and the Internet. Key writing skills. Planning a web page. Your goals for the course. Module Two: The Web Design Process. Types of website. The development team - exploring key roles. Site structure - linear, web, hierarchical, cluster, and catalogue. Storyboards. Site design and page design - colour, contrasts, background, text style, navigation, site maps, site index. Determining page size. Defining the viewing path. Creating mock-ups. The home page. Screen real-estate and white space. Module Three: Principles of Effective Writing. The importance of clear writing. Your writing voice. The Writer's toolkit - sentences, paragraphs, and other tools. Passive and Active voice. Readability. FOG index. Revision. More word play - ambiguity, synonyms and antonyms, the gerund. exactitude. Parochialism. The role of the Internet in business. Module Four: E-zines and Articles. Planning an e-zine. Challenges of e-zine delivery. News articles and features. Search engine optimisation (SEO) and the writer. Understanding search engine results. links. Keywords and natural search. Optimising a website - optimising web copy (targeting and placing keywords, structuring copy), optimising HTML code, optimising site structure. Generating links - site map, finding the right links, exploring competitor links, search engines and directories, article PR. Monitoring progress. If you would like a longer, more in-depth course, you might to wish to consider our full Copywriting Course.
Learning Curve is one of the UK's leading distance learning providers. All of our home study courses include study material, which is sent out in an attractive, hardwearing folder, essential course books and full tutorial support. We are accredited by the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council, members of the Association of British Correspondence Colleges and the British Institute of Learning and Development, and registered as providers with the Learning Skills Council. For more about Learning Curve click here.
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