atw: Re: writing for the web

Matthew da Silva:
On Tue, 13 May 2008 09:28:33 +1000,  you wrote:
> Hi all - Happy budget day!
>
>
> I want a guide to why it is important to use shorter sentences and paras=
 online.
>
>
> On the internet there's plenty of copy selling LCD monitors and a little=
 bit of science
> - I'm sure more is available.
>
Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, albeit in the interests of=
 enlightenment, I'm inclined to query any suggestion that a requirement for=
 shorter sentences is more relevant to web display than it is to paper. 

Or to put that another way, I would suggest (and I try to follow my own=
 advice) that  I should strive as much to shorten sentences and paragraphs=
 for paper publication as I do for web publication.  Is this not the case ?=
 

Note that at least with normal browser body text on a web page, I can change=
 the width of the display dynamically to produce a short line width.  No=
 matter how I try to fold it, I don't seem to get the same effect with paper=
 text.  This suggests that web viewing may actually be easier for reading=
 comprehension, because we know that the length of lines (and/or eye-scan=
 requirement) is a major factor in reading comprehension. 

Mmm ?

--Peter M

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