From the course: SEO Copywriting: Crafting Content for Both Humans and Search Engines

Writing for the web: Grammar rules to break online

From the course: SEO Copywriting: Crafting Content for Both Humans and Search Engines

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Writing for the web: Grammar rules to break online

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- Using tools like Grammarly can be a huge help, but they can quickly become a crutch if you don't understand the why behind the main rules of grammar in the first place. Let's go over some of the grammar rules typically associated with academic writing and talk about why you can safely disregard them when writing most online copy. First, let's discuss ending a sentence with a preposition. Generally speaking, online readers crave a conversational approach to writing. They're trying to quickly process the information they seek, and strict academic grammar rules add friction. This means that the standard rule of not ending a sentence with a preposition can and should be relaxed for online writing. If you're still not convinced, the Associated Press AP Style Book supports this rule change. Next, let's dive into beginning a sentence with and, or, but. The purpose of coordinating conjunctions, and, or, but, is to create a connection between two ideas. The Chicago Manual of Style notes that as many as 10% of sentences in first-rate writing begin with conjunctions. This gives ample permission to play around with academic style rules that suggest otherwise. Just heed the warning of AP Style Book editors. The key to proper use is moderation. Third, let's chat about avoiding sentence fragments in short paragraphs. For academic writing, Grammarly suggests paragraphs having 100 to 200 words or five to six sentences, but shorter paragraphs are much easier to read on the web. Think about it this way. When you're reading something on a device, coming across a large wall of text can be frustrating to the point of looking for a more user-friendly resource elsewhere. As a general rule, when writing for the web, aim for two to three sentences within a paragraph and sentences that don't exceed two lines. Don't be afraid to go even shorter and use technically grammatically incorrect sentence fragments. Great authors employ sentence fragments to add emphasis to get their ideas across. Finally, let's end on ignoring the impact of readability. The Flesch Reading Ease Test measures the average length of sentences based on word count and the average number of syllables in the words you choose. The higher the score, the easier it is to read your copy. Part of achieving Ideal readability online is writing for people with a low average reading level. This means avoiding complicated word choice and sentence structure. Writing for readability gives even more reason to set aside formal writing rules. Remember, you can't break the rules until you know why they exist and what you stand to gain by adapting them to various mediums, like writing for the web. If you're having a hard time with dropping formality, remember that it's not about whether or not you like the content, but whether your audience will.

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