What Makes a Good Web Article Not all

What Makes a Good Web Article? Not all web articles are created equal. Together, we’re going to analyze three examples of good web articles to see what makes them good. This will help you decide which tools of the genre to use when designing your own web articles so that they reach your target audiences with an effective combination of design and content.

Click-worthy title Matching visual

Strong thesis Media supports example

Fun tone Establishes relevance

Effective quote Explains research

Organized headings

Title conveys thesis Picture appeals to pathos

Hyperlink citations!

But how do I add a hyperlink? This process may vary slightly based on the design platform you’re using, but it should pretty much work like this. 1. Highlight a key word in your writing that relates to the source you used. 2. Find the “insert hyperlink” button. It usually looks something like this: 3. Paste in your URL, but make sure the display text stays the same.

Now it’s your turn! In groups of 3 -4, you will analyze Raymond Zhong’s web article for the New York Times, “How China Walled Off the Internet. ” Identify elements that make this effective as a piece within the specific genre of the web article. These might be design elements such as layout and use of images, or they may be structural elements such as title, thesis/argument, tone/voice, organization, use of sources, etc. Be prepared to share something that your group discussed with the rest of the class, paying particular attention to why the elements you noticed work well in a web article.

Pre-write / Free-write On a piece of notebook paper, take a few minutes to answer the following questions: 1. 2. Which elements stood out most to you about the articles we looked at today? Which tools and conventions of the web article genre that we discussed today could you use to make your web article more effective? Hand your answers to Jason and Avery on your way out of class.