In journalism, in marketing, in notes to your family – keeping your writing simple is the key to success.
An article looking at how headlines are written (and whether they work or not) turned up in my email newsletters recently.
The article (Readers of online news prefer simple headlines, research suggests. Journalists? Not so much.) summarises an academic study on the readability of headlines (Reading dies in complexity: Online news consumers prefer simple writing). In summary, the study says that over 30,000 field experiments with The Washington Post and Upworthy publications showed that “readers prefer simpler headlines… over more complex ones”.
But the study also surveyed a sample of professional writers, including journalists, who did not show this pattern, “suggesting that those writing the news may read it differently from those consuming it”.
The study’s recommendation? “Simplifying writing can help news outlets compete in the competitive online attention economy, and simple language can make news more approachable to online readers.”
The article is aimed at journalists, and should be read by anyone who ever writes a headline on a news story. I think that it has wider applicability. If complicated news headlines don’t work for casual readers, it follows that complex writing in any context is likely to turn an audience away.
What is simple language?
The academic study I’ve just described analysed the headline language using indicators which are useful no matter what writing you are doing. Those indicators were the use of more common words; a simpler linguistic style; attention to readability and character count. The first three meant a headline was more likely to be clicked on – but character count didn’t seem to make a difference.
Here’s how the article defines the first three, with some additional explanation taken from Grammarly’s excellent article on plain language:
The use of common words – that means using words that are “simple, everyday terms”. That means you should use vocabulary your reader is likely to know.
Avoid analytical writing – texts that score high on analytic writing tend to be formal and complex. To make things simpler, it helps if the writer only gives details that make the information easier to understand. Extra detail just makes the text harder to read. Plain language also avoids jargon and figurative language like metaphor and allusion, which may include references that readers with different backgrounds find difficult to understand.
Readability – this is a measure of structural complexity which looks at the number of words per sentence and syllables per word. That means short sentences – split one long sentence into two short ones if you can.
What does that mean in practice?
The article about headlines does not set out to be a writing primer, but it gives a useful example, with two variations of a headline:.
Headline one:
Meghan and Harry are talking to Oprah. Here’s why they shouldn’t say too much
Headline two:
Are Meghan and Harry spilling royal tea to Oprah? Don’t bet on it.
Unsurprisingly, the study found that headline 1 was much more likely to be clicked on than headline 2. My opinion as to why? “Spilling the tea” is social media slang and might not be known to all readers.
Some things to bear in mind when simplifying your writing
Think about context, and your reader. The Washington Post headline writer might know what “spill the tea” means but does the ardent Royalist in Sydney or Cape Town understand it?
Can you read it aloud? If it sounds complicated, then it is complicated. Write the headline (or any text) as if you were telling a story to a friend.
Be organised: As Grammarly points out plain language is more than word choice. It also involves structuring writing to prioritise clarity. That means identifying the main topic and presenting supporting information in a logical, coherent narrative. Clear sub-headings for each section and focused paragraphs also help the reader.
Finally, it’s tempting to point out that the headline of the scientific study is itself not all that simple. The phrase “Reading dies in complexity” is a reference to the Washington Post’s tagline Democracy Dies in Darkness – something that would not be apparent to many readers. But the study is about journalism, ant talks to journalists. The context in which the article is published, and the intended readership, are at least as important as simplicity.
READ MORE
The elements of a good headline | Safe Hands
What writers really need to worry about (hint: it’s not spelling) | Safe Hands
Writing tips: How to make paragraphs | Safe Hands
Main picture: (Mick Baker)rooster, Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
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