Writing for the Web:
Guidelines for MIT LibrariesWeb Advisory Group > Writing for the Web > Writing Guidelines
Catch the user in the first few words
Users skim:
- They may start to read, but they also stop quickly unless the writing captures their interest.
Think journalism (not academic writing)
- Who, what, where, when, why and how
- Start with the conclusion, then give the details
Yes: No: MIT community members may now access many of our electronic resources from off-campus! To find out more about who is eligible for this service, how to set up certificates on your computer, and which vendors allow off-campus access, read our off-campus FAQ. Current MIT students, faculty, staff, (Athena-account holders) with Netscape certificates enabled, may access many of our electronic resources from off-campus. We are working with the vendors of these resources to renegotiate contracts so off-campus access will be allowed. To find out more, read our off-campus FAQ. Examples of descriptive links:
Donations & gifts page
Writing Guidelines
useful headings | headings2 | first few words | active voice
set the context | use lists | imperatives | parallelisms
simpler words | fragments | descriptive links | combine guidelines
hennig@mit.edu
29 July 99