{"id":50772,"date":"2020-01-20T12:56:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T20:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=50772"},"modified":"2020-01-20T12:56:51","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T20:56:51","slug":"academic-writing-is-visual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/academic-writing-is-visual\/","title":{"rendered":"Academic writing is visual"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Writing is a visual medium<\/p>\n

It may seem odd to say that writing is visual. Writing \u2013 and academic writing in particular \u2013 \u00a0is about words and what they say isn\u2019t it? Well of course it is. But the way in which we engage with words can be pretty seriously affected by the ways in which they are presented to us.<\/p>\n

You see, a page is an arrangement of two elements \u2013 there\u2019s the text, made up of words, and then there\u2019s the place where the words aren\u2019t \u2013 white space. And\u00a0the more solid the block of words are, the less white space there is, the more the reader is likely to see the page as difficult to get into.<\/p>\n

Of course, academic writers often don\u2019t get a say in all of the decisions made about how their writing will look. Somebody else \u2013 the publisher of the book or journal, university regulations \u2013 may well have already made some decisions about font size, margins and galleys, and perhaps even the required use of numbers for paragraphs. The number and hierarchy of headings may also be a given. Using proprietary web platforms such as this (WordPress), also limits the design features that can \u00a0be used.<\/p>\n

But even if there are limits, it\u2019s still helpful to think about the visual elements of your writing.<\/p>\n

Say a writer is working to page limits and keen to jam in as much in as possible. They decide to reduce the size of the top, bottom and side margins. They squash more words in, but at a cost. Their page might seem pretty inaccessible to a reader. Then, they use the smallest possible font, or one which is quite cramped. And this only adds to a reader\u2019 s fear that they are about to enter a dense grey fog of verbiage.<\/p>\n

Thinking about your writing as visual means that you begin to think about how the information is presented on the page, in particular considering what makes the writing feel inviting, what makes it feel accessible and comprehensible. When you do this, you begin to think a little like a designer.<\/p>\n

So here are a few things to consider \u2013 my basic LTG of the visualities of academic writing:<\/p>\n

L is for Layout<\/strong><\/p>\n

Step back from the page \u2013 squint. Look at how the page appears to you. Is it one solid mass or is it broken up into digestable bites\/blocks? What do your eyes tell you? Is this a verbal crowd that the reader has to battle their way through?<\/p>\n

How have you used\u00a0white space<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 do you have generous margins around the text? Is it broken up into sections and paragraphs? Have you crammed images into the available space so that they appear to be one with the words, instead of another and separate medium for conveying information?<\/p>\n

Does the page appear balanced? Is your eye drawn to one part of the page and not the rest\u00a0 \u2013 is this actually what you intend? (The optimum page designs are often said to be the\u00a0F pattern<\/a>\u00a0or the \u00a0Z pattern<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

T is for Text\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are writing in English then your readers\u2019 eyes travel from left to right. Then it is generally easier to read text that is justified on the left and is evenly spread out \u2013 text that is justified on both sides often has uneven spacing so it takes a little more effort for eyes to track \u2013 and understand what\u2019s being said.<\/p>\n

Font<\/em>\u00a0matters. Apart from choosing a font that is relatively familiar and easy to read and not too small, the key issue is not to use too many fonts at once. Frequency in font use makes text hard to read as it\u2019s a bit confusing. What does each font mean? Commercial publishers sometimes use different fonts for headings and the main body of text but they keep the number to a manageable number. It\u2019s worth looking to see how these publishing graphics work.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also really important to look at each page and ask yourself whether readers can easily find the most important information on that page.<\/p>\n

Writers can point readers to key information through using\u00a0multi-media<\/em>\u00a0in which words may be one element. Images, figures and diagrams can provide evidence and detail. They might also provide complementary information. Bullet-pointed lists indicate key points. Numbered lists show steps, priorities or chronologies \u00a0\u2013 this then that, then this then that. Flow charts show processes. Maps show relationships, territories and borders, flows and positions. Hyperlinks show connections. Footnotes and endnotes show evidence and also connections.<\/p>\n

Using easily located media to provide information is important. Which brings us to..<\/p>\n

G is for Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Headings<\/em>\u00a0are the reader\u2019s guide-ropes.<\/p>\n

Headings help the reader to find their way through a text. Writers can give readers navigation tools which assist them to understand what is coming up \u2013 key ideas, major points and themes.<\/p>\n

Headings are usually organised in a hierarchy of importance \u2013 chapter title, section heads and sub headings for smaller points and themes. Hierarchies of importance are signalled through the size, style and alignment of heading fonts that you choose. You can set heading formats ahead of time in standard word-processing software or use those that are already pre-set.<\/p>\n

So there you are. LTGs. There\u2019s much more to the visuals of writing, but that\u2019s a start. I hope I\u2019ve said enough to make the point \u2013 that the appearance of text is significant as it goes to how well we communicate our thinking and research results.<\/p>\n

Poets think a lot about visuality. They consider line lengths and breaks and what these do to the way readers encounter their text. \u00a0Web designers also have to think a lot about how people read a screen. And as academics become more digital we also need to become design savvy.<\/p>\n

But the visual matters even in ordinary old academic writing \u2013 like that grant bid where it is tempting to cram as much as possible into a limited space. So perhaps, just perhaps, there is too little discussion of the visual in discussions of academic writing\u2026 ??<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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