Questions to focus on: Writing Clearly for non-Christians

These questions can be used at different levels. You can take 30 seconds to think about one or two. You can discuss them in a team or group of like-minded Christians. Or they can be used in a college class, including assignments and research projects, and answered in writing at any depth. They may be freely reproduced for this purpose. Please email us additional questions that could be added to this page.
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  1. Does evangelistic writing for the Web require the gifts of the journalist rather than the preacher? Do you agree? Why or why not?
  2. What are the differences between the audience that a preacher is addressing, and that which a journalist is writing for? Which audience is 'captive'? Which can 'walk'?
  3. What are 5 elements of good, compelling, journalistic writing?
  4. Read the biographies of several well-known journalists. Analyze their style.
  5. Does humor play a part in effective writing? If so, why?
  6. How does writing for the Web differ from writing for a newspaper or magazine?
  7. Compare the differences between the linear writing of a book, the partly linear writing of a magazine, the numerous articles in a large newspaper, and the totally non-linear nature of a web-site.
  8. Why is there a greater danger of a reader leaving a website, than throwing away a largely un-read newspaper?
  9. Discuss the use of white space in print compared with web-pages. Which white space is 'free'?
  10. Why do even a few typos and spelling mistakes rob a website of credibility?
  11. Try viewing different webpages in serif and sans-serif fonts. Which is easier to read?
  12. Convert a few letters in both serif and sans-serif fonts into a graphic. Then use a graphics program (e.g. PaintShop Pro) to enlarge the letters. When you see both types of font enlarged and pixellated, which parts of the letters are suffering lack of clarity?
  13. If you have time, run a reading speed test with volunteers using identical webpages set in serif and sans-serif fonts. Also ask for volunteer reactions to each sort of font. You could even try testing different sans-serif fonts against each other - specifically Helvetica and Verdana against Arial. Or try using style sheets to slightly widen the kerning (space between letters) in Arial in order to emulate Verdana (which was designed for computer monitors) and see if this improves readability.