Thursday, January 13, 2011

Top 10 Reasons For... JUST TOO MUCH

After reading numerous articles, posts adn titles, I have concluded that I am tired of "top ten" or whatever number list or "The 5 Reasons For..." as the focus of an article. Frankly, I am less inclined to read anything with either title.

Look around, you see it all the time and more so on news websites. I suspect this in in part because readers just want to cut to the chase. For a writer, these methods allow the use of a bullet format to highlight key points and move away from an essay style. It is a far easier way to write. Sometimes I think writers use these formats because they lack facts or cannot offer any interesting analysis.

Honestly, sometimes I feel insulted. Perhaps the writer thinks I am not bright enough to count. So he will do it for me. Perhaps our social networks do not allow for much more than a list. You know, the 140 character limit. This forces people to think and write in short clips. As you have probably guessed, this had to be a note because I exceeded the Facebook character limit.

When I did oratory in high school and college, the rule/format was briefly tell the audience what you are going to tell them (introduction), tell them in great detail using stats and analysis (body), and finally briefly tell the audience what you told them (conclusion). The emphasis was on the middle section or the body. What are you saying, what do you offer to support your position, ect. At the conclusion you may sum up with noting key points by number. Writers focusing on a list or reasons have skipped straight to the conclusion- tell the audience what you told them. Most of the time I feel cheated.

I know these formats have been around for decades (or longer). It just seems to have proliferated. You can thank David Letterman, USA Today, email, texting, and Microsoft Powerpoint for a substantial increase in the use of list and reasons.

No comments:

Post a Comment