There is plenty of information available on content strategy, technical writing but when it comes to actual content writing the information is far less. There are articles that explain writings for SEO or writing for blogs, but there is nothing as such for content. Either you are writing blog, project report, tutorial, magazine article, requirement specification, meeting notes, etc. one thing remains constant and that is content. This presentation focuses on that single aspect of writing a good content.

1. Short guide to writing simple yet effective content
Content

2. Should you read it
If you
are… Student
writing
college
report
Developer
writing client
documentation
Blogger
writing some
blog

3. Should you read it
And, you
ever felt…
Confused on
what to write
Angry that you
cant find
better words
Frustrated
after reading
your own
content
Scolded by
boss/teacher for
poor writing

4. Should you read it
In summary, read it if you are
Trying to write some technical content
You are not a professional writer
You are just starting with technical writing
You struggle to find better words

5. Should you read it
Do not read if…
Looking for content strategy guide
You are trying to write a story/fiction
You are very experienced writer
Trying to find software tool for writing

6. What is technical content
Content
Blog post
An article explaining technology
Product documentation
Project understanding report
Requirement specification
Product review
Tutorial for training
API documentation
Project report for college
And so much more…

7. How it differs
Technical
vs. Non
technical
Technical topic
demands
simplicity
Non technical
demands
mystery
Contents in
Technical
writing can be
connected or
disconnected
Technical
writing needs
to be objective
i.e. free from
personal
emotions
Technical writing
needs to be very
precise,
accurate &
unambiguous

8. Where things go wrong
I made
few very
wrong
decisions
Indecisiveness in content theme
Imperfect content abstraction
Assumption about readers
Breaking up basic principles of
simple and effective writing
Content organization
Ambiguous writing style
Unreadable content

9. Content theme
Every technical write-up has “one”
underlying message, point or concept.
This concept is “content theme”.
I f t h e r e i s n o u n d e r ly i n g
t h e m e , t h e n c o n t e n t i s
u s e l e s s. D o n ’ t p u b l i s h i t .
B u t , w h a t i f t h e r e i s
m o r e t h a n o n e t h e m e f o r
s i n g l e w r i t e - u p?

10. Content theme
Res ult is loud
explos ion of
con ten t for the
us er .

11. Content theme
Intended original theme: Explaining idea of microprocessor to
non-technical people
What was in the article: Author compared microprocessor with
microcontroller. For that he first
explained what microcontroller is
followed by elaborate comparison.
Real world example: Article about basics of microprocessors
Outcome

12. Content theme
Final outcome • Very lengthy monolithic article
• On scanning, it create illusion about
central idea of article. Is it about
microprocessor, microcontroller or
comparison between the two?
• Too much for the user to digest
• Reading this content becomes heavy
burden for user
Needs
improvement

13. Content theme
Key principle:
E a c h w r i t e - u p o r
c o n t e n t s h o u l d h a ve
e x a c t ly o n e a n d o n ly
o n e c e n t r a l t h e m e .
In previous example:
• Remove microcontroller section
• If required, split the article into
two parts with new title for
second article

14. Content abstraction
“Content abstraction” is the
process of selecting important
information while ignoring
unnecessary minute details.
G i ve u s e r s w h a t ’ s
r e a l ly n e c e s s a r y &
i m po r t a n t .
I f u s e r d o e s n ’ t n e e d
s o m e t h i n g , j u s t o m i t
i t f r o m t h e c o n t e n t .

15. Content abstraction
Intended original theme: Explaining the new features and
performance of Intel core i7 processor
Sample paragraph: Next slide shows sample paragraph
from the article and try to determine if
there is anything that can be removed
or simplified.
Real world example: Product review of Intel core i7
Intended audience: Buyer interested in buying new processor

16. Content abstraction
Intel Core i7 is a series of several families of desktop and laptop
processor built using Nehalem, Sandy bridge and Ivy bridge
microarchitectures. Latest Ivy bridge processors are based on 22nm
technology that makes use of 3D transistors producing less heat and
ultimately resulting in better power consumption. Intel Core i7 includes
support for PCIE 3.0 and can play 4000p i.e. 4K resolution videos. Being
a multithreaded processor, i7 in total provides 8 threads (2 threads per
core) for operating system. It supports L3 cache of 3MB. The processor
comes with triple channel memory architecture resulting in faster
processing of instruction.
Outcome

17. Content abstraction
Content analysis – (possible confusion to potential reader)
• Is i7 a single processor or there are multiple processors?
– If multiple, which one should I buy?
– Are desktop and laptop processors are different?
• What is Nehalem, Sandy bridge and Ivy bridge?
• What are 3D transistors? Do I really need to care for this?
• What is 4K video?
– Can’t I play my regular HD videos?
• I thought i7 is multicore but it says it is multithreaded. Am I really
looking for this processor?
• What it means triple channel? Do I need at least 3 RAM in system?

18. Content abstraction
• Does common average buyer really need to know all this jargon
about processor?
– Does processor nanotechnology matter to him?
– Is he a power user to know difference between triple channel and dual channel?
– Should a bank accountant know difference between thread and core?
• Wait a min,
– What about graphics card support?
– Where is the mention of user’s favorite clock speed?
• The article is accurate, precise but may be ideal for hardcore
computer professional & not for average reader…
L e v e l o f a b s t r a c t i o n i s
d e p e n d e n t o n t y p e o f r e a d e r s

19. Content abstraction
Intel Core i7 is a new computer processor by Intel built on latest
technologies which makes it one of the fastest processors available in
the market. It includes support for latest graphics cards enabling you to
play extreme games and run heavy software applications. With core i7,
along with regular HD videos, it is now possible to play ultra high
quality HD videos offering you the finest movie experience. Intel has
incorporated many technologies advances in the processors that
ultimately leads to reduced heat generation and power consumption.
In terms of specification, it comes with 3.2 GHz of clock speed with 3MB
of cache.
ImprovedA b s t r a c t e d
u n n e c e s s a r y
t h i n g s

20. Content abstraction
Key principle:
A b s t r a c t t h e c o n t e n t
t o i n c l u d e m o s t
i m po r t a n t c o n c e p t s.
I g n o r e e ve r y t h i n g e l s e .
R e m e m b e r :
L e v e l o f a b s t r a c t i o n i s
d e c i d e d b y t h e t y p e o f
r e a d e r s o f t h e c o n t e n t .

21. Reader stereotypes
Understanding the readers
before writing content &
categorizing them is called as
stereotyping reader.
Fi r s t s t e p t o
w r i t i n g a g o o d
c o n t e n t i s s t u d y
o f r e a d e r s &
t h e i r b e h a v i o r .

22. Reader stereotypes
Software requirement specification (SRS)
Development
team
Quality
control team
Management
team
Will be read by…
Software requirement specification (SRS)
SRS must
specify
requirements
SRS should
specify
estimation
matrix
SRS should
specify business
use cases

23. Reader stereotypes
Product review article
Prospective buyers
read by…
Tutorial on some subject
Students
read by…
Product documentation
Product users
read by…
API documentation
End developers
read by…

24. Reader stereotypes
The end result is…
Your readers (audience) should
dictate your content

25. Reader stereotypes
In case of tutorials or series of articles on a
particular topic, readers can be classified as
Readers that prefer
continuity in all articles so
that they can understand
how whole piece work
together
Reader that prefer each
article as disjoint so that
they can read any article
in any sequence as time
permits
Then choose the approach that is more
apt to explain the technology/topic

26. Reader stereotypes
Key principle:
Yo u r r e a d e r s s h o u l d
d i c t a t e yo u r c o n t e n t .
R e m e m b e r :
S t e r e o t y p i n g r e a d e r i s
t h e v e r y f i r s t s t e p i n
w r i t i n g g o o d c o n t e n t .

27. Basic writing principles
Clarity
Accuracy
Precision
Rationale
Emotionlessness

28. Basic writing principles
Content clarity
“Jack and Jill decided to
party. He took cola and
he had coffee.
Con te n t is tr ue
but clar ity is
abs en t. Who took
what?

29. Basic writing principles
Content accuracy
“Two players are playing
game of Tennis.
Con ten t is clear
but accur acy is
que s tion able.

30. Basic writing principles
Content precision
“Panda is a very heavy
and slow animal.
Content is clear, accurate
but not precise. How heavy
is Panda? Is it bigger than
dinosaur?

31. Basic writing principles
Content rationale
“They met. They fell in
love. He proposed her.
But they did not marry.
Content is clear, but
there is no rational
justification to why
they did not marry.

32. Basic writing principles
Content detachment (emotionlessness)
“I think landline phone is
better than mobile phones.
Unless writing
personal experience,
avoid any personal
opinion which may be
biased.

33. Basic writing principles
Key principle:
Fo l lo w b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s
o f g o o d w r i t i n g .
R e m e m b e r :
R u l e s a r e m a d e t o b e
b r o k e n . I f y o u h a v e a
g o o d r e a s o n t o g o
a g a i n s t s o m e p r i n c i p l e ,
f e e l f r e e t o b r e a k i t .

34. Content organization
• You cannot write an article in a single sitting of few hours
• Creative content demands
– You think and think over again
– You need to keep searching for inspiration everywhere
– You research thoroughly on the topic of your writing
• Keep smartphones, notepads handy for taking notes
– Humans tend to forgets things easily
– Creative thoughts come unexpectedly in mind out of nowhere

35. Content organization
“Content organization” is the
art of keeping your thoughts,
workplace managed and easily
searchable.
I t i s n o t t h e a c t u a l
o r g a n i z a t i o n o f
c o n t e n t b o d y i t s e lf .
I t ’ s a b o u t yo u r o w n
i n ve n t o r y o f i d e a s.
Th e a r t o f
m a n a g e m e n t o f
c o n t e n t b o d y i s
a c t u a l ly “ c o n t e n t
h i e r a r c h y ” .

36. Content organization
Mon keys do s uch
things. You are not
on e, ar e you?

37. Content organization
Human s keep
thin gs or gan iz ed.
Drop by drop makes an
ocean. When you keep things
organized and take note of all
those small thoughts that
pops up in mind randomly,
you tend to create bigger
picture more coherent,
rational and apt.

38. Content organization
Key principle:
Ke e p yo u r w o r k s p a c e
a n d i d e a s o r g a n i z e d .
R e m e m b e r :
O r g a n i z i n g i s o n e o f t h e
m o s t d i f f i c u l t t h i n g t o
m a s t e r . Pe o p l e s t u d y M B A
f o r t h e s a k e o f
o r g a n i z i n g . H a v e p a t i e n c e .
I t w i l l t a k e t i m e . B u t ,
r e w a r d w i l l b e w o r t h y .

39. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole my money.
What mean in g
doe s this
s e n te nce
con vey?

40. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
1
I d i d n o t s a y i t , s o m e b o d y
e l s e s a i d s h e s t o l e m y m o n e y.

41. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
2
I s a i d lo t s o f t h i n g s, b u t I
d i d n o t s a y t h i s t h i n g .

42. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
3
I d i d n o t s a y i t , I i m p l i e d
( i n d i r e c t ly ) i t .

43. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
4
Sh e d i d n o t s t e a l i t . I t w a s
s o m e b o d y e l s e w h o d i d i t .

44. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
5
Sh e d i d n o t s t e a l m y m o n e y ,
I l e n t o r g a ve i t t o h e r .

45. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
6
Th e m o n e y t h a t s h e s t o l e w a s
n o t m i n e . I t w a s s o m e b o d y
e l s e ’ s m o n e y .

46. Unambiguous writing
I never said she stole
my money.
7
Sh e s t o l e s o m e t h i n g e l s e f r o m
m e , b u t n o t m o n e y.

47. Unambiguous writing
• How you write and structure sentences can have very
large impact on readability
• Try to keeps statements as simple as possible
– Simplicity has amazing power
• Each content should have exactly one theme
– All writing should echo towards that one theme
• It goes beyond writing to any form of communication

48. Unambiguous writing
Key principle:
St a y a w a y f r o m a n y
s o r t o f a m b i g u i t y.
E m b r a c e s i m p l i c i t y.
R e m e m b e r :
W h e n i n d o u b t o v e r
m e a n i n g , d o n ’ t p u t i t
t h e r e . Th i n k o f s o m e t h i n g
e l s e .

49. Readable content
• Content readability is about “presentation”
– Readability has nothing to do with actual content
• Very important especially on digital medium like web
– Users tend to read slower on screen devices (mobiles, desktops)
– With books or magazine, users read word by word but for web
most of them scan jumping and hoping from anchor to anchors
– Users switch immediately if they cannot read easily as web
provides many alternatives

50. Readable content
So, what's a readable content?
Content is “readable” if reader
can understand the underlying
theme of the content without
actually reading it.
O n w e b , m o s t w i l l
“ s c a n ” f o r i n f o r m a t i o n
& n o t r e a d i t .

51. Readable content
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in
memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the
universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".
Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian,
Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar
component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was
completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen.The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board
of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.
Is it easily readable?

52. Readable content
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in
memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the
universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".
Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian,
Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar
component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was
completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen.The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a
board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.
Is it better?

53. Readable content
From the freeway, take the second exit for Pepper Lake which you reach by
following the road for approximately three miles. Just before you reach Pepper
Lake itself, take the small road to your right next to the Tourist Information
building. Follow the road for approximately two miles until you come to a fork,
take the left hand fork and drive for another 400 yards until you reach the
clearing where the wedding ceremony will take place. See you on Saturday!
From the freeway, take the second exit for Pepper Lake which you reach by
following the road for approximately three miles. Just before you reach Pepper
Lake itself, take the small road to your right next to the Tourist Information
building.

54. Readable content
From the
freeway, take
the second
exit for Pepper
Lake which
you reach by
following the
road for
approximately
three miles.
Just before
you reach
Pepper Lake
itself, take the
small road to
your right next
to the Tourist
Information
building.
Follow the
road for
approximately
two miles until
you come to a
fork, take the
left hand fork
and drive for
another 400
yards until you
reach the
clearing where
the wedding
ceremony will
take place. See
you on
Saturday!
From the
freeway, take
the second
exit for Pepper
Lake which
you reach by
following the
road for
approximately
three miles.
Just before
you reach
Pepper Lake
itself, take the
small road to
your right next
to the Tourist
Information
building.
Which one is readable? This or next?

55. Readable content
From the freeway, take
the second exit for
Pepper Lake which you
reach by following the
road for approximately
three miles. Just before
you reach Pepper Lake
itself, take the small road
to your right next to the
Tourist Information
building. Follow the road
for approximately two
miles until you come to
a fork, take the left hand
fork and drive for
another 400 yards until
you reach the clearing
where the wedding
ceremony will take place.
See you on Saturday!
From the freeway, take
the second exit for
Pepper Lake which you
reach by following the
road for approximately
three miles. Just before
you reach Pepper Lake
itself, take the small road
to your right next to the
Tourist Information
building.
Is it better
than previous?

56. Readable content
• Readability is about typography
– Line height
– Font selection
– Font size and weights
• Readability is about visual design
– Use of images as visual aids
– Highlighting important keywords
– Use of bullets, lists rather than paragraphs

57. Readable content
Key principle:
M a k e s u r e t h e t h e m e
o f c o n t e n t c a n b e
u n d e r s t o o d b y m e r e
s c a n n i n g o f t e x t .
R e m e m b e r :
L e a r n l i t t l e b i t a b o u t
t y p o g r a p h i c p r i n c i p l e s
a n d b a s i c s o f v i s u a l
d e s i g n .

58. Other stuff
This part looks too
complex. Can you please
try to simplify it?
Tip:
G e t yo u r
c o n t e n t
r e v i e w e d f r o m
p e e r s o r
f r i e n d s. I t
h e l p s e l i m i n a t e
c o m m o n s i l ly
m i s t a k e s t h a t
a r e n o t s o
a p p a r e n t .

59. Other stuff
Tip:
R e v i e w yo u r c o n t e n t
m a n y t i m e s b e f o r e
g e t t i n g i t p u b l i s h e d .
R e m o ve a n y t h i n g
t h a t i s d o u b t f u l.
Ke e p yo u r c o n t e n t
c l e a n a n d f r e e f r o m
l a n g u a g e e r r o r s.

60. Other stuff
Tip:
H e l p o t h e r p e o p l e i n
g e t t i n g t h e i r
c o n t e n t r i g h t . Yo u
w i l l l e a r n m a n y n e w
t h i n g s. A n d , o t h e r s
w i l l h e l p w h e n yo u
w i l l n e e d i t .

61. Other stuff
Tip:
T i m e p r e s s u r e , w o r s t
e n e m y o f w r i t e r ,
o f t e n k i l l s c r e a t i v i t y.
B u t r e a l i t y i s a l w a y s
t i m e b o u n d . L e a r n
e f f e c t i ve t i m e
m a n a g e m e n t a n d
k e e p c h e c k o n yo u r
t i m e .

62. Finally ask yourself
Before you publish:
Does your content answer what,
why and how questions?
Does your content convey exactly
one message?
Have you done research about your
readers?
Is your content clear, simple,
accurate, precise & unambiguous?
If no then rethink…

63. Harshal Patil
@softHarsh
http://definitelysimple.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/hapatil
Author: