Web writing

Learning objectives

At the end of the course, students will understand the fundamental principles of web writing and will be able to design and create texts that adhere to the typical principles of usability, readability, and comprehensibility on the web. They will also be able to adapt their written production based on the objective, audience, and context, with a special focus on social media environments. Finally, they will be capable of producing textual content that meets the basic criteria of Search Engine Optimization.

Expected learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will understand the fundamental principles of web writing and will be able to design and create texts that adhere to the typical principles of usability, readability, and comprehensibility on the web. They will also be able to adapt their written production based on the objective, audience, and context, with a special focus on social media environments. Finally, they will be capable of producing textual content that meets the basic criteria of Search Engine Optimization.

Course content

- The writing process and its phases: planning, drafting, revision
- Text and variables to consider in its creation: objective, audience, context
- Notions of correctness, appropriateness, and effectiveness
- Principles of web writing: textual structures, headings and subheadings, paragraphing guidelines, lexical and syntactical choices, use of lists, links and images
- Writing (also) for search engines: on-page optimization and SEO copywriting
- Functional writing and artificial intelligence: instructions for good use of AI

Three exercises will be conducted, focusing on the composition of various types of digital texts: reviews of goods or services, articles for corporate blogs, promotional posts for social media. Each exercise will be followed by a collective discussion of the work produced, during which students will have the opportunity to develop their linguistic sensitivity and refine their critical-analytical skills.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Bibliography

At the end of each lesson, the professor will provide students with the educational materials used, which will complement and guide the study of the following textbooks:

– - Perini E., Scrivere bene (o quasi). Ortografia, punteggiatura, stile, dubbi, curiosità, Firenze, Giunti, 2018
- Cannavacciuolo A., Manuale di copywriting e scrittura per il web. Teoria, pratica e strumenti per scrivere meglio, Milano, Hoepli, 2018 (Capitoli 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)

Teaching methods and tools

The course is primarily practical in nature. It includes: lectures with a strong interactive component; classroom exercises; presentations, and collective critical discussions of the work produced.

Assessment methods and criteria

For the purpose of assigning the final exam grade, the outcomes of the three mandatory exercises will be considered. Each of these will be evaluated in terms of appropriateness to the course guidelines and awarded a score from 0 to 10 points. Furthermore, during collective discussions, students may earn bonus points. At the end of the activities, if the total score exceeds 30 points, students will receive a distinction. In the event of not completing one or more exercises, a brief supplementary oral exam will be required. If a student chooses to decline the grade, an oral exam covering the entire course program will be necessary.