Chunking (writing)

Chunking is a method of presenting information which splits concepts into small pieces or "chunks" of information to make reading and understanding faster and easier. Chunking is especially useful for material presented on the web because readers tend to scan for specific information on a web page rather than read the page sequentially.

Chunked content usually contains:

• bulleted lists
• short subheadings
• short sentences with one or two ideas per sentence
• short paragraphs, even one-sentence paragraphs
• easily scannable text, with bolding of key phrases
• inline graphics to guide the eyes or illustrate points which would normally require more words

Advantages of chunking

• Chunking helps technical communicators or marketers convey information more efficiently
• Chunking helps readers find what they are looking for quickly
• Chunking allows material to be presented consistently from page to page, so users can apply previous knowledge of page layout and navigation and focus on the content rather than the presentation

Disadvantages of chunking

Monotonous or repetitive layout is seldom memorable. Economy of words is not always efficient conveyance of information and does not equate with memorable content. However, short sentences may be best.

References

• "Chunking the Content" - Writing for the Web: Guidelines for MIT Libraries accessed December 9, 2005
• "Writing for the Web" - Web Teaching Guide, Dartmouth College accessed December 9, 2005
• "Chunking" from the "Web Style Guide' accessed December 9, 2005"

Resources

• WAY2WEB.net's Guide on Writing Effectively for the Web
• Alysson Troffer's Guide to Web Writing