The inverted pyramid style of writing came into existence for news reporting business due to space limitations.
The inverted pyramid style of writing came into existence for news reporting business due to space limitations. In a newspaper or magazine, you have so many columns dedicated to any story. Therefore, editors need a way to ensure the most important information get into the periodical. The inverted pyramid allows editors to chop off the ends of news stories if they turn out to be too long for the allotted editorial space.
Online, space limitation is a minor issue, but that doesn`t mean the inverted pyramid structure can`t work for your writing. It most certainly can.
If you do blog, you`ll find that most blog owners put word counts in their guidelines. Those word counts are there for a reason. Most blog owners/editors will reject your post if it is too big, but you might find one that will edit your post (especially if they purchase some or all of the rights to it), and during that editing process, you may find that some of your words change or disappear. The inverted pyramid structure will give that blog owner a sense of what information is most important for her readers and give her a convenient and more timely way to make cuts should they feel them necessary.
The introductory paragraph is followed by paragraphs that contain important in information. After that, follows general information and whatever background the writers find supportive of the narrative.
- It should support all readers
- Everything you need to understand in the article is in the first paragraph
- You get straight to the point
- It gives writers a full paragraph to attract readers in
- Done well, it interests readers to scroll and read the rest of the article