The custom content of any elearning material will always require a form of written text. It is the foundation by which your course will be built on. Even if you plan to create a video for the whole course, you will still require words to put all of your thoughts and concepts into material that students can understand.
Writing is one of the basic forms of communication and there are various ways that you can do it. To make the delivery of the content effective, you have to find the right style of writing that will help get your message across. It is just like when you speak to someone, you need to use the right tone with them – to avoid being offensive or disrespectful. The same is true with writing.
Oftentimes, the writing style can influence the learning experience because it shapes how it will be delivered to the learner. This is why it is very important that you consider carefully what style of writing you will use in your custom content.
Here are the different writing styles that you can use in your elearning material.
Storytelling. A plain lecture is just boring. If you add in a story, you get to revolutionize the content. Write the content in story format so you can captivate the learners and keep them glued to whatever it is you are trying to teach them. Sometimes, a story format can help keep the most complicated text from being too boring. A great story is action-filled and has defined plots. It will give the custom content some direction as you progress along with the course.
Problem-solving. This is the same as storytelling but instead of being a third party observer while the story unfolds, the learner becomes a part of the story. You can use scenarios that introduce a problem that the learners have to solve. They can use the concepts being taught in the course to help them overcome the issues you introduced during the learning process.
Script Writing. This is something that you can combine with the audio and video elements of your course. Make sure that when you use this writing style, you base it on how you speak. Or at least, the manner of speaking that the learners are accustomed to. Try to be concise with your words as well. This will keep the audio from sounding like it drones on and on. When you are writing for videos, you need fewer words because it will only support what is being shown on the screen. Keep it light and conversational so the learners will not be distracted by it and will keep them glued to what they will see online.
Technical Writing. Finally, you have technical writing as one of your options when creating custom content. Most people think this is the most boring style there is. The truth is, it does not have to be. It only becomes boring if you cannot understand it. This is why pursuing this style of writing should be done in a simple manner. Technical writing can be effective if you can simplify the complex ideas. This is where your skill as a writer will be tested. But if you can do it, then it will make retention easier for the learners.
To help you choose the appropriate writing style for your custom content, you need to think about who the learners will be. Consider how they will absorb the data that you will present to them. This will help you select the format by which the concept can be absorbed completely.
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