1. Making online stories reader-friendly
Web

2. Online stories: The problem
Suzy Reporter posted her story online, but no one is reading it.
Why do you think that is?

3. Kids will make the joke that it’s not in English — totally okay! Use it. Ask them about how it looks. What pulls the reader in? They should note that there are no visuals, the block of text is intimidating and gray, there aren’t a lot of points of entry for the reader.

4. Chunking
Break up long text into parts. Write subheadings when possible.
Help the reader to move through the story quickly.
Embed photo, video, audio at the points in the story where they are most relevant.

5. Linking Link to authoritative sources when relevant.
Link to previously published stories when referenced.
Use links to give the reader a context for your story.

6. Liking Make it shareable.
Encourage reader interaction with multimedia, interactive graphics.
Encourage discussion through comments and social media.

7. Making online stories reader-friendly
Now you are coaching Suzy Reporter.
Show her how to fix her story to make it appeal to online readers.

8. How reader-friendly is my story?
1. What is the title of the story?
2. Is there a deck, or subheading? If yes, what is it?
3. Is the text of the story chunked into parts? If yes, what are the chunks? If no, did you feel it should be, and what could the chunks have been?
4. Does the story contain any links? If yes, include them below and indicate the nature of the link.
5. Is there a way to share the story via social media? How?
6. Are there any interactive elements of the story? Are they engaging? Describe them below.
7. Was the story shared via the publication's social media account(s)? If so, how? Copy the text of the post or tweet.
8. Overall, how effectively was the story "chunked, linked and liked"? Was it online reader friendly?