long-form-content

Long-Form Content

Purpose

Write a long piece that makes an argument, supported by research, that a reader finishes. The failure mode is a survey of a topic that says nothing — comprehensive, balanced, and pointless.

When to Use

• Writing a researched article or a substantial blog post.
• Turning a body of research into a readable piece.
• An essay that argues for something.
• Content that must be accurate and sourced.

Capabilities

• Argument construction.
• Research and source evaluation.
• Structure: opening, development, conclusion.
• Citation and evidence.
• Editing for length and force.

Inputs

• The topic and, more importantly, the claim.
• The audience and what they already believe.
• The research available, and how good it is.

Outputs

• A piece with a defensible thesis.
• Claims supported by sources that were actually read.
• A structure a reader can follow.

Workflow

1. Find the claim — What are you actually asserting? A piece "about" a topic is a survey. A piece arguing that something is true, or that a common belief is wrong, is an article. If you cannot state the claim in one sentence, do not start writing.
2. Research to test the claim, not to support it — Look for the strongest counterargument first. If it holds, the claim was wrong and you have saved yourself two thousand words.
3. Open with the claim or with the tension — Not with a definition, not with history, and never with "since the dawn of time". The first paragraph decides whether the piece is read.
4. Develop with evidence — Each section advances the argument. A section that is merely interesting but does not advance it should be cut, however good it is.
5. Cite what you actually read — Not the abstract, not what someone else said the paper said.
6. Edit for force — The first draft is 30% too long. Cut the hedging, the throat-clearing, and the paragraph you are proud of that does not advance the argument.

Best Practices

• A piece with no claim is a survey, and surveys are not read. The reader's implicit question is "what do you think, and why should I believe you?"
• Steelman the counterargument. A piece that only engages with the weakest opposing view convinces nobody who did not already agree.
• The opening paragraph carries a disproportionate share of the work. If it does not create tension or state a claim, the reader leaves.
• Hedging weakens prose. "It could be argued that in some cases X may perhaps be true" asserts nothing. Say X, or do not.
• Cut your favourite paragraph if it does not advance the argument. This is the hardest editing rule and the most valuable.
• Cite primary sources. A statistic that has been passed through three blog posts is usually wrong by the time it reaches you.