I'm coming out guns a-blazing on this

Yesterday, I wrote that conclusions in Web articles were a mark of amateur writing. Many replied disagreeing with me. I'm still not persuaded otherwise. I'm coming out guns a-blazing here so if you write conclusions, will continue to write conclusions and are thin-skinned, close this email now. I'm pulling no punches. Go to your favorite top-tier online publications and check whether they add conclusions. Most don't, at least none of the ones I read. Sorry, airfryersforbusyparents[dot]com doesn't count as a top-tier publication (I intentionally made up a non-existent site. I don't ever out or insult individual websites). I loathed writing conclusions in school. I don't like writing them now. I don't like reading them. I don't like seeing them in articles. Interestingly, I do like the reverse conclusion which is putting a synopsis of the article at the top. [Insider.com]( does this well. I explain the difference below. Consider the following lauded publications: - Atlantic Monthly: No conclusions - Rolling Stone Magazine: No conclusions - Time Magazine: No conclusions - DotDash sites: No conclusions I could go on and on. As I'm writing this I decided to search "should you add a conclusion to web articles?". Every site that popped up said "yes" and went on explaining how to pen a great conclusion. Clearly Google's search results need work. I lost respect for every site that showed up. A handful of university sites showed up with detailed articles on how to write a conclusion. Academic essays and publications are different. Conclusions are the norm. I actually don't like them there but it's' the norm and expected. It's troubling that sites about blogging and online publishing would suggest that conclusions are okay. Did any of those writers ever read a top-tier publication? What kind of advice are they giving out? It's a travesty. There's a difference between journalistic and academic writing. Big difference. Certainly a difference between Web publishing and academic writing. At least for me. Do you want your blog to read like an academic journal or worse, a sophomoric series of essays? Or do you want to publish a site like the big players online and be taken seriously? Me? I'll go the big online players route, thank you very much. But hey, if conclusions are your thing keep at 'em. Speaking of which, that reminds me of the joke about amateur niche site publishers. You probably heard this one already but I'll tell you anyway. How do you spot an amateur niche site? It has Conclusions. Okay, not very good. Maybe hitting a bit too close to home. If you publish conclusions, I'm just messin' around a bit; overstating it for effect. Heck, I'm pretty sure thanks to writers who don't read instructions I have plenty of articles across my sites with conclusions. Why are conclusions bad? Conclusions insult readers. Conclusions suggest readers have zero reading comprehension. It's saying "thanks for reading this article but I'll assume you didn't retain or comprehend most of it so here's a recap." Why not use the heading "For those of you with zero reading comprehension, the following recap is for you"? That would actually be funny and worth using. I might have to make that a signature aspect of my sites. Don't reverse conclusions do the same? By reverse conclusions, I'm referring to writing a synopsis of the article at the TOP of the article. No, this is totally different. I love reverse conclusions. It gives me a chance to quickly decide whether I wish to read the entire article. It serves a different purpose. It does not suggest I can't read. The one exception I have one exception and that is reviews. Reviews deserve a conclusion. Long reviews can get messy and convoluted. I set out my pros. My cons. My wishlist. On and on that it's not always clear whether it's a "yes but this thing because it will change your life" or "no, don't waste your hard-earned money because it's an utter piece of junk." The conclusion in a review is where I can succinctly say "Yes, buy it" or "No, don't." Should you go and delete all your "In Conclusion" sections in your articles? No, no, no don't do that. That's totally unnecessary. This is not an SEO thing. It's a stylistic thing, although I believe it's pretty clear that the proper way to publish online is to NOT include a conclusion. Regardless, it's not worth going back spending time removing conclusions. In Conclusion See above. For those of you with zero reading comprehension, the following recap is for you Don't write conclusions. Thanks for reading. Jon Fatstacksblog.com P.S. One of the smartest niche site publishers I've ever met and I are rolling out a mentoring program very soon. Details coming. P.P.S. Aren't P.S. sections conclusions? Nope. Not at all. They don't recap. They offer new info presented as an afterthought. They attract attention. Very effective. P.P.P.S. Much of this email is tongue-in-cheek. I don't feel as strongly as I come across. While it's true I don't like conclusions, it was written for effect. If you write conclusions, don't take it personally. [Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 2016 Hill Drive, North Vancouver, British Columbia V7H 2N5