In our omnichannel world, where attention spans are short and the cognitive load is great (thanks, AI!), effective content design plays a key role in reader engagement. It’s more important than ever to structure online text so that our readers can easily scan, understand, and retain the key points.
Double underline that for readers who rely on accessibility aids such as screen readers.
The element of content design you’ll want to apply is “chunking.” Chunking refers to breaking up information into meaningful, bite-sized sections or “chunks” that are relatively similar in scope and intensity. Visually, this means that your paragraphs are short, and there are fewer of them under each subheading.
Richard Johnson-Sheehan, the technical communication guru, generally refers to this idea as “partitioning.” Rather than presenting a dense wall of text, you divide your content into well-organized subsections with meaningful headings.
I offer some techniques for applying this element of content design here. However, the starting point is to understand how chunking aids the reader.
Help the Reader
Chunking is more than just splitting things up haphazardly. As Ann Rockley explains in her book Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy (first edition), there’s actual science behind effective chunking strategies. Research by psychologist George A. Miller in the 1950s found that people can hold between 5 and 9 chunks of information in their short-term memory at a time.
Instructional design guru Patti Shank, Ph. D., refers to this cognitive space as “working memory” in her article for eLearningIndustry.com. We, as writers, must assist our readers’ working memory by making inherent patterns and relationships clear. We do so by subdividing our large-concept content into smaller units in a way that is logical and meets the reader’s (or learner’s) knowledge level.
Chunking content allows the reader to better make sense of and absorb what we’re communicating. In a YouTube interview, instructional designer Kim Pippa Tonnesen of Columbia College stresses that monolithic blobs of content pose a significant challenge to accessibility. Screen reading technology will read that blob aloud without breaks, giving the reader/learner little opportunity to stop and process.
Finally, chunking helps the online reader easily scan your page to find what they are looking for. Scannability presents other design challenges, too. Paul Boag advises on Boagworld.com, “Because visitors scan a page, you should not presume that people have read any other content blocks (or chunks) on a page. Each should be self-contained with any relevant information regarding that block or links to additional information if appropriate.”
So how can we master the art of chunking for our online content? Here are some tips and guidelines.
Start With an Outline or Concept Map
Before you start writing, take the time to draw or outline the major topics or chunks that you want to cover. Many of my colleagues use concept mapping to discover connections between ideas and to see the smaller concepts within larger ones. I prefer to brainstorm lists and then sort the lists into an outline.
Whichever your approach, your outline or concept map will serve as the scaffolding for content development, ensuring that each section has a clear focus and purpose. You can also begin to see how with smaller units of content as building blocks, you can create larger, more digestible structures.
Set Boundaries and Use Patterns
For each chunk or subsection, establish some boundaries around the length and scope. Aim for chunks that are roughly similar in breadth, keeping them focused and digestible. As a general guideline, a well-designed chunk should explore one core concept or key point.
Within each chunk, follow a consistent pattern. For instructional and explanatory text, for example, use the recognizable pattern of first explaining the core concept and then exploring it through examples, definitions, statistics, or other supporting details. Follow with a quick concluding sentence or single-sentence paragraph to pull the ideas together and quickly transition to the next chunk.
One technique I use is to write one explanatory sentence for every three sentences of exploration and elaboration. This 1:3 ratio helps reinforce the key point. This and other types of patterning help with retention and assist that “working memory” that Shank describes.
Use Depth Cautiously
While examples and explanations are great for reinforcing a point, be cautious about going too far down the “rabbit hole.” Excessively long examples or tangents might be better positioned in a separate sidebar piece to avoid disrupting the content flow.
Each chunk should function as an independent unit that can stand alone while also contributing to the overall whole. For example, Rockley advises that procedures shouldn’t exceed 10 steps—any longer, and you’d want to break them into multiple chunked procedures.
Structure for Clarity
As you’re reviewing your draft, continually evaluate whether each section has a clear purpose, logical sequence, and cohesion. The Nielsen Norman Group found that people prefer chunked content that helps visualize the flow and organization.
Look for a balanced level of completeness versus conciseness in covering each point. You might need to scrap some well-worded sentences in your effort to trim extraneous content that doesn’t serve the core concept. Where appropriate, tie each chunk back to the overarching topic and provide clear transitions to the next section.
Here are some important structure questions to ask, according to the Nielsen Norman Group:
- Is the content essential?
- Does the content have a proper level of granularity?
- Can the content be condensed?
- Can the content be rephrased to be more simple or clear?
Size for Your Audience
When deciding exactly how to chunk and organize your content, consider your audience’s needs, values, and attitudes. Yes, your reader profiles should include demographics like age, job roles, industry, and education levels. But also strive to understand your readers’ familiarity and experience with the topic.
As Shank notes, if the audience is knowledgeable, the chunks can be larger. If the information is new, the chunks should be smaller. An effective instructor/writer breaks up topics in a way that matches the learner’s context and experience level.
Use Supportive Elements
To support the chunked structure, use layout and formatting techniques such as white space, highlighted keywords, and lists. Design with all the visual elements in mind. For example, use subheadings strategically to show topical alignment and carefully consider where and how to use graphical elements and other media.
As Shank advises, “Structure information into related, logical, meaningful, and sequential segments. Each segment should contain whatever text and media goes with that segment, and each segment should be visually separate from the others.”
Remember, you can use graphics to reinforce challenging concepts in the segment’s text and white space to form a visual unit on the page.
To further assist with visual orientation, Boag suggests nesting related chunks together, sorting long lists into shorter ones, and turning paragraphs into lists wherever appropriate to further enhance the chunked format.
Label Appropriately
When you have your well-designed chunks in hand, be sure that your headings and subheadings act as guideposts to your content. They should:
- Help readers navigate the whole of your content and find the chunks that most meet their needs.
- Serve as meaningful labels for your chunks.
- Reinforce each chunk’s service as a self-contained block.
To learn more about how to write these labels effectively, read my blog post, “6 Strategies for Writing Compelling Headings.”
Troubleshoot Odd Lengths
As you revise your final content piece, look for places to improve chunking. If a section feels too short or incomplete, look for unstated assumptions or key concepts that need more explanation. Conversely, if it’s too long, consider breaking it into smaller subsections or moving non-critical details to sidebars.
By applying these chunking strategies to your writing process, you’ll be able to transform dense subject matter into easy-to-navigate, scannable content that meets the needs of today’s online readers and learners.
Bonus Tip: The chunking concept is also used in contexts other than writing. In the field of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), chunking up refers to moving to more general or abstract information, while chunking down means getting more specific or detailed. As Mark McGregor describes in a LinkedIn article, these techniques allow lateral thinking for process improvement, negotiation, and conflict resolution. So, one could argue, the core chunking principle has applications across multiple domains.
With thoughtful chunking as part of your approach, you’ll be able to elevate the clarity and engagement of your business and technical communication. So don’t be afraid to break things up – your readers (and colleagues) will thank you!
References
Boag, Paul. “How to Use Chunking: The Secret to Writing Better Online Copy.” Boagworld website. February 25, 2021. https://boagworld.com/working-in-web/chunking-text/.
McGregor, Mark. “‘Chunking’ as a Tool for Effective Communication and Change,” LinkedIn article, May 25, 2014. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140525095827-804336–chunking-as-a-tool-for-effective-communication-and-change/.
Reddish, Janice (Ginny). Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2012.
Rockley, Ann. Managing Enterprise Content. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders, 2003.
Shank, Patti, PhD. “What Research Tells Us about Chunking Content.” eLearning Industry, November 15, 2018. https://elearningindustry.com/chunking-content-what-research-tells-us.
Tonneson, Kim Pippa. “Chunking Content & Using Headers to Design Accessible Content Pages.” YouTube, CVC/@ONE channel, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjsE2venkhc.
Wang, Huei-Hsin and Megan Chan. “5 Formatting Techniques for Long-Form Content.” Nielsen Norman Group website, November 17, 2023. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/formatting-long-form-content/.
Winters, Sarah. Content Design. London: Content Design, 2017.
DK Consulting of Colorado 