TOP TENS

1. TOP TENS Because everyone loves a top ten list.

2. What Makes a Good Top Ten List? • You tell me.

3. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 10. Formatting Did you move from 10 to 1 or 1 to 10? Is the list readable and clear, or does it seem haphazardly thrown together? No one loves a poorly designed top ten list. Make yours engaging to look at. You might even include some pictures.

4. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 9. Clarity • Is the writing readable to a large audience, or at least your target audience? Do you use the proper parlance, or jargon, of whatever subject you are tackling? Without clarity and transitions, your top ten list will end up on the bottom ten things that anyone would want to read! Ha ha. Ha. Here is one of the best book covers ever:

5. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 8. Creativity • Is the writer eschewing the same old writing style? Readers want to read a fresh, engaging piece of writing, not a boring, vomit-inducing cesspool of garbage. Make yours the former.

6. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 7. Angle • Yes, your top tens should have an angle. If you are looking at the ten best films of the year, you might refine this even more. Perhaps you want to name the top ten best romantic comedies, or the top ten films that made you reconsider your existence on this planet.

7. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 6. Grammar and AP Style. • Duh.

8. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 5. Meaning • When you are creating a list, don’t say, “I thought that this movie was fun to watch from start to finish. It made me excited and then sad.” That is absolute drivel, and you know it! • You should be focusing on the meaning of the subject you’re approaching. Why and how does the film make you sad? Are there overarching themes that it tackles particularly well? Or, if it’s the worst, why? What does it fail to do?

9. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 4. Persuasiveness • Use rhetoric that will persuade your reader that you have made the right choices for your list. Avoid saying, “In my opinion,” or “To me, this is a terrific novel.” Those immediately weaken your argument, which you are making, in a sense.

10. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 3. Detail • Imagine reading a top ten list that simply lists the ten best or worst albums of the year, then does not support the list at all. There’s no reason anyone should buy your list based solely on your name alone, regardless of your name’s fame. You should write a paragraph or more for each item to discuss it a bit and bolster your support for your opinion. • Again, don’t just say, “I think the movie was really fun to watch.” That is horrible. Go further!

11. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 2. Credibility • Is your opinion based on fact? If not, your reader will be unlikely to care about it. Make sure that, when you make an assertion, you can base it in fact so that a reader knows why you placed an item on your list.

12. Top Ten Best Aspects of Top Ten Lists • 1. Topic Choice • If you ask the question, “Who cares?” about your list and cannot think of a person besides yourself, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. You have to choose an engaging, unique (if you’d like), and readable topic. Otherwise, your top ten list will make the top ten list of the worst things ever.

13. Consider Your Reader • Write what you would want to read, of course. • Ask yourself, “Who cares?”