A specific object
(a concrete event- i.e. Snapchat is going to host a Superheros series; a quirky object; an upcoming person of note; a burgeoning fad).
It’s about Nick Jonas, but it’s not; it’s specifically about highlighting recent signs that he is being embraced outside his Disney persona); it’s perhaps about suggesting that he is going to keep rising in success.
It’s not about promoting Chef Santos or even about his restaurant, Louro (but notice there’s a link to the restaurant and more mention of the menu). It’s specifically about this curious 5 month simmering stew. It certainly advertises the chef and the dining establishment, but those are technically secondary effects of the article.
A mix of strategies
Good shorts incorporate a mix of rhetorical device. They’re not all quotes (that would be like an interview). They’re not all background (that would be like a Wikipedia article or a news brief). They’re not totally (if at all) evaluative (that would be a review). They’re not all pictures or all links or all metaphor or all data . . ..
Informative
shorts tend to educate us about something in particular. They don’t necessarily weigh huge debates or give one person’s opinion. They tend to play on the fact that you have some general interest (in the topic of the magazine) and are predisposed to want to know a bit more about what this headline announces.
Informative but Catchy Titles
the titles for shorts aren’t usually just poetic or great puns. They’re marketed to readers who are skimming or moving quickly. These readers kind of want to have the gist of what they are getting into before they start. The title has to convey a lot of information while still managing to be punchy.
Little Personal Opinion
These are not Op Eds. There might be some line about how “we love” certain tweets or light-hearted conjectures about how looking at Jonas will be enough to make any girl previously hurt feel better. But these are strategic moments of kind of rubbing elbows with the reader and establishing a connection. The assumption is that the reader thinks the same. The whole article though while typically enthusiastic is not about the author’s opinion or evaluative review of this object.
A Few Different Devices for Writing a Short
quotes and excerpts from interviews
visuals
links to sources and background reference piece.
expert reports (for data and recent findings)
quick and easily digestible metaphors
Clear comparisons
references to social media and how the object stands in terms of popular notice
pointing out extremes, absurdities, and sensational details
pithy remarks, puns, or other forms of quickly consumable humor