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Templates · Writing & publishing

Listicle template

For a roundup, a set of tips, tools or lessons that do not need to be read in order. Origin: The numbered-list post as refined by Buffer, HubSpot and BuzzFeed; the most shared blog format on the web.

Start from this templateFree, no account needed. The blank is written with guidance in each section, ready to fill in.

Structure

  1. Headline with the number
  2. Intro that promises the payoff
  3. Numbered items, each with a bold takeaway, a paragraph of substance and an example
  4. A closing that picks the one to start with

How a tough reader scores it

When you score a draft against this format, the Critic evaluates this listicle. The weights add up to 100; the fixes for the weakest criteria arrive as cards in the editor.

CriterionWeight
The headline promises something specific and the post delivers it20
Every item has a takeaway, substance and an example, none is filler30
Items are distinct, no two say the same thing15
Scannable: bold takeaways, short paragraphs, consistent shape15
The strongest items come first and last10
Closing tells the reader where to start10

How it works in SecondPen.ai

Open the template and the editor writes the blank once, with a line of guidance under each heading that you delete as you fill it in. Write your abstract and the editor names the format it reads like. Ask for a document with a slash command and it offers to start from the matching format. When the draft is ready, the Critic scores it against the criteria above, the way this format's toughest reader would, and the three highest-leverage fixes become Editor cards.

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