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What do the Pyramids of Giza and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa have in common with Twitter and Pepsi? Quick answer: They are all designed using the Golden Ratio
I discovered it quite by accident.
While browsing through my old articles written across multiple platforms, I came across an interesting pattern.
· Articles having a defined 5-parts structure (1 beginning,3 Middle and 1 End) did far better than other articles.
· Such articles had received 8x more views compared to other articles on the same topic.
· These articles had also received much more shares across social media platforms compared to other articles.
As I mulled over my discovery, I dug a little deeper into this phenomenon and came across something called the golden ratio.
I had been inadvertently using this ratio in some of my articles and all of them had done quite well, much beyond my expectations. I was delighted. I explored further.
What do the Pyramids of Giza and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa have in common with Twitter and Pepsi? Quick answer: They are all designed using the Golden Ratio.
The Golden Ratio is a mathematical ratio. It is commonly found in nature, and when used in a design, it fosters organic and natural looking compositions that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Putting it as simply as we can, If the ratio of two quantities equals the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities, they are in the golden proportion. The golden ratio is also called the golden mean and golden section; older names include extreme and mean ratio, divine proportion, divine section etc.
But don’t let all this mathematics bog you down.
In short, the Golden Ratio boils down to aesthetics — creating and appreciating a sense of beauty through harmony and proportion. When applied to any field, the Golden Ratio provides a sense of artistry; an X-factor; a certain je ne sais quoi.
This harmony and proportion have been recognized for thousands of centuries: from the Pyramids in Giza to the Parthenon in Athens; from Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa; and from the Pepsi logo to the Twitter logo. Our bodies and faces even follow the mathematical ratio.
So Far so good.
But what has this to do with writing?
The 5-part structure of writing follows the golden ratio. The Golden Ratio is .618, or 61.8% and put simply, the body (the main content) of the five-paragraph article is very likely 61.8% of the whole article. This means that the introduction and conclusion (the helping parts) will likely equal 38.2% of the whole article.
And this is the best possible structure any article can have, to have a logical and rhythmic connection with the reader reading it.
Let us explore a bit further.
A 5-Part Structure is Rhythmic
Good writing requires a certain rhythm of a beginning, middle, and ending. It needs this rhythm in sentences (sentence fluency) and in paragraphs. The whole composition needs to have a feeling of rhythm which flows without breaking the reader’s thoughts till the very end.
In his famous treatise Poetics, Aristotle had said, “A whole is that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.” In other words, if a writer does not create a beginning, middle, and end, the writer has created just a part of a whole. As relates to paragraphs, making points, giving reasons, explaining concepts, and providing illustrations all need beginnings, middles, and endings.
Writing cannot be reduced to a simple, fill in the blanks formula. In other words, when individual parts are connected together to form one entity, they are worth more than if the parts were in silos.
And this connection between the parts, this working as a whole piece is what binds the reader to the article.
A 5-Part Structure is all about Proportion
The Golden Ratio is all about proportion. And the Golden Ratio is built from the Fibonacci Number Sequence.
Here is the beginning list of Fibonacci numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21… The important numbers associated with the Golden Ratio are these: 1.681, .618, and .382. For our purposes, only the latter two are important. Keep in mind that .618 = 61.8% and .382 = 38.2%.
Let’s take a look at how these relate to the beginning, middle, and ending of a five-part article. Here are how the five paragraphs in the five-part article are structured:
• Beginning (B) = Introduction = 1 paragraph
• Middle (M) = Body = 3 paragraphs
The paragraph count for each part (B, M, and E) of a five-part article and also for all of the combined parts is a Fibonacci number. Take a look: B = 1; M = 3; C = 1. Additionally, B and E together = 2. And of course, the total count for the whole essay = 5.
All of these numbers are Fibonacci Numbers.
Now let us look at the proportion of a 5-part article
On its surface the five-part article is proportioned like this:
· Paragraph 1 = 20% — Beginning(B)
· Paragraph 2 = 20% — Middle(M)
· Paragraph 3 = 20% — Middle(M)
· Paragraph 4 = 20% — Middle(M)
· Paragraph 5 = 20% — End(E)
As such, the B and E together is 40% and the M is 60%. These percentages are already extremely close to the Golden Ratio percentages of 38.2% and 61.8%.
In a nutshell, what we have created, is writing which has managed to establish harmony by uniting its different parts (the whole) and yet each part preserves its own identity. This is what entices the reader.
The 5-Part Structure Begins with an End in Mind
Knowing where you’re trying to go before you start is crucial to leading an effective life. Aristotle called this teleology, which is the study of matters with their end or purpose in mind.
The same applies to writing as well. Every piece of writing, whether an individual blog or a book should have an end objective in mind. This end objective will be your unique selling proposition and you need to have a clearly-defined big picture perspective of how you’re going to achieve that objective over time.
And the 5-part structure forces you to have an end paragraph. You need to end a story even before you start writing about it. You cannot meander and lose track come what may.
The structure helps you to remain focused on where you’re trying to end up. Even when the path is hazy, you’ve got to remember where you’re trying to go.
Bringing it All Together
The Golden ratio is ancient wisdom and proof that beauty is always present in nature. It is just up to us to use this aesthetic beauty in every possible field including writing.
As with many other writing concepts, the golden ratio is just a tool to assist you. Do not end up being confined by always needing to follow the golden ratio. Writing is a creative business and creativity is boundless. Create your own rules.
But yes, by using the golden ratio you may have a greater chance of your writing being aesthetically appealing. The whole is important. The means to arrive at a fabulous whole is immaterial.
I discovered it quite by accident.
While browsing through my old articles written across multiple platforms, I came across an interesting pattern.
· Articles having a defined 5-parts structure (1 beginning,3 Middle and 1 End) did far better than other articles.
· Such articles had received 8x more views compared to other articles on the same topic.
· These articles had also received much more shares across social media platforms compared to other articles.
As I mulled over my discovery, I dug a little deeper into this phenomenon and came across something called the golden ratio.
I had been inadvertently using this ratio in some of my articles and all of them had done quite well, much beyond my expectations. I was delighted. I explored further.
What do the Pyramids of Giza and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa have in common with Twitter and Pepsi? Quick answer: They are all designed using the Golden Ratio.
The Golden Ratio is a mathematical ratio. It is commonly found in nature, and when used in a design, it fosters organic and natural looking compositions that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Putting it as simply as we can, If the ratio of two quantities equals the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities, they are in the golden proportion. The golden ratio is also called the golden mean and golden section; older names include extreme and mean ratio, divine proportion, divine section etc.
But don’t let all this mathematics bog you down.
In short, the Golden Ratio boils down to aesthetics — creating and appreciating a sense of beauty through harmony and proportion. When applied to any field, the Golden Ratio provides a sense of artistry; an X-factor; a certain je ne sais quoi.
This harmony and proportion have been recognized for thousands of centuries: from the Pyramids in Giza to the Parthenon in Athens; from Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa; and from the Pepsi logo to the Twitter logo. Our bodies and faces even follow the mathematical ratio.
So Far so good.
But what has this to do with writing?
The 5-part structure of writing follows the golden ratio. The Golden Ratio is .618, or 61.8% and put simply, the body (the main content) of the five-paragraph article is very likely 61.8% of the whole article. This means that the introduction and conclusion (the helping parts) will likely equal 38.2% of the whole article.
And this is the best possible structure any article can have, to have a logical and rhythmic connection with the reader reading it.
Let us explore a bit further.
A 5-Part Structure is Rhythmic
Good writing requires a certain rhythm of a beginning, middle, and ending. It needs this rhythm in sentences (sentence fluency) and in paragraphs. The whole composition needs to have a feeling of rhythm which flows without breaking the reader’s thoughts till the very end.
In his famous treatise Poetics, Aristotle had said, “A whole is that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.” In other words, if a writer does not create a beginning, middle, and end, the writer has created just a part of a whole. As relates to paragraphs, making points, giving reasons, explaining concepts, and providing illustrations all need beginnings, middles, and endings.
Writing cannot be reduced to a simple, fill in the blanks formula. In other words, when individual parts are connected together to form one entity, they are worth more than if the parts were in silos.
And this connection between the parts, this working as a whole piece is what binds the reader to the article.
A 5-Part Structure is all about Proportion
The Golden Ratio is all about proportion. And the Golden Ratio is built from the Fibonacci Number Sequence.
Here is the beginning list of Fibonacci numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21… The important numbers associated with the Golden Ratio are these: 1.681, .618, and .382. For our purposes, only the latter two are important. Keep in mind that .618 = 61.8% and .382 = 38.2%.
Let’s take a look at how these relate to the beginning, middle, and ending of a five-part article. Here are how the five paragraphs in the five-part article are structured:
• Beginning (B) = Introduction = 1 paragraph
• Middle (M) = Body = 3 paragraphs
- Ending (E) = Conclusion = 1 paragraph
The paragraph count for each part (B, M, and E) of a five-part article and also for all of the combined parts is a Fibonacci number. Take a look: B = 1; M = 3; C = 1. Additionally, B and E together = 2. And of course, the total count for the whole essay = 5.
All of these numbers are Fibonacci Numbers.
Now let us look at the proportion of a 5-part article
On its surface the five-part article is proportioned like this:
· Paragraph 1 = 20% — Beginning(B)
· Paragraph 2 = 20% — Middle(M)
· Paragraph 3 = 20% — Middle(M)
· Paragraph 4 = 20% — Middle(M)
· Paragraph 5 = 20% — End(E)
As such, the B and E together is 40% and the M is 60%. These percentages are already extremely close to the Golden Ratio percentages of 38.2% and 61.8%.
In a nutshell, what we have created, is writing which has managed to establish harmony by uniting its different parts (the whole) and yet each part preserves its own identity. This is what entices the reader.
The 5-Part Structure Begins with an End in Mind
Knowing where you’re trying to go before you start is crucial to leading an effective life. Aristotle called this teleology, which is the study of matters with their end or purpose in mind.
The same applies to writing as well. Every piece of writing, whether an individual blog or a book should have an end objective in mind. This end objective will be your unique selling proposition and you need to have a clearly-defined big picture perspective of how you’re going to achieve that objective over time.
And the 5-part structure forces you to have an end paragraph. You need to end a story even before you start writing about it. You cannot meander and lose track come what may.
The structure helps you to remain focused on where you’re trying to end up. Even when the path is hazy, you’ve got to remember where you’re trying to go.
Bringing it All Together
The Golden ratio is ancient wisdom and proof that beauty is always present in nature. It is just up to us to use this aesthetic beauty in every possible field including writing.
As with many other writing concepts, the golden ratio is just a tool to assist you. Do not end up being confined by always needing to follow the golden ratio. Writing is a creative business and creativity is boundless. Create your own rules.
But yes, by using the golden ratio you may have a greater chance of your writing being aesthetically appealing. The whole is important. The means to arrive at a fabulous whole is immaterial.
