Modern Life: What Is a Listicle? Anna Savory

1. Listicles are hybrids Simply put, a listicle is any article that takes the form of a numbered list. They abound in modern journalism and often contain a cardinal number in their title. Recent examples include 31 Times Politicians Didn’t Understand the Internet and The 21 Absolute Worst Things in the World!

2. Listicles are an online phenomenon There's debate as to exactly where the listicle originated, but they are now an online mainstay. This is particularly true for the website Buzzfeed, which publishes hundreds of listicles every day. Their top listicle on the day of writing is 11 Times Leave Campaigners Said Brexit Would

be Easy (though it should be pointed out that the day before's top listicle was the less politically rigorous 23 Underrated Aldi Groceries That You Are Seriously Missing Out On).

3. Listicles are endemic Listicles have quickly bled over to the news-stand; Cosmopolitan and GQ often feature listicles, as increasingly do broadsheets. The Daily Telegraph's 100 Novels Everyone Should Read is a more cerebral example of the format – indeed, this listicle you're now reading is being featured in a publication that would normally pride itself on having higher journalistic standards.

4. Listicles are not qualitative Despite their numbered points, there is no value judgement in the order of listicles. Point 1 is no more or less important than point 5, and so on. Ranked lists such as Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time are listicles only in letter and not in spirit.

5. Listicles have a hook Because listicles are so fragmented, and there's no argument to keep you invested, most contain a ‘hook' to ensure you get to the end (and, in the case of online listicles, to tempt you to click in the first place). This is usually found in the title, in the form of ‘You won't believe X…'. In the case of this listicle, you won't believe number 10 and you should definitely read right to the end of this article to disbelieve it.

6. Listicles are a money-spinner The main reason listicles have gained so much traction online is that they are extremely lucrative. In the time it would

take a reader to slog through a normal article, they could consume five or six listicles (resulting in five or six times the revenue for the website).

7. Listicles are quick Just as they are easy to consume, they are easy to produce. No larger structure, no argument and minimal ordering to attend to mean that listicle-writing consists of just jotting down self-contained points, very much like writing out a skeleton for a full article you plan to pen later. It can be done in about ten minutes.

8. Listicles are evolving There is a new wave of listicles. They have from twenty to fifty points, a single line of text, and an accompanying GIF (a moving image). Even faster to make and read.

9. Listicles are an etymological pun It's been proposed that the ‘listicle', as well as being a portmanteau of ‘list' and ‘article', is reminiscent of ‘popsicle' on the basis that, like the snack, they are fun and entertaining but lack nutritional value.

10. Listicles are not so bad after all David Leonhardt claimed that humans naturally ‘think in lists'; the journalist Steven Poole cited Umberto Eco's The Infinity of Lists, a book of lists, as the listicle's esteemed literary forbear. (Now, wasn't number 10 worth waiting for?).