What is the antonym of wall of text? That is, a text where every paragraph is a single sentence.

If the antonym doesn't exist, how can the opposite of wall of text be described grammar-technically? There must be a term or a description for this common type of error in writing.

Exhibit A [1]

object is valid for all .NET versions.

It is the base type that all other types inherit from, so any type can be cast to object.

You can't dynamically add and change anything on a variable declared as object.

The declaration is a statically typed and checked by the compiler.

dynamic is new for .NET 4.0.

It allows you do dynamically add and change properties and methods without the compiler checking them (so if what you wrote is wrong you will only find out at runtime).

1. Reference: Raw text. Rendered.


According to the definition you cite (and my understanding), a wall of text is a solid blob of text without paragraph breaks. It is therefore hard to mentally outline a "wall of text". Your example seems to be of the "opposite of a wall of text" that you seek a word for.

Some words that might help:

  • "broken up"
  • "staccato"
  • "disjointed"
  • "not fleshed out"
  • "outline"

Maybe point form or note form. You could describe it as sparse.


After a little research online, I believe there is no set term for what you're describing. I think the next best thing is to use a descriptive:

a scrawny line of text

a measly blurb in the middle of the page



The defining characteristic of a wall of text is its rambling verbosity, not necessarily that it lacks paragraph breaks. A wall of text with paragraph breaks would still be a wall of text.

A piece of writing that is the opposite of a wall of text might be described as succinct.

  • Or even "well-structured" – jfhc Sep 24 '15 at 13:00

I would describe Exhibit A as bulletpoints. There isn't actually a bullet point in from of each line, but it seems like there might as well be.

  • While this is a reasonable description, the question asks for its antonym. – Chenmunka Sep 24 '15 at 11:29


Yes, I think TL;DR can be used as an antonym of wall of text.

They were both born in the Information Age; aren't they a perfect pair? :-)

Usually, TL;DR is used in a similar way we use Synopsis or Executive Summary (or just Summary).

Your text looks like a summary; it contains several summarized points (which makes it look similar to a bullet list, just without the bullet points). If I have to describe that block of your example text, I think I'd call it summarized points, in short, and probably head it with either TL;DR or Summary, depending on the occasion.


A document composed entirely of single lines cannot really be said to have "paragraphs".

A "paragraph", by nature, is different from a sentence. It can be of a single sentence, and dictionary definitions note this - but grammar texts state that as a "rule of thumb" (ie, not a hard and fast rule, but generally accepted) a paragraph should have between 3-8 sentences. There is also the "classic 5-sentence paragraph".

The linked definition of "wall of text" sounds like a term has been coined for a document without paragraphs.

The exact opposite that you have described - a text where single lines are separated - sounds more like a bullet-pointed list, albeit without the bullet points.

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