When they come across writing that is hard to follow, most people’s natural reaction is to stop reading.
And it’s easier than ever for them do to that with a world of electronic distractions at their fingertips even while they are reading what you wrote.
If you’ve ever had assembly instructions that were difficult to understand, you probably threw them down and either got help or went on without them.
Even people who have to read what you give them–editors, colleagues, co-workers and supervisors in your organization–will be tempted to start skimming when they cannot easily follow what you are trying to tell them.
Or they’ll get distracted. And focus on the frustration they felt instead of your ideas.
That’s a thought that should strike fear into all writers. The last thing you want is for your readers to walk away or wish they could have.
In these posts, I’m going to give three quick tips to help make your academic and professional writing easy to follow.