Part 1: The Problem
The language of experts and educators couldn’t be more different from the kind of writing that connects with the wider world.
Whether you’re emerging from university or siloed in a particular industry, those differences may not seem like much of a problem… until almost no one engages with your work.
What sets academic writing apart is its built-in audience: people normally read dissertations and research papers because “peer-reviewed” work is considered part of the job.
This has a big effect on the style of writing. Since you’re speaking to a specialist audience that knows as much (if not more) than you, there’s a level of assumed ‘insider’ knowledge present.
The other consequence of a guaranteed audience is that you can take as long as you like to articulate an idea. You can take their attention for granted.
This won’t work in the wider world. We’re all inundated with things vying for our attention, so if we choose to read something… it needs to hook us in immediately and hold our interest.
Imagine your reader taking a bus or a train home from work. Your ultimate goal is to have them so engrossed in your writing, so captivated by what you’re saying, that they miss their stop.
The key to pulling this off is clarity. Clarity is the antidote to confusion. Anything that causes the reader to pause and think “Wait, what?” is like having a roadblock in your writing.
Repetition is another enemy of accessible writing. It makes us switch off and lose interest. Clichès have the same effect: when our brain knows what words are coming, it skips ahead.
Now that we’ve identified the subtle things that make writing inaccessible, let’s turn our focus to what gives readers the most compelling experience possible.
Part 2: The Solution
Good writing is concise. Cut the fat by pretending that every word costs money. Just like a machine shouldn’t have unnecessary parts, a sentence should contain no unnecessary words.
Use everyday language – the kind of words you use naturally while speaking. Avoid formal terms that people never say in everyday speech (e.g. “furthermore”, “moreover”, “thus”).
Take nothing for granted. Put yourself in the shoes of a layperson who doesn’t know anything about this subject. How can you fill the blanks in their mind as simply as possible?
The opening line is your chance to win the reader over. This is when they make a snap judgment to keep going or move onto something else. Let’s look at some examples…
“The first time 53-year-old Sidney Anderson was seen drunk was the last time he was seen alive.” Harold Evans, Do I Make Myself Clear?
“Two years ago, Kazushige Nishida, a Tokyo businessman in his sixties, started renting a part-time wife and daughter.” Elif Batuman, The New Yorker.
These first lines practically dare you to stop reading. They’re clear, concise, and have an element of surprise. Get a feel for this technique by noticing the openings of anything you read.
Find the pulse of whatever story you’re trying to tell. Introduce a sense of urgency, mystery, or suspense. This gives your writing a natural momentum that pulls the reader along.
Paint a picture using the five senses. Academic writing is often accused of being dull, dry, and full of jargon. A scene evoked in simple but vivid details can stick in someone’s mind forever.
Accessible writing is all about ruthlessly editing your work from another person’s perspective. Keep re-reading it, out loud, until it’s so clear and concise that there’s nothing left to change.