When writing informational material for a specific audience, it’s highly-recommended that you take into account your readers’ particular habits and attitudes. For North American readers, this usually entails endowing your material with very specific characteristics.
State your main subject directly. Ever read a piece of writing that kept you guessing what it’s about till the third paragraph? Most US audiences hate that. In fact, I think most people from any country do so, as well. That’s why you’re encouraged to state your point directly right in the first paragraph. Even better, if you can let the reader know what it’s about from the title, you’re golden.
Be direct. Informational pieces are meant to impart facts, not flowery prose. As such, it’s best to be direct when presenting details to your audience. While it’s fine to take some creative liberties, watch out not to make it difficult to wrap one’s head around.
Be conversational. Conversational tone works very well for imparting information. That’s because it lends your writing an approachable feel when you treat your audience as equals, rather than as students. It’s not that difficult – if you keep a friendly tone, you should do fine.
Work towards clarity. To successfully impart information, you have to write clearly. As such, you’ll need to focus on achieving clear and pointed text. Use the usual English constructs that help promote this, from using active verbs to stating the subject at the start of each sentence. In the same vein, employ a grammar software to clean out potential problems in spelling, word use and statement construction.
Tags: informational articles, informational pieces, US audiences, US readers
