Persuasive Writing: Reader-Centered Writing

Writing that is reader-centered focuses on meeting the needs of its audience. To produce truly reader-centered writing, you must ensure that your writing does several things simultaneously.  You must

• Consider the readers’ needs with regard to content: what you tell them and what you don’t need to tell them because they already know, what kinds of questions they might have that you need to anticipate and answer;
• Anticipate their response to the topic or subject of your writing, which will guide how you organize your document and respond to potential counterarguments and concerns;
• Adopt a tone that is non-confrontational and friendly, even when delivering information that is not 100% positive;
• Use design techniques -- white space, chunking of paragraphs, headings, and more -- to help them move through your document, and
• Incorporate plain language techniques to ensure that your writing is understandable and clear.

It’s easy enough to say that your writing should be reader-centered, but how do you accomplish that task? The next few pages of this module will provide you with some techniques.