Tag Archives: reader focus

Users don’t want a document – they want answers to a question

Document structure, Thinking & writing, writing tip,

“Anticipate the questions users will ask and provide quick ways to get to the answers. Questions are usually about how to achieve a goal or perform a task. They are seldom about the components of a system.”  William Horton

That’s a good mindset to have when we are writing, especially when writing in a government or business setting.

In these settings we usually write ‘functional documents’, that is, documents designed to help people perform a task of some type. The task could be making a decision, or following a process, or knowing the best way forward.

We usually don’t write just to share knowledge, we write to share knowledge that readers can do something with.

So, before you start to write, spend some time thinking about the questions your readers need to answer.

Writing in plain language is not ‘dumbing down’

Plain language / Plain English, writing tip,

I get really annoyed when I hear people use the expression ‘dumbing down’ when they talk about writing documents – especially documents intended for the public. It’s as though they think their readers are idiots. It betrays a level of arrogance that is never helpful when we are communicating with anyone.

Most of the time we are not writing to idiots, but to people of average, maybe even above average, intelligence. They just may not have had all the experiences we have. Writing plainly is about crafting text that is clear and easy to read to help people understand. As Einstein said ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler’. And always write with great respect for your readers.