Anticipating Reader Questions
An important way to approach support is to think about it in terms of your readers. Read the following annotated paragraph to see what some reader questions might be.
Good writing should anticipate reader questions. Remember that unlike speech, your readers can't ask you questions or ask you for clarification. This means that you have put yourself in their shoes to ensure that you use sufficient and detailed support. For example, if you state "I have had a really hectic week at my job," you need to show how your week was hectic at your job.
Anticipating reader questions comes down to closely reading your own sentences. Read the following example that looks at that "Corner Store" paragraph you've seen a few times now. I have added in questions that are raised right after the sentence that raised them (questions are in bold and italicized). By doing this, you can check to see if there is anywhere in the writing that is lacking support.
I really love my job at The Corner Store for many reasons. Such as? For one thing, the work is easy. What do you do and how is it easy? The bulk of what I do is cashing out customers at the register, making sure there is fresh coffee, and occasionally stocking shelves. None of these tasks is at all stressful and the store is usually not very busy, so there is a lot of free time I can use to do homework. Second of all, I work with really great people. Whom do you work with and what is great about them? My coworkers are all incredibly considerate and helpful. How are they considerate and helpful? For example, last month, I needed a day off to attend a field trip to the art museum with my art history class, and my coworker, Mohamed, took my shift for me. Also, just last week, my coworker, Katie, volunteered to stay late and finish the inventory I had been asked to do, so I could get home to study for a math test I had early the next morning. In addition, my boss Alicia always does really nice things for all us employees. Things such as? For instance, on our birthdays, she always gets us a ten-dollar gift card. Also, once every month or two, when business is slow, she orders a pizza for everyone. The final reason I really love my job at The Corner Store is the awesome pay and benefits. What do you get paid, what are the benefits, and what makes the pay and benefits awesome? I make $12 an hour ($3 above minimum wage in my area) and I get free fountain drinks during my shift. In addition, my schedule is perfect. How is it perfect? I get a consistent thirty-two hours a week and Alicia is really good about adjusting them to work around my classes each semester. This results in enough income to pay my bills and enough time to sleep, get my school work done, and even still hang out with my friends for at least a few hours a week. I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful job with great work, people, and benefits.
The goal of good writing is to get to a level of detail where your readers will no longer have questions. You want them to finish reading and have a sense of completion.
Source: Erin Severs
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License.