'Before' and 'After'

 

            Today's Snack: A food item that seems to change the most when it's cooked is the incredible, edible egg. Spray-coat a frying pan or melt a little butter in there, and crack two eggs. Let them fry, sunny-side up. Watch the color change and the yolk solidify. Would you ever have eaten the raw egg, "before"? No way. But after it's been fried, sunny-side up . . . ahhhh! The "after" version is mighty good, and high-protein, too.

 

 

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Supplies:

 

A past writing assignment

This Treat, printed out

Pen or pencil

 

Bad writing is self-centered. It puts everything into the expression of the idea, and nothing into making sure the idea gets across.

 

            But the purpose of a piece of writing is the reader's understanding, not the writer's gratification. Meeting the reader's needs should take center stage no matter what form of writing you undertake: a report, a memo, a short story, a news story, a letter, a proposal, instructions, an ad, or whatever.

 

            The best way to plan and organize a piece of writing is to THINK about it, before you ever get started. Be clear on your purpose and what you're trying to accomplish. If you think before you write, you increase your chances significantly that your reader will get the point.

 

Here's what you do:

 

Get a writing assignment that you just completed, and aren't totally happy with how it turned out. Re-read it and study it. Think about it for a couple of minutes, and evaluate how effective you thought your writing was.

 

            Now, go back over that same assignment, only this time, answer these questions that are focused on your reader with a pen or pencil on this Treat. Then, with these answers in mind, rewrite the writing assignment. It may be very close to what you already had, or it may have to be totally reorganized.

 

            Show the "before" and "after" versions to your parent and teacher. They'll be impressed!

 

 

Who is my reader?

 

 

 

What do I need to tell my reader?

 

 

 

What does my reader already know about this subject?

 

 

 

How will my reader probably respond: bored silly? Intrigued? Impatient? Hostile? How can I make sure the response is positive?

 

 

 

 

 

What is likely to go wrong and how can I avoid it? (confusion and boredom stem from writing that is too long, too complex, unclear or irrelevant)

 

 

 

What do I want to accomplish with this message?

 

 

 

 

How exactly do I want my reader to respond?