You cannot write a sentence that will mean exactly the same to all readers. Complete control by the writer is impossible.

#REA #readerexpectation #writing #writerslife #professionalwriting #writingtips #professionaldevelopment #confusion #Englishlanguage #communicationtips

The most rigid expectation: The last sentence of an opening paragraph promises the reader what the whole document will be about.
#professionalwriting #paragraphstructure #readerexpectation

The #1 writing problem in the USA: Not placing words to be stressed next to a colon, semicolon, or period.
#ReaderExpectation #ProseRhythm #LegalWriting
#ClarityInWriting #BetterWriting #WritingMistakes

Expectation is a primary component — perhaps the primary component — of meaning in English. It may be so for all languages.

#rea #readerexpectation #georgegopen #writers #englishlanguage #writing

Rulish advice: Aside from rules of grammar, there should be only one rule for writing: No Rules.

#ReaderExpectation #Writerslife #Grammar

That cognitive friction costs clarity. The Reader Expectation Approach fixes this by teaching you how reviewers' minds actually process your text. The difference between grammatically correct and cognitively clear is structural. And it's learnable.
#ReaderExpectation #GrantWriting #ScientificWriting

When you are reading a word, you are reading it simultaneously as part of multiple units — phrase, sentence, document.

#readerexpectation #writingtips #writerslife #professionaldevelopment

As a writer, you will lead a reader straight to your thought if you know where they look for the answers to four questions: What is happening? Who's story is it? How does this sentence connect to its neighbors? Which words are most important?
#readerexpectation #stressposition

Theological argument for the passive: God would not have invented the passive if there weren't a good reason for it.
#PassiveVoice #WritingPhilosophy #WritingHumor #WritingWisdom #LanguageLovers #WritingLife #ReaderExpectation #WritingInsight

#badwriting advice: "To see if your document is good, read it aloud." You already know how to read it. Will your reader?

#readerexpectation #ProfesionalDevelopemnt #writerslife #sciencewriting #legalwriting #grantwriting

Good Passive: If it is the only way to get the most important information next to a colon, semi-colon, or period.
#PassiveVoice #WritingAdvice #AcademicWriting #ProfessionalWriting #WritingCraft #ClearWriting #ReaderExpectation #WritingStrategy

Good Passive: The best way to get rid of agency: "Jack loves Jill" -> "Jill is loved by Jack"-> "Jill is loved."

#ReaderExpectation #WritingCraft #PassiveVoice #SentenceStructure #WritingStrategy #AcademicWriting #ProfessionalWriting #EditingSkills #ClearWriting #WritingAdvice

Let's spend the next several posts debunking common #badwriting advice: "Write the way you speak." When you speak, you use body and voice to convey meaning. These disappear on paper.
#readerexpectation #writerslife #writerscommunity #ProfessionalDevelopment