Your essay vs. Kim Kardashian

Source: photo taken by the author.

Hey writer, did you know that you’re in competition with Kim Kardashian? Yup. Right now, while you’re in school, your college professor or high school English teacher gets paid to read your compositions. But after your formal schooling ends, no one will ever again have to read what you’ve written. So you better make damn sure your writing is interesting; otherwise, the attention of your potential readers will wander to other obligations or pastimes, whether that pile of laundry that needs washing or the latest issue of People magazine with a cover story about – you guessed it – Kim Kardashian.

Gaining (and holding) the interest of readers is a step-by-step process that begins with your title. Every piece of writing should have a title, and it should be a title that makes someone curious to read what you’ve written. Start with a working title that you know will change later on. Personally, I like to write a piece first, and then search out an interesting phrase or line from my own composition to use as a title. Of course, there are bad titles. Here’s one: “English Composition 101 Comparison-Contrast Paper.” Yawn! Frankly, that title makes me want to crack open that People magazine and see what the Kardashians have been up to lately. You can do better.

My own theory is that a compelling title will persuade a reader to read your first sentence. An interesting first sentence will buy you a reader’s attention through your first paragraph. That captivating first paragraph will convince a reader to read a few more paragraphs. And so on. In this way, you can coax a reader through your piece. The first sentence is the most important sentence, and the first paragraph is the most important paragraph.

One important caveat: Never let cleverness supersede clarity and accuracy. If your writing can be clever in addition to being clear and accurate, then that’s great. But clarity and accuracy ALWAYS come first.

Now, I can only hope you have read all the way to the end of this blog post and that People magazine has remained unopened on the coffee table!

© 2014 Bob Dial.  All rights reserved.