I made this tutorial in response to an all-too common piece of writing advice: "Don't think about your readers; write for yourself, as though you're writing a diary."
This advice, I think, is the root cause of all bad writing.
Though it does have its merits. The useful thing about this writing advice is that it gets people started. By ignoring readers, novice writers can remove the fear of judgement and start expressing their ideas.
But the function of nonfiction writing is not to communicate your ideas; it's to change the ideas of your readers.
The function of nonfiction writing is not to communicate your ideas; it's to change the ideas of your readers.
In this video, I offer the following definition of an essay:
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An effective essay helps readers understand something better that they want to understand well.