What are Some Ways to Improve Readability in Your Writing?
The readability of your content is one of the main factors that decide its quality. If your content, despite possessing other favorable and remarkable qualities, is not easy to understand, it won’t score good points with your audience.
If you are thinking about how you can improve the readability of your content, you’re at the right place. In this post, we will be discussing some easy and actionable tips that you can follow.
Content Readability | How is it Defined?
There are a number of different things that play a role in describing the readability of some content. The tips that we’ll be discussing, later on are actually based on these factors.
So, the first factor that affects content readability is the choice of words and phrases used in it. If the words are complex, the phrases too difficult, and the sentences too sesquipedalian, then the content would obviously be hard to read.
The second factor that affects content readability is its arrangement and organization. Some content could be written with some really nice and simple words with short and sweet sentences, but if it lacks proper organization and structure, it will not be very easy to read.
The third factor that can adversely affect content readability is the lack of color and “snazz.” This one is not as critical as the other two that we’ve mentioned above, but it’s a deciding factor all the same. Content that has some engaging and colorful visuals placed periodically in it (be they helpful or purely decorative) can increase its overall readability.
Ways to Improve Readability
Now that we’re done looking at the factors, let’s see how you can address and improve each of them so that your write-ups come back nice and readable.
- Using the Right Words and Phrases
When it comes to the first one, i.e., choice of words and phrases, the solution is pretty simple. You just have to make sure that you use easy descriptive words and abstain from complex terms as far as possible.
If you write a phrase that you think could be confusing for the general public, you should swap it out either for a simpler phrase or for a descriptive word.
For example, the phrase “he walked with a jaunty gait” could be changed to “he sauntered.”
In some situations, this step can be better suited for readability if reversed. In other words, there could be a particular word that could be better explained with a longer phrase.
For example, the word “gaff” could be better explained as a “silly or funny mistake.”
The exact manner in which you use words and phrases essentially depends on the audience and the topic on which you’re writing. As a rule, your goal should be to avoid using complicated terms as much as possible.
If you’ve already written some content and want to edit it with the right words and phrases, you can try using an online paraphrasing tool. Paraphrasing tools essentially work to rephrase or reword the content that they’re provided. Smart paraphrasers that work on AI algorithms are able to detect hard phrases/words and change them with easier alternatives.
- Keep Your Content Organized and Well-Structured
The second factor that we talked about in the section above pertains to the organization and structuring of the content. To ensure that your audience does not face any problems in this regard, you should always keep your content properly structured and organized with the aid of headings, sub-headings, bullets, and the like.
What is the benefit of organized content?
The main benefit of organized content (in our context) is that it makes the content a lot easier to read and digest. When the content is broken down systematically, it gets easier to skim through.
The readers are able to understand when and where each of the points is discussed in the content.
- Adding Engagement Elements
The readability of your content is decided by things other than the text itself. A bland piece of content with no colorful elements in it won’t be very pleasant to read, despite the content itself being impeccable.
You have to make sure that your content is visually appealing to your audience. And to do that, you don’t necessarily have to add some frilly “snazz” to the content. Rather, you can add such elements that can help your readers while also bringing some color to the content.
For example, you can add graphs and tables that elaborate on a particular point in your content, or you could add some image that shows a particular definition/fact, etc.
Conclusion
If you want to make your content effective and successful, you need to ensure its readability. Some of the things that you can do to make your write-ups readable are explained in the post above.
Lucas Noah is a tech-savvy writer with a solid academic foundation, holding a Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) degree. His expertise in the IT field has paved the way for a flourishing writing career, where he currently contributes to the online presence... Read more