Test Early

Get feedback early. Share a whole or partial draft. See how readers react. Find out what they understand and what they don’t.

Discover how close you are to meeting the target reader’s needs and expectations.

Let’s say you are making an argument about a contemporary issue. To know if you’re meeting readers’ needs, you require certain feedback:

  • Is your clear?
  • Are your clear?
  • Is your and considered trustworthy?
  • Do you yourself come across as and trustworthy?

Know that it’s hard to see your own work through a reader’s eyes. There is no substitute for getting feedback. Strive hard to overcome the fears we all have about sharing our written work. Feedback is one of the most valuable parts of the writing process! 

Consider the following exchange, in the comments thread below an op-ed.

“The highest % of funds are spent on the capital costs for constructing large buildings” (monexatb, 2020).

“[L]argest, by far, component of university budgets is salary, not capital costs” (ToryForever, 2020).

Read the exchange here.

Here, the respondent points out a correction.

This pair of comments illustrates the kinds of things that might come up in a reader’s response to an essay draft.

Don’t write in a vacuum. Find out what readers think and have to offer.

Tips

  • Get feedback early and often.
  • Give readers specific questions. What exactly do you want feedback on? The language and tone? Your argument? The structure? 
  • If you can’t find someone to give feedback, go over your own work with a second reader’s eyes as best you can. It’s very challenging to read something of yours as if you’re not the writer, which is why feedback is so important—but it’s always worth a try.