The most challenging part of both applying the F pattern and utilizing the plain English principals when rewriting my content for this assignment was actually trying to scale back the information I was trying to convey. While writing using a plain English style does not mean dumbing it down and avoiding technical words, I faced a challenge of really trying to provide the most relevant information while keeping it on topic while also not trying to do exactly what was just mentioned, dumbing it down and not being accurate with my information. Plain English writing is all about being precise with information while also keeping it not too overcomplicated. Naturally, when rewriting my content I got some ideas and at one point I was really just flowing and writing down ideas while making sure all the boxes were being ticked, until I realized I may actually be writing too much in relation to the F pattern, and if I was being honest to myself I realized that anyone who wasn’t very, very interested in what I was saying probably would have just clicked off by now which is the exactly opposite of what both of these tools were made to accomplish. Finding the balance between keeping the content filled with relevant information while also keeping it concise was definitely one of the most challenging aspects, but there were a couple of ways I overcame it. Firstly, as weird as it may sound I mainly overcame this challenge that I was faced with by putting myself in the shoes of the reader. I thought about when my ideas are flowing and I was really just going with the flow and writing what came to my mind for anything but the f pattern and plain English writing, it would have been a good thing. But, with the requirements of these writing techniques in mind that’s not what should be done. Being concise is one of the biggest advantages of plain English writing, and with this in mind If I was the one reading an article that was just stuffed with maybe valuable information but on the other hand the article was just way too long, chances are that anyone including me would have just clicked off and realized they don’t even need to be reading this much copy to get the information they are trying to receive. Another challenging aspect that I faced was sort of figuring out where to put certain information that was worthy of including in my copy. Unlike the last question where it was all about overcoming and including the right information in the right context, the next challenge was figuring out where this information goes. At the top, middle, or bottom? This is a crucial part of the F pattern rule because if you include information that is irrelevant at the top, then people will click off because it doesn’t make sense or resonate. But, if you do the opposite and include relevant information at the top then it can be a surefire way to success. I overcame this by using what I have learned in class so far regarding the F pattern and where to include certain information to provide the best possible reading experience for people reading my content.
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